THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the government can tap many funding sources to move forward with its agenda, without a new aid package from the United States.
“We can access many sources of funds — Japan, China, South Korea. Actually other countries are competing (to offer funding) because our outlook is strong,” DBM Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said at a briefing yesterday.
“To me (rejecting US funding is) not a loss,” he added.
The government announced on Tuesday that it withdrew its application for a second compact from the Millenium Challenge Corp. (MCC) as it seeks to concentrate all resources on the rebuilding of Marawi City.
Meanwhile, the MCC in a press release yesterday confirmed the country’s decision, while selecting Timor-Leste for a new compact and Gambia for a new threshold program.
“The government of the Philippines has decided not to move forward with the development of a second MCC compact. MCC is proud of the achievements of our first compact with the Philippines, and both MCC and the United States are proud of our longstanding positive relationship,” the US agency said.
Mr. Diokno said the downside of some aid is that it comes with strings attached, including interference in the domestic affairs of the Philippines, which he called a form of “imperialism.”
The MCC in December 2016 deferred its decision to renew the second compact with the Philippines due to human rights concerns.
The Philippines in May declined development assistance from the European Union as it asserted its independent foreign policy.
“If you want to give aid, do it out of the goodness of your heart. But it shouldn’t be an excuse to interfere in domestic matters,” Mr. Diokno said.
The Finance department has said it will seek assistance from the US for its planned Philippine Tax Academy. The first MCC grant to the Philippines, amounting to $434 million, was directed to infrastructure projects and was in force between May 2011 and May 2016.
In December 2015, the MCC agreed to fund a second five-year development grant for the Philippines, amounting to $433 million, but deferred approval a year later. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
