In the Bicol region, the city of Naga has become a model for its transparent governance by putting online (“I-Governance”) and making available to constituents information about all services, contracts, transactions, collections, and the names of accountable officials and employees of the city. At the very least, those affected communities and the taxpayers who will eventually shoulder the costs of major public investment projects should be given the opportunity to intervene and have a role in the shaping of the project, before it is approved, not after, as what often happens when they are merely notified during the latter implementation stage.

Still, the most ideal situation is to subject all public investment projects financed thru foreign loan agreements & negotiated by the government with other states and multilateral financial agencies , to Senate ratification. These form the greater bulk of our foreign indebtedness for projects that we hardly even know of or benefit from. We cannot allow a few officials and their families and cronies the privilege of further bleeding our national budget to the crucifix of foreign indebtedness and destitution.

There should be no more secret negotiations for foreign loans that only contribute to our nation’s impoverishment and human underdevelopment. In some Latin American countries, they do not allow foreign loan negotiations in the hands of unaccountable finance officials who are dreaming of eventually joining the World Bank or International Monetary Fund as economists. In some progressive Latin American countries today, foreign loan negotiators include leaders from trade unions, peasant organizations and consumer groups.

There can be no other institutional remedy to this especially in handling international agreements of this nature. NEDA’s Investment Coordinating Committee (ICC), which has the reputation of being so strict in evaluating foreign-assisted projects, is under the Office of the President who appointed its Director General with full cabinet rank. Indeed, they can be very strict and meticulous with line agency projects proposed for foreign assistance. But what if, for a major foreign-assisted public investment project with a foreign government to be financed with loans from its Export-Import Bank, the pressure to approve no matter at what cost to the Filipino people, comes from the appointing power and Commander in Chief? Posted by (Bulatlat.com)

The author is a former Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development of U.P.Manila/PGH who in his official capacity, oversaw the implementation of the largest Spanish overseas development project in the Philippines, the Sentro Ophthalmologico Jose Rizal at the Philippine General Hospital. He is Full Professor in Development Studies and Public Management at the University of the Philippines, former Faculty Regent of the U.P. System. and U.P. Centennial Professorial Chairholder.

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