(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday stood by his earlier pronouncement the Philippines will no longer accept grants from the European Union.
In a speech at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Taguig, Duterte said this was because the aid comes with strings attached.
He said for instance, when they offered an amount, “i-specify nila na para ito sa Bureau of Fire kasi magbigay sila ng truck. Pero, gusto nila bilihin mo ‘yung truck sa kanila.”
He said once the money is given, it becomes part of public funds.
This means that public biddings have to be conducted.
“I’m cursing them (the EU) because they do not know how to respect sovereignty. We need aid but if it’s like that, you are taught how to do it … that’s pedantry,” he added.
He said this was the reason why he rejected the United Kingdom’s bid to supposedly help.
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said no new monetary offer had been made by the European country, but Duterte noted that the offer was indeed about to be made.
‘I’ll tell the people, we should bear it. We’re poor,'” he said, noting that it was “very stupid” for some to see the monetary offers “as if (they were) a matter of survival for the country.”
