UK’s £4.5 B export-import facility available to Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The United Kingdom’s trade department is urging the Philippine government to tap its £4.5 billion export-import facility to help fund the Duterte administration’s unprecedented public investment program.

In a statement over the weekend, the Department of Finance said the UK’s Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III met recently to discuss ways to expand Philippine exports to the UK.

Dominguez told Fox the Philippines is in need of more infrastructure investments, when the latter asked how the UK government could assist the Philippines. This would help the country catch up with its Southeast Asian neighbors, according to Dominguez.

The finance secretary explained the Duterte administration’s focus on reversing the current income inequality between Metro Manila and the countryside by filling the infrastructure backlog  and improving connectivity among the country’s regions.

 “The opportunities are already there. It is just a matter of providing infrastructure. Once you start connectivity, naturally it will attract investments,” Dominguez said.

He also informed Fox of the government’s plans to develop a second international airport, build high-speed trains between Manila and Clark in Pampanga, and possibly connect it to a commuter rail system in the south, along with improving Luzon’s ports to help decongest Metro Manila and encourage investments in the countryside. 

“For regions highly dependent on agriculture, the government will improve existing and build new irrigation systems, among other measures to boost farm productivity, “said Dominguez.

Fox told the finance chief that the Philippines can look into UK’s £4.5-billion export-import facility to explore financing options for its massive infrastructure program.

 “We hope that you can tap this rather under-tapped resource,” Fox said. 

Dominguez welcomed the international trade secretary’s offer and noted that while the Philippine government has been tapping foreign funding sources, it is also planning to implement a comprehensive tax reform program to generate revenues internally for its infrastructure buildup.

He added that the Philippines has been able to further strengthen its bilateral ties with Asia’s economic powerhouses such as Japan and China, as a result of President Duterte’s foreign policy rebalancing. He noted that the two countries have pledged a combined $9 billion in official development assistance and investments.