SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House Bill No. 764 4

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to require the publication in two (2) national newspapers of
general circulation within one (1) month after the signing of any foreign aid
agreement

Foreign aid has been defined as the intemational transfer of public funds in
the form of loans or loans and grant either directly from one government to another
(bilateral assistance) or indirectly through the vehicle of multilateral assistance like
the World Bank.

The Philippines is a perennial recipient of foreign aid but even with such
assistance, the country’s development is still lagging behind those of many other
nations in Southeast Asia. This simply reflects the unrealized supposed benefits of
foreign aid. Among the reasons for the dismal result include poor institutional
development, corruption, inefficiencies and bureaucratic failures in the developing
countries.

Primarily, however, the lack of transparency in the disclosures of foreign aid
granted to the country and the supposed beneficiary of the same is perceived as one
of the main causes of the wastage in foreign aid. Even a NEDA study shows that the
capacity of the Philippines to meet commitments based on the Paris Dectaration on
Aid Effectiveness by 2010 is “disturbing.” The Paris Declaration is an international
agreement endorsed by more than 100 ministers, heads of agencies and other senior
officials on March 2, 2005. It commits the signatories to increasing efforts in
harmonization, alignment and management of foreign aid, including official
development assistance (ODA), using a set of actions and indications that can be
monitored. Of the nine indicators mentioned in Paris Declaration, the Philippines has
0 far achieved the 2010 target for only one indicator, that of coordinated capacity
development.

‘Considering the present allegations of misuse or non-use of foreign aid, it is
high time that the goverment shows transparency in the utilization of foreign aid.
This bill, requiring publication of the foreign aid agreement upon its signing is a step
in this direction.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is eamestly sought.

}

MAXIMO B. RODRIGUEZ, JR.


‘SEVESIXTEENTH CONGRESS)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representative Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr.

House BillNo. _'27644

AN ACT
REQUIRING THE PUBLICATION OF ANY FOREIGN AID AGREEMENT WITHIN
ONE MONTH AFTER THE SIGNING THEREOF IN TWO NATIONAL
NEWSPAPERS OF GENERAL CIRCULATION

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Any agreement on foreign aid, whether loan or loan and grant, shall be
published within one (1) month after the signing thereof in two (2) national
newspapers of general circulation. The publication shall include the agreement itself,
the country or organization which is the source of the foreign aid, the amount
involved, the beneficiaries thereof, the project or program covered, and the
conditional ties attached thereto.

SEC. 2. The Director General of the National Economic Development Authority
(NEDA) shalll be responsible for the publication mandated by this Act.

SEC. 3. Any agreement on foreign aid which does not comply with the provisions of
this Act shall be of no force and effect and shall not bind the government to the terms
of the agreement nor shall be goverment be bound to pay the amount of the
obligations covered therein.

‘SEC. 4. Within sixty (60) days after the effectivity of this Act, the Director General of
the NEDA shall issue rules and regulations that may be necessary to implement the
provisions of this Act.

SEC. 5. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances,
inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official
Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,