PHL won't accept any foreign aid with conditions —Cayetano

The Philippine government’s new policy of rejecting aid with conditions, such as interfering in the country’s domestic policy on the war on drugs, applies to all donor countries, new Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday.

Cayetano made the remark days after the Philippine government announced that it rejected development assistance from the European Union – a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.

Asked by the media what other states are covered by the aid boycott of the Duterte administration, Cayetano replied: “All countries.”

“We are just telling them very respectfully that we believe in our independence. We know our problems better than you,” Cayetano told reporters in an ambush interview.

“You are welcome here. Let’s do business, but we will not accept aid if there are conditions or if you will interfere,” he added.

Cayetano, however, said the Philippines remained open to receive foreign assistance if there are no “strings attached” imposed by donor states.

“If the aid will help us and if you will help us with our present problems and we could agree on a framework, that can be a different policy,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano said the decision to end EU development assistance - one of the biggest provided to the country, particularly in strife-torn Mindanao - conveys a strong message to Europe that the Philippines is “an independent nation with an independent foreign policy.”

“We have good relations with the EU but it’s going through a rocky period or a roller-coaster ride. We are all in this ride together,” Cayetano said.

The new Foreign Affairs Chief, who was sworn into office Thursday, said he is scheduled to meet with the EU’s envoy to Manila to discuss the issue and iron out some “miscommunication” upon his return from Russia, where he will be accompanying Duterte next week.

Duterte, who bristled at criticisms against his crackdown on illegal drugs, told his critics not to meddle with his domestic policies as he vowed to step up his campaign "until the last drug lord is killed."

The EU, along with the United Nations and the United States, a close ally of the Philippines, have expressed concern on the wave of killings of drug suspects since Duterte came into power on June 30 last year. At least 7,000 have reportedly been killed in the government’s bloody anti-drug war.

While they support the country’s campaign against illegal drugs, the EU, UN and the US maintained that due process and human rights must be observed by Philippine authorities in carrying out its operations. —NB, GMA News