DAVAO City—Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the Philippines received nearly P1 trillion in official development assistance (ODA) in only the first seven months of the term of President Duterte.
“And I am speaking of the assistance from only two countries, China and Japan,” Dominguez told reporters during a news briefing late Saturday night, shortly after Duterte led the induction of the new officers of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Dominguez also made the same statement when he introduced the President as the chamber’s guest of honor.
He said China extended $9 billion and quoted a statement from Japan’s foreign press secretary in a Thursday news briefing in Malacañang that Japan was extending ¥1 trillion to the Philippines.
Japan’s assistance would be about $9 billion “so that makes it $18 billion for the two countries alone”.
Dominguez said the Philippines “did not ask for it, but these were offered to us”, attributing it to Duterte’s “astute diplomacy”.
“These are money with low interest rates and long terms,” he added.
Dominguez said he and the other economic managers would be meeting on Monday to identify which projects should be funded by the ODA.
He said the bulk of the money would go to infrastructure projects. These include the rehabilitation of the Agus river hydroelectric plants in the two Lanao provinces, the irrigation projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and a seaport near Cebu City.
Dominguez said the huge assistance would allow government planners to craft a blueprint for areas outside of Metro Manila, such as the one drawn up for Calabarzon during the term of former President Corazon Aquino. He noted that the plan for Calabarzon was implemented using Japanese ODA.
“We are looking into a similar path to develop integrated area developments, farther away from Metro or Mega Manila, to develop areas with good roads and infrastructure to entice investors. We are looking at Mindanao and up north beyond Pampanga,” he said.
The government would request a meeting with the Japanese government representatives “to know their priorities and their preferences”.
“But not all money would be spent on infrastructure. We will also talk about education, training and services to make our workers more competitive. It’s not only infrastructure,” Dominguez said.
Japan’s visit to the country is just the first in a series of diplomatic forays the Philippines is embarking on this year. President Duterte will visit oil-rich countries of the Middle East in February.
The country is hoping to attract Middle Eastern investors in a number of areas, including agro-industrial projects and defense and security investments.
With a report from Catherine N. Pillas