Former Finance secretary Roberto F. De Ocampo said an aggressive infrastructure program and tax reforms during President Duterte’s term will create more jobs and make the Philippine economy stronger than ever.
The former Finance chief during the Ramos administration visited Davao City Friday as guest of honor of the inauguration of the renovated Davao branch and World War II history wall for the 72th anniversary of the Liberation of Davao of the Philippine Veterans Bank.
De Ocampo now serves as chairman of the board and chief operating officer (CEO) of the PVB, the third bank he has served as chairman, the first and second being the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines.
“I agree with the objective assessment of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank that our country is now the strongest economy in the region and will continue to be so next year and in the future,” he told this reporter on the side of the inauguration.
He said the reasons why he agrees that the country will continue to have a robust economy is that the current administration is pursuing an aggressive infrastructure building program and is pushing for tax reforms.
De Ocampo said the twin moves will generate more jobs and attract more domestic and foreign investments.
“We made similar moves during our time and it worked,” the former Finance chief of the Fidel V. Ramos administration said.
He lamented though that lack of follow-through resulted in the country’s being the slowest in infrastructure development in the Asian region.
Next BSP governor
On the choice of the next governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, De Ocampo said that the BSP chief should be calm, and discreet in his public statements because what he says will affect everybody.
“He must have thorough knowledge of the economy, including global economy and international economic developments,” de Ocampo said.
“He must be able to work well with the government, although maintaining his independence all the time,” he added.
Banking sector
De Ocampo said the country ‘s banking sector is “quite healthy” but he foresees the pursuit of more strategic partnerships as this is one of the needs of the times.
He also rhapsodized the fact that many Filipino bankers are so good they’re being sought after to work as banking executives by many banks abroad.
It there is any reform needed in the banking industry now, it is to raise banking utilization in the pursuit of economic development, he said. AMA
