Malacañang is surprised over reports that France has blacklisted the
Philippines as one of the "non-cooperative states" in investigating
foreign aid fraud.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the Finance
department is getting more information on it, adding that the matter was
not mentioned in instances when the Philippines was working with the
French government on "several initiatives" in the finance sector.
"We'd like to get the scope of the factors that they considered when
it came to that particular conclusion because some donations
particularly for foreign aid, hindi naman po 'yan din lahat sa
government binibigay. There are NGOs that also are the recipients of
grants… So we'd like to get muna the universe of what was considered
before we respond to it," Valte said.
An Agence France-Presse report said France has drawn up a blacklist
of 17 countries including Switzerland that do not help investigate
foreign aid fraud, banning the use of their banks to help distribute
development funds.
Aides to development minister Pascal Canfin were unable to say how
much French foreign aid currently transits via banks in the countries
featured on the new blacklist.
The blacklist expands on an already-established register of eight
"non-cooperative states and territories" that already includes Botswana,
Brunei, Nauru, Guatemala and the Philippines.
The officials justified the move by saying there was a lack of transparency in the nations on the list, adding that poor and developing countries were often the main victims of fraud.
"The aim is primarily preventative, to put pressure on these countries by publicising this list to progress towards more transparency," they said.
