Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Monday President Rodrigo Duterte had met expectations and kept his campaign promise of real change halfway through his administration.
During the 2019 Pre-SONA Economic and Infrastructure Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center, Dominguez said the Duterte administration was armed with “great political resolve” to carry out far-reaching reforms to fulfill its ultimate goal of not only sustaining high growth but alleviating poverty and creating more opportunities for all law-abiding Filipinos.
Dominguez said with rapid economic expansion in place and with the President continuing to enjoy broad and deep public support, the Philippine economy was expected to perform even better in the years ahead.
The economy, he said, grew at an average of 6.5 percent during the first 11 quarters of the Duterte administration, overcoming increased global uncertainty, a weak agriculture sector, a spike in world oil prices and a brief episode of elevated inflation.
Dominguez said Filipinos were now reaping the rewards of a well-managed economy and the bold reforms implemented in the first three years of the Duterte administration.
He cited the latest unemployment figures averaging 5.5 percent from 2016 to 2018 and dipping further to 5.2 percent in April 2019, the lowest in 40 years.
He also cited the decline in the poverty incidence from 27.6 percent in the first half of 2015 to 21 percent in the first half of 2018, which was confirmed by independent opinion surveys on self-rated poverty, which was reported at only 38 percent, the lowest number ever.
Dominguez also cited the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Act, which he described as “an achievement of this administration,” for providing the majority of the country’s workers with tax savings equivalent to about a month’s extra take-home pay; removing the value-added tax on the medicines for diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, and lowering estate and donor taxes to a single rate of 6 percent to free up idle real properties for productive use.
“Over the past three years, the Duterte administration has shown great political resolve. Reforms across a broad spectrum were initiated. Robust economic growth continues to gain momentum. Massive investments in our economy’s competitiveness continue to be made,” Dominguez said.
“Ambitious programs have been instituted. Our fiscal position has been strong and is as strong as it has ever been.”
The Pre-SONA forum, with the theme “Game-Changing Reforms for Sustainable Development,” featured the reports of the Cabinet’s Economic Development Cluster led by Dominguez and its Infrastructure Cluster headed by Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.
“At midpoint, there is much to celebrate. But there are also larger goals that we yet have to accomplish. President Rodrigo Duterte enjoys broad and profound support from our people. They appreciate the sincerity, the hard work and the visionary strategy of this administration,” Dominguez said.
He said this strong support was again expressed by the people during the recently concluded midterm elections, as shown by the landslide victory of the candidates endorsed by the President, “which translates into the approval of the reforms he has launched from the start of his term.”