The incoming administration is basically keeping the character of the Cabinet economic team intact—many of the appointees had worked in previous governments from the late President Corazon Aquino to outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte.
The new members of the economic team will not likely drift from the mindset of their predecessors. They are expected to build on the economic reforms and the policies of the Duterte government and past administrations—meaning President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will advocate free trade, fiscal discipline, a more open economy and less bureaucratic red tape to boost business activities. In sum, the appointment of the new economic team assures us of policy continuity and precludes a drastic change in doing business in the Philippines.
Incoming Finance chief Benjamin Diokno is the perfect official to lead the department. He will be the top economic manager in charge of raising revenues to keep the economy and the government afloat amid these trying times. Mr. Diokno will also see to it that the right macro-economic policies are in place to boost economic growth and create jobs.
With his past immediate job as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor, Mr. Diokno is very much aware of the challenges facing the Philippine economy. In accepting his new job, Mr. Diokno stressed the continuity of sound macro and fiscal policies to achieve a stronger post-COVID Philippine economy. He vowed to “continue prudently and carefully balancing the need to support economic growth, on one hand, and to maintain fiscal discipline, on the other.”
The Philippines, like the rest of the world, is still facing a pandemic that won’t simply go away. COVID-19 has exacted a toll on the economy and the nation’s fiscal health. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has compounded the world health crisis when it sent oil and commodity prices spiraling.
Many members of the new Cabinet economic team, which include Felipe Medalla as the new BSP Governor and Arsenio Balisacan as chief economic planner and director of the National Economic and Development Authority, are not new to their jobs. They have the perspective and the tools to push the economy forward and keep inflation at bay. They must also innovate to adapt to the advances of the digital age.
