MANILA, Philippines – In a rare move, the Philippines’ economic managers issued a joint statement on Wednesday, November 27, which touched on the political rift between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte. 

The statement, released by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Finance, and Department of Budget and Management, first welcomed the upgrade in the Philippines’ ratings by S&P Global Ratings from stable to positive. 

They then “stressed that the Philippines is determined to achieve an ‘A’ rating and the administration is ensuring that the transformation of the economy will not be set back by political challenges.” 

“The economic managers note that the Philippine economy has proven time and again its resilience against both domestic and external challenges, whether arising from natural disasters, geopolitical risks, election cycle tensions, global or regional financial crises, supply chain gaps abroad, cybercriminal activities, or other crises. Hence, it is business as usual for the Philippine government,” they said. 

The joint statement was issued by four economic managers of the Marcos administration: 

• Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go
• Finance Secretary Ralph Recto 
• Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman
• National Economic and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. 

S&P Global Ratings, on Tuesday, November 26, upgraded its outlook for the Philippines to positive from stable, as it affirmed its BBB+/A-2 sovereign credit ratings for the country.

“We believe that effective policymaking in the Philippines has delivered structural improvements to the country’s credit metrics. Fiscal reforms have raised government revenue as a share of GDP and helped to fund public investment. Improved infrastructure and policy environment have helped to keep economic growth strong in much of the past decade,” S&P said. 

“The country’s external position remains a credit strength reflecting rising foreign exchange reserves and low external debt,” it added. 

The joint statement of the economic managers said the Marcos administration was on track with its “fiscal consolidation plan,” citing the recent passage of the CREATE MORE tax reform package and other laws. 

They said these developments are supported by the Philippines’ “robust consumer base, past structural reforms, and steady inflows coming from overseas remittances and BPO [business process outsourcing] receipts.” 

“All branches of government are focused on fulfilling their various functions in a whole-of-government approach towards our Agenda for Prosperity,” they said. 

Budget Secretary Pangandaman said she was “confident” that the Philippines would eventually get an “A” rating.

“I have always been confident that we can achieve an ‘A’ rating for all credit rating agencies and now, with this latest upgrade from S&P, we are getting closer to achieving this dream,” she said on Wednesday.

In an interview with ANC’s Market Edge on Wednesday, Joey Roxas, president of Eagle Equities, likewise downplayed the political rift. 

“For investors, I don’t think it should really matter. They don’t seem to be touching on any economic policy at all. It’s really just politics. Take it at that, it’s just noise,” Roxas said. 

‘No organization for coup’

The rift between Marcos and Duterte has escalated in the past week with the Vice President warning over the weekend that she had contracted someone to kill the president, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and the president’s cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, if she is killed. 

Former president Rodrigo Duterte, on Monday, then urged the military and the police to intervene to “protect the Constitution” amid what he described as a “fractured” government, but stopped just short of explicitly advocating for a coup d’état.

A small group of Duterte supporters mobilized on Tuesday and Wednesday at the EDSA Shrine, site of the historic people power revolution in February 1986 which led to the fall of the Ferdinand Marcos Sr. dictatorship. 

On Wednesday, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, belittled the former president’s call, saying that although “some are still loyal to the former president,” Durterte had no organization yet for a military intervention. 

“Fortunately for us, this level of loyalty or sympathy hasn’t reached that point wherein they will cross the line and break the chain of command as we did back in 2003,” Trillanes, a former mutineer during the Gloria Arroyo administration, said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) Headstart on Wednesday.

“There are levels or phases before there is an actual military intervention — such as a coup or a mutiny — but they haven’t reached that point because they need to organize and there is no organization yet,” he added. 

He said most of the sympathizers of Duterte are already retired from the country’s armed services. – Rappler.com