Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday assured foreign investors and multilateral lenders that the House of Representatives would continue to pass measures to sustain the country’s robust economic performance. Romualdez made this remark after officials of the Standard Chartered Bank, the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) cited the continued strong and resilient Philippine economy despite global challenges in a briefing held at Fairmont in Washington D.C. on Wednesday (US time) ‘We are committed to passing more measures that the Marcos administration may need to further enhance investment in the Philippines aimed at improving the lives of Filipinos. I urge foreign investors to stay the course with us and share the benefits of progress and development,’ he said in a statement. He welcomed as good news the encouraging comments made by Standard Chartered Bank Global Head of Public Sector and Development Organizations Karby Leggett; WB Country Director for Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei Ndiamé Diop; and IMF Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department Sanjaya Panth during the presentation of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.’s economic team led by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on the state of the Philippine economy. Romualdez said the event was part of the Marcos administration’s whole-of-government approach to attracting more foreign investments that would create more income and job opportunities for Filipinos. ‘I commend members of the economic team for this briefing. The United States is a major source of investments and funding assistance. The World Bank and IMF are likewise principal development funders,’ he said. He thanked the WB and IMF and several big multinational banks for helping organize the conference, the second held in Washington DC and the third in the US. Members of the economic team who briefed the multilateral agencies, banks and prospective investors were Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Felipe M. Medalla, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan. In his remarks, Diokno said the 2022-2028 Medium Term Fiscal Framework, which Congress passed shortly after it convened in July last year, ‘serves as a compass to steer the economy closely along the patch of fiscal sustainability and economic growth.’ ‘The targets and measures under this framework are firmly supported not only by the President but also by both houses of Congress,’ he said. He cited economic liberalization measures Congress recently approved to attract more foreign investments, such as the amended Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act and Retail Trade Liberalization Act. Last year, Diokno said the economy posted ‘a 46-year record-high growth rate of 7.6 percent.’ ‘This was higher than our full-year target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent and exceeded forecasts of local private sector analysts and international financial institutions, placing the Philippines among the best-performing economies in the Asia-Pacific region,’ he said. He said the growth target this year is 6 percent to 7 percent. ‘And while slightly lower in recognition of the expected global slowdown, this target remains high but doable,’ he added. Diokno pointed out that the government’s fiscal performance remains strong, with 2022 revenue collections reaching PHP3.5 trillion or about US65 billion, 18 percent higher than the 2021 level. Meanwhile, Pangandaman told the audience that the government’s priorities and expenditures are aligned with the medium-term development plan and the 8-point socio-economic agenda of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. She said the bulk of the budget – roughly 38.1 percent – has been allotted to the social services sector ‘to ensure revitalized education, quality healthcare, and strengthened social protection.’ A sizable part of the outlay was also allocated for physical, social and digital infrastructure, she said. ‘Here’s the good news: as of last month, the national government has identified 194 high-impact and urgently-needed infrastructure flagship projects. These will be given top priority during the annual preparation of our government’s budget,’ she said. ‘America is an age-old friend of the Philippines. We hope to strengthen this friendship even more as we continue to nurture our robust people-to-people ties, invigorate our dynamic bilateral relations and pursue economic transformation,’ she added For his part, Balisacan said the government aims to sustain its annual infrastructure spending at 5 percent to 6 percent of gross domestic product from 2023 through 2028, or between US20 billion and US40 billion a year. He said a total of 3,770 infrastructure projects with a funding requirement of US317.5 billion had been identified. ‘Indeed, the Marcos administration has aggressively pursued several initiatives to encourage greater local and foreign investment and private sector participation in infrastructure development…we welcome and urge the investor community to consider placing its resources in the country’s flagship infrastructure projects,’ he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
