AS the Philippine economy grows, its dependence on official development assistance (ODA) is expected to decrease as the country transitions into a donor nation, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In his speech at the recent Mission: PHL Envoys&Expats Awards, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. said the Philippines will eventually turn the page to a new chapter of helping other countries in their quest for growth and development.
The Philippines has been an ODA recipient since after the second world war. In the past 40 years alone, the country has been a major borrower from multilateral development banks and bilateral donor agencies.
“The story of development should soon be coming to its end here as we cross over into a developed nation. And then another story will begin of the Philippines as a major donor nation. For there is no return on investment, no recompense for good deeds done, that is so satisfying as that which comes of giving with no thought of return,” Locsin said.
The foreign affairs secretary said this is the reason recognizing the development cooperation between the Philippines and its key partner—as Mission: PHL has done, as the country’s first and only recognition awards for the country’s best partner nations and aid agencies, and best projects—is timely.
“If this initiative had been done, say, two or three decades ago, it would not have made so much sense, nor created much of an impact, for the story of development cooperation and the Philippines was still a work in progress and it still is. And it was marked by hard but crucial lessons for all concerned,” Locsin said.
The Philippines recently tested
the waters of being a donor nation when the government extended a $1-billion
loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help debt-stricken European
countries, including Spain which colonized the
country for 333 years.
The government, through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), assured Filipino taxpayers that the funds will be returned plus interest. Former BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., said the country was able to do this given that it has fully paid its loans to the IMF in December 2006.
From recipient to giver
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) believes the Philippines is on track to becoming an upper middle-income country. This will allow the country to graduate from being an ODA recipient.
Multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have a graduation policy where countries that have reached a certain level of development will no longer qualify as a recipient of concessional loans, making loans from these institutions expensive.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said in May last year that this was simply the “price to pay” for development. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez said in November that this is the reason the country must maximize the opportunity it has to borrow now at concessional rates.
To date, no country has graduated from ADB assistance, despite the presence of large economies among its developing member- countries (DMCs). However, there are countries classified as having grant-only, concessional and market-based lending.
This classification is based on the per-capita income, economic situation and debt- repayment capacity, among others. These are carefully calibrated such that as DMCs improve their economies, the interest payments they make for loans they secure also increase.
BusinessMirror Envoys&Expats Awards
On Thursday (April 4), this newspaper recognized donor countries, multilateral development banks and bilateral donor agencies for their help and assistance to the Philippines in the many decades it has been a recipient of their generosity.
BusinessMirror Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon said the awards was inspired by his late father, former Ambassador to Lao PDR and BusinessMirror Chairman Emeritus Antonio L. Cabangon Chua.
“The past nearly half a century or so of development cooperation has seen economists, government planners, aid agencies and our foreign government friends, civil society, all whipping up one project after another in an effort to uplift human lives. But it’s only now that we’ve given ourselves a chance to look back and recognize the ones that exemplify our best hopes in what development cooperation an achieve,” Cabangon said in his welcome remarks at the ceremony held at SM Aura in Taguig City.
“The awards are in recognition of the strong and enduring partnerships fostered between the Philippines and a nation or embassy in particular areas of growth. They are also in recognition of specific projects that boost the Filipino people’s aspirations for a truly progressive and developed Philippines,” he also said.
Australia, Embassy of the Year
The top prize of Embassy of the Year was awarded to Australia, a major provider of education grants, including scholarships to thousands of Filipinos.
The Australian embassy also bagged the Embassy Award for education, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) won the agency of the year for the same category.
Based on the 2017 ODA Portfolio Review released by Neda, the Australian embassy is the fifth-largest donor to the Philippines with $648.7 million composed of 60 grants. Australia does not extend loans to the country, only grants.
ODA grants from Australia also had the largest utilization level, second only to the United States with 60.76 percent. The US had a utilization rate of 76.84 percent.
“Our relationship with the Philippines has been longstanding. As I said to the President when I presented my credentials 10 weeks ago, it [relationship] is broad and deep. But that relationship depends on a whole range of work that goes on here with our counterparts across the Philippine bureaucracy and in the embassy. And I’d like to recognize our partners in the Philippines for their outstanding work and their contribution with us and also my colleagues in the mission, particularly the Philippine staff. I’ve worked in lots of missions overseas before, but I’ve never worked with a group of more dedicated, talented people. And its a pleasure to work with them,” Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven James Robinson said in his acceptance speech.
Jica, Development Aid Partner of the Year
Meanwhile, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) was recognized as Development Aid Partner of the Year. It has been a major source of ODA loans and grants for the Philippines.
It also garnered quite a number of category awards, recognition primarily bestowed by the 10 Philippine government departments that partnered with the BusinessMirror for Mission: PHL. Jica won agency of the year for Science, Technology and Innovation; Infrastructure Support; Transportation Infrastructure Support; and Trade and Investment.
“Jica would like to take this opportunity to thank the BusinessMirror, our friends from media, and our partner government agencies for your trust and partnership with Jica all these years. This award inspires us to continue supporting the Philippines in building a future for the next generation of Filipinos. We share this recognition with our friends and partners from government, international community and local communities who are also working make likes better for everyone. Jica truly values our relationship with the Philippines, and we hope to deepen this relationship in the years to come,” Jica Chief Representative Yoshio Wada said.
Japan top ODA source
The Japanese embassy was also recognized as embassy of the year for Infrastructure Support; Transportation Infrastructure Support; Agriculture and Fisheries; and Trade and Investment.
The Japanese government has been the top source of ODA loans and grants for the Philippines for many years. In the 2017 ODA Portfolio Review, Japan, through Jica, provided the bulk of ODA assistance to the country, accounting for 36 percent of the total or $5.33 billion covering 36 loans/grants of the active ODA portfolio.
“This award is such an honor,” Ambassador Koji Haneda said. “This is another accolade validating our collaboration with the Philippine government and steer it to the right direction. We take pride in our partnership with the Philippines.”
Project of the Year: EU model recovery clinics
The project of the year was European Union’s Establishment of Model Recovery Clinics (Voluntary Outpatient-based Medical Treatment Facilities for Drug Users). The clinics are for the non-severely addicted drug users, who form the majority of drug users.
The EU said the key feature of the Recovery Clinic is that drug use is viewed as a chronic relapsing medical disorder to be treated repeatedly, without penalties or prejudice.
Further, the EU said the recovery clinics offer evidence-based drug-abuse medical treatment in a voluntary outpatient setting that preserves human dignity via medical-record privacy and confidentiality protections under Philippine law.
“It’s a great honor to receive this award on behalf of the many colleagues who have worked on the recovery clinics that we tried to establish around the country. For me, it is one of the examples of how we worked very closely, hand in hand, in fact, with the government on the key priority, which is the fight against drugs, and we do that by bringing in European experiences to try to show how we are fighting similar issues in Europe,” EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said in his acceptance speech.
UK, Korea, US, UNDP, World Bank
Apart from these, other embassies and donor agencies recognized by Mission: PHL include the Embassy of the United Kingdom as the Embassy Awardee for Science, Technology and Innovation; Korea for Visit Philippines; the United States for Biodiversity; GEF-UNDP as the agency of the year for Biodiversity; and the World Bank as the agency of the year for Agriculture and Fisheries.
Conceptualized in 2017, Mission: PHL is a corporate social responsibility project of the BusinessMirror in partnership with 10 key government agencies.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes, Nonoy Lacza