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IN hopes
of adopting a stricter policy when securing funding for
projects and streamlining its expenditures, the national
government can now refuse loans or grants for projects
that are not indicated in the Medium Term Philippine
Development Plan (MTPDP), according to the National
Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Neda
Director General Ralph Recto said the President
instructed concerned officials, at the recent Cabinet
meeting, to ensure that all foreign funding is aligned
to finance programs included in the MTPDP. Otherwise,
even if the funding is free, the government can refuse
it.
“What’s
important is whenever we borrow money, it shouldn’t be
donor-driven. It should be need-driven,” Recto said on
Friday.
Even if
no funding is required of the Philippine side, as in
grants, the government will still refuse it if it will
finance projects not indicated in the MTPDP. The reason,
Recto explains, is that the government still shells out
a certain form of counterpart funding, either in cash or
in kind, when securing grants.
Grants
can also eat up portions of the government’s budget and
still add to its expenses, he added. If the project
funded by a grant is not included in the MTPDP, it will
now be deemed a waste of resources, therefore, should be
refused. |
