WB wants RP to fund ODA projects

Foreign donors want an assurance from the Arroyo administration of continued budget coverage for foreign-assisted projects in the 2003 budget, saying this commitment is necessary to sustain the improvement in the use of official development assistance (ODA).

Representatives from the donor community met with government officials yesterday to discuss the country’s economic prospects and government’s program of action.

World Bank country director Robert Vance Pulley said the improvement in the country’s ODA utilization is "commendable" but there is a need to sustain this by ensuring continued budget cover.

"Without sufficient budget cover for foreign-assisted projects, the recent acceleration in the pace of ODA implementation would be seriously threatened," Pulley said. "This could adversely affect poverty reduction programs which the overall ODA project program supports."

Budget pressures, according to Pulley, highlight the urgency for the government to quicken the pace of reforms and their implementation.

"Fiscal management, particularly revenue enhancement, continues to be a major economic challenge," Pulley said. "There is a broad donor support for the government’s efforts to address this challenge"

Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho said the World Bank, as well as other development funds, have been increasingly focused on poor countries particularly in Africa, effectively crowding out "middle income" countries like the Philippines.

Camacho said that during the meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Philippine officials called attention to the concentration of attention on the poorest countries and this has taken away development support for countries that, although not destitute, still need external funding in order to sustain their development.

"We’re not exactly desperate for funding but we still need funds," Camacho said. "We said that the World Bank should not forget middle income countries."

The Philippines has been offered to tap the World Bank’s guarantee facility but officials said the government would rather get funding from the World Bank’s general funds than tap a guarantee window.