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Arroyo: RP economy in good shape, will endure crisis

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/10/2008 11:37 AM

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President Arroyo on Friday said tough economic reforms instituted during her term will ensure that the country will weather the US-led global economic crunch.

“While no one can predict the future during these uncertain global times, it seems that our measures at home are seeing us through the toughest times,” Mrs. Arroyo said in her speech at the Philippine Business Conference in Makati City.

The president said the administration’s “tough and sometimes painful reforms” have softened the impact of the global economic crisis, which has been affecting economies around the globe.

The reforms include the widely-protested expanded value-added tax law, bank reforms and anti-corruption and anti-smuggling drives.

“Against this backdrop, the Philippines is relatively in good shape. Thanks to our fiscal reforms that manifested in the more than 7 percent GDP growth last year,” she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the Philippines is slowly becoming self reliant because of her administration’s economic reforms. She said the Philippine government is now internally funding infrastructure projects that is now running in “an unprecedented scale.”

“Things like foreign loans that we used to need to finance our infrastructures, not anymore. Now, we can finance it by our own resources,” she said.

With the latest development in the Galoc oilfield off Palawan province, Mrs. Arroyo sees a 60 percent energy independence of the Philippines in two years.

She said that the Galoc oilfield will “double” the country’s oil production, which may lead to the Philippines eventually becoming self reliant in crude.

Mrs. Arroyo said the country is also becoming independent when it comes to food because of her administration’s reforms on the agriculture sector.

Her administration is projecting the Philippines to become rice self-sufficient after 2010.

She also assured local and foreign businessmen present at the conference of the government’s continued commitment to creating a sound investment environment by fighting corruption and smuggling, and bringing peace and order in the country.

as of 10/10/2008 3:25 PM