ADB chief vows support for Duterte’s programs
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed its support to the Duterte administration’s programs as the Manila-based
multilateral institution vowed to invest more in Mindanao.
In a briefing, Takehiko Nakao, ADB president said yesterday that President Duterte’s several agenda are in line with the bank’s ideas, citing the government’s program on rural development, education, and gender equality.
Nakao also said that ADB supported the government’s initiative on technical and vocational education training as well as the 13 years of basic education, commonly known as the K to 12 program.
He added that the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme was also given financial support by the ADB.
“This Duterte government has several agenda which are in line with our own ideas,” Nakao said.
“Education is of course one important part. We are also supporting the CCT, and this has been here for sometime from the previous government.”
‘To invest more in Mindanao’ Apart from the ongoing projects of the government, the ADB head also announced that the bank wants to increase investments in Duterte’s region, Mindanao, particularly in its peace process.
“We also want to invest more in Mindanao, for sustaining peace in Mindanao. We need to develop Mindanao in a broader sense and we have a big road project in Mindanao last year,” Nakao said.
In 2017, loans provided by ADB to the Philippines reached a record-high of $1.08 billion, with majority of the assistance going to infrastructure-related activities, especially in Mindanao.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said that Mindanao will be the "centerpiece" of the Philippines’ growth narrative, with a slew of big-ticket infrastructure projects ready for rollout soon to improve economic production and transform the island into a major hub of agriculture and industry.
Dominguez said that these infrastructure projects in Mindanao are designed to enhance economic production, open new irrigated lands for agriculture and make the movement of goods and people easier in the region.
'Build, Build, Build' program With Mindanao as the focal point of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, Dominguez said at least five of the government’s flagship infrastructure projects already approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, which is chaired by President Duterte, are in the South.
These are the 15.4- billion Mali tu bo g Mar ida gao Irrigation Project Phase 2 in North Cotabato and Maguindanao; the 14.86-billion Panguil Bay Bridge project; and the expansion and improvement projects in Davao International Airport and Laguindingan Airport worth 140.57 billion and 114.6 billion, respectively.
The other project for Mindanao is the 102-kilometer Mindanao Railway Project Phase 1, Segment 1 worth 135.26 billion that will connect Tagum, Davao City and Digos.
AIIB collaboration
In a related development, the ADB wants to collaborate with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to meet the region's growing investment needs and does not see the emerging China-led lender as a rival, the ADB president said on Thursday.
Addressing media on day one of the ADB's annual meeting in Manila, Takehiko Nakao said that although China was an important international lender and borrower, its rise and that of the AIIB would not be motivating factors behind any changes in the ADB's future strategy.
Nakao said the two institutions were different in many ways, which meant they could collaborate more effectively.
"AIIB, it's not the kind of threat to us," he said.
"We can cooperate with AIIB because we need larger investment in Asia and we can collaborate," he said
He said the AIIB had observed "very high standards" in terms of its programs, and the AIIB and the ADB this year hoped to approve several projects which they would co-finance. He did not elaborate.
The two have so far jointly provided combined loans of more than $700 million for four infrastructure projects, three of them in South Asia.
Warning on protectionism
Referring to US-China tensions, Nakao said the ADB was concerned about protectionism and trade troubles as Asia would suffer, but there were so far no signs of that.
The ADB has forecast growth of 6.0 percent for developing Asia this year, fuelled by solid export demand, but it has warned that US protectionist measures and subsequent retaliation could undermine trade.
"If trade is interrupted, it will have large damage to Asian countries as well as to other countries in the world. If this continues to escalate, it will have negative impact," Nakao said.
"At this moment it does not have impact on sentiment of people, investors and market players," he said.
The May 3-6 meeting comes as the Japanese-led ADB, formed in 1966 to help pull millions of Asians out of poverty, is watching closely as China asserts itself internationally via its vaunted "belt and road" initiative, and pushes regional infrastructure plans with support of its state-owned banks and the AIIB.
Key topics to be discussed are free trade, globalization, ageing populations, environmental degradation, gender equality, and the trend towards automation.
Nakao said he was optimistic that there were more opportunities in Asia to create jobs rather than lose them to machines and software, and said developments in technology are helping to boost equality among populations.
The ADB estimates developing Asia needs to invest $1.7 trillion per year in infrastructure until 2030 to maintain its growth momentum and the regional lender's targets on poverty and climate change. (With a report from Reuters)