South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has ordered an immediate halt of funding for an infrastructure project in the Philippines. He said there were corruption issues and mismanagement in the P28 billion bridge project.
In his statement, Lee said the project is a “deceptive business” and it is good that it has not yet started so no money from the country has been spent. He added that the media has played a crucial role in exposing the truth and preventing corruption.
The project aims to build 350 modular bridges in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to facilitate the delivery of agricultural products by farmers. But according to South Korea, the chances of success are low because it is difficult to manage so many locations.
It was also revealed that a local company in the Philippines involved in the project was previously involved in expensive contract and poor construction in the previous bridge project. Because of this, fears of possible corruption have grown stronger.
Meanwhile, the Department of Finance clarified that no such P28 billion loan has been agreed upon between the Philippines and South Korea. They added that the government remains committed to transparency and accountability in all agreements.
