'Booming Philippine economy fruit of Arroyo admin, not PNoy's'

MANILA, Philippines — The country's remarkable growth in recent years was attributed by a foreign newspaper to adjustments made by the Arroyo administration despite its unpopularity.

In a commentary on Friday, the Financial Times' David Pilling allayed fears of the effect of the end of President Aquino's term, saying he is not exactly the key to the stability of the above 6 percent economic gains of the Philippines.

"In truth, some of the macro-economic improvements have been the fruit of policy changes outside his administration, particularly at the central bank," the British expert on Asian economy said.

"Although his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was deeply unpopular and accused of overseeing a corrupt administration, much of the improvement in economic fundamentals can be dated to her government," he added.

Pilling noted that economic policies under Aquino's watch did not primarily drive the macroeconomic improvements marked by the debt and investment upgrades.

He cited overseas Filipino workers' remittances and strong domestic demand that insulate the country from downturns of external economies.

The Philippines is also entering what Pilling calls a "demographic sweet spot" driven by the large number of young people and their expected productivity in the workforce.

While many projections indicate that the Philippine economy will continue to grow beyond this administration—some even expect one faster than China—foreign observers are alarmed by the high poverty rate still plaguing the nation.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that the challenge is to translate "solid economic growth into poverty reduction by generating more and better jobs."

"Reflecting the lack of good jobs, the poverty rate was 25.2 percent in 2012, only a small improvement on 26.3 percent in 2009," the organization said in its 2014 outlook report.

Another nagging constraint is poor infrastructure, ADB said.

"The Philippines ranks behind most major Southeast Asian countries in terms of infrastructure," the report noted. - Camille Diola