THE Philippines is considered the “most ready” among the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to carry out a massive infrastructure buildup due to several positive factors supporting the economy, the Finance Department said Tuesday.
Finance cited the findings made by the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region.
Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the positive factors stressed by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific included substantial financing opportunities from the Philippines’ development partners, the government’s tax reform program and rising revenue collections, and the declining debt service ratio.
He said these would all contribute to an adequate fiscal space to allow the Philippines pursue an expansionary policy.
The UNESCAP, the largest UN body serving the Asia-Pacific, recently convened in Manila its Workshop on Infrastructure Financing Strategies forum to discuss the Philippines’ infrastructure needs and different financing modes and sources.
Beltran, who represented Finance in the dialogue held at the Shangrila Hotel in Makati City, said besides the ample fiscal space, the workshop cited the country’s strong financial system, which is teeming with excess liquidity and supported by a good supervision and a rising savings rate.
The workshop found the Philippines to be among the most ready in Asean in boosting infrastructure development, Beltran said in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
Beltran said UNESCAP also cited the government’s “strong project evaluation and prioritization system based on economic viability” in undertaking infra projects, and the Right-of-Way Law, or Republic Act 10752, which encourages the government and landowners to agree promptly on land transactions for infrastructure projects.
Another favorable factor cited by UNESCAP “is the country’s Public-Private Partnership law that sets up an institution and a set of rules to implement projects in an orderly manner and a private sector that is aggressive in participating,” Beltran said.
