More compelling reasons, however, lay in new loans dangled by international financial institutions (IFIs), the approval of which depended on the enactment of the proposed measure, said the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC). But what actually caused the delay of the power reform bill was President Estrada’s order to stop the practice of issuing sovereign guarantees when he assumed office. According to FDC, the main architects of power sector reforms were the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Their policy toward power sector reform stemmed from the perspective that developing countries need energy, particularly electric power, for social and economic development. Another indicator of significant international financial institutions’ involvement in power privatization is the role of the ADB whose biggest lending in the Philippines goes also to the power sector.

Source: Manila Times March 15, 2020 16:18 UTC