MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. underscored the importance of separating politics and the economy in order to continue the economic growth and maintain the political stability in the Philippines.

In his fireside interview during the World Economic Forum (WEF) at the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday, President Marcos said the only way to response to geopolitical issue is to separate politics and the economy.

President Marcos emphasized what is good for the economy, as long as it does not impact poorly upon the political activities in the Philippines, is “an acceptable activity to enter into,” adding that economic power is sometimes used as political power.

“So, it is not that simple, but we have to make that delineation and hopefully, we make the right choices so that our political stability, our political sovereignty, and sovereign rights are defended, robustly,” President Marcos said.

“And at the same time, that we are able to deal with any country in the world. No matter what their political leanings might be, no matter what their alliances might be. But again, it is a difficult situation, it’s a difficult problem,” he added.

President Marcos said he does not want to underestimate the problem that political and economic issues might bring to the Philippines, but he said it can be easily addressed if the country has a guiding principle. “As long as we have a guiding principle, and that is to separate the two things as much as possible, it’s not necessarily, it’s not a binary solution, but it is something that we need to do if we are going to continue to grow the economy and yet maintain our political stability in the Philippines,” he stated. (PND)