‘Agile present in 14 government offices’

The United States-funded Accelerating Growth, Investment and Liberalization with Equity (Agile) project group has presence in at least 14 key government agencies, Agile officials told the Senate yesterday.

Agile chief of party Ramon Clarete said his group, which is financed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), provides technical assistance to these agencies only upon their request.

"We are a technical assistance agency," Clarete said of Agile. "We do not make (government) policies, but we do provide policy options (to government agencies)," he said.

Clarete identified only 10 of the 14 agencies he said were availing themselves of the technical assistance offered by Agile, as he could not remember the four other offices serviced by Agile.

Clarete said government agencies that have sought technical assistance from Agile include the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

Clarete said the technical assistance extended by Agile to these agencies is designed to promote Philippine interests. Should the country’s interests conflict with the interests of the US, Clarete said, "we side with the Philippines."

Senators Joker Arroyo and Sergio Osmeña III, however, cited the open skies policy that Agile is pushing and which would benefit US airlines and put the local airline industry at a disadvantage. They said Agile even engaged in a media campaign to rally support for the open skies policy.

Opposition Senators Tessie Aquino-Oreta and Vicente Sotto III accused Clarete of lobbying for the passage of the optical media bill without telling them he is working for a US government-funded project.

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. said he was bothered by the fact that most of the bills Agile supported benefit American and other foreign businessmen.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said it was clear that Clarete and his colleagues, who are mostly American citizens, are engaged in more than just helping several government agencies in policy formation.

"Let us accept that they are promoting American interests," Drilon said of Agile.

The senators also discovered that Agile "agents" had penetrated their milieu without their knowing it.

Osmeña said some technical experts helped him craft the law liberalizing retail trade in the country, "but they did not tell me they were working for Agile."

On the other hand, Sen. Robert Barbers said the public order and security committee he chairs would gladly receive technical help from Agile.

Senator Manuel Villar Jr., for his part demanded the identities of the 99 consultants working for Agile. "Our legislators are only presented with one side of the story. Lawmakers are not even aware of who are the members of Agile. (Legislators) should know who among the resource persons are working for Agile because they give the impression to legislators that their positions are correct," he said.