Gov’t still exploring other financing sources — NEDA

The national government will explore other sources of concessional loans should there be any delay in the implementation of the Duterte administration’s infrastructure projects, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said. In a briefing, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said yesterday that the country’s official development assistance (ODA) is not exclusive to current development partners, like China, Japan, among others. Pernia explained the Duterte administration is “trying to diversify as much as possible” its funding sources, citing the government is also looking at local funding to support the ambitious infrastructure projects. “We were also discussing among ourselves [economic managers] during our visit to Japan, not with Japan, but among ourselves that if there are too many delays from a particular funding source we are going to give them a deadline,” Pernia told reporters. “If they cannot fulfill their commitment on time then we will shift to another funding source,” he further said. The NEDA chief also disclosed that South Korea is also getting more interested in funding infrastructure projects in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Pernia assured that the Duterte administration is “even more cautious” in its infrastructure dealings with the Chinese government. “We are extra careful in having projects funded by China,” the NEDA chief said. Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rolando G. Tungpalan, meanwhile, said that China loans are merely lending financing and not tied to land ownership. (CSL)