Acuesta, Alfornon, Decasa, Guevara, Limbag, Padolina, Tanedo, Ticug

HMS12
Government’s Significance in the Growth of PH Economy

Government’s Significance in the Growth of PH Economy

“As PHL votes, experts say good governance is crucial for recovery” is an article by Kyle Aristophere
T. Atienza. He works as a reporter, community developer, social worker, and social entrepreneur. He is one
of Rappler’s authors and wrote multiple articles that involved politics. The article written by Atienza discusses
how the leaders elected by Filipino voters will oversee the economy's recovery following the pandemic. It
states that the next administration needs to re-evaluate the direction of the Philippine foreign policy
considering strategic alliances and partnerships, and their role in global and regional affairs and that the
administration should also consider economic diplomacy as one of the means to harness the contribution of
both state and non-state actors in national development. There are many expectations for the next
administration since the decline of the economy of the Philippines has affected many.

Analysts and industry experts said that the next Philippine president must immediately restore public
trust in the government, strengthen democratic rule, and pursue major economic and political reforms.
According to political observers, the 2022 presidential election has devolved into a two-way race between the
late dictator's only son and namesake, Ferdinand E. Marcos, and previous Vice President Maria Leonor
"Leni" G. Robredo. The Philippine economy was expected to recover from the pandemic last year, with the
government forecasting a 7-9% increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, multilateral agencies
forecasted lower-than-expected growth in the Philippines due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and
the ongoing pandemic. From 2020 to January 14, 2022, the Philippines borrowed P1.31 trillion and received
grants totaling P2.7 billion for its coronavirus response.

The government should make wiser and well-calculated decisions for the country’s economy. During
and after the pandemic, the Philippines’ economy declined significantly. According to the data gathered by
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Philippines had the worst economic performance in 2020. The real GDP
growth rate of the country was calculated to be -9.6%. They mentioned that it had become the largest decline
ever since the economic crisis caused by World War 2 and is worse than the impact of the Asian Financial
Crisis in 1997. However, when the COVID restrictions were lifted in the country, the economy started
recovering from the devastating effects caused by the pandemic. The Philippine economy even achieved the
fastest growth in over 4 decades. But with the circumstances and consequences brought by the
Russia-Ukraine war, the soaring inflation once again affects the country's economy and the citizens are
suffering from the skyrocketing prices (Karen Lema, 2023). There are numerous problems that need to be
given solutions for the economy to slowly improve.

The body of the article signifies that Filipinos should vote wisely for the Philippine country to have
good governance. This can affect the future of the country with regard to different aspects such as politics
and leadership, economy and recovery from international debts, as well as energy supply issues, food security,
and inflation. These issues have been mentioned by dignitaries and known personalities in the Philippines;
such as Michael U. Garcia who is an expert in political economy, Cielo D. Magno, an Economics professor at
the University of the Philippines, and Zyra Nadine Suzara, a public finance expert. There are issues with
foreign investors regarding the economic recovery plans of the two presidential candidates. Cielo D. Magno, a
University of the Philippines’ School of Economics professor, states that there is a higher probability of
foreign investors sustaining their investment if Ms. Robredo would win the election. While her opinion on
Marcos’—in her own words—” irresponsible promises” leads her to believe that the latter would not be able to
solve the investor confidence issue that the country is facing. Another reason why these investors are losing trust in
the government and pulling out is because of past actions done by the previous administration.
 According to Fransisco “Coco” Alcuaz, Jr., executive director of the Makati Business Club, President
Duterte showed “favoritism” to some business sectors while he hit others with populist attacks, causing investors
to be wary and afraid to expand their operations in the country. And as stated by Zyza Nadine Suzara, a public
finance expert and executive director of I-Lead, the debt accumulated during Mr. Duterete’s reign rose to a record
high, P12.68 trillion, a massive hurdle for the new administration to overcome and another possible reason for
investors to back out. She mentioned that “The next administration should manage the debt by improving revenue
management and expenditure management” in a Messenger chat. This means that the next Philippine president
must have a good plan for financial management reforms to strengthen the government's revenue collection and
budget spending performance. In addition, as the fourth paragraph states, the economic performance of the
Philippines is comparable to the economic crisis that occurred during WW2. Hence, further strengthening the
claim that the appointed government must make wise and well-calculated decisions concerning the country’s
economy.

About the "Business Concerns" in the article, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Chairman Gorge T.
Barcelon mentioned that the next Philippine leader should have strong experience in working with both the public
and private sectors to address the challenges in the export industry. So, the next president should be well-educated
in exporting goods and commodities internationally such as in China and other neighboring countries. Our future
president must know the shipping challenges facing the exporters; so that the country's supplies of food and
energy can be addressed. In the "Foreign Policy" part of the article, Dindo C. Manhit said, “The election of a
new president provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the direction of the Philippines’ foreign policy
considering strategic alliances and partnerships, and its role in global and regional affairs”. In here it explains
that the next administration can resolve and formulate new solutions to these issues like in the South China
Sea conflict. Based on the article, we should enhance and improve our security partnerships with international
alliances that have the same democratic values; for us to maintain the rules-based international system.

We can conclude that the Philippines is, for sure, in dire need of a good leader and government for
the future of its economy. Experts have deduced that good governance will be an important factor when it
comes to the growth of the PH economy as the economy is now withstanding strong growth as the GDP
rose to a 7.6% in the third quarter of 2022 (Biswas, 2023). This was due to the fact that it had recovered from
having eased previous COVID-19 restrictions. Although, as aftereffects brought by the Russian-Ukraine war
starts settling in, the country will need a helping hand in maintaining its current state now before it starts to
decline again. The new leader should also gain back the investors' and the public’s trust in order for them to
invest again. Regardless, the new president shall fix the issues brought by the former president as well as the
ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, or else our economy would continue to go downhill and eventually
hit an all-time low.
References:
● 2021 Mid-year CEO Survey. (n.d.). PwC.
Retrieved March 6, 2023, from
https://www.pwc.com/ph/en/publications/ceo-insights-surveys/ceo-pulse-2021.html

● Biswas, R. (2023, 1 20). Philippines economy shows strong expansion. S&P Global.
Retrieved March 6, 2023, from
https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/mi/research-analysis/philippines-economy-shows
-strong-expansion-jan23.html#:~:text=The%20Philippines%20economy%20has%20shown,to%20dr
ive%20strong%20economic%20growth

● Home. (n.d.). YouTube.

Retrieved March 4, 2023, from
https://ph.linkedin.com/in/kyle-aristophere-atienza-221b73129?original_referer=

● T, K. A. (2022, May 9). As PHL votes, experts say good governance is crucial for recovery.
BusinessWorld Online.
Retrieved March 4, 2023, from
https://www.bworldonline.com/top-stories/2022/05/09/447125/as-phl-votes-experts-say-good-go
vernance-is-crucial-for-recovery/