MANILA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines has suspended the negations for two loans from France and Germany, who backed a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution against the Philippines, the country's finance chief said on Wednesday.
Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez told a Senate inquiry about the suspension of negotiations on the 21 million euros from France for the bus rapid transit and the 46 million U.S. dollars funding for climate change studies from Germany.
Dominguez said the finance department has already found a substitute for the French project. "So that is no trouble ... We can get very similar terms from a multilateral agency," he said.
He added the government is now looking for funding substitute for the German loan.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the suspension of negotiations for or signing of all loan and grant agreements with 18 countries that voted to approve a UNHRC resolution calling for an investigation into the spate of killings related to the Philippines' war on illegal drugs.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo confirmed on Monday that the Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, issued the memorandum on Aug. 27, 2019, directing the executive department to suspend negotiations for and signing of all loan and grant agreements with the governments of the countries that co-sponsored and/or voted in favor of the Iceland resolution."
The memorandum was circulated to all department secretaries and heads of agencies, government-owned and/or -controlled corporations as well as government financial institutions.
The memorandum read in part that, "In light of the administration's strong rejection of the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council, all concerned officials are directed to suspend negotiations for and signing of all loan and grant agreements with the governments of the countries that cosponsored and/or voted in favor of the aforesaid resolution, pending the assessment of our relations with these countries."
"This directive shall take effect immediately and shall remain effective until lifted by (the Office of the President)," the memorandum added.
A total of 18 of the 47-member council voted in favor of the resolution tabled by Iceland during the 41st session of the UNHRC in Geneva this July. 14 member states voted against the resolution while 15 abstained.
France and Germany were not among the 18 who voted in favor of the Iceland-proposed resolution. However, the two countries supported and sponsored it, requiring UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to prepare a comprehensive report on the human rights situation in the Philippines that will be presented to the council's 44th session.
"And the current negotiations involved not only the countries that voted but the countries that sponsored also. Because not all countries are members of that committee and some of them just actually sponsored. So it's voted and sponsored," he added.
