MANILA -- Bureaucracy in both the Philippines and China may be among the reasons why China’s pledge of USD24 billion in investments to the Philippines to fund its infrastructure program has yet to materialize, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark following reports that only a fraction of the loan agreements with China have materialized, almost two years since the pledge was made.
“What we’re forgetting is there is bureaucracy not only in this country but also China. I have some friends who have been working on this project for two years but until now, they haven’t succeeded,” Panelo said.
“Why? Because according to them, China government has very stringent requirements, Philippines has also stringent requirements so it takes time. Hopefully, we will hurdle all these problems,” he added.
Panelo, meanwhile, expressed hope that the Philippine government will get the benefits from its friendly ties with China two years after the President shelved the arbitral ruling after China rejected the verdict.
“Hopefully we’ll get them,” Panelo said, quoting Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who said the Philippine government will “demand for the fulfillment of these pledges.”
However, Panelo said he would rather use the word “persuade” instead of “demand” to avoid a negative reaction from the Chinese government.
“I’d rather use the word persuade not demand. You use the word demand to them they might react also,” Panelo said.
Panelo also assured that despite the Philippine government asserting claim on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the Chinese government will not pressure the former to immediately pay for the loans.
In 2012, the Chinese government demanded payment from the Philippine government for the USD500-million loan the latter took out in 2003 for the Northern Luzon railway project amid the sea dispute.
However, former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II clarified that the payment was unrelated to the sea dispute.
“My take is that this President has set a standard of a leader in this country and there is no other way from those who will succeed him, to be like him,” Panelo said.
“One underlying principle… serving and protecting this country. He has set the standard on how a leader should govern this country,” he added.
Panelo also assured that the Philippine government has the capacity to pay all its loans.
“We were indebted with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank for millions of dollars and we were able to pay them,” Panelo said.
“I think this nation has a capacity to will itself into complying international obligations and paying loans coming from other countries. I think that we have no history of not paying,” he added. (PNA)
