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By I'IARY GRACE PADIN _ "So, they are all sort ot in expressed confidence that the
to 3.7-percent ranse. government would not fall
the _1.3-
Nothing is 30 times the oth"er, into a debt trap with any coun-
Carpio: Yes, Phl has defaulted on foreign d.ebt repaytnent. See page 4,
which i.- \+ra-. 'one p.oPie -try;;s it manage;ft;liabiitie;
claim," he said. with prudencei
The DOF oirlqial also Point- Foi one he said infrastruc-
ed out that tle-e -aLe> provide ture proiects urdergo a rigor-
the cheapest oation tor the ous tettins svstem, as onlv
Philiooirie., as it would be oroiects tha"t aie economicallir
more iosth to borrora from i,iu61"
multilaterai agencies and the The "t".ooroved.
goveirimen(s borrowing
privite sector proFarn, according to Domin-
"ln terms of the options gueZ, is "conserv"ative" as it
available, this is the lowesl in Fnsures that official develop-
terms of the cost of financing," ment assislance (ODA) loans aie
he said. allocated only for projects that
Meanwhile, Lambino also have econoiric siins sreater
-:=.'r;:.r.aid cdiics rvho ciaim clarified that the confidential- than the borrowirig costl
tir! :a.., :J consider that the loan ity clause in the government's Moreovel the Enance chief
a-j ji:- . -: 'r d;r{erent currencies' loan contracts with China said bulk of the countrv's
l:--:- l:-::.::: .rans denorninated in js now rendered ineffective debt is sourced from domeitic
US ::-r-. -.d Japanese and Korean through negotiations. lenders to mirimize risks from
i.--.': -::alese yen and KOrean "That's moot because we extemal developrnents.
"..
-: :.i::-_:r'elr'. negotiated that away when we Dominguez ;lso reiteraied
l: =-.: :e comparing apples to said it's confidential. subject lo that the share of Chinese financ-
: =:- lhe LS dollar-denominated lhe laws of the Philippines. So, ing to the government's total
,-
=j :r::.
.,r:5
China arti at two percent
that means we have to disclose debt stock is projected to reach
a 20-year repayment pe- when a citizen requests," he 4.5 percentby 202Z once most of
riod, seven-year grace period. said. - thafinancine for irfrastructure
The Japanese loanr are inJapa- About two weeks ago, the projects havE been accessed.
nese ten. lf we convert them, DOF posted on its website a For Lambino, only aboul
thev ire actually comparable," copy ofitsloan agreements not 15 percent of the {unding
he said. only with China, but also with requirements for fhe Build,
.\ side from this, Lambino Japln and South Korea. Build, Build program would
said critics must also take into ,UnfOUndedt be financed bv ODAs.
account the projections of the
foreign exchange market on M ea n wh i I e, Fi n an ce se c- iff ;tt*:::
f
the philippines' own
currency exchalge rates over retary Carlos Dominguez JII ihrough ""I""J?'nl,
the repiyment pJriod of the.e said fears of the PhiLippines de-
loans. t"llli**:Pt;t"i'"'?ffiff
Lambino added that should ^'a7 7+aE rLe
Japanese loans lith a norninal ment has neverfailed tE pay its
intercst rate of 0.08 perceni be debts even during crisis.
converted to U5 dollars, ihe 'The Philippines has neve5,
result.ine interest rate rr'ould never defaulted on its loans.
be 2.7 pe"rcent, as is tle case for The Philiopines has not done
the Y167.2-billion loan for the it even iri fhe n'oxt tirne and
North South Commuter Rail- the worst time was right after
wal Extension Proiect from Marcos," Dominguez said in a
Jap-ar htemational Coopera- recent intervie* lvith reporters.
tion Agenry. "So, why are people say-
A: -lor'the Philippines' ing now that we nill default?
184.8J-billion-won loan from They have no faith in ihe Phil-
South Korea for the Nera' Cebu ippines? I don't know wha
International Container Port, people are saying'There rnight
Lambino said the interest rate be a default.'That'means to say
would be at 1.36 percent if those people have no faith in
converted from Korean won their oiwn coultrv," he added.
to US dollars. Earlier, the finance chief
THE PI{ILIPPINE SIAR
5,2019 -
news WEDNESDAY I APRIL

O-. From Page t

budgel while another 18 per- them," the senator said. to be designated bv the Senate
cent would be bankrolled She added that loans must president 5nd the Sfeakec with
through public-private pari- be legally compliant and meet one member coming frum the
nerships. the good govemance test, and minority in each house.
most of all must have reason- "In the face of issues in-
Review of Ghina able repayment terms. volving Chinese loans, it is
contract$ welcomed Debt committee important that, we should
In a related development, have a system of studying and
Sen. Grace Poe welcomed the
proposed analyzing the indebtedness
initiative of the President to Meanwhile, Magdalo party- the government is incurring
review contracts entered into list Rep. Gary Alejano yester- to make sure that we are not at
by the govemment with China. dav orooosed the creation of a the losing end," Alejano said.
Poe, who chairs the Senate coij."siionul oversight com- "We also need lo ensrrre
public sewices committee, said mittee on debt management that our govemment's limited
for the results to be impartial, amid calls for Qongress to resources shall be used ao-
those who negotiated the con- look into the "onerous" loans propriately, and that prioriiy
tracts should have no role in the Duterte administration has should be qiven to education,
reviewing them. obtained from Ctrlna - health card and other public
"Made-in-China conlracls "While we recognize the services meant to promote the
should be vetted for onerous power given to thelresident welfare of Filipinos," he said.
and one-sided provisions," when it cornes to inci:rring loans Several sectors and per-
Poe said in a statement. meant io spur gror^th and prc- sonalities, including Supreme
"But morc important than mote equity in the provision of Court justice Antctnio Carpio,
discovering whaf lurks in the public sewices and benefits, we have expressed concems over
fine print of these contracts is ihould ensure trarsparency and loans from Beijing.
the more important question: accountability on all govern- In particular, Carpio has
is the project to be funded ment bormwings," Alejano said. criticized provisions in the loan
really needed by our people? His proposal is contained agreements vestin g jurisdiction
Or is it a donor-driven com- in Bill 8480. over disputes to Chinese courts
mercial enterprise pushed Alejano said the proposed and allowing Beijing to seize
hv influential brokers thaf is oversight committee would Philippine "patrimonial assets"
h6wever not a priority need by "endeavor and pursue a debt in case of an award bv a Chinese
the very people who will end management syitem that shall tribunal, including tfie gas and
up paying for thern?" she said. be made available to public oi l-rich Recto Ba nk off Pal a wan.
The country needs official scrutiny and subject to strict Party-list group Bayan Mtum
development assistance as its adherence to existing pertinent has written the DOF for docu-
infrastructure backlog requires laws and mles and regulations." ments on the loans from China.
foreign participatior; accord- It wouid be comp5sed of the The erouD. however, la-
ing to Poe. chairpersons of the commit- menteJ thai'the DOF has
"But we can't sweep due tee on wavs and means of the refused to release documents
diligence and the laws of the Senate and the House of Repre' and instead refeffed it to the
lanil under the red carpet that sentatives and t}:ee additional agency's website. - With Paolo
govemment has rolled out for members from each chamber Romero, fess Diaz

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