Sen. Risa Hontiveros warned the Marcos administration against overborrowing
RISA HONTIVEROS – The senator warned the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against overborrowing.
“Wag sanang tularan ni President Marcos si ex-President Duterte na nagpumilit umutang sa China kahit hindi naman kailangan. Kaya, President Marcos, hinay-hinay lang sa pera ng bayan,” she said.
In the deliberation of the 2023 national budget, Hontiveros cited the Kaliwa Dam (P18-B) project and the South Luzon Long Haul Rail Project from Calamba to Matnog in Sorsogon (P171-B), both of which are currently in limbo because their Chinese investors have yet to fulfill their commitment to lend money to the Philippine government to finance these projects.
Hontiveros even claimed that “the delay is actually a blessing in disguise.” She stated that there has been a shortlist of qualified private-sector proponents qualified to bid on these two large projects since 2016.
Aside from that, Hontiveros urges the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to look into the economic viability of the Mindanao Rail and Subic-Clark Rail projects.
According to the Bureau of the Treasury, the Philippines’ debt swelled to P13.5 trillion, due to the devaluation of the peso. The Philippine government has also exceeded the borrowing limit it set for 2022.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno vowed to pursue non-debt financing options more aggressively from now on. The economic managers also assured the senator that the government can contribute to the financing of flagship projects and make financial bets. This will make the project more appealing to lenders and PPP proponents while avoiding unnecessary borrowing.
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