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An expert
economist and lawmaker said on Thursday that our country got a credit rating
upgrade to A level is a great indication that we are now among the list of
strongest emerging economies in the world.
House ways
and means committee chair Joey Sarte Salceda made the remark after Japan Credit
Rating Agency Ltd. (JCR) upgraded the country’s sovereign rating from BBB+ to
A- with a “stable” outlook.
Salceda
said the credit rating adjustment is an unprecedented achievement in the
country’s fiscal position, and an affirmation of the country’s commitment to
fiscal reform.
“This is an
unprecedented achievement and it is a validation of the hard work we have been
doing over recent years,” he said
“In
previous crises, we had to enact painful reforms to make up for the sins of the
past… that’s why I am relieved that we are facing the current crisis from a
position of great strength.” Salceda added.
The economist-lawmaker
relayed that tax reforms and capital adequacy of the financial sector are the
basis of the good assessment.
“The
Duterte administration's centerpiece infrastructure development policy and
Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) aimed to secure part of the development
costs have been steadily progressing since JCR's last rating review,” the
agency’s research note added.
With this,
Salceda suggests that because of the favorable rating, the country can borrow
promising rates and the government can strengthen infrastructure spending more
sustainably.
“I take
this as a sign both to continue the pace of reforms that we have undertaken and
to push for reforms that will speed up infrastructure completion to bolster GDP
(gross domestic product) growth,” Salceda added.
“I will
continue to work with the economic managers so that we get the necessary
policies to make implementing our growth and recovery strategies easier,” he
said
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