Sen. Nancy Binay, during Monday’s Subcommittee A hearing, September 9, 2024, on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) observes that some foreign-assisted projects were not finished on time because of lack of funding. Binay stressed that due to the delayed implementation of the projects, international financial institutions imposed commitment fees. DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan explained that the agency has no record of the government's commitment fees to the financial institutions handled by the Department of Finance (DOF). Quoting newspaper reports, Bonoan said the government has already paid $13.97 million in commitment charges. “Maybe the DPWH should no longer seek foreign-assisted projects because apparently we are having a hard time following the timeline that was set by the financial institutions,” Binay said in Filipino. Bonoan said there are completed projects and there are still active projects that
were not charged with commitment fees. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
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