DFA seeks clarification from South Korea on loan cancellation claims
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday night, September 10, said it is in talks with South Korea to clarify Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s Facebook post citing a Philippine project proposal that Seoul has decided not to fund.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs takes note of the posting on Facebook by the President of South Korea on a project proposal submitted to South Korea for funding,” the DFA said in a statement released September 10.
The DFA pointed to the Department of Finance’s (DOF) earlier clarification that the Philippines has no pending loan application with Seoul for the P28-billion bridge project, which targets to build 350 permanent steel bridges across the Philippines by 2028.
“The Department of Finance has issued its statement on 10 September that there is no existing loan application with South Korea for the stated project,” the DFA added.
The foreign office said it will continue consultations with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea “with a view to clarifying matters.”
The South Korean president on Tuesday announced on his official Facebook page that he had ordered a stop to the loan proceedings for the Philippine bridge project, in response to an investigative report that found it was purportedly revived out of political pressure despite being initially scrapped due to possible corruption.
The post prompted a flurry of clarifications from Manila, where officials said talks on possible funding from South Korea had already been dropped by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), co-implementor of the project, in late 2024.
DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, who says he attended an exploratory meeting with South Korean counterparts in December 2023, said no loan application was filed and that the discussions did not progress.
The DOF likewise confirmed on Wednesday that Manila stopped pursuing South Korean funding last year. The government is now eyeing France to be the funder of the project.
The embassy of South Korea has yet to comment on the matter.
- Latest
- Trending
