Government outlines three-pronged approach to sustain growth

MANILA, Philippines — The government is implementing a three-pronged strategy to sustain fast economic growth despite headwinds in the global economic landscape, according to the Department of Finance.

In his speech during The Asset’s 14th Philippine Forum, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the global economy is currently facing challenges, including the trade tensions between the US and China, the Brexit, and the recent attack in Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries, causing some uncertainty and gloomy world economic outlook.

Despite this, Dominguez remains confident that the Philippine economy would be able to maintain its economic momentum.

“The Philippine economy has been challenged by slower global growth. The Asian Development Bank recently cut our 2019 growth forecast to six percent from 6.2 percent. But despite these headwinds, the Philippines’ economy will still be among the fastest-growing in the world,” Dominguez said.

“We will do our utmost to continue on this positive path via a three-fold strategy.”

For one, he said the Philippines is boosting its macroeconomic fundamentals through prudent fiscal management and stable monetary policy.

According to Dominguez, the government is also accelerating the implementation of infrastructure projects and human capital development programs, and pushing for the remaining packages of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) and other legislative reforms.

“We are doing the things we need to do. We are optimistic the growth momentum will be sustained beyond the medium term. We seek to make our market more competitive and our economy more inclusive,” Dominguez said.

According to the finance chief, there are several key indicators that the country is strong.

He cited, for instance, S&P Global Ratings’ move to upgrade the Philippines’ credit rating to BBB+.

“This summarizes all our efforts to maintain fiscal discipline, contain inflation, build a business-friendly market, and achieve the highest international reserves ever,” he said.

Dominguez also reiterated that the Philippines is expected to achieve upper middle-income status by next year, which is indicative of the capacity of the domestic market to support more enterprises.

Furthermore, Dominguez said, “game-changing reforms will ensure that the continuous growth we achieve is funded equitably by the Filipino people.”

Dominguez cited the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, which he said aims to modernize and simplify the country’s tax system, while ensuring steady revenues for the government.

“The succeeding packages of this comprehensive program are in the legislative pipeline. We expect most of them to become law either later this year or early next year,” he said.

In addition, Dominguez said the government is also implementing measures to cut red tape, simplify government procedures, improving ease of doing business, and increasing investments in social services and human capital development.

“We are doing the things we need to do. We are optimistic in the growth momentum will be sustained beyond the medium term. We seek to make our market more competitive and our economy more inclusive,” he said.