MANILA, Philippines – European countries must seek clearance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) before donating to their nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines, Foreign Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr said on Saturday, June 1.

“Over a month ago I fired off a memo to all our European embassies to tell their host governments to clear any and all donations to their NGOs in the Philippines with the Department of Foreign Affairs,” Locsin tweeted.

If these countries fail to do so, Locsin said the DFA will push to remove the NGOs’ registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Over a month ago I fired off a memo to all our European embassies to tell their host governments to clear any and all donations to their NGOs in the Philippines with the Department of Foreign Affairs. Or we will deregister them in the SEC. If that hasn’t been done do it now.

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) May 31, 2019

This comes after the Philippines, in February, claimed that donations of the European Union (EU) have found their way into the hands of alleged fronts of the communist New People’s Army (NPA). This prompted an audit from the EU’s end.

The NPA has been listed by the EU as a foreign terrorist organization since 2005, which means this group cannot hold assets in the EU.

The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte meanwhile has terminated decades-long of peace talks with the NPA’s mother political unit, the Communist Party of the Philippines, since 2017, even declaring them as terrorist organizations.

Duterte has repeatedly lambasted the EU for supposedly meddling in his popular but bloody anti-drug campaign, rejecting at least P380 million (6.1 million euros) worth of donations from the EU as of January 2018. – Rappler.com