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THREE
former directors general of the National Economic and
Development Authority (Neda) have urged the government
to push for international competitive bidding for
foreign-assisted projects.
University of the
Philippines
economists Solita Monsod, Felipe Medalla and Dante
Canlas—who all sported the concurrent title former
socioeconomic planning secretary—said the country should
adhere to the provisions set in the Paris Declaration on
Aid Effectiveness.
The
Paris Declaration called for greater transparency in the
delivery and management of foreign aid to achieve the
United Nations Millennium Declaration and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
“No, I
definitely do not recommend the government to undertake
any more bilateral agreements. Where’s the check and
balance there?” Monsod, Neda chief in the first
post-Marcos government, said.
Since
the Paris Declaration provides for greater transparency,
the government should strictly follow its provisions,
Monsod said.
For his
part, Medalla said that though the country needs
bilateral loans, these should only be used for smaller
projects, such as roads, or simple infrastructure
projects that do not call for big funding requirements.
But when
it comes to projects such as the Chinese-funded
$329-million national broadband network and the
$460-million cyber education project, Medalla said that
international competitive bidding must be observed.
Still,
Medalla noted that the country does not need those many
loans since there is a balance of payments (BOP) surplus
that can shoulder the expenses of the government for
such projects.
Recently, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced that
the country’s BOP surplus amounted to $2.62 billion in
the first nine months of the year on the back of higher
overseas Filipino workers (OFW) remittances and
increased exports.
“It’s
the best time not to rely on foreign borrowings,”
Medalla asserted.
Canlas,
on the other hand, said the government through Neda may
adopt the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD)/Development Assistance Committee
rules on international competitive bidding for bilateral
negotiations.
Among
the countries that follow the OECD are France and
Germany. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation is
also among the multilateral agencies that are open to
international competitive bidding.
Earlier,
former Neda chief and Ateneo de Manila University
professor Cielito Habito suggested that in order to
prevent future problems similar to the ZTE deal, the
Neda must take a more aggressive stance when securing
foreign loans to prevent donor-driven decisions when it
comes to projects.
Habito
explained that while the country may adopt a
donor-driven approach when securing grants, the
government must be assertive in the case of loans since
these will be paid by the people’s money.
The
government must also stress the importance of
determining the ownership of the project to meet the
country’s priorities, said the Ateneo professor.
Habito
said the country also has bilateral loans from the UK,
Australia and Japan. He said that while bilaterals with
the
UK
and Australia are similar to China’s—which allows the
foreign partner to determine the supplier for a
project—Japan is the only one that allows international
bidding.
With
Japan conducting an international bidding for projects,
many of the country’s bilaterals with them are even
awarded to Korean contractors or suppliers, noted Habito. |
