RP likely to get Millennium Challenge grant next year, Cabinet members say
- Thursday, November 12, 2009, 12:22
- Business, Economy, Miscellaneous
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Two Cabinet secretaries have said that the Philippines is likely to secure a grant from the Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC), a US agency that provides aid to nations committed to good governance.
Secretary Alberto Romulo said on Wednesday that he was certain Manila would achieve its bid for a full compact grant next year after the MCC acknowledged that the Philippines has gained headway against corruption.
The same kind of optimism was also expressed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in Malacañang during the same day.
The country has “a very good chance of getting the compact status from the MCC board which will make a decision come December 9," Ermita said in a separate report.
“We are a little upbeat about this and we hope that mass media will be helpful enough to project that indeed we are doing everything to improve on the criteria given to us by the MCC," he added.
Despite showing below median scores in other indicators such as health and education, the latest MCC report showed that the Philippines had improved its ranking from 39 to 33 in the Control of Corruption (CoC) indicator.
"The improvement in the Philippines’ control of corruption score as a low-income country reflects the institutional and comprehensive fight of the Philippine government against corruption from preventive to punitive measures," Romulo said.
The MCC scoreboard on controlling corruption showed that the country got a passing mark.
The scorecard is the basis of MCC’s five-year compact grants to developing countries, for which the Philippines is eligible to receive some $470 Million in Poverty Reduction Threshold Programs since November 2006.
As proof of the country’s improvement, the DFA said that MCC vice president for compact development Darius Teter signed a memorandum of understanding with Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy Gaa last October 16 in Washington DC.
The agreement allots a separate $5.57 million to further develop the country’s poverty-alleviation projects.
“In every way, the Philippines has been a model partner," Teter was quoted as saying.
The Philippines’ high political commitment to the MCC program has prompted the grant-giving institution to send assessment missions for the past few months to help develop the country’s proposed Compact projects.
Some 30 experts joined the last mission.
On Tuesday, Romulo said that the country would have showed improved performances had it not been elevated to a higher income category.
The World Bank classified the Philippines this year to lower middle-income country category (countries with per capita income greater than $1,785 but less than or equal to $3,705) from last year’s low-income country (per capita income less than or equal to $1,785).
The Philippines is now in the same income group as China, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Although the upgrade stemmed from the Philippines’ improved per capita income, its threshold graft and corruption levels were also adjusted upwards.
Besides indicating the government’s “continued commitment to economic and governance reforms," the upgrade also allows the country to earn bigger grants, Ermita said.
The upgrade may increase the grant to $500 million instead of the initial $350 million, he added.
Tags: Alberto Romulo, Eduardo Ermita, MalacañangRelated posts
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