MANILA, Philippines — Despite controversies rocking the political landscape, investors will remain upbeat about the Philippine economy as long as the government sustains key policies and remains focused on attaining growth targets, according to the National Economic and Development Authority.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan cited the country’s experience in the 1990s, which saw continued economic progress despite political noise as policies and directions were sustained.
“What’s so important for the business community is the sustainability of our economic agenda... So long as the government stays on course, it stays within its development and economic priorities and programs, there are no deviations from these programs, the business community will continue to maintain their confidence in the economy,” Balisacan said at a press briefing yesterday at Malacañang.
“The impact of noises such as what we have now, if there is anything, (will) be quite minimal in the last 12 or so years, we’ll bear on that,” he said.
The feud between the Marcos administration and the Dutertes has been making headlines, deteriorating further after Vice President Sara Duterte disclosed that she had asked someone to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez if an alleged plot to assassinate her is carried out.
Law enforcement agencies have launched probes to determine the Vice President’s possible legal liability.
Tensions rose after former president Rodrigo Duterte called on the military to “correct” what he labeled a “fractured government,” a comment that the justice department said was “bordering on sedition.”
The trade department said the Philippines continues to lure investments despite recent political developments.
In their statement on the S&P Global Ratings decision to raise the Philippines’ credit rating outlook from “stable” to “positive,” economic managers said the Philippine economy “has proven time and again its resilience against both domestic and external challenges.”
According to them, it is “business as usual” for the Philippine government and its branches are focused on fulfilling their functions to achieve its prosperity agenda.
Marcos met with his economic managers, Romualdez and Senate President Francis Escudero yesterday at Malacañang to talk about the government’s priority projects.
Balisacan claimed the meeting was focused on the 2025 budget and the need to fund priority projects and did not tackle political issues.
Taxi drivers
Meanwhile, Japan is hiring over 20,000 taxi drivers from the Philippines, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said yesterday.
Four new categories are open for Filipino workers: taxi drivers, train drivers, forestry and lumber.
The hiring of Filipino taxi drivers is part of a five-year specified skilled workers program with Japan, according to DMW Undersecretary Patricia Yvonne Caunan.
Caunan said she intends to meet with Japanese embassy officials to discuss the hiring of Filipino taxi drivers.
The DMW will insist that Japanese employers shoulder the cost of language training, she said.
Caunan noted that they are seeing potential employment for domestic workers who will be trained to become caregivers in Europe.
The agency is also eyeing the hiring of Filipino workers in “green jobs” in 2025. Green jobs are decent employment that contributes to restoring the environment.
An overseas labor market forum was initiated yesterday by the DWM, aimed at identifying opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and ensuring the sustainability and development of the overseas labor market.
The DMW is embarking on medium and long-term plans in 2025 for overseas employment and migration management for the protection of OFWs, according to Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac. — Mayen Jaymalin