Events
FAM | CAMPAIGNS AT THE AGM  | REGIONAL MEETINGS  | WORKSHOPS & CONFERENCES  | SKILLSHARING

Policies of Plunder of the Anti-Development Bank!
36th ADB Annual Meeting, June 2003, Manila, Philippines

Street Protests Greet ADB Annual Meeting – "Business Only"

While the Asian Development Bank held its “Business Only” meeting from 10:30 to 12 inside their headquarters on ADB Avenue June 30, hundreds of protestors lined the streets voicing their opposition to the policies of the Manila-based institution.

The groups, which included the Philippine Working Group on ADB (spearheaded by Freedom from Debt Coalition), Asian Labor Network on IFIs-Philippines (ALNI/P) and the Akbayan party, among others, demanded an end to policy and project loans of the Asian Development Bank which have devastated the Philippines and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. Of particular concern to Philippine groups is the involvement of the ADB in failed privatization projects including the water utility in Manila, where one of the private concessionaires, Maynilad/Ondeo, has pulled out of the project. Groups are also outraged at the high prices of electricity brought about by the ongoing restructuring of the power sector attached to a US$300-million policy-based loan of the Bank.

While the protests were mainly peaceful, the presence of police was felt throughout the day. Protesters were not allowed to gather near the ADB Headquarters in Manila, where the Bank's meeting was taking place. Police guarding the ADB main gate and a fire truck blocked their way; as a result, protesters lined up at three different places surrounding the ADB. As the crowds prepared to move to the site of the luncheon hosted by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the nearby Shangrila Edsa Hotel, the police blocked them in and began a shoving match. The match lasted over half an hour; fortunately, no one was injured or arrested. Freedom of expression was a casualty on that fateful day.

ADB Annual Meeting in Manila

Related News

Asian Development for Whom?
The Philippine Working Group on the ADB
FORUM Statement on 2003 ADB Annual General Meeting
Sins in the Corridors of Power
ADB Meets with Street Protesters
ADB Reports Stronger "Partnerships" to Fight Poverty

Related Documents

Oil Palm Plantation in PNG, CELCOR, FoE-Australia
Open letter to ADB re Kali Gandaki Dam, Melamchi Water (Nepal), WAFED/June 27
Press Coverage
Public Forum/Program of Policies of Plunder: ADB's Role in the Philippines, 26 June 2003, Manila
ALNI-Philippines: Media War with ADB
 

Asian Development for Whom?
Statement of the Philippine Working Group on ADB, 30 June 2003

We, members of civil society following on the actions of the Asian Development Bank, call on its officials, member country representatives, and other delegates, to refrain from the continued adoption of flawed policies such as the privatization of public utilities and basic services, and the indiscriminate liberalization of the economy.

While the ADB speaks of aiming to overcome poverty and pursue development using their loan facilities, instead in reality it chooses to push policies that embrace competition and profit, to the benefit of developed countries and owners of capital and at the expense of people’s welfare, livelihood, and the destruction of the environment.

Now in its 36th year of existence, the ADB has yet to justify its operations and set itself against the Bretton Woods’ institutions espousing industrial country policies and corporate interests. While developing Asian and Pacific member countries wait to make their pleas heard and their membership count, the unseen truth is that genuine development has been elusive because concern for poor countries was not really there in the first place.

The ADB instead have coalesced with other multilateral organizations, paying lip service to “helping the poor” through poverty reduction programs and sector reform loans. However, this is without catch and developing countries have long been introduced to the routine, courtesy of the World Bank and the IMF, of acquiring the Bank’s goodwill through faithful and most of the time, painful compliance with the instructions.

The Philippines has fallen victim to these conditionalities. After decades of undergoing structural adjustment programs and other prescriptions, the ADB continues with the tradition of adhering to a market-based system of policies and without second thoughts, shoving private sector fundamentalism in all sectors not exclusive to the economy.

The results speak for themselves.

ADB speaks about “water for all” and yet it has supported the privatization of water. Water under privatization became, in business parlance, an economic good, and the only way people could avail them is thru payment. At present, water is four-times the original government price, while quality of service has not changed and at best, has been kept at minimum.

In 2001, the electric power sector suffered the same fate. With ADB funds backing congress and the executive branch, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) was passed which privatizes power generation, supply and transmission altogether.  Since then, power rates have risen to unprecedented levels. This is contrary to claims of private sector efficiency leading to cheaper costs.

Many sectors belonging to the public are also in line for private grabbing. The same with services traditionally given by the government are for contracting. Private sector participation and provision is the policy being run through government, and is peddled as panacea to all problems existing. Adding insult to the injury, the Philippine Government has accepted this diminished role rather conveniently.

The cry for genuine reform calls for a reexamination of the whole privatization and liberalization schema. We have noted many times that the people are being held hostage by these policies. We, therefore, call on the ADB to review and amend its program of operations, stop imposing conditionalities, and specifically cease in promoting the privatization of public utilities and basic services and the indiscriminate liberalization of the economy as part of its market-led strategy.
back to top

The Philippine Working Group on the ADB

Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), Focus on the Global South Philippines, NGO Forum on ADB, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center- Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KSK), Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), Tambuyog Development Center, Southeast Asia Research Institute on Community Education (SEARICE), Action for Economic Reforms (AER), Education Network (E-Net). back to top

FORUM Statement on 2003 ADB Annual General Meeting

We are dismayed to learn that the Asian Development Bank has, in violation of the basic principle of transparency, decided to hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) behind closed doors. While many NGOs and People’s Organizations have put little stock in the advocacy potentials of the AGM, others have lobbied hard to obtain access to this meeting that the ADB has also used to showcase its projects and policies. We are particularly disappointed that after having been in communication with NGOs preparing for the AGM, the ADB merely announced the change on its website with neither apology nor explanation.

Over the years, the ADB has endeavored to show that it is committed to ideals of transparency and accountability by allowing some NGOs greater and greater access to the AGM, and to the institution itself. However, the depth of this commitment can be seen by the fact that when there is a change of plans in the schedule (in this case, apparently due to the Iraq war) any pretense of civil society participation is thrown out the proverbial window.

Therefore, we call on the ADB to increase its transparency both at future AGMs and in other venues by undertaking the following measures:

1) Never again allowing an AGM to take place in the absence of civil society observers and participants, including those members of civil society representing labor, the rural and urban poor and advocates for a cleaner environment.

2) Seeing that the current review of the Information Disclosure policy of the ADB lead to the policy’s complete overhaul and guarantee that all ADB policy and project documentation is available to all, especially those affected by ADB projects and policies. Where necessary, the ADB should make provision to translate these documents into local languages, especially into the local language of project-affected communities.

In addition, at the policy level, we note with some dismay that despite some damning critiques from the Operations and Evaluation Department of the Bank, policies in many countries have not changed. In the case of the Philippines, in a study entitled "Country Assistance Program Evaluation in the Philippines," the OED made the following conclusions about the lending portfolio in the Philippines since 1986:

"A matter of particular concern has been the significant deterioration of project ratings over time. From 36 projects completed and postevaluated since 1986, only 31% has been rated generally successful compared with the ADB-wide average of 51%. While the Philippine portfolio accounts for about 10% of all postevaluated projects in that period, it contains 24% of all unsuccessful projects, mostly in the agriculture and natural resources sector. If only those projects are considered that have been initiated, completed, and postevaluated since 1986, only 29% of such projects in the Philippines are rated generally successful.”

Despite these and other similar dramatic findings, ADB lending continues within the same basic parameters. When poverty assessments are carried out, their observations may be accurate and commendable, but their recommendations are more of the same: privatization, liberalization, and massive infrastructure projects that bring little reward and huge cost to the governments and local constituencies involved.

We demand people-led development, not people-consulted underdevelopment, which is what we get with the current ADB modus operandi. We state categorically that every human individual has inalienable rights. These rights amount to having control over one’s own life and livelihoods. When decisions about people’s lives are made behind closed doors by a handful of government officials and development bank technocrats, violation of these human rights can be the only result.
back to top

Sins in the Corridors of Power
Statement of Freedom from Debt Coalition, 30 June 2003

The world watches as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) holds its 36th Annual Governors Meeting in Manila today, June 30. But some of the Bank’s actions may not be easily visible to the eye, yet prove to be most telling of the difference between truth and spin.

On September 27, 2002, one of ADB’s senior officials by the name of S.L. Seneviratne solicited sexual favors from two of his contractual women employees right in the premises of his office. He was then working as the Bank’s Alternate Executive Director for the Republic of Korea; Papua New Guinea; Sri Lanka; Taipei, China; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu and Vietnam. Seneviratne later offered cash for their silence, which met with no success. By the time criminal charges for sexual harassment were filed by the two employees in the City of Mandaluyong, he was gone.

So tell us a yarn of how the Bank’s pundits have lent flesh since 1966 to its avowal that “poverty wears a woman’s face”, when ADB’s projects and programs have all but reduced millions – a majority of whom are women – to greater poverty, indebtedness and marginalization than before.

Churn out another pretty turn of phrase of how ADB espouses gender equality and women’s development among its guiding principles, when oppressions go unnoticed and are apparently tolerated within your hallowed halls.

Yes, spin us another tale why one of ADB’s top officials conveniently disappeared one day in December 2002 when criminal charges for sexual harassment and lasciviousness were in the process of being filed, never to be called, it seems, to account for the grave abuse of authority imputed to him. All along, the ADB’s Administrative Orders on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment has only applied to the general staff and not the deified members of the Board of Directors.

We are watching and we can tell the difference between truth and spin.

Fact sheet on sexual harassment case; Please contact the Freedom from Debt Coalition for more information. Email viola@freedomfromdebtcoalition.org or call 921-1985/ 924-6399.)
back to top

ADB Meets with Street Protesters

ADB Media Center, MANILA, PHILIPPINES (30 June 2003) - ADB today received issue briefs and statements from labor and civil society representatives protesting outside ADB Headquarters as it hosted its Annual Meeting.

Demonstrators voiced concerns about the impact of private sector involvement in Philippine public utilities on the poor, and other issues. ADB has been supporting the Government of the Philippines in its efforts to restructure the power sector and develop new water sources.

"ADB shares many of your concerns and we will study your materials very closely," said Richard Ondrik, Acting Country Director of ADB's Philippine Country Office, on receiving a package from Ana Maria Nemenzo, President, Freedom from Debt Coalition, one of the protest organizers.

"We are always open to dialogue with nongovernment organizations and would be happy to meet with you after the Annual Meeting," Mr. Ondrik added. The ADB official also met with another protest leader, Josua Mata, Secretary General, Alliance for Progressive Labor.

In a statement, ADB responded to the main issues raised, including the following:

ADB and Privatization

ADB assists its developing member countries in privatizing public sector enterprises where such action is determined to be economically viable, technically and financially feasible, and socially desirable. When privatization is used, ADB policy calls for mitigation of the social costs involved and the protection of the interests of those directly affected by privatization.

Involvement of local residents and NGOs in ADB projects

ADB regularly consults with those residing in areas considered for a project before loans are approved. In many instances, ADB engages NGOs to serve as bridges between project authorities and local communities, provide structures for citizen participation, and help ensure the implementation of projects in ways that respond to local needs.

ADB is working closely with NGOs to clean up the Pasig River, support renewable energy development in Negros Occidental, and improve community infrastructure and basic services in 23 communities around Metro Manila. ADB has collaborated with community-based organizations to improve the living conditions of forest-dwellers, fisherfolk, and agrarian reform communities, and to create sustainable microcredit operations and microfinance institutions. ADB is proud to have developed a close working relationship with these grassroots organizations and looks upon them as key partners for ADB's future operations in the country.

ADB Support to Power Sector Reform

ADB's Power Sector Restructuring Program supports Government initiatives to create competitive electricity markets, initiatives that hopefully will lead to lower electricity prices for consumers, and restore the financial sustainability of the National Power Corporation (Napocor) prior to privatization. Any labor rationalization related to the sale of state-owned enterprises in the Philippines would be carried out in a way protecting the interests of workers. ADB's Power Sector Restructuring Program supports Government initiatives to create competitive electricity markets, initiatives that hopefully will lead to lower electricity prices for consumers, and restore the financial sustainability of the National Power Corporation (Napocor) prior to privatization.

Reform of the power sector is aimed at ensuring the quality, reliability, security, and affordability of the country's electricity supply. In order to create a competitive power supply market, a number of power generating plants owned by Napocor will be privatized so they can bid in the wholesale electricity spot market. The ownership of Napocor's transmission assets will remain in the public sector with a qualified private sector concessionaire as operator. These measures would help to lower electricity tariffs in the medium and long term and to expand electricity supply to rural areas.

Because the privatization process remains incomplete, consumers have not yet seen the benefits of competition. Current high prices may also be attributed in part to oversupply caused by the impact of the Asian financial crisis on power demand, and the subsequent economic slow down.

Water Tariffs and Future Water Demand

Manila's water sources can barely meet current demand, let alone connect additional customers. This requires the development of new water sources, which most likely cannot be accomplished with public resources alone given the Government's budgetary situation. Water provided from additional sources will not only ensure improved and sustainable service delivery for existing customers, but will also enable extension of service coverage, particularly benefiting the urban poor.

In 1999, ADB approved loans to the Maynilad Water Services, Inc. to help finance, develop, operate, and maintain facilities in the West Zone of the service area of Manila's Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). However, the loan documents were never signed and therefore ADB did not make any loan disbursement to Maynilad. As ADB is not a creditor of Maynilad, it is not involved in the discussions between Maynilad and the Government and its existing lenders.

The Philippines' Debt Portfolio

The Philippines' present indebtedness to ADB is around $3.2 billion, equivalent to about just 6% of the country's total external debt. Although this share may be small, ADB has worked closely with the Government over the past 18 months in intensive efforts to streamline the portfolio. ADB's most recent joint portfolio review with the Government identified about $300 million for possible cancellation in 2003. back to top

ADB Reports Stronger "Partnerships" to Fight Poverty

In 2002, Asian Development Bank (ADB) increased lending levels to US$5,676 million for 71 public and private sector projects, or a 6.3% increase from 2001 levels. Transport and communications projects dominated lending, with a total US$1,613 million. By country, India was the largest borrower, receiving about US$1,184 million or 21% of the total. So-called ‘poverty interventions’ amounted to US$2,327 million for 38 projects or 41% of total lending.

ADB also mobilized additional resources for 38 loan projects totaling US$2,851 million-about 50% of its total lending-through cofinancing arrangements with commercial sources, including export credits, US$2,097 million; and with official sources, US$754 million. Total cofinancing mobilized in 2001 more than doubled in 2002-the sixth consecutive year in which additional resources were arranged for more than 40% of ADB loan projects due to intensified cofinancing efforts.

ADB signed 10 poverty partnership agreements 6 Asian countries and 4 Pacific island countries, bringing to 17 the total number of landmark pacts. Further, ADB fortified its partnership with countries that are now part of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Program, which marked its 10th year of cooperation in 2002 through the first GMS Summit.

See 2002 ADB Annual Report and ADB President Tadao Chino's Address to the Board of Governors.
back to top