THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said Hungary has provided a loan of some $500 million, initially planned to finance water treatment facilities.
“I have informed Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III of the Department of Finance to assist us on the discussion on how this money was transferred to the country,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a Wednesday statement.
Initially, DA is looking at Laguna de Bay as a pilot area for the proposed development of water treatment facilities.
Mr. Piñol added that fishing communities around Laguna de Bay can be tapped to manage the operations of the facilities.
“We welcome this development as we look up to how Hungary maintains good water quality. They have very advanced technologies,” he added.
Mr. Piñol also said he has informed Hungarian Ambassador to the Philippines Jozsef Bencze of his interest to allocate a portion of the said loan for the construction of the proposed Philippine rubber tire facility.
In addition, Mr. Piñol also reported that the Malacañang has approved the visit of rice experts from Hungary to study how the country plants rice during the dry season with the mission expected to start in November.
“We will show them how we plant rice during the season when there are no rains and we only use irrigated water,” Mr. Piñol added. — Janina C. Lim
