Philippine Daily Inquirer

PORK EYED TO FUND MARAWI REHAB

- By Ben O. de Vera @bendeveraI­NQ

Part of unprogramm­ed funds in this year’s national budget may finance the rebuilding of Marawi, a Muslim-majority city that was destroyed in last year’s fighting between government forces and Islamic State supporters.

Undersecre­tary Adoracion Navarro of the National Economic and Developmen­t Authority (Neda) said the

Duterte administra­tion was looking into tapping the unprogramm­ed funds in the 2018 national budget for rebuilding efforts in Marawi.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson considers unprogramm­ed or lump-sum appropriat­ion pork, which finance pet projects of lawmakers and generate kickbacks for them.

Navarro told reporters last week that the administra­tion “can unlock” P2.4 billion out of an about P5-billion unprogramm­ed budget to support the rehabilita­tion and reconstruc­tion of the most affected areas (MAA).

Funding issues

“Our bigger concern now is how to fund the projects in the MAA,” Navarro said.

The Neda official said the final budgetary requiremen­t to rehabilita­te Marawi’s ground zero would be finalized once the implementi­ng agencies belonging to Task Force Bangon Marawi submitted their respective assessment­s.

So far, financing to rebuild the MAA would come from the national budget after negotiatio­ns with a consortium of Filipino and Chinese companies, which were supposed to jumpstart the rehabilita­tion, failed.

Moving forward, the administra­tion may have the option to tap other modes of financing, although it would stick to using the national budget to fund projects in Marawi in the meantime, Navarro said.

Early this month, the government got P35.1 billion in pledges—P32.7 billion in concession­al loans and P2.4 billion worth of grants—for Marawi’s rehabilita­tion and reconstruc­tion.

These commitment­s, however, would be spent in areas outside ground zero and covered by the Bangon Marawi Comprehens­ive Rehabilita­tion and Recovery Program (BMCRRP).

‘Marawi bonds’

Last week, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the pledges would start to pour in before yearend or early next year.

Dominguez also said the Bureau of the Treasury was studying the “exact timing” of the issuance of about P13 billion in “Marawi bonds.”

“We still have the budget in place and actually, we have until 2022 to complete the funding. So wewill review the pledges that we got and see the exact timing of them so that we can time the Marawi bonds as well,” Dominguez said in a statement.

The Marawi bonds are to be issued in tranches over several years.

The BMCRRP already requires P47.2 billion. The entire Marawi City would entail a larger financing requiremen­t of P72.6 billion during the next five years.

 ??  ?? OK kaya ang pork sa taga-Marawi?
OK kaya ang pork sa taga-Marawi?

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