De Lima seeks probe of deal with ‘questionable’ Chinese firms

Senator Leila de Lima. NOY MORCOSO III/INQUIRER.net

Sen. Leila de Lima is seeking a legislative inquiry into the Philippines’ impending deals with Chinese firms that have a history of fraud, aiming to find out whether the projects would entail “tied loans” where contractors choose predetermined suppliers without public bidding.

“We expect these (intended projects) to be foreign-funded by China, the government or any instrumentality or entity of the state, but most likely the contractors and suppliers in these projects would also be Chinese firms. So these could involve tied loans,” De Lima said in a press conference Thursday morning.

“So we have to scrutinize that,” she said.

Subsidiaries of the China Communication Construction Co. (CCCC), a firm barred by the World Bank (WB) for fraudulent practices in 2011, are known to have taken initial steps towards securing contracts for major infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration.

READ: Chinese company banned by World Bank bags PH infrastructure project

Among these firms is the China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC), which has been banned by the WB since 2009 for the rigged bidding of a road improvement project in the Philippines.

Other firms—the China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd. and CCCC Dredging Co.—are meanwhile said to be involved in reclamation activities in the South China Sea, which is under a standing protest by the Philippines given unresolved maritime disputes.

De Lima said that while the government has by far forged a memorandum of understanding, such is already “the first step towards the execution of the appropriate contract.”

READ: BCDA: No deals, just MOU with Chinese firms for studies

De Lima said her resolution is being drafted.

“It’s a work in progress, but we hope to file it by next week,” she told reporters. RAM/rga