In a recent conference held in Washington, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima shed some light on what took the Philippine government to achieve its current state, as one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. Owing much to the continuous pursuit of good governance, Purisima confidently said that the Philippines is now on its way to recovery from being the “sick man of Asia.”
Now known as Asia’s “new darling of investors,” the Philippines has been earning raves from the international business community. Aside from good governance, what made for a healthy economy also included practical spending, transparency, and the growing confidence of foreign investors to do business in the country.
To attest to what Secretary Purisima presented, a report from the Manilatimes.net last Oct. 3 said that Standard and Poor’s has recently upgraded the country’s growth outlook from 4.3 to 4.9 percent amid the cut and retained forecast of other Asian economies. The same report further noted that remittances, the services sector, and the thriving Business Process Outsourcing industry contributed to the country’s GDP growth for the first half which settled at 6.1 percent. In the second quarter, expectations were surpassed with a growth of 5.9 percent.
Like the rest of the predominantly American audience, US Assistant treasury Secretary Charles Collyns also expressed optimism over the accomplishments of the Philippine government. Manila’s participation in innovative programs such as the Millennium Challenge Account Compact and the Partnership for Growth as well as for “having graduated with honors” from the International Monetary Fund Program has led Sec. Collyns to believe that the Philippines is on the right path towards becoming a tiger economy in Asia.
The Vice president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Stephen Groff, agreed with Purisima when he said that a bright future awaits the country. Groff attributed the thriving economy with the wise spending of the government and the continuous flow of investments under the Public Private Partnership (PPP). The ADB also recently hiked the country’s growth domestic product (GDP) amid the sluggish growth of the Asian economy. In its latest Asian Development Outlook released this year, ADB upgraded the country’s GDP from 4.8 percent last April to 5.5 percent in the second half.
While business confidence could greatly contribute to the economic progress of the country, Neeraj Jain, ADB country director for the Philippines, mentioned in a report from Philstar.com that “despite solid economic growth, job generation remains inadequate” in the country. This, according to Jain, is reflected in rates of unemployment and underemployment. She also added that “the incidence of poverty remains high at 26.5 percent in 2009, compared to 26.4 percent in 2006 and 24.9 percent in 2003.”
Addressing the audience composed of US officials, think-tank representatives, prominent business leaders, the media and the academe, Purisima gave assurance that the government is on a constant roll to excecute these initiatives “on a day-to-day basis.”
Being sick requires more than temporary attention for relief. More than the prescripted medication, having a positive outlook partnered with the necessary discipline are better than any medical treament could provide.
Likewise, in dealing with what was once considered a weak economy, it takes a lot of effort and time to heal and show the world that it can also rise up and be strong like others.
The road to economic stability may be rocky, but if the Philippines continue to face challenges with enough persistence, patience, discipline and mutual belief that success can be achieved, nothing is ever impossible.
(AJPress)
