Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The government will prioritize the use of the RMB 100 million (P724.16 million) grant from China to fund the construction of drug rehabilitation facilities and procurement of equipment for public security offices.
According to a release from the Department of Finance on Sunday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said, during a two-day Philippine mission to China from January 23-24, they “confirmed” the intention to “avail of the RMB50 million grant for the provision of drug rehab facilities for the Department of Health.”
The remaining half of the grant is intended to procure additional law enforcement equipment for the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to strengthen the government’s war against the drug scourge, Dominguez said.
“The Chinese side has already began a preliminary feasibility study on the drug rehabilitation center and plans to send an expert team to the Philippines,” Dominguez said.
Apart from building drug rehabilitation facilities, Dominguez said they also asked Chinese officials to consider supporting the construction of health centers in rural areas, particularly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) through grant financing.
Agreements and partnerships
According to the DOF release, Dominguez said several agreements were signed with China during Duterte’s visit last year.
Read: Business leaders to bring home at least $13.5 B worth of deals from China
A Memorandum of Understanding on providing financing support to the Philippines in undertaking feasibility studies for big-ticket projects in infrastructure, agriculture, and rural development; and financing cooperation with the Export-Import Bank of China to allow the country to tap China EXIM funds for its major projects.
“The President has recognized the importance of China in the region and he has redirected our economy more towards China and the ASEAN than to the West. I believe that China will continue to lead the world and continue to lead the ASEAN in becoming the engine of global growth,” Dominguez said.
