RP MAY GET 3rd US MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE GRANT IF...
[PHOTO AT LEFT - A KALAHI-CIDDS PROJECT IN THE PHILIPPINES]
MANILA, SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 (STAR) By Iris Gonzales - The Philippines might well get another multi-million grant from the US Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) if it makes good use of its $433-million grant for poverty alleviation, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.
�If we live up to our side of the deal, we can work on a third grant five years from now,� Purisima said.
He said the first grant was signed in 2005, during his first stint as Finance chief before the second grant of $433 million was granted by the MCC when President Cory Aquino made the visit to the US.
President Noy Aquino signed the agreement in the US covering the MCC grant last Friday.
According to the MCC, the grant would provide funding for three major projects.
�First, the compact includes $54.3 million in investments to computerize and streamline business processes in the Bureau of Internal Revenue. This project will bolster the effectiveness of revenue collection and reduce opportunities for corruption,� the MCC said.
Aside from this, $120 million would be used to expand the government�s Kalahi-CIDSS project, a community-based, rural development program.
KALAHI-CIDDS, which stands for Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Basic Services, is a government poverty reduction scheme implemented nationwide by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
�This innovative approach to development strengthens local accountability and empowers poor communities to design and drive the projects they need to increase their incomes and improve their lives,� the MCC said.
The third project, the MCC added, would be used to finance the construction and repair of 220 kilometers of Samar Road worth $214.4 million.
�This road, which passes through 15 municipalities, will improve access to markets and services for farmers, fishers, and small businesses in some of the poorest provinces in the Philippines,� the MCC said.
Officials of Eastern Samar vowed to make sure that funds from the $434-million MCC grant intended for their province would not go to waste.
�We will make sure that the money will be used judiciously and with transparency,� Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said.
Evardone noted the MCC has allotted $214.4 million to rehabilitate 222 kilometers of coastal road that connects his province to Western Samar and national road networks.
�This will definitely spur development in our province, which has long been neglected by the national government. The improvement of our main road will boost economic activity and improve the lives of our people. Our dream to have a world-class highway will soon be realized,� he said.
Evardone pointed out the coastal road project would cover 11 coastal towns, including Guiuan, which is fast becoming a favorite tourist destination in the province because of its white beaches.
He added that it was the MCC that decided on the road project and the amount of funds it would allocate to it.
Over the weekend, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said the MCC grant would help contain the budget deficit and contribute to the government�s efforts to pump-prime the economy. � With Jess Diaz
ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORAION (MCC) http://www.mcc.gov/
About MCC The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is an innovative and independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty.
Created by the U.S. Congress in January 2004 with strong bipartisan support, MCC is changing the conversation on how best to deliver smart U.S. foreign assistance by focusing on good policies, country ownership, and results.
MCC forms partnerships with some of the world�s poorest countries, but only those committed to: * good governance, * economic freedom, * and investments in their citizens.
MCC provides these well-performing countries with large-scale grants to fund country-led solutions for reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth. MCC grants complement other U.S. and international development programs.There are two primary types of MCC grants: compacts and threshold programs.
* Compacts are large, five-year grants for countries that pass MCC�s eligibility criteria. * Threshold programs are smaller grants awarded to countries that come close to passing these criteria and are firmly committed to improving their policy performance.
MCC is managed by a chief executive officer, who is part of the nine-member Board of Directors. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the USAID Administrator serve on the board along with four private sector representatives. What is distinctive about MCC?
MCC is a prime example of smart U.S. Government assistance in action, benefiting both developing countries and U.S. taxpayers through:
* Competitive selection: Before a country can become eligible to receive assistance, MCC�s Board examines its performance on 17 independent and transparent policy indicators and selects compact-eligible countries based on policy performance. * Country-led solutions: MCC requires selected countries to identify their priorities for achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Countries develop their MCC proposals in broad consultation within their society. MCC teams then work in close partnership to help countries refine a program. * Country-led implementation: MCC administers the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). When a country is awarded a compact, it sets up its own local MCA accountable entity to manage and oversee all aspects of implementation. Monitoring of funds is rigorous and transparent, often through independent fiscal agents.
What is MCC achieving?
MCC has approved over $7.4 billion in compact and threshold programs worldwide that support country-determined projects in such sectors as:
* agriculture and irrigation, * transportation (roads, bridges, ports), * water supply and sanitation, * access to health, * finance and enterprise development, * anticorruption initiatives, * land rights and access, * access to education.
The aggressive implementation of compacts and threshold programs is promoting growth opportunities, opening markets, raising the standard of living, and creating a more prosperous future for some of the world�s poorest people:
* More than 87,000 farmers have been trained and more than 12,000 hectares of land are under production. * More than 3,362 kilometers of roads are under design, and road construction is underway. * Over $29 million disbursed in agricultural loans.
Philippines Compact
* Program Overview * Kalahi-CIDSS * Revenue Administration Reform Project * Secondary National Roads Development Project
The Millennium Challenge Corporation�s Board of Directors has approved a five-year, $434 million compact with the Government of Republic of the Philippines aimed at reducing poverty through economic growth. The compact is intended to support reforms and investments to modernize the Bureau of Internal Revenue, expand and improve a community-driven development project, Kalahi-CIDSS, and rehabilitate a secondary national road in Samar province.
KALAHI-CIDSS
The Kalahi-CIDSS project will improve lives in rural areas by targeting communities where poverty exceeds the national average for small-scale, community-driven development projects. The project does this through the direct provision of infrastructure and services associated with community-selected and managed sub-projects, strengthened community participation in development and governance activities at the village and municipal level, and improved responsiveness of local government to community needs. The project will build on and support the participatory planning, implementation, and evaluation methodology developed by the Philippines Department of Social Welfare and Development in collaboration with the World Bank.
The project will empower communities to participate fully in development activities, address the needs they have identified and manage assets in a sustainable way. The project will also strengthen the link between community priorities and local governments� development programs and use investments in a transparent manner to promote greater accountability and reduce poverty. The grants for the community sub-projects will be provided directly to the local communities, which are responsible, the procurement of goods and services for their sub-project, and, in most cases, the operation and maintenance of the physical assets. The Department of Social Welfare and Development will implement this project, overseen by a National Steering Committee that includes representatives from government departments and NGOs, and in collaboration with local governments.
REVENUE ADMINISTRATION REFORM PROJECT
The Revenue Administration Reform Project addresses the need to raise tax revenues and reduce tax evasion and revenue agent-related corruption. A key constraint to economic growth in the Philippines is the lack of growth enhancing investments in public goods such as infrastructure and social services. This project will focus on increasing the efficiency and sustainability of revenue collection through a redesign and computerization of business processes. The project will narrow the gap between potential and actual collections by reducing the discretion of individual tax and customs collection officers, and help improve the predictability and impartiality with which revenue laws and regulations are enforced. Some of these activities are extensions of the Philippines� threshold program activities that concluded in May 2009.
SECONDARY NAITONAL ROADS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
The Secondary National Roads Development Project is designed to reduce transportation costs through the rehabilitation of an existing 222 kilometer road segment. By bringing about savings in vehicle operating costs and time for both passengers and goods, and by reducing road maintenance costs, the investment will increase commerce in and between the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar, and ultimately increase incomes.
The project will incorporate enhanced safety measures in the final road designs including paved shoulders, construction of sidewalks and curbs where pedestrian activity is higher, improved gateway treatments to indicate where lower speeds are required, and increased use of road narrowing, median islands, and traffic humps to slow traffic speeds.
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