EU dev’t fund for Phl still intact until 2020

BRUSSELS – Despite President Duterte’s accusations of meddling in his governance and Philippine internal affairs, the European Union is keeping intact its development aid for the country from 2014 to 2020.

The 325-million-euro fund from the EU Development Cooperation will be available for release once “value-based” rules are complied with, EU DevCo officials told a press briefing here on Tuesday night on the next cycle of official development assistance (ODA) to the Philippines.

“We’re now reviewing the midterm of the seven-year program that started in 2014 and a lot of things have happened since then. So we’re looking at whether or not we’re doing the right things,” one of the EU DevCo executives told six members of the Philippine press, including

The STAR, who were invited under the EU Journalists Program by the EU delegation to the Philippines.

The EU DevCo executives in charge of the ODA package for the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries requested for non-attribution of their comments during the briefing, except for official matters that were discussed.

“The EU itself is not immune from politics. But we cannot let politics leave anyone behind,” the same EU official said.

The next cycle of the ODA program increased from the 2007-2013 period amounting to 128 million euros.

Bulk of the unreleased portion of the 325-million-euro ODA are allocated to support the ongoing Mindanao peace process, anti-poverty programs, rule of law, human rights and justice projects of the Duterte administration.

Of the total package, 225 million euros are allocated for sustainable energy and growth and job generation, while the balance of 95 million euros is meant for rule of law.

Meanwhile, the release of 99 million euros for the Mindanao peace process largely depends on the final outcome of the peace process involving the passage and implementation of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), whose timeline runs from 2018 to 2023.