President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government remains focused on preventing stagflation, warning that slowing economic growth combined with rising prices could threaten the country’s economic recovery efforts.
Mr. Marcos said the administration has been implementing measures aimed at sustaining economic activity while keeping inflation under control.
“The concern was about stagflation, in which the gross domestic product growth becomes stagnant, while inflation continues to increase,” Mr. Marcos told Japanese media during an interview in Malacañang on Monday.
He said the government has worked to ensure that the country’s economic system continues to function despite global economic uncertainties and the effects of the oil crisis.
“And so that is very important because we want to keep the system, the economic system, continuing to function. We have done all these measures to keep inflation down,” the president said.
The President said public spending has been accelerated to support gross domestic product growth after delays in government expenditures during the first quarter of the year.
According to the President, government spending has also been redirected toward programs that provide immediate assistance to ordinary Filipinos, including subsidies and fuel discounts for the transport sector.
“To boost growth, government spending has been directed more towards direct spending so that ordinary people can immediately feel the government’s assistance,” he said.
President Marcos also pointed to continued investor interest in the Philippines, which he attributed to government policies and incentives designed to encourage investments.
“Luckily, I suppose, or at least we are still continuing to see marked interest in investment in the Philippines,” President Marcos said.
The President added that supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises remains a priority, noting that MSMEs account for 95 percent of businesses in the country and employ about 63 percent of the Philippine workforce.
“We have to find new ways of encouraging investment. We have to find new ways of supporting MSMEs,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the Philippines could mitigate the impact of the global oil crisis if key sectors of the economy remain strong.
