Sen. Grace Poe 鈥擲ENATE PRIB
Two senators on Thursday called on the government to find alternative funding sources for its ongoing rail projects, which are threatened with delays following China鈥檚 withdrawal of its official development assistance (ODA) for the Philippines.
In a statement, Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, said China鈥檚 backing out of the railway project 鈥渟hould not derail鈥� the implementation of the country鈥檚 infrastructure programs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time [for the Philippine government] to explore ODAs from other countries and seek available funding options from multilateral institutions and international assistance agencies that can deliver the goods,鈥� Poe said.
Poe made the statement a day after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced that it had dropped Chinese loan financing to bankroll the stalled Mindanao Railway Project (MRP).
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on Wednesday said the DOTr was now 鈥渢alking to other possible ODA partners for the completion of the MRP.
But Poe played down the value of the Chinese loans to the Philippine government鈥檚 projects, with Chinese banks keeping the country鈥檚 loan applications in 鈥渟uspended animation鈥� for years.
鈥淲hile appearing attractive, the loans are not exactly that benevolent as they come with hefty interest rates and other strings that could be detrimental to the country in the long term,鈥� the senator said.
The government should just then tap the private sector as a partner in 鈥淸hastening] the country鈥檚 infrastructure development鈥� and 鈥渂ringing innovative and efficient services,鈥� Poe said.
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For his part, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also called for the exploring of other loan sources for the Philippine government鈥檚 projects that may be aborted by China鈥檚 ODAs.
鈥淛apan, World Bank, (Asian Development Bank)鈥攖hese multilaterals and these funding institutions have a long history in funding the Philippines and they have successfully funded many projects in our country with concessionary interest rates and concessionary terms,鈥� he said.
鈥淪o we have a very good relationship with them 鈥� we can increase the amount that we are drawing from these institutions,鈥� Gatchalian added.
He called the scrapping of China鈥檚 ODA a 鈥渢emporary setback,鈥� even as the loans also suffer from issues of feasibility and high interest rates.