Next admin must keep going forward with reforms–neda
BUILDING on the gains of the Duterte administration would be the key to growing the economy in the medium term, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). In a televised briefing on Wednesday, Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said the next administration should not look back and continue with the reforms of the Duterte administration.
A number of reforms should be continued, including those that will make the Philippines a more attractive investment destination for foreign investments, according to her.
“Kasi importante po talaga iyong policy continuity. Ito po ang isang lesson in economics na makikita natin [na] dahil sa laki ng ekonomiya, madalas po [na] iba iyong nagtanim, iba iyong mag-aani [Policy continuity is important. This is one lesson in economics and often, because of the size of an economy, someone shows the seed of policy reform, others will reap the fruits],” Edillon said.
Thus, what is important, she stressed, is that “the reform agenda continues, and implementation as well. So, the foundation has been laid down, let’s build on the gains. I think, that is what this [Duterte] administration has done, that is why we continue to progress, without going back,” she added, partly in Filipino.
However, Edillon said even if the outgoing administration is ready to provide information and plans to the next government, the incoming government still has room to adjust policies, as is the practice in every transition period.
Opening up is key
WHAT is important, however, is to remember that the strength of the Philippine economy cannot be unleashed if it remains closed to the world.
The Duterte government has been undertaking reforms such as the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Foreign Investment Act, and the Public Service Act, which the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) considered vital achievements of the outgoing administration.
“With respect to economic recovery, President Duterte issued Executive Order 166 which actually enumerated up to 10 strategies to accelerate economic recovery,” Edillon said.
“So, by and large, something has been laid down. We will know from the next president what he can add to this,” she added.
Meanwhile, former Dean of the UP School of Economics Ramon L. Clarete said a crucial factor in the success of the incoming administration is the choice of cabinet appointees.
Clarete said the son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. may not be “innately well prepared” for the position and thus, the Cabinet will be hard-pressed to perform if the country is to weather rough and tough seas.
He worries that the country may end up with “an informal Cabinet of people with dubious integrity and unaccountability.”
The direction the new government “actually takes the result of the interaction between the formal and informal cabinets,” he told the Businessmirror.
Canlas: Election fears
AN important consideration at this time, according to former socioeconomic planning secretary Dante Canlas, is to quell fears that election irregularities marred the May 9 polls.
Canlas told Businessmirror that unless election concerns are satisfactorily resolved, the incoming administration “will be fraught with risk and uncertainty.”
“Outgoing president Du30 is leaving behind a weak economy. To recover, market agents—consumers, producers, and investors— that are forward looking must be assured that people as taxpayers, for instance, are united under the newly elected leader,” Canlas said in an email to this newspaper.
If these fears are not addressed, Canlas said the economy may be in for a hard landing -- characterized by slow GDP growth, high prices, and soaring debts.
He added this may also include high interest-rate hikes, thinning foreign reserves, and a weakening peso.
If these happen, such can “trigger downgrades today from investment fund managers” making it difficult for the country to recover from the pandemic.
“The worst fears raised by some IT experts before actual conduct of the election process have resurfaced, including, absence of an independent certification by Comelec of source codes of counting machines and servers provided by its contractor, Smartmatic,” Canlas said.
“Implementation of safeguards provided by the Automated Election Law, such as, rigorous voter audit is indicated, but this is not observed happening at this point,” he added.
Following the fastest transmission rate of election returns (ER) of the Commission on Elections in the last decade, former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. is now expected to win the 2022 presidential race.
After just four hours following the end of the voting period for the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections (NLE), over 80 percent of the election results from the 106,175 clustered precincts were already transmitted to Comelec’s main server.