By Li Hongmei

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pledged $25 million in additional aid to the Philippines as the mounting cost of reconstruction in typhoon-damaged areas threatens the Southeast Asian nation's budget-deficit goal.

"This is devastation unlike any I've seen," Kerry said yesterday on a visit to Tacloban, the city hardest hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Visayas group of islands. The Philippine economic planning agency yesterday said it estimates the cost of reconstruction at 361 billion pesos ($8.2 billion).

Philippine President Benigno Aquino is seeking more aid from international donors to reduce the strain on public finances as officials estimate reconstruction may widen the budget deficit beyond a target of 2 percent of gross domestic product in the next two years. The government has said rebuilding will help boost an economy growing at the slowest pace in more than a year.

Haiyan struck on Nov. 8, damaging farms, towns and roads, and killing more than 6,000 people, according to the national disaster. Globe Telecom Inc., the country's second-largest telecommunications company, yesterday said revenue growth this quarter may be damped on reduced demand as subscribers in provinces hit by the storm cut back on spending.

Typhoon-affected areas account for about 17.4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, the government estimates. The damage from Haiyan may cut GDP growth by 0.3 percentage point in 2013 and 2014, the economic planning agency said.

The World Bank has offered the Philippines almost $1 billion in aid, while the Asian Development Bank has pledged about $900 million in loans and grants. The European Union has promised 428 million euros ($590 million).