US funding prospects ‘promising’ – MCC exec
US foreign aid agency Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) is optimistic about increased funding for the Philippines as the country is now on the “right pathway forward.”
MCC Chief Executive Officer Alice Albright told reporters on Friday that it was “possible” for the country to return to the Compact Program, a five-year agreement focused on larger infrastructure-type investments.
The MCC, which stopped issuing grants to the Philippines during the Duterte administration over human rights concerns, last December revived its relationship with the country and declared it eligible for smaller-scale, or threshold, funding.
“The Philippines, amongst several other countries, stood out as [a country] that is really on the right pathway forward,” Albright said.
“So we’re back here [in the Philippines], and we’re just delighted [about] that. We think there’s a promising future.”
Albright conducted a preliminary visit to the country and met Finance Secretary Ralph Recto last Thursday to discuss the next steps in the development of threshold programs.
“There’s some diagnostic work that has to be done very much in partnership with the government ... to identify what some of the challenges might be and how the threshold [grant] can be used,” the MCC executive continued.
“I think what will be very beneficial here is that we already have a long-standing history with the Philippines. So there are people who know how we work and how the process goes.”
The country’s selection for a Threshold Program — a grant focused on policy and institutional reforms — was based on a scorecard where it passed over half of the performance indicators, Albright noted.
MCC data showed that the Philippines had met performance
standards for implementing policies that support democratic rights and economic freedom, but fell short of standards for combating corruption.
“I think that the country has some terrific opportunities ahead. So it was one of the countries that stood out as a terrific choice for doing the threshold after the compact [program],” the MCC chief said.
While they “don’t know yet” which areas they will be concentrating on, Albright said MCC’s renewed collaboration with the Philippines was “off to a great start, and we’re very optimistic about the future of the program.”
The country previously received support from the US government through MCC’s initial $434 million compact, which concluded in 2016, and a prior threshold grant of $20.7 million implemented from 2006 to 2009.
“As a result of the compact, through reforms at the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue, MCC helped the [country] strengthen tax administration and case management systems, which helped raise tax revenues, reduce tax evasion, and address agent-related corruption,” MCC said.