DOF Says Marcos Admin Will Revisit Railway Projects

The current Marcos administration is planning on checking three prospective loans from China for railway projects if these would still be possible despite the previous Duterte administration halting the application.

Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno stated that “The new administration can revisit the projects,”. He also adds that “If found worthwhile, it may choose to restore the loan application, if funding is still available.”

Secretary Diokno was previously the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor during the Duterte administration. When asked about issues with Chinese financing pledges and if this had been slow despite former President Duterte’s close ties with Beijing, Secretary Diokno did not comment.

Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez has said that former DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III withdrew the country’s Chinese loan application for the Philippine National Railways (PNR), South Long-Haul projects, and the Mindanao Railway.

During former President Duterte’s last month in office, a total of 2.3 billion renminbi or around ₱17.4 billion pesos was borrowed from China to finance a bridge between Samal Island and Davao City.

The loan given by the Chinese government to the Duterte administration was its first official development assistance (ODA) and was given in Chinese currency. Previously, China’s loans were denominated in US dollars since the Philippine government wanted comparable interest rates and parity with ODAs from other countries like South Korea and Japan.

The proposed Chinese loan was given an interest rate of 2% annually, payable in 20 years, with a seven-year grace period.

All in all, the previous Duterte administration loaned ₱1.1 billion from China.

Source: Inquirer