MANILA — The government has done a good job in managing the Philippine economy particularly in handling inflation and promoting the country as investments destination.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. declared this development during the Vin d’honneur at the Malacañan Palace where he revealed the state of the economy.
“Despite the woes brought about by global inflation, the Philippines has still managed to curb inflation to a reasonable — almost manageable level,” President Marcos said.
“It (global inflation) remains unfortunately our greatest problem and this inflation that is brought by forces that we cannot control,” he added.
However, the Chief Executive clarified that improvements in the economy were recorded this year.
“But nonetheless, I think that we have done a good job and with this… It is a very large improvement from what we were under — the situation that we were under maybe a year ago,” he explained.
President Marcos reported that current inflation is at 3.5 percent. “To date, we are within 3.5%,” he said, adding that the figure is within the government’s target band of 2 to 4 percent.
Meanwhile, the President was elated over the favorable credit rating given to the Philippines.
“I [am] also happy to note that the Philippines continues to enjoy a good rating as an investment — credit rating as an investment destination. We are credited with a stable outlook, which signals [growth momentum] in the medium term,” he said.
He said the development translates to more accessible financing for the government and his administration’s programs.
“So, we will maintain that status and we will try to improve that and across all major regional and international debt [rating] agencies,” he added.
President Marcos vowed to continue working on the country’s growth as he expressed optimism over the positive forecast for the Philippine economy.
“We now continue to work on our growth and we have now recently been forecast to have a — one of the highest growth rates for the next year,” he explained.
“And I think that this bodes well for the transformation of our economy, especially as we are trying to recover from the effects of our very bad drought and trying to prepare for what is coming with the rainy season,” he added. (PCO)
