PHL in talks for loans from other countries — DOF

The Philippines is now in "exploratory talks" with other countries for loans after President Rodrigo Duterte halted negotiations and agreements with 18 countries that backed an investigation into his campaign against illegal drugs.

In a statement released Sunday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said it is now exploring how projects could instead be financed by other countries that did not support the resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

"We are currently in exploratory talks with our bilateral partners on how they can assist the Philippine government in funding the grants that were previously under negotiation but were suspended on orders of the President," Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.

Duterte earlier this month ordered a halt to all negotiations and agreements with 18 countries that in July approved a resolution to compile a comprehensive report on the administration's bloody war on drugs.

The countries that approved the resolution are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Uruguay.

Dominguez last week said the Philippines lost P3.2 billion in foreign loans, including P2 billion for climate change initiatives, following the suspension of negotiations.

For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said the Philippines will not allow visits by the UN to investigate the war or drugs, calling its human rights experts "bastards" who supposedly had already demonstrated prejudice.

Under the campaign against illegal drugs, at least 6,700 people have been killed in what police say were shootouts with dealers who resisted arrest. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News