'Sick man of Asia' on the road to recovery - Purisima

MANILA, Philippines - Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima’s presentation on the performance of the Philippine economy at a conference in the United States delivered the message that the “sick man of Asia” is finally on the road to recovery, according to the Philippine embassy in Washington.

In a statement, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. said Purisima presented the positive macroeconomic developments in the country resulting from the Aquino government’s mantra that “good governance is good economics” last Wednesday.

“Secretary Purisima did a very excellent job in painting a bright future for the Philippine economy and those who heard him - from officials of the United States government, representatives of think tanks, executives from big business and members of the media and academe, both Filipino and American - all agree that the Philippines has taken off,” Cuisia said.

Purisima told the conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the US-Philippines Society at the Capitol Hilton that President Aquino’s high approval and trust ratings of 78 percent have given his administration more political capital to pursue structural changes to transform the country.

He said the Aquino administration has strengthened its resolve to further consolidate fiscal position, maintain macroeconomic stability, improve the investment climate and ease the cost of doing business to transform the Philippines into Asia’s next tiger economy in the next several years and the world’s 16th largest economy by 2050.

“This road to recovery is reflected in the improvements in the Philippines’ ranking in governance and competitiveness indicators such as the World Economic Forum and credit rating agencies, which affirm the Aquino administration’s belief that good governance is good economics,” Purisima said.

“We are rolling up our sleeves and executing these initiatives on a day-to-day basis. We are investing in people, technology and processes, and changing the culture of Philippine institutions,” he said.