THE CHAIRMAN of the House Committee on Ways and Means on Thursday said the next administration should focus on working on investor confidence in the Philippines given the P12-trillion debt overhang.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said the government has no choice but to fund capital formation with private investments given the fiscal constraints of the government.
“A commitment to the Duterte administration’s fiscal and economic liberalization reforms, prudent fiscal management strategies, and a competent and widely-respected economic team will be essential to providing the incoming administration with the kind of adrenaline rush needed to offset this deficit of foreign investor confidence,” he told reporters.
Salceda said another strategic way is to focus on agriculture and food supply to “aggressively” fight inflation through yield promotion, biosafety especially against African swine fever (ASF) and avian flu, and climate resilience.
“The agriculture sector continues to lag other sectors, shrinking by 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter. This continued underperformance will bear down on the price and availability of food, with implications on general prices and living conditions,” he said.He said the government should also strengthen safety nets to ensure that the “most vulnerable among our population remain protected from shocks and are capacitated to remain productive.”
The first quarter 2022 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, he said, is “very strong” at 8.3 percent, despite intermittent lockdowns on the demand-side, and supply chain issues, higher input costs, and other supply-side challenges.
“Together with FDI (foreign direct investment) data in February, which shows a surge of 46.3 percent year-on-year from last year, this development is an indication that there are tailwinds in our economic fundamentals that the next President can maximize,” he said.
Among the major contributors to growth, the fastest grower was transportation and storage, which grew by 26 percent.
Salceda noted that the further lifting of existing restrictions on public transportation will boost this momentum and yield positive results for the overall economy.
Gross national income also increased by 10.7 percent, which Salceda said, indicates that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and exports are beginning to recover.
“This should be maximized: we should continue to encourage OFWs to invest in safe, secure, and productive private-sector investments. This will be crucial given the fiscal constraints of the government,” he said. (PNA)
