President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday told foreign aid and loan providers that his administration will not tolerate the wastage of public funds, as his administration backs sweeping investigations into billions of pesos worth of corruption-tainted flood control projects.
The president made the guarantee as he announced major reforms to the guidelines for reviewing and approving foreign-assisted flagship programs and projects of the government.
‘We will not tolerate measurement without action, nor will we tolerate the wastage of public funds,’ Marcos said in his keynote address at the 2025 Philippine Development Forum in Mandaluyong City.
‘No money will be wasted. We will not allow the squandering of the nation’s coffers,’ he told the audience.
The president acknowledged ‘critical bottlenecks and systemic challenges’ that have long hindered the government and its development partners from optimally utilizing the Official Development Assistance (ODA).
According to the chief executive, the Economy and Development Council (ED Council), which he chairs, revised the guidelines of the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) ‘to streamline the process, cut bureaucratic delays, and accelerate public service.’
The president said it was the ‘first comprehensive update in a decade’ to the ICC guidelines.
‘Be assured that we continue to listen to the concerns and recommendations of our development partners. We are determined to go further,’ Marcos noted.
The ICC is one of the eight inter-agency bodies comprising the ED Council co-chaired by the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) and the Department of Finance (DOF).
In a statement issued by DEPDev, among the key changes in the guidelines include raising the cost threshold for locally funded programs and projects to P5 billion, and expanding ICC coverage to include PPP projects.
The guidelines also institutionalize the ICC’s mandatory review of all foreign loan-assisted projects, regardless of loan amount or total cost, while excluding grant-assisted projects, which are reviewed by DEPDev.
According to the department, the new guidelines were designed to ‘encourage the submission of well-prepared, strategically aligned proposals; and promote discipline among implementing agencies to ensure timely and effective project execution.’
‘As we work to ensure that every peso invested by the government delivers maximum value for Filipinos, streamlining the ICC process and clarifying its scope will make project evaluation more rigorous while minimizing delays,’ ED Council vice chair and DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
The department has yet to make public a copy of the revised guidelines of the ICC.
According to the president, the ED Council will also introduce measures to simplify the issuance of special authority, ‘to enable faster mobilization of assistance aligned with national priorities.’
The special presidential authority for government officials to negotiate and sign a foreign loan, guarantee or grant agreement is one of the three requisites for the approval of big-ticket projects funded by ODA loans.
The other two requirements are the ED Council approval and the Forward Obligational Authority by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Marcos made the commitment as he said that the Philippines is projecting itself to transition from lower-middle income to upper-middle-income status by next year.
When this happens, the country’s eligibility for certain ODA may be reduced or eliminated.
Marcos expressed the Philippines’ ‘readiness’ for this transition, but noted that this ‘demands a kind of partnership built on stronger alignment, shared goals and genuine national ownership.’
According to the ODA Portfolio Review Report of the DEPDev, loans and grants received by the Philippines for projects increased by six percent to $39.6 billion in 2024 from $37.3 billion in 2023.
The 2024 ODA portfolio is the highest in a decade, consisting of 92 project loans, 19 program loans and 315 grants.
Japan remained the country’s largest partner, with $13.2 billion in active commitments, supporting 82 loans and grants.
Other key partners include the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and South Korea.
Among the projects that benefited from these loan commitments were the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project, Dalton Pass East Alignment Road Project Phase I, Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project, Metro Manila Subway Project, and Infrastructure for Safer and Resilient Schools Project.