Senate reso on China ‘debt trap’ on agenda

THe Senate is set to hear on Friday a resolution filed by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto asking the Duterte administration to avoid incurring more loans from China amid a mounting outcry against the entry into big-ticket projects of Chinese firms involved in illegal Chinese reclamation projects within the West Philippine Sea.

“Hopefully we will get twothirds vote to support Resolution 512,” Senator Recto said in an interview with CNN Philippines’s “The Source,” wondering aloud, “why should we reward the Chinese contractors damaging our territory?”

A separate Senate resolution filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, which Recto and several others support, seeks the blacklisting of Chinese state-owned firms that were earlier reported to have carried out Beijing’s island-building spree, which experts said had considerably damaged the environment.

At the same time, Recto warned against the Philippine government falling into a debt trap with China, noting how several other countries that embarked on ambitious Chinese loan-funded projects had ended up deeply indebted for projects of uncertain economic value.

This, even as Recto indicated the Senate “will stand on these issues,” referring to issues involving China’s growing role, including the ongoing debate over the installation of Chinese telco towers right inside Camp Aguinaldo, where the Armed Forces of the Philippines is headquartered.

Defense and military officials recently approved the telco tower installation in the camp by partly Chinese-owned third player Dito Telecommunity, over objections raised in many quarters. Recalling that majority of the senators were able to stop the same initiative last year, Recto added, “let us see, when we hear their budget,” indicating executive department officials concerned are expected to be grilled on the issue, despite the AFP’S assent to the telco tower installation inside the camp.