Youth group slams giving money to IMF

THE Kabataan Partylist slammed the Aquino Government for lending $1 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help resuscitate the economy of European countries.

Partylist coordinator Carlo Mongaya and Bayan Secretary General Lean Porquia, in collaboration with the militant organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Iloilo City, said giving $1 billion to IMF is the same as taking the poor man’s money to save the rich man.

“We are a very poor country pretending to be rich and we cannot even afford to provide better health, education, and social services to our own people,” Mongaya said.

Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Philippine Central Bank) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. earlier said the Philippines is supporting the global efforts to stabilize the world economy and maintain it on a growth path. This is the reason why the Philippines is extending a $1 billion loan to IMF.

Other Asian countries like Malaysia and Thailand have already made similar financial aid commitments to the IMF.

Tetangco said the loan to the IMF is the Philippines’ way of giving back to the world’s so-called lender of last resort after it helped the country address its financial difficulties in the past. The Philippines had been a net borrower from the IMF for almost 40 years until the country finally settled its loans in 2006 by the administration of then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The money will aid the economy of Eurozone countries such as Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain.

Mongaya said rich and industrialized European countries like Germany, France, UK, and Italy are capable of resuscitating the crisis felt all over Europe. Instead, the IMF turned to poor countries whose debts are even worse than those intended for the fundraising. (Lydia C. Pendon/Sunnex)