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This page features the full text of
Republic Act No. 8182
Official
Development Assistance Act of 1996
AN
ACT EXCLUDING OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (ODA) FROM THE FOREIGN
DEBT
LIMIT IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE ABSORPTION AND OPTIMIZE THE
UTILIZATION
OF ODA RESOURCES, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PARAGRAPH 1, SECTION 2 OF REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 4860, AS AMENDED.
REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 8182
AN
ACT EXCLUDING OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (ODA) FROM THE FOREIGN
DEBT
LIMIT IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE ABSORPTION AND OPTIMIZE THE
UTILIZATION
OF ODA RESOURCES, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PARAGRAPH 1, SECTION 2 OF REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 4860, AS AMENDED.
Section
1. Title. — This Act shall be
known as the "Official Development Assistance Act of 1996."
Sec.
2. Official Development Assistance
(ODA). — For purposes of this Act, ODA is a loan or loan and grant
which
means all of the following criteria:
(a) It
must be administered with the objective of promoting sustainable social
and economic development and welfare of the Philippines;
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred(b) It
must be contracted with governments of foreign countries with whom the
Philippines has diplomatic, trade relations or bilateral agreements or
which are members of the United Nations, their agencies and
international
or multilateral lending institutions;
(c) There
are no available comparable financial instruments in the capital
market;
and
(d) It
must contain a grant element of at least twenty-five percent (25%).
Grant
element under this Act is the reduction enjoyed by the borrower
whenever
the debt service payments which shall include both principal and
interest
and expressed at their present values discounted at ten percent (10%)
are
less than the face value of the loan or loan and grant. The grant
element
of a loan or loan and grant is computed at the ratio of (i) the
difference
between the face value of the loan or loan and grant and the debt
service
payments to (ii) the face value of the loan or loan and grant.
Sec.
3. Amendatory Clause. — Official
Development Assistance, as defined in this Act, is hereby excluded from
the application of Paragraph 1, Section 2 of Republic
Act No. 4860, as amended: Provided, That the weighted
average
grant element of all ODA at anytime shall not be less than forty
percent
(40%): Provided, further, That in no case shall the interest rate on
the
loan or loan component exceed seven percent (7%).
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
4. Use of ODA for Equitable Development.
— The proceeds of ODA shall be used to achieve equitable growth and
development
in all provinces through priority development projects for the
improvement
of economic and social service facilities taking into account such
factors
as land area, population, scarcity of resources, low literacy rate,
infant
mortality and poverty incidence in the area: Provided, That
rural
infrastructure, countryside development and economic zones established
under the PEZA law shall be given preference in the utilization of ODA
funds. Towards this end, the National Economic and Development
Authority
(NEDA) shall endeavor to obtain ODA funds from donor countries, which
shall
approximately be five percent (5%) of the total ODA loan from the
immediately
preceding year. Said funds shall be administered by the NEDA for
project
identification, feasibility studies, master planning at local and
regional
levels, and monitoring and evaluation: Provided, further, That ODA
shall
not be availed of or utilized directly or indirectly for the following:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(a) Telephone
programs contracted as of 1 January 1996 except basic telephone
programs
and projects for rural areas not adequately serviced and/or currently
developed
by private enterprises shall be entitled to ODA loan availments;chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred(b) Projects
mandated primarily by law to be served by the private sector; and
(c) Financing
for private corporations with access to commercial credit.
The
NEDA shall ensure that the ODA obtained shall be for previously
identified
national priority projects which are urgent or necessary. ODA shall not
be accepted or utilized solely because of its availability,
convenience,
or accessibility.
Provided,
finally, That the expressed approval of Congress shall be obtained
by the Executive Department prior to the negotiation and implementation
of projects funded from ODA on or after 1 January 1995 as well as those
that have not been finalized.
Sec.
5. Counterpart Funds. — The counterpart
funds necessary to implement each ODA project must be included in the
Annual
Expenditure Program submitted by the President to Congress within
thirty
(30) days from the opening of every regular session. Any request for
funds
to cover cost overruns must be submitted to Congress for
appropriation.cralaw:red
Sec.
6. Mechanism for the Distribution
and Utilization of ODA Funds. — The President of the Republic of the
Philippines,
upon recommendation of the NEDA, shall develop and formulate the
mechanism
for the equitable distribution and utilization of ODA funds to all
provinces
consistent with the provinces consistent with the provisions of this
Act.
Sec.
7. Applicability. — This Act
shall apply to ODA loans and loans and grants contracted on or after 1
January 1995.
Notwithstanding
the exclusion of ODA loans as prescribed in Section 3 hereof from the
debt
ceiling of Ten billion US dollars (US$10B) prescribed in Section 2 of Republic
Act No. 4860, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1939, nothing
contained
in this Act shall be interpreted to mean that whatever ODA loans that
are
within the debt ceiling of Ten billion US dollars (US$20B) can be
substituted
or replaced by non-ODA loans.
Sec.
8. Oversight. — Pursuant to its
constitutional duties, the Executive Department, particularly NEDA, the
Commission on Audit and Congress shall discharge Oversight functions,
to
wit:
(a) The
NEDA shall conduct annual review of the status of all projects financed
by ODA, identify causes of delays, reasons for bottlenecks, cost
overruns,
both actual and prospective, and continued viability, and report to
Congress
not later than June 30 of each year;
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred(b) The
Commission on Audit shall conduct an audit on each ongoing and
completed
project and report to Congress not later than June 30 each year; and
(c) There
shall be a Congressional Oversight Committee composed of the Chairmen
of
the Committee on Ways and Means of both the Senate and the House of
Representatives,
five (5) members each from the Senate and the House representing the
majority
and two (2) members each from the Senate and the House representing the
minority to be designated by the leaders of the majority and minority
in
the respective chambers.
Sec.
9. Continuous Monitoring. — All
concerned implementing and oversight agencies shall submit to the NEDA
all information and reports as may be required by it to review draft
contracts
and to assess the performance of individual ongoing projects as well as
the overall performance of all projects which are funded in whole or in
part by ODA.
chanrobles virtuallaw libraryred
Sec.
10. Report. — It shall be the
duty of the President of the Republic of the Philippines to submit,
within
thirty (30) days after the opening of every regular session, a separate
report to each member of Congress on the amount of ODA loans and grants
incurred under this Act.
Sec.
11. Implementation, Restrictions,
Rules and Regulations. — In the implementation of the projects: (a)
Consultants
for the feasibility and design aspects of the project may not
participate,
directly or indirectly, in any subsequent phase of project
implementation;
(b) Project execution shall not be delegated by the implementing agency
except where the latter does not have the capacity to implement such
project;
(c) In the hiring of consultants, contractors, architects, engineers,
and
other professionals necessary for a project's implementation, Filipinos
shall be given preferences; (d) In the purchase of supplies and
materials,
preference shall be given to Filipino suppliers and manufacturers, so
long
as the same shall not adversely alter or affect the project, and such
supplies
and materials are to the standards specified by the consultants,
contractors,
architects, engineers, and other professionals connected with the
projects;
and (e) ODA projects shall not be exempt from the requirement of first
obtaining an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), or other such
certificates and clearances necessary or required by law for the
purpose
of environmental protection, from the Department of Environment and
Natural
Resources (DENR) or proper government agency, as the case may be.
The
NEDA shall promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) to
implement
this Act within thirty (30) days from its approval.
The
Implementing Rules and Regulations shall take effect five (5) days
after
publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
Sec.
12. Separability. — Provisions
herein which may be declared unconstitutional shall not revoke the
effectivity
and enforcement of other provisions of this Act.
Sec.
13. Repealing Clause. — All laws,
decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations and other issuances
inconsistent
with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
Sec.
14. Effectivity. — This Act shall
take effect after five (5) days from its publication in the Official
Gazette
or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation
whichever
date comes earlier.
Approved:
June 11, 1996
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