Catholics in Bacolod Diocese in the Visayas region have cautioned the Philippine government against accepting China’s aid to help victims of Super Typhoon Rai.
Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian on December 22 offered US$1 million as cash aid and 4,725 tons of rice to the typhoon-hit Southeast Asian country.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte accepted the aid and thanked the Chinese government.
The San Lorenzo Ruiz group, comprising representatives from various parishes in the region, said the Philippine government must scrutinize if there were any “strings attached” before accepting Chinese aid.
“The country is in need of money because we are still recovering from the pandemic. Now a natural calamity has hit us. But this does not mean we should put our defenses down while accepting these big donations,” the group said in a Facebook post on Dec. 23.
They further said the Duterte government must exercise caution to avoid falling into a debt trap like fellow developing nation Bangladesh, whose 6.81 percent external debt is now Chinese money.
“Let us be careful because all this could lead us towards a debt trap. These donations may lead to debts later on. Everyone must look at this deal because the million dollars may be a donation but the succeeding millions, if any, would be in the form of debt,” the group added.
The Chinese ambassador said the cash was allocated by the Chinese government for relief and recovery efforts by the Philippine government in badly hit provinces such as the Surigao, Siargao and Dinagat islands in the Visayas region.