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CANBERRA
said its development cooperation with Manila in the next
five years—mostly concentrated in
Mindanao—will be influenced by major risks in the country like political
instability, security developments and natural
disasters.
Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Tony Hely said
his government’s development aid will be more focused on
security cooperation, providing grants to spur economic
growth and improving basic education.
The
Australian Development Cooperation Program aid for the
next five years, he said, would increase to around A$120
to A$140 million.
A
development strategy report by the Australian embassy in
Manila noted the implementation of its programs would be
managed with performance review and dialogue between the
governments but it noted major risks to the
effectiveness of the programs.
Interruptions to government functions due to elections
and the lack of sustained political commitment to fiscal
discipline and macrostability are big problems in
implementing its development aid strategy, the report
also said.
“The
persistence of armed conflict in
Mindanao and threats to peace and security from the communist
insurgency, together with the prevalence of violent
crime and clan-based feuds, constitute serious
additional constraints to economic growth and poverty
reduction in the
Philippines.”
The
development-strategy report noted, however, that the
solutions to these problems are complex, although
“addressing the genuine grievances of Mindanaoans
concerning their social and political exclusion and lack
of access to basic services and economic opportunity is
an appropriate role for aid.”
Apropos
of its concerns in the Philippines, Canberra also raised
concern over the growing link between Islamic militants
in
Mindanao and international terrorist networks operating in
Southeast Asian region like the al-Qaeda-linked Jema’ah
Islamiyah.
“Countering these threats requires ongoing improvement
in the capacities of the Philippines’ legal framework
and institutions to manage people, goods and financial
flows across borders and within the archipelago,” said
the report. |
