THE Philippines will not fall into a debt trap despite the billions in loans it wants to get from China, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said Thursday. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto PerniaPernia did not mention the interest on any of the loans from Beijing. The Investment Coordination Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority was earlier designated as the clearing house for proposed investments from China. The Philippines plans to spend P8.2 trillion or about $167 billion on infrastructure projects may sink the country deeper into debt, mostly through foreign loans funded through China’s Belt and Road initiative. “Dutertenomics, fueled by expensive loans from China, will put the Philippines into virtual debt bondage if allowed to proceed,” said Anders Corr, founder of Corr analytics.

Source: The Standard July 20, 2017 15:56 UTC