China is "dribbling" the ball when it comes to its funding commitments to the Philippine infrastructure projects, Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said Monday.

In an interview with ANC, Pernia said China promised to fund about 20 projects worth $9 billion but only $600 million have been released so far.

"They’re willing to give us something but they want something in return... They didn’t want us to continue to talk about or claims to the parts of the West Philippine Sea or the South China Sea," Pernia said.

Transportation Usec. For Rails Cezar Chavez earlier said some China-backed projects remain unfunded including the Laguna to Bicol, Clark to Subic, and the Mindanao Railway.

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Pernia said if it he would be asked, he would recommend to drop the ODA (official development assistance) from China.

If the government wants to push for infrastructure programs, he said it could be funded through public-private partnerships (PPPs) and ODAs from other countries such as Japan.

But instead of aiming for "quantity economic growth," the Philippines should focus on addressing the health and education crisis as well as the food and nutrition challenges.

"I am more concerned of human development. I think that is the primordial concern of the government and the Philippine society because we want our people to be able to realize their full potential," Pernia said.

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