Economy is steadily improving — GMA

President Arroyo sees no reason for the public and her political opponents to engage in politicking because she says the economy is steadily improving.

"The peso continues to display its prowess against the other currencies in the region on the back of hardworking and patriotic Filipinos abroad driving alongside our domestic labor force — all for enterprising families in a strong economy," she said in a statement from Malacañang.

"This is an inspiration for all our people to break off from the shackles of political turmoil and push the economic engine to propel our country to first-world status in 20 years.

"The Philippine economic takeoff is imminent and let us not miss this opportunity of a lifetime to win the big stakes for a strong nation."

Mrs. Arroyo said her fiscal reform measures have increased investor confidence in the country, helping strengthen the economy and improving the country’s economic indicators in the past weeks.

Increased remittances from overseas Filipino workers also indicated rising confidence in the country’s economic future, she added.

Last Wednesday, Mrs. Arroyo said the improving economy had helped reduce political instability and made the people less prone to politicking and more hopeful about the country’s future.

"My economic plan and its tough, honest-to-goodness implementation overturned the political turmoil and opened the gates for surging confidence," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the administration’s economic roadmap is complemented by what she called "fair tax measures" via strong performance of revenue-collecting agencies.

The people must "not to lose sight of our lofty goals" for economic stability as the country has a clear roadmap for progress, she added.

Meanwhile, National Treasurer Omar Cruz announced on Wednesday that the government may be able to reduce its projected yearend deficit from P180 billion to P140 billion due to revenues generated from savings and fiscal measures.

The International Monetary Fund also upgraded its growth forecast for the Philippines to five percent this year from its original projection of 4.75 percent.

The administration this year implemented a series of fiscal measures — including the expanded value added tax and the Alcohol, Cigarette and Tobacco Tax — aimed at wiping out the deficit and balancing the budget by 2009.

Malacañang has been insisting that the taxes would have minimal impact on prices of basic commodities and that the government would implement measures to cushion the impact of the additional levy.

However, some international credit rating agencies cautioned that it was too early for the administration to rejoice over the latest economic figures, saying the government must take strong steps to address the country’s debt problem.

On Thursday, the peso registered its highest exchange rate vis-à-vis the US dollar in six months. — Paolo Romero