Japan will continue to fund infrastructure projects in the Philippines, with the concerns over massive corruption in government flood control projects not negatively affecting Japanese investments, said Minister for Economic Affairs Yokota Naobumi at the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines.
“No, it is not affecting negatively,” Naobumi said Friday at a forum conducted by the Financial Executives of the Philippines in Taguig City, when asked about the possible impact of governance issues on current and future Japanese-backed initiatives.
“We don’t see any Japanese ODA [overseas development assistance] affected by what is discussed right now,” said Naobumi, whose country is the Philippines’ largest official development assistance provider.
Naobumi sees potential Japanese investments and partnerships with the Philippines in areas such as renewable energy, environmental technology and climate-related initiatives.
The Department of Public Works and Highways earlier acknowledged Japan’s role in helping fund nearly P1 trillion worth of infrastructure projects in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman Manuel Pangilinan, speaking at the same forum, urged financial executives to embrace integrity, competency and courage amid issues of corruption.
“Corruption survives not because people are smart but because good people are absent,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan noted the adverse effects of corruption on economic growth, including reduced government spending which could slow down growth.
“Investor confidence could get affected, perhaps even credit ratings—if institutional responses are regarded as inadequate,” he said.
Pangilinan said the public is now aware that the presence or lack of ethical attributes impacts business and the economy.
“We can say corruption and lack of transparency were major triggers in the Asian meltdown of 1997 and they’re still at the root of the economic and social inequalities that confront us today,” he said.
