JDV: 90 political parties in Asia endorse RP’s debt-for-equity proposal

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. reported yesterday that 90 political parties from 36 Asian nations have endorsed the Philippines’ debt-for-equity proposal for heavily indebted countries.

Leaders of these political groups made the endorsement in the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), which held its 4th assembly in Seoul last week.

De Venecia, who is ICAPP’s founding president and three-time chairman of its standing committee, and several congressmen attended the Seoul conference. Today, he is scheduled to open a big parliamentary assembly in Cebu City.

"If finally approved by creditor-countries and lending institutions, our debt-for-equity proposal will benefit many poor countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, including the Philippines," he said.

President Arroyo and De Venecia presented the proposal to world leaders attending a United Nations conference in New York City in September last year. The Speaker later went to nearby Washington, D. C. to meet with officials of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to push for debt relief for nations mired in debt.

The idea has won endorsement from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and some leaders in Europe, though it has failed to catch fire.

Under the country’s debt-for-equity proposal, a borrower-nation would pay its debtor only half of its programmed annual debt payments.

The money the borrower gets to keep would be invested in poverty-alleviation projects to be chosen by the debtor, who would exercise oversight functions over the use of its withheld debt payments to prevent misuse and corruption.

De Venecia said the proposal would free up billions in internal funds that would otherwise go to debt payments and which heavily indebted countries could use for development projects.

In the case of the Philippines, the proposal could unlock at least $2 billion in annual debt service funds.

De Venecia said he also won ICAPP approval for his proposals for a standby relief fund for disaster management and emergency response in the wake of calamities in the region, and an Asian anti-poverty fund.

Also approved were the Japan-inspired Asian Monetary Fund and the creation of an interfaith council in the UN to promote, organize and coordinate interfaith dialogues.