Int'l funding agency to suspend loan to DAR?

The Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) may suspend a $14.79-million concessional loan to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for the implementation of the Western Mindanao Community Initiatives Project due to perception that the funds are allegedly being used for political purposes.

Highly confidential documents obtained by The STAR revealed that the heart of the problem lies in the way the non-government organizations (NGOs) involved in the project are being chosen.

IFAD believes that Agrarian Reform Secretary Horacio Morales has plans of running for the Senate in 2001 and that in order to organize his campaign, he is allegedly organizing NGOs favorable to him.

Morales, however, described the perception as baseless, denying that he is running for the Senate and stressing that the DAR chose NGOs which are capable of carrying out the project.

Besides, Morales said he has existing NGOs and "does not have to organize" new groups.

The IFAD concessional loan was approved on April 29, 1998 and is being implemented by the DAR as the lead agency. Some components of the project are being handled by the regional offices of the Department of Agriculture.

The documents quoted Brian Baldwin, IFAD project manager for the Philippines, as saying that IFAD may possibly suspend the loan due to some problems it sees in the way the project is moving and being carried out.

Baldwin claims that IFAD, in consultation with the DAR, had agreed on the criteria in evaluating NGOs that will take part in this project.

Based on these criteria and evaluations, IFAD came out with a list of acceptable NGOs. However, the DAR came out with its own list of NGOs which IFAD believed are not capable and appropriate.

To double-check its choices, IFAD asked the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to make its own evaluation and the latter reportedly came out with similar conclusions.

IFAD officials are inclined to suspend the loan unless changes are introduced, the documents revealed.

Morales, however, said the problem on the selection of NGOs is "normal" and "happens everytime," which in this case, can be ironed out with IFAD.