Philippines turns down foreign aid to ‘concentrate on rebuilding Marawi’

foreign aid

The Philippines has withdrawn its application for aid from a US-based agency to focus its resources and attention on rebuilding Marawi City.

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“We have opted to withdraw from the second Millennium Challenge and this is because of the urgent priority of the administration to rebuild Marawi,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a Malacañang briefing today (Tuesday, December 19).

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which was created by the US Congress in 2004, is an independent US foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty.

The first MCC compact — or grant — amounting to $434 million, came into force from May 2011 to May 2016.

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Roque said that the first compact was responsible for the implementation of secondary national road development projects; the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services; and Revenue Administration Reform Project of the Department of Finance.

However, he also pointed out that funding for projects under the MCC compact were complemented with counterpart funds – funds that could be re-allocated for the “costly rebuilding” of Marawi City.

“We have to earmark funds also because these are projects with counterpart funds and, of course, this will also focus on previously identified projects. And we have decided that our resources and our priority will be the rebuilding of Marawi for the time being,” Roque said.

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He said that the Philippine government hopes that its decision to temporarily withdraw from the MCC would not be taken against it by the US government, which it had earlier invited to offer continuous support and assistance for the reconstruction of Marawi.

“We are confident that the US government fully understands the decision to reallocate our funding priority for this year and that this will not, in any way, adversely impact our eligibility for another round of compact assistance in the future because it calls for counterpart financing as well,” Roque said.