The Philippine economy will probably keep growing near 7% this year, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who struck an optimistic tone that the nation can weather a dimmer global outlook to produce what could be the fastest expansion in Asia.
(Bloomberg) — The Philippine economy will probably keep growing near 7% this year, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who struck an optimistic tone that the nation can weather a dimmer global outlook to produce what could be the fastest expansion in Asia.
“There is so much space, room to grow, in the sense that we are starting very many new things now,” Marcos said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The economy has been “rather stable” and unemployment is continuing to decline, he said. Marcos said the domestic economy “will be able to manage at least 7% growth for last year” and expand by a similar pace in 2023.
Marcos has faced numerous economic challenges in his first six months as the country’s leader, including tight public finances and rising borrowing costs. Soaring prices of essential goods from sugar to onions have driven inflation to a 14-year high and Marcos, who is also helming the agriculture department, has said farm production will be ramped up to rein imports and prices.
“The long-term solution of course will be to increase production. That is what we are working on,” the Philippine leader said during the interview. He added that his government has “started to rationalize the system because the illegal imports have been a problem.”
‘Red Line’
Marcos also spoke about geopolitical tensions during his Bloomberg Television interview, where he said trying to break an “impasse” with Beijing on South China Sea oil exploration talks was “a difficult thing.”
“We may find a way around that if we limit it to exploration, and hopefully, I think there’s still some give and take possible there,” the president said.
Like most in Southeast Asia, Marcos has sought to balance interests between US and China. He has tried to cooperate with China in agriculture and infrastructure and met with President Xi Jinping earlier this month, agreeing to pursue South China Sea energy exploration talks.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing in the disputed sea have risen recently, with the Southeast Asian nation expressing “great concern” over Chinese vessels massing off its western coast. China is building up several unoccupied land features in the South China Sea, Bloomberg News reported in December.
Marcos said he will not concede the Philippines’ territorial claims in the disputed sea. “That is the red line. That’s something that will not move and it’s something that we cannot cross because it’s a very slippery road from there.”
He also said the US has committed to give security support in the South China Sea. “When there are certain reports that come in, some of the American ships come down and make their presence felt. We were hoping that we keep and maintain that at that level.”
–With assistance from Niluksi Koswanage.
(Adds more quotes from Marcos throughout.)
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