Brightest prospects for Phl seen in the next 10-15 years

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines is yet to face its brightest prospects in the next 10 to 15 years, this according to economist Bernardo Villegas of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) confirming what economic experts in the world have been projecting for the Philippines. HSBC for one, he said has named the Philippines to be the 16th largest economy in 2050 based on Wider World in 2050 report.

“We will see a different Philippines in terms of growth in the next 10 to 20 years,” said Villegas.

What the Philippines has achieved right now, and where it will go economically has been the result of the positive contributions of the past Presidents, including what the Pnoy government is building at present.

Former president like Corazon Aquino, provided the restoration of democracy, which is now best in Asia, even better than Singapore. Past President Fidel Ramos, introduced the de-regulation and liberalization laws, wherein everybody is now enjoying its benefits through competitive telecommunciation services, and ultimately paved the way to the growth of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).

The actor President Joseph Estrada, despite the series of controversies during his administration, has also contributed a good development in agriculture, which built the farm-to-market road infrastructure in the country.

Meanwhile, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also established the Philippine Nautical Highway, the NLEX, and road network infrastructure all throughout the Philippines.

Now, what President Benigno Aquino III is doing is just strengthening the foundation that have been built by the previous administrations, and his thrust to curb the corruption is just the right road to take, and providing a foundation of “good governance” which investors have been waiting for, is the “way to go”.

“President Aquino is just building in the positive contributions of his predecessors, and governance is his greatest contribution,” said Villegas.

Villegas was in Cebu recently to speak before Cebuano businessmen and company decision makers on an economic briefing hosted by the UA&P and Strategic Business Economic Program, in cooperation with Cebu Business Club.

In his presentation “The Philippine Economy: Reaching the Tipping Point,” Villegas emphasized the positive road the country is headed regardless of who will sit as the President, after Pnoy.

“It doesn’t matter who the next President will be. He will have very little freedom to be tempted to be corrupt—because he will be constantly watched,” Villegas said.

Villegas mentioned what international bestseller “Breakout Nations” author Ruchir Sharma head of the emerging markets division at Morgan Stanley stressed in his book, saying that the Philippines is among the upcoming stars in the international economic scene, together with Turkey, Indonesia.

Sharma, warned that TIP (Turkey, Indonesia, Philippines) are the countries that should be watched out for in the next few years, while the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are losing steam.

The Philippines surprising growth in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of 6.4 percent is a good start to convince Filipino capitalists, and even ordinary Filipino to believe in the brighter economic future of the country, despite some negative attributes.

“We are different, in a way that we are being favored. Labor unrest in China right now? The Philippines had been able to experienced and overcame it during the 1990s, and even social unrest in other countries,” Villegas said explaining that what other countries are experiencing right now—the Philippines have been able to experience those already.

In terms of GDP growth, the Philippines is even better than Russia, and Brazil.

However, aside from establishing good environment for governance, curbing corruption, and pursuing PPP (Private-Public-Partnership), Villegas recommended that the present administration should also take serious look on changing the constitution, while some rules are already obsolete, and do not attract foreign direct investments (FDI) volumes, which the country is desperately needing to complement the rosy prospects. (FREEMAN)