EU pledges P2B in devt aid to PHL

The European Union on Wednesday committed around P2 billion in development assistance largely for the health sector and projects in southern Philippines.

 

“The European Union will continue giving grants this year in the amount of P2 billion,”  EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux told reporters during a briefing in Makati City.

 

EU support for governance in the Philippines would continue to be a key element of the funding assistance, said Ledoux.

 

Disbursement of EU aid money in the Philippines reached €110 million or P5.9 billion in 2011, of which 90 percent were direct grants.

 

After Japan, the EU is the Philippines' biggest source of aid money, according to the Organization for Economic and Development Cooperation.

 

Discussions on the EU official development assistance budget for 2014 to 2020 already started, Ledoux  noted.

 

“We need to find ways on how to combine grants with loans. This is an area that we have to work in the future,” he said.

 

Manila should invest in infrastructure development in Mindanao to attract more investments— foreign and local, he added. — VS, GMA News