THE dropping of several key infrastructure projects that would have been funded by China represents an opportunity loss to the Philippines, the Senate Ways and Means committee chief believes. And Sen. Sherwin T.
Gatchalian believes the better terms from other Official Development Assistance sources balance out the loss and actually benefit the country.
The country, the lawmaker added, has for decades relied on ODA, “which is really mostly loans, whether from Japan, China, Korea or European.” Alluding to the projects that would have been China-funded but which were recently cancelled, Gatchalian said, “the question here is, why is the borrowing process from China slowing?”
The Mindanao Rail project is crucial, he said, because “agriculture is their main industry, and the rail system offers a cheaper means to deliver agriculture products to various projects. Certainly that will impact them economically, but on the other hand, if you’re going to pay much higher interest rates, then that’s one thing to consider.”
“This means we must start paying the loan earlier. If we just compare the economics of a China loan Japan loan, then the one from Japan is really cheaper,” Gatchalian said. Beside the Mindanao Rail project, another China-funded project that was cancelled in July 2022 was the installation of CCTVs by the Department of Interior and Local Government, the senator said.“That’s important as a water source for Metro Manila.”
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