Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Thursday said Hungary is set to finalize a USD33-million (about PHP1.9 billion) loan agreement with the Philippines for the establishment of water treatment and desalination facilities aimed at improving access to clean water and strengthening the country\u2019s climate resilience.<\/p>\n
Zubiri made the announcement after the courtesy call of Hungarian National Assembly Speaker L\u00e1szl\u00f3 K\u00f6v\u00e9r on Senate President Vicente Sotto III at the Senate on Wednesday, where both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral cooperation.<\/p>\n
Zubiri, who also serves as president of the Philippines\u2013Hungary Parliamentary Friendship Group, said the proposed project highlights the growing partnership between Manila and Budapest, particularly in addressing water scarcity in coastal and rural communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cNapakahalaga ng proyektong ito dahil it will bring real solutions to local water access, especially in coastal areas where freshwater is limited. Hungary\u2019s experience in water management can help us a great deal (This project is important because it will bring real solutions to local water access, especially in coastal areas where freshwater is limited),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
K\u00f6v\u00e9r said discussions on the project have reached an advanced stage, noting that Hungary\u2019s expertise in water treatment and desalination can provide sustainable solutions for the Philippines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking about a loan project worth USD33 million and the funds are to be used for water treatment, water cleaning and desalination,\u201d K\u00f6v\u00e9r said through an interpreter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, we are close to signing the agreement. And we are currently waiting for your response to the latest draft agreement,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Sotto welcomed the initiative, saying it reflects Hungary\u2019s commitment to assist developing nations in climate adaptation and sustainable development.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the contrary, in the Philippines, we have an abundance of saltwater. We welcome so much the proposal to help us build desalination plants,\u201d Sotto quipped, noting the contrast between the two countries\u2019 water resources.<\/p>\n
Zubiri said the project demonstrates Hungary\u2019s continued friendship and support for the Philippines, extending beyond humanitarian aid and educational programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cBilang kaibigan ng mga Pilipino, Hungary has consistently extended a hand of cooperation, from humanitarian assistance to scholarship aid and opening their economy to overseas Filipino workers in their agricultural and IT sectors (As a friend of the Filipino people, Hungary has consistently extended a hand of cooperation),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis latest initiative will not only benefit our people but also open more opportunities for collaboration in sustainability and economic development,\u201d he added. (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the loan agreement is expected to be finalized soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philanthropy"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":{"nxtgen_comments":[{"1177":"wowowow hungary!! \ud83c\udded\ud83c\uddfa\u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\udded\r","1178":"desalination plant soon \ud83d\udca6\ud83d\udca6\ud83d\udca6\r","1179":"desalination \ud83d\udca6\r"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greeninc.ph\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}