Baguilat raises concern over PH decision to reject EU aid

IFUGAO Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat has raised grave concerns over the decision of the Duterte administration to reject certain aid packages from the European Union, saying it may lead to a full-blown diplomatic war against one of the largest trade, investment and development partners of the Philippines.

"Such an unprecedented move is shortsighted and obviously not well thought out considering that some of the administration's own key economic managers have said they were not consulted before the decision was made. It is a haphazard move that the government cannot afford to make," said Baguilat.

President Duterte recently concurred with the recommendation of the Department of Finance to refuse specific aid or grants from the European Union on grounds the EU could use it to "interfere" with the internal affairs of the government.

When asked for specific grants and instances where the EU "interfered" with the Philippines' internal affairs, the Cabinet secretaries concerned gave none.

Baguilat said the administration was smarting over the concerns

consistently raised by foreign institutions on the extra-judicial killings in the Philippines brought about by the drug war espoused by the Duterte administration.

"Criticism or observation should not be mistaken for interference," said Baguilat.

He urged the government to rethink its decision considering the bigger implications on trade, investments and development.

The EU, after all, was the largest export partner of the Philippines in March, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Some $901 million worth of Philippine products were taken in by the EU in March.

The EU overtook the United States and Japan in that month. And in the first quarter of 2017, the EU emerged as the biggest and fastest growing export market for Philippine goods, mostly due to trade benefits extended by the EU to the Philippines.

Such benefits are now in jeopardy due to the government's reticence over human rights violations.

The EU is likewise one of the biggest providers of development funding to the Philippines.

It is the largest donor to the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF) administered by the World Bank that seeks to promote peace in conflict areas through economic development, as part of its commitments to support the peace process in the Philippines.

"The EU has demonstrated through the years that it is a partner we can rely on. To just unilaterally reject aid based on, so far, unsubstantiated claims of interference is ill-advised. At the very least, the government must be transparent enough to disclose the specifics of this rejection of assistance so that we can all be ready for any possible fallout," Baguilat said. PR