De Lima urges govt: back off China projects
DETAINED Sen. Leila de Lima on Friday urged the Duterte administration to withdraw from the China-backed projects to prevent the Philippines from facing bankruptcy due to “questionable” Chinese loans.
“We should learn from the mistakes and misfortunes of other countries in their dealings with China,” de Lima, chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development said.
The Duterte administration has allocated some P8.2 trillion to fund what it called “the golden age of infrastructure” under the “Build, Build, Build” program over the next six years, which would be reliant on Chinese loans.
De Lima cited the cases of Mongolia which had to sell coal to China for only 11 percent of the international market price, and of Sri Lanka which had to offer debt-for-equity swaps to China over infrastructure projects, among others.
The senator asked the government to take its cue from Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad who canceled three Chinabacked projects amounting to $22 billion to prevent “his country from falling into a debt trap.”
She noted that Mahathir confirmed that the three Chinabacked projects — a railway connecting Malaysia’s east coast to southern Thailand and Kuala Lumpur and two gas pipelines — would be cancelled until its debts. “Our national leaders should exert all honest efforts in protecting our country and the Filipino people against imprudent debt accumulation,” she added.
On November 7, 2016, de Lima which seeks an inquiry into the various investment deals entered into by the Duterte administration during President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit to China in October 2016.
377 urging the Senate to look into the possible economic effects of the multi-billion dollar loans and investments package offered by China to the Philippines under its Belt and Road initiative.
seeking an inquiry on the “complete” terms and conditions of the loans entered into by the Philippine government to fund its “Build, Build, Build” Program to assess the possible impact of Chinese loans on Philippine economy and national security.
She expressed concern over the administration’s apparent “lack of transparency” over the terms of Chinese loans to fund the infrastructure program because lenders, including China, pay fee for each agreement.
She said the loans offered by China would have an impact on the Philippines’ foreign policy, including the country’s stakes in the contested islands in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).