The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) on Tuesday said the public should stay positive and wait for the plans of the incoming administration to unfold.
Former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte are leading the presidential and vice presidential race, according to the partial and unofficial count of votes as shown in the Commission on Elections transparency server.
“The president elect BBM will be faced with the same financial challenges due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and lately the geopolitical storm in Ukraine similar to other countries (debt & inflation issues),” PCCI president George Barcelon said.
As of end-March 2022, the national government’s running debt balance widened further to a new record-high of P12.68 trillion, 4.8% higher than the P12.09 trillion recorded as of end-February 2022 amid continued borrowing efforts to boost the state’s war chest for COVID-19 recovery measures coupled with a weaker local currency during the period.
Should he be proclaimed as the next president, Marcos Jr.’s administration will inherit the debt accumulated by the Duterte administration.
“But we know better our macroeconomic fundamentals are intact and the economic reforms of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, kudos to Finance Sec. Sonny Dominguez who provided a sound take off point for the new administration,” Barcelon said.
“Let’s give the incoming administration time to draw up and share their plans in making our country more progressive. Let’s stay positive,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) congratulated the Philippines “for showing the strength of its democracy during the campaign period and elections.”
“As business chambers, we hope to continue to work closely with government officials at all levels throughout the country for the recovery from the pandemic and to maintain high levels of GDP (gross domestic product) growth, infrastructure development, job creation, and FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows best achieved by continuing the governance and policies of the current and previous administrations,” JFC said.
JFC is a coalition of the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese, Korean chambers and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc. (PAMURI).
