Philippines stands to lose 12-M euros in aid

The Philippines stands to lose around 12 million euros (P816 million) in aid for Mindanao if a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is not signed by 2005.

Jan De Kok, head of the European Commission Delegation to the Philippines, in a forum with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines in Makati City on Tuesday, said that their contribution to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for conflict areas in Mindanao is dependent on the signing of a peace agreement.

De Kok said that the European Union has a funding cycle covering the period from 2002 to 2004 and a new one for 2005 to 2006 so the allocation of funds for specific purposes has to be committed "before a certain time."

"In our case, if by the end of 2005 we would not have been able to commit that 12 million, we would need to seriously look at alternatives to use that money for other purposes for the Philippines, otherwise we run the risk that the money will be taken away and used elsewhere in the world," De Kok said.

"There is a little bit of time constraint. The government is aware of that," he added.

However, he explained that the funding is not necessarily lost for the Philippines if the commitment fails to make it on time since it could still look for an alternative use for the funds.

De Kok said that the EU is already doing a lot of things in Mindanao as part of their support for the development of the region.

He said that the EU is very interested in seeing sustainable peace in Mindanao, thus the commitment to provide the 12 million euros.

"In order to participate in the larger multi-donor trust fund, we have set a condition saying we would want to see a certain peace agreement reached," De Kok said.

The oversight committee for the multi-donor trust fund for conflict areas in Mindanao has already been meeting in anticipation of a successful resumption of the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF.

The committee is chaired by the World Bank with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the Bangsamoro Development Authority (BDA) as co-chairs.

The BDA was designated by the MILF as its representative in the oversight committee which will be assessing the needs of the communities situated in conflict areas in Mindanao.

"So we’re making sure that all the preparatory work will happen now. We’re trying to close the gap between a peace agreement and the peace dividend," Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said in an earlier interview.

Deles said that most of the European countries will be contributing to the fund except the United States, which, through the US Agency for International Development, has already committed an initial $30 million for the rehabilitation of Mindanao as part of the peace process.