Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian lamented the supposed loan cancellation was “embarrassing” for the Philippines as a country.

Gatchalian issued the comment following the move of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to supposedly stop a P28-billion infrastructure loan project from being implemented in the Philippines due to corruption allegations.

“Since na sabi nila, ayaw na nilang magpahiram o suspended muna ang pahiram dahil sa corruption, nakakahiya ‘yan. Ibig sabihin nakikita nila itong mga nangyayari sa DPWH at ‘pag nagpahiram sila sa atin, tapos may ganitong korapsyon, mawawaldas ‘yung pinahiram sa atin,” the senator said.

In a Facebook post, Lee announced, “I have ordered an immediate halt to the proceedings for the project.”

“What is most fortunate is that the project has not yet commenced, meaning funds such as the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) support have not been expanded,” the South Korean leader said.

“There is significant meaning in preventing the unnecessary waste of 700 billion Korean won in taxpayer money and preemptively blocking risks that could lead to poor management and corruption,” Lee added.

He also posted a link of a report by The Hankyoreh about the halt of proceeding with the Philippines’ request in 2023, through EDCF, for a loan to construct 350 bridges across the country.

The South Korean chief executive’s announcement came in the midst of a corruption scandal in the Philippines involving contractors for flood control projects, government officials, and lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Finance has denied that such a 700-billion won or P28-billion development assistance loan between South Korea and the Philippines exists.

(Since they said they don’t want to offer the loan or suspend the loan because of corruption, that’s a shame. That means they see what’s happening in the DPWH. When they lend us money and then there’s this kind of corruption, the loan will be put to waste.)

Gatchalian further said that this may have an impact on the country’s development of infrastructure projects.