Release of country’s $1-B loan to IMF ‘positive’
-A A +AMonday, July 2, 2012
DESPITE strong opposition and even if the initiative of helping the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is credited to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, nothing can stop the present administration from releasing the $1-billion loan to the IMF.
“Oh, yes. Definitely,” Representative Rufus Rodriguez (2nd district, Cagayan de Oro) told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro Friday when asked how confident he is that the loan is released in no time.
“That will be carried. Majority of the coalition is with the President (Benigno) Aquino,” he added.
Rodriguez said he supports the move as a “payback” to the assistance that the IMF had extended to the Philippines during the country’s hard times.
“I support that because Philippines is a nation that is part of the world. If the world suffers and we do not help, then we will not feel that we have been of help to others. We have to help because if something happens to the European countries where many Filipinos are working, we are also affected. One billion dollars is a loan, not a gift, not a grant. It will be returned with interest,” he said.
“Let us be a member of the committee of nations…that we are a good brother. During our time naman, we had a loan with the IMF and it’s the European countries’ money…the finances are prestige. We have to have a place at the committee of nations,” he said.
“For SMEs (small and medium enterprises), we have already a budget for them. Even the conditional cash transfer, we don’t have a problem with it,” the lawmaker added.
In his speech during the first year anniversary of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines (CCBP) plant in Misamis Oriental last week, Governor Oscar Moreno also lauded Aquino for such program, saying “the Philippines is now a net lender (and not anymore a borrower).”
Arroyo, according to Quezon Representative Danilo Suarez, should get part of the credit for the stable financial condition that enabled the Philippines to grant a loan to the IMF.
“In the case of this loan, credit should go to Arroyo,” he said in a report.
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on July 03, 2012.
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