Philippines: Arroyo government addicted to foreign funded infrastructure projects

The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan today urged the Philippine Senate to look into alleged irregularities in bidding processes for infrastructure projects being funded by the World Bank. The call stems from allegations of both the Philippine government and the World Bank of irregularities in the bidding processes.

“The bottom line here is that at the end of the day, it is the Filipino people who will pay for the loans. If projects are overpriced, we have to shell out more in debt payments, to the great detriment of other social services that badly need government funding,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

“The Philippine government under Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been accused time and again of corruption. Meanwhile, the World Bank isn’t exactly a role model for financial uprightness since it has mired many countries deep in debt. Both should be looked into. We refuse to accept the reasoning of Philippine officials that we are a mere collateral damage in the in fighting within the world bank. There’s more to this than that,” Reyes said.

The Philippine government has averred that under World Bank bidding rules, bids can go beyond the approved price of the project. The World Bank on the other hand has pulled loans for the project over what it described as “collusion and excessive pricing,”

Bayan said that the whole idea of resorting to foreign loans for infrastructure projects should also be questioned by policy-makers because this may not prove to be productive and beneficial in the long run. Aside from the World Bank, other infrastructure projects of the Arroyo government are funded by soft loans called Official Development Assistance from countries like Japan.

“The Arroyo government is addicted to foreign loans. It’s concept of economic progress is based on how many roads, bridges and other infrastructure are put up. Just look at her most recent State of the Nation Address. Everything was about infrastructure. That’s not really a good indicator of progress,” Reyes said.

“Both the Philippine government and the World Bank should not get off the hook that easily. Both have colluded in the past to plunge the Philippines deeper in debt. In fact, Mrs. Arroyo has spent more on debt payments than the Ramos and Estrada regimes combined,” Reyes said.

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