SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez has questioned the implementation of the administration’s infrastructure development program, saying the National Economic and Development Authority should first inform the House of Representatives before it approves any projects for financing.
He wanted to put another layer in the procedures for project implementation as he said the House had the power of the purse. It was only proper that the lawmakers were first informed about what projects the Neda would approve for financing.
“This will enable us to examine if these projects are worthy of being funded,” Alvarez told a congressional hearing.
He made the statement even as Senator Leila de Lima warned against the US$167-billion infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration that would be financed through foreign loans, and mostly from China.
She has filed Senate Resolution 377 calling for an investigation of the terms of any loan agreement with China to avoid putting the country in great debt or forcing it into commitments that could undermine its sovereignty.
“While there is a need to stimulate the economy, there is an even greater need for our economic managers to exercise extreme caution before advising our President to enter into any loan agreement of this magnitude, she said.
“Lest we end up with a debt that our children, our children’s children, and even several generations thereafter will not be able to repay, and with commitments that would violate the Constitution or undermine our sovereignty.”
Alvarez joined the members of the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries led by Rep. Ben Evardone in questioning the Neda projects during a briefing Tuesday by the officials of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Development Bank of the Philippines on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a new Asian-based lending institution where the Philippines is a member.
Alvarez questioned the nature of the projects being undertaken by the Neda.
PDIC president Robert Tan told lawmakers the AIIB was a collaborative effort among 57 member-countries from Asia and around the globe, and a brainchild of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premiere Li Keqiang.
But as Tan discussed the Neda-approved projects that are in the pipeline, such as phase 1 of the Metro Manila flood management project and the proposed bus rapid transit projects, the lawmakers noted that the projects for financing had no direct income benefit to the government, those were concentrated in Metro Manila and Congress was notified about them only after the consummation of the projects.
“The projects mentioned are the ones where we cannot get direct income benefit,” Alvarez said. “No dams to provide irrigation which will address the shortage of rice. We’ve been importing rice every year, and yet the government is not investing in infrastructure so we can produce rice for ourselves.”
Alvarez asked the bank officials to reconsider what projects should be supported for financing. “These should include projects where we have direct benefit, where we can recover the government’s expenses,” he said.
He urged the House committees to also require the Neda to submit the list of proposed projects of all agencies to Congress before their approval since the annual national budget emanated from the House.
“May I request the committee on banks as well as the committee on appropriations to require the Neda to submit the list of projects for approval because if they approve [these projects] without the concurrence of the appropriate committees, every year these will be liabilities of the Republic of the Philippines,” Alvarez said.
Rep. Henry Oaminal of Misamis Occidental, the committee’s vice chairman, echoed Alvarez and proposed that congressional consent must first be secured before government projects were evaluated and approved by the Neda and included in the National Expenditure Program.
“In my observation, the Neda only informs Congress of loan obligations when the projects are already consummated,” Oaminal said.
Evardone asked why the proposed projects presented during the PDIC briefing were concentrated in Metro Manila when the administration’s thrust was to develop the countryside.
“One of the priority visions of President Rodrigo Duterte is to develop the countryside,” he said.
“I think the regional projects are now also being considered seriously for proposals. We will follow up with the Neda and find out what are the possible projects that will be for the Visayas and Mindanao.”
