PH expects fresh grant from US gov’t in 2016

MANILA, Philippines–The United States government is expected to extend a fresh financial grant to the Philippines on the back of the good governance initiatives of the Aquino administration, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

In a statement, the DOF said the board of directors of the US Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) during its recent quarterly meeting in Washington D.C. “announced the [Philippines’] eligibility to develop a proposal for a new compact with MCC.”

In September 2010, the Philippine government and MCC signed a $434-million, five-year “Philippine Compact” grant. This compact, which will be completed in May 2016, was aimed at “reducing poverty and promoting economic growth,” the US Embassy in Manila said.

“In selecting the Philippines, the MCC board of directors highlighted the Philippine government’s efforts toward good governance and improved policy performance in promoting inclusive economic growth as reflected in the recent performance of the country in the MCC scorecard for fiscal year (FY) 2015. The Philippines passed the eligibility requirements of MCC, including the control of corruption indicator,” the DOF said.

MCC’s scorecard system measures a country’s performance vis-à-vis other countries having similar per capita income across 20 indicators under three categories: economic freedom; investing in people; and ruling justly and contributing as basis for eligibility of a country to access compact grants from the US government.

“In the MCC scorecard for FY 2015, the Philippines earned improved scores in rule of law (a jump from 42 percent to 54 percent) and control of corruption (from 46 percent to 61 percent). This, coupled with consistent passing scores in indicators in economic freedom and investing in people (fiscal policy, inflation, regulatory quality, natural resource protection, and child health), earned the Philippines eligibility for a new compact with MCC,” the DOF said.

A separate statement on MCC’s website said the “[Philippine] government has been a strong partner in compact implementation,” hence the selection of the country for a new round of grant “now allows a seamless transition from one compact to the next, and recognizes the Philippines’ strong efforts at policy reform, including its efforts to root out corruption.”

The DOF noted that at present, the Philippines was in the final stage of implementing its first compact grant with MCC.

The three projects supported by MCC’s grant in 2010 were the rehabilitation of roads in the province of Samar under the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Secondary National Roads Development project; Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Revenue Administration Reform project of the DOF’s Bureau of Internal Revenue and Revenue Integrity Protection Service.