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Senators back Duterte call to review all government contracts

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Several senators on Wednesday concurred with President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s directive to review all existing contracts entered into by the Philippine government with private entities, multilateral agencies, or foreign countries.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/02/19/duterte-orders-review-of-all-govt-contracts">Duterte orders review of all gov&#x27;t contracts</a></li></ul>In a press briefing Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte &quot;instructed all agencies to check and review all contracts entered into and remove onerous provisions that might be detrimental to the lives of the Filipinos.&quot;Duterte gave the order amid concern over the country&#x27;s loan agreements with China to bankroll dam and irrigation projects. Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said patrimonial assets were offered as collateral in the country&#x27;s loan agreements with China for the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/23/19/carpio-china-could-seize-gas-in-reed-bank-if-ph-unable-to-pay-loan">Chico River Irrigation</a> and <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/28/19/carpio-warns-ph-china-deal-on-kaliwa-dam-also-offers-patrimonial-assets-as-collateral">Kaliwa Dam</a> projects. In a statement released Wednesday, Sen. JV Ejercito said the President was &quot;simply doing his job.&quot;&quot;I think that President Duterte is simply doing his job to protect the interest of the nation. In particular, the review should focus on concessionaire agreements in water and power—important utilities that impact the daily lives of our people,&quot; Ejercito said. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had earlier said that priority contracts up for review include concession agreements on public utilities and foreign loan contracts.Ejercito said the review must be &quot;transparent and fair&quot; to avoid potential negative impacts on investments. Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said if onerous contracts are discovered, those responsible for the deals should be held accountable.&quot;It should not stop there [at the review]. Those responsible for tying us up with onerous contracts which are obviously grossly disadvantageous to the government should be made accountable and made liable,&quot; Lacson said in a statement. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, for his part, cautioned the government against rescinding live contacts as it would &quot;tarnish&quot; the Philippines&#x27; reputation among potential investors. &quot;[T]he review should not be meant to rescind live contracts. Reneging on contracts will tarnish the reputation of the our country in terms of attracting potential investors and the much needed FDIs (foreign direct investments],&quot; Gatchalian said, while agreeing that a &quot;thorough and systematic review&quot; should be done. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon meanwhile said the &quot;power to review must not be used to harass.&quot;&quot;I must caution that existing and binding contracts cannot simply be classified as onerous and unilaterally cancelled. The government must avail of the procedure outlined in the contract,&quot; Drilon said in a statement.

While senators agree that a review of all government contracts is beneficial, some cautioned that it should be done with "transparency" and "must not be used to harass."

While senators agree that a review of all government contracts is beneficial, some cautioned that it should be done with "transparency" and "must not be used to harass."