Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines –The government’s decision to lend $1 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was just so it could get “pogi points,” Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said Thursday.
In an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM, Cruz said the country already has $70 billion in external debt and was “lacking in infrastructure and lacking in livelihood programs.”
“And yet we will give a loan,” Cruz said. “There can be no other reason but to get pogi points.”
He said that it was not wrong to lend money but the country was already putting so much of its budget for external debt payments.
“Are we so rich that we have run out of places where we can put our money in this country?” Cruz asked.
He also wondered if this was just preparation for the upcoming State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Aquino III.