Left tells gov’t: Seek debt relief, not new loans

DAVAO CITY—Militant lawmakers on Saturday maintained that the government should not take the $1.5-billion loan being offered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank and instead ask for debt payment relief.

Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said the write-off of debt payments for this year would give the government ample funds and time to rehabilitate areas recently ravaged by natural calamities.

This year’s budget for servicing the government’s P2-trillion total foreign borrowing is pegged at P333.9 billion.

In a joint statement sent to the Inquirer, Colmenares and Zarate said acquiring new loans would only increase the country’s budget for debt payment.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan was quoted by some reports as saying that the government “wanted to take advantage of the available cheap financing being offered to the Philippines to help the affected regions recuperate.”

“The plan of the government to take the loan will only worsen the situation and increase the misery of our people,” Colmenares said.

Zarate said the debt write-off “would be far better than taking the loan because we would not incur more debts.”

“[Foreign debts] would in fact be reduced especially if the lending agencies write off the interest payments,” he said.

The two militant lawmakers said a write-off would result in more funds because P339.9 billion would translate to over $7.5 billion.

Colmenares said another reason the government should reject the ADB offer was that “a lot of funds [are available] in the current budget, which is enough for rehabilitation.”

These, he said, included P80 billion in debt management funds, P30 billion in risk management funds and P132 billion in funds from the government share in the Malampaya gas project in Palawan.

Zarate said ADB and the World Bank should show real concern for survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” by not pushing the Philippines deeper in debt.

“If they insist on the loan offer, then it is not aid that they are offering,” he said. Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao