US dare: Be fit by March 15

By ESTRELLA TORRES
TODAY Reporter


The US has given the Philippines until March 15 to submit a proposal on how it will address fiscal crisis and rampant corruption to qualify for the multibillion-dollar US grant under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).


Clay Lowery, vice president of the MCA Corporation, told members of the Philippine media late Monday that the government has assured the US that fighting corruption is one of its top priorities.


But Lowery stressed: “We are not concerned about talks, they don’t go anywhere.” He said based on his meetings last week with key government officials, he has obtained government commitment to address the two key problem areas—fiscal crisis and graft and corruption.


“There’s commitment, but we want to see if there is performance,” said Lowery.


The MCA is a US$2.5-billion fund intended to assist 83 poor countries to address problems on governance and financial management.


Lowery said 90 percent of the MCA fund is intended for the 17 countries that qualified for this year’s allocation -- Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.


The remaining 10 percent of the MCA funds will then be shared by the Philippines and other countries that were chosen under the MCA Threshold Program.


“We will look at the proposals, and if we agree then we will finance them. The Philippines has to show us that that we could be of assistance in these projects and where we could make a difference,” Lowery said.


He stressed that the Philippines should meet the deadline strictly to be considered for the multimillion-dollar account.


“The fund is supposed to help the threshold countries but there is no guarantee. My advice to the Philippine government is to make its proposal as specific as possible. What we expect in return is solid performance, results and making sure that our money will go where it should,” Lowery added.


Lowery and two other MCA Corp. officials have met with Trade Secretary Cesar Purisima, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Edsel Custodio, finance officials, Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, and representatives from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the National Police and the Armed Forces.


They are set to meet with officials of the Asian Development Bank on Wednesday before returning to Washington.