Dominguez says accelerated infra, social spending to keep Philippines on high-growth path

November 3, 2019

WASHINGTON DC—The Duterte administration is stepping up its accelerated spending on President Duterte's signature “Build, Build’ Build” program and on human capital development as the linchpin of a strategy to keep the Philippines’ high-growth momentum in the face of a global economic slowdown, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.

Dominguez told American business leaders and state executives here that these public investments, which will provide the highest returns both in the short run and long term, are complemented by game-changing reforms and strong macroeconomic fundamentals bolstered by prudent fiscal management and a stable monetary policy. 

The Philippine government is banking on this three-fold strategy to counter the external headwinds that threaten its efforts to keep the domestic economy among the fastest-growing ones in the world, Dominguez said. 

“Forecasts for global growth have been cut successively over the recent months.  The slowdown presents headwinds on our own efforts to grow our economy. But the Philippines continues to demonstrate strength, stability and resilience in adverse conditions,'' said  Dominguez during a roundtable lunch meeting with representatives from the United States government, various industries and sectors, economic think-tanks and the private sector.

''We hope to sustain our growth, relying on strong domestic demand to offset the general international uncertainty,” he added.

The lunch meeting, which was held at the residence of Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, served as a Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) to share the country’s growth narrative and exchange views on how to strengthen economic ties between the Philippines and US.

The Philippines will announce third quarter growth figures on November 7.

Dominguez said he is looking forward to hosting American business delegations looking for investment opportunities in the Philippines’ rapidly growing economy.

“Our alliance of long-standing should be strengthened even more by forward-looking business partnerships,” Dominguez said during the forum.

He observed that while the American investors have expressed interest in participating in the “Build, Build’ Build” infrastructure modernization program  on several  occasions, “no serious offer has come"  from them. 

One area where US businesses might be interested serves as the centerpiece of the Philippines’ “Build, Build’ Build” program—the New Clark City (NCC) in Central Luzon, Dominguez said. 

The NCC, which is being developed as the country’s first smart, green metropolis, along with the rapid transformation of the growth corridor between the Subic and Clark freeports—which used to be the sites of American military bases--should be of particular interest to US businesses, he added. 

After raising the Philippines’ infrastructure budget for the first time ever to over 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, Dominguez said the government will further ramp up spending on this sector to 7 percent of GDP by the time President Rodrigo Duterte leaves office in 2022. DMS