Letters | Under Duterte, an economically resurgent Philippines is finding its feet

Solid GDP growth, a strengthening peso, low inflation and timely infrastructural development all point to a remarkable economic recovery, a major reason for the president’s 85 per cent approval rating

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his fourth State of the Union address in Manila on July 22. Three years after his election, Duterte enjoys an approval rating of 85 per cent among the Filipino people. Photo: AP

Published: 9:50am, 13 Aug 2019Updated: 9:50am, 13 Aug 2019

For seven long and difficult years, starting in 1979, I worked for the Philippine government as minister of trade and industry under president Ferdinand Marcos. The many achievements of president Marcos are now forgotten, but I think history will judge him more fairly.

But this is not about Marcos but about the present government of President Rodrigo Duterte. It is truly unfortunate that the solid economic gains achieved by this government have been overshadowed by the negative publicity about the aggressive war on drugs. But it is unprecedented that, after three years, Duterte has sustained an approval rating of 85 per cent among the Filipino people.

This approval rating is attributable to the solid economic gains that the government has achieved, many of which I thought I would never see during my lifetime.

Notably, Standard & Poor’s has for the first time ever raised our sovereign risk rating to BBB+, placing us on par with countries like Mexico and Thailand, and ahead of Italy, Portugal, Indonesia, India and Vietnam. As a result, our cost of borrowing has dropped substantially. The economy grew 6.2 per cent in 2018, and continues to be resilient and strong, despite external adversity.

A woman passes by building works for Manila’s Metro Rail Transit system in Quezon City, in May 2018. The Duterte administration’s slogan is “Build, build, build!” Photo: Reuters

The Philippine peso has been one of the best performing currencies in Asia and indeed in the world. While the US dollar has been strengthening over the euro, British pound, yen and yuan, the peso has strengthened significantly against the US dollar year on year. This strength in the currency is vitally important in controlling inflation, the cost of servicing debt and of imported goods.

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.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Under Duterte, an economically resurgent Philippines is finding its feet

Letters | Under Duterte, an economically resurgent Philippines is finding its feet