No decision yet on PH’s MCC aid eligibility

Molly Koscina (Photo: Molly Koscina/Twitter)

MANILA — The country’s slip on some areas in the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) scorecard for the fiscal year 2018 does not mean the Philippines is ineligible to receive grants, United States Embassy in Manila on Saturday night said.

“A decision has not been made regarding the Philippines’ eligibility at this time. MCC’s Board of Directors makes eligibility determination using a variety of supplemental information,” Molly Koscina, press attache of the US Embassy said in an email.

“If a country fails the scorecard, MCC closely examines the reasons why,” she said, adding this information is then provided to MCC’s Board in making its eligibility determinations.

On November 2, MCC fiscal year 2018 scorecard noted that the country received a passing score on effective governance, implementation of freedom of information but lagged in controlling corruption and ensuring rule of law.

According to Koscina, MCC used the “Control of Corruption” indicator produced annually by the Worldwide Governance Indicators group at the World Bank.

She explained that the indicator is comprised of a range of different sub-sources from different indicator institutions that look at the aspect of corruption and that the Control of Corruption data released in September 2017 “covers the event of 2016.”

“MCC is closely examining these sub-sources to understand what may have accounted for the failure,” she said.

After its release, the Department of Finance expressed confidence that MCC will consider latest government efforts against corruption and its adherence to rule of law.

Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has pointed out that “the Philippines remains firmly committed to the rule of law and strictly adheres to due process.”

“The President has also made clear that his platform of government will be based on zero tolerance for corruption in government,” he said in a recent statement.

“In its first year in office, the Duterte Administration has actually been relentless in the campaign against corruption in government,” Dominguez stressed.

As per Koscina, the MCC’s Board meeting is scheduled this coming December. (PNA)