‘Duterte arrest has no negative impact on investors’

MANILA, Philippines — The arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte has no negative effects on investor sentiment and is unlikely to cause political instability even with the midterm elections just around the corner, the finance chief said yesterday.

“I don’t think (it will affect) because that has nothing to do with our macroeconomic fundamentals to begin with,” Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

“There was a slight reduction in the stock exchange but very subdued, but the peso appreciated on the day that he was arrested,” he added.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell two percent a day after the arrest of Duterte, even dropping to as low as 6,156.97.

Toward the end of that week, however, investors picked up more shares with the PSEi rising by 0.83 percent or 52.04 points to close at 6,294.11.

On the other hand, the peso slightly appreciated against the US dollar to P57.225 on the day of Duterte’s arrest from P57.41 the day prior.

“(The arrest) could also mean that the international community is looking at how important the rule of law is to us and that is part of governance as well,” Recto said.

Earlier, business groups said they are still on a wait-and-see mood as to how events will unfold. ?

Senate President Francis Escudero also said yesterday he is confident that the economy will withstand the political noise resulting from Duterte’s arrest.

The Senate leader cited the following figures on the country’s strong economic fundamentals – easing of inflation rate to 2.1 percent last month, the economy’s steady gross domestic product growth of 5.6 percent in 2024, healthy inflow of foreign direct investments amounting to $8.9 billion the previous year and the bullish outlook for 2025 due to lower inflation and higher consumption and investments.

Gov’t not singling out Dutertes – Palace

Malacañang yesterday denied that the Marcos administration is singling out the Duterte family.

“It was not filed during the time of President Marcos. It was filed during the time of his father, former president Duterte... Let us remember why it was filed before the ICC because the ICC does not recognize immunity from suit,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said, referring to the rule that a president cannot be sued while in office.

AFP allowance hike

The Department of Budget and Management has released almost P17 billion to cover the higher subsistence allowance of military personnel.

In a statement, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the agency has greenlighted P16.89 billion as prescribed under Executive Order 84 that raised the daily subsistence allowance of officers and personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

As a result, the military allowance will be retroactively increased from P150 to P300 per day effective Jan. 1, 2025.

No AFP censorship

The AFP confirmed yesterday that it has not issued any guidance restricting the freedom of expression of civilians, including the families of military personnel, on social media.

The AFP made the statement following a supposed March 17 memorandum from the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division that circulated on social media.

In the memo, AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. directed unit commanders and chiefs of offices to remind their personnel, including their dependents, to “avoid unnecessary posting/commenting on social media regarding current political situation and just focus on their respective job/task/mission.” – Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Alexis Romero, Pia Lee-Brago