No debt trap in PH dealings with China -- Pernia

CONTRARY to a claim by former president Benigno Aquino 3rd, the Philippines is not falling into China’s debt trap, the country's chief economist said on Thursday.

In a press conference in Malacañang,  Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia stressed that the Duterte administration has 'not yet signed any loan agreement with China except oral commit-ments or some written memoranda of understanding.'