|
DEBT
activists have urged donor countries and agencies to
stop providing the Arroyo administration with loans and
aid to prevent government corruption through a rally at
the ongoing Philippine Development Forum (PDF) in Clark,
Pampanga.
In a
joint statement, activists led by the Freedom from Debt
Coalition said the recent spate of anomalous projects
funded through official development assistance (ODA) has
already tainted foreign aid.
“The
scale of new exposés on ODA misuse brings to mind the
dark days of Marcos’ authoritarian rule when foreign
assistance had acquired the vile reputation for
corruption, bribery, human-rights violations and
environmental degradation, among other social evils,”
the groups said. “Plug the funneling of funds from loans
and aid which is the source of kickbacks that are being
used by this corrupt and illegitimate administration for
political survival.”
Organizations such as Social Watch Philippines,
Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and Management,
Organizational Development for Empowerment and others
also recommended that donor governments and multilateral
institutions should increase and improve the quality of
aid allotments. Donors were also advised to realign the
loan-grant mix, increase the share of projects on human
and social development and realign regional and
provincial distribution of aid to poorer areas.
The
groups also urged donor agencies and governments to
address social and environmental concerns, end all tied
aid, delink aid from the war on terror particularly in
Mindanao and reform technical assistance to respond to
national priorities and capacity building.
“While
we recognize that ODA has a role to play in Philippine
development, we also affirm that inadequacies in the
country’s foreign-aid system has persisted for far too
long, and a judicious end is nowhere in sight. After
over five decades, accumulated evidence reveal countless
instances of political influence-peddling, huge
kickbacks for government officials, questionable
altruism among aid donors, useless yet expensive
projects that cost Filipinos billions in loan repayments
and a host of other issues associated with the sourcing
and utilization of foreign-aid money,” the groups’
statement said.
The
groups also presented a laundry list to the government
through its own ODA report that seeks to prevent ODA-related
anomalies similar to alleged kickbacks collected from
the national broadband network deal and allegations of
overpricing in the Southrail and Northrail projects.
The
activists urged the government to fix
project-implementation problems, plug the “hemorrhage”
of government funds in repaying loans, address the
foreign consultants’ issue, end human-rights violations
in aid projects, focus on long-term and alternative
sources of development financing and strictly follow the
legal requirements in negotiating loan agreements.
For its
part, the Philippine government should also adopt a
policy of transparency and popular participation, draw
up comprehensive and consistent ODA performance
standards, reevaluate government policies and thrusts on
ODA and adopt a policy of preferential option for untied
aid.
“We
believe that, clearly, change is imperative and it must
begin by reaching a consensus on the systemic problems
plaguing foreign assistance in the Philippines, as well
as by the immediate initiation of concrete and
accountable processes to govern the quality, quantity
and effectiveness of aid by stakeholders from civil
society, donors and government organizations,” the
groups said.
Signatories to the Citizens’ ODA Report include the
Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through
Alternatives Legal Services, Inc., ODA Watch, Pambansang
Kilusan ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan, Sustainability
Watch, the Philppine Network of Rural Development
Institutes Inc., Partido Kalikasan and Justice, Peace
and Integrity of Creation Committee. |
