From facilities troubles to players sleeping on the floor, the Philippines 2019 Southeast Asian Games is turning into a disaster.
Now new reports have came out, claiming that a loan worth RM900 million was taken from a Malaysian firm to fund construction for the SEA Games facilities.
The news came from Opposition Senate Leader Franklin Drilon, who pointed out that there was a deficit in the country budget that amount to P624 billion (RM51 billion). He believes 2.5% of it was used to fund the SEA Games.
When asked about why he thinks the funds for the games was questionable, he said that the Philippines is incurring a loan from an unspecified Malaysian bank. He added that the loan will result in the Filipino government having to pay P2.2 billion (RM180 million) each year for 5 years, totalling up to P11 Billion (RM900 million).
“We are incurring a loan here. Inutang natin ito from a Malaysian bank. That would be payable in five years time at P2.2 billion per year. So that’s a total of P11 billion. So it was financed by borrowing, mind you,” he told reporters.
On the other hand the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), who was responsible for the construction of the facilities, has disputed the claim. They have denied taking loan from any Malaysian lender, stating that they acquired the funds through congress approval.
Furthermore, BCDA also stated their project partner, development firm AlloyMTD, undertook the construction at their own expense. They stated that the developer was only promised to get paid from the government once the facilities was completed, hence, not a single cent was given to them.
Others that were involved like, SEA games chief organizer Speaker, Alan Peter Cayetano, have also spoken out. Adding that the fund used for the games has been used efficiently, so it did not matter whether the funds received was from a loan or not.
So what do you think about Malaysia potentially loaning away RM900 million? Let us know all about it in the comment section below.
