MCC OKs $434-million development grant for RP

WASHINGTON – At long last, success.

Almost seven years after it first applied for assistance from the Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC), the Philippines finally got a $434-million development grant from the innovative US foreign aid program to reduce poverty through economic growth.

In a press statement on Thursday, the MCC Board of Directors said it approved the multimillion grant to the Philippines spread over five years for a road rehabilitation project, a rural development program and to computerize and streamline the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

“Congratulations to the people and government of the Philippines for tackling difficult challenges to create tangible opportunities for growth and prosperity,” said MCC chief executive officer Daniel Yohannes.

“The Filipinos have articulated a clear vision to improve the quality of their lives through a technically, environmentally, and socially sound plan. I am confident that the country’s ongoing commitment to positive reforms, accountability and transparency, and the timely implementation of the compact will deliver tangible results, “ he said.

“Today’s (Thursday) decision by the MCC Board of Directors, chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, marks a vote of confidence in the Aquino administration and its commitment to confront corruption. The MCC grant will support President Aquino’s efforts to reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth, combat corruption, and ensure a better future for all Filipinos,” US ambassador Harry Thomas said in Manila.

“We look forward to signing the final agreements in the coming weeks, and getting to work as soon as possible,” he said.

Philippine ambassador to the US Willy Gaa said the approval of the compact or grant agreement reaffirmed the country’s “high capacity as an MCC partner.”

He expressed the Philippine government’s appreciation to the MCC and its Board of Directors “for their invaluable support to developing countries like the Philippines to strengthen democracy, reinforce the rule of law, and liberalize their economies.”

Since it was set up in January 2004, the MCC has granted over $7 billion to 20 compact partner countries for programs focused on promoting food security, strengthening human development, building infrastructure, securing land rights and championing gender equality.

Embassy sources said the compact will likely be signed around the third week of September at the MCC headquarters in Washington by either Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo or Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima with possibly President Aquino witnessing the ceremony.

Mr. Aquino is expected to attend the UN General Assembly opening in New York and before returning home he may make his first official visit to Washington for a one-on-one meeting with President Barack Obama that could determine Philippine-US relations well into the next decade.

While the grant comes at a good time for Aquino it was during former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s watch that most of the heavy lifting was done to comply with MCC’s standards in the areas of just and democratic governance, economic freedom and investment in social welfare.

The $434-million compact provides funding for three major projects: the $54.3-million computerization and streamlining of business processes in the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the $120-million expansion of the Kalahi-CIDSS, a community-based, rural development program that empowers poor communities to design and drive the projects they need to increase incomes and improve lives; and the $214.4-million construction and repair of 220 kilometers of Samar Road which passes through 15 municipalities. –-Jose Katigbak / STAR Washington Bureau (The Philippine Star) with Pia Lee-Brago