GMA: RP likely to meet growth forecasts despite 'Ondoy,' 'Pepeng'

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo remains optimistic the Philippines would meet its growth targets this year despite the devastation caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” that killed more than 240 people and damaged over P5 billion worth of agricultural properties and infrastructure.

Mrs. Arroyo said the government will “continue to work aggressively” in enhancing the country’s investment climate and improving revenue collection to allow for more pump priming programs, jobs and infrastructure and social spending.

Economic managers earlier this week said the destruction left by “Ondoy” might result in a lower growth of 0.7 to 1.7 percent from the original forecast of 0.8 to 1.8 percent.

“We will continue our Economic Resiliency Program. We will expand our conditional cash transfer program. And with the government supporting at all levels, national, local and our people continuing to work hard as they do – the great Filipino worker – we will not be deterred in our effort to maintain growth,” Mrs. Arroyo told The STAR in a pooled interview in her office at the National Disaster Coordinating Council in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“We will intensify our investment in infrastructure. We have an infrastructure to invest in the repair and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, especially the shovel-ready infrastructure,” she said.

Among the major initiatives she announced yesterday was having the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) defer collecting calamity and housing loan payments to their members for a year.

There are other schemes by various government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) to give slack to troubled businesses as well as special emergency loans for clients.

The P10-billion supplement budget to fund the rehabilitation efforts being hammered out in Congress would help in sustaining the country’s growth that, she said, was not hampered by the global economic crisis.

She said the administration’s emergency employment program would likely be extended to give jobs to those displaced by the calamity.

Mrs. Arroyo said the government would also strengthen its partnership with the private sector so that there would continue to be capital for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) “to keep operating or even expanding.”

She said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would also be retaining its low interest rates even as she would recommend to the Monetary Board next week a five-year special rediscounting window to refinance loans to individuals, entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves told The STAR that while there are fears the country’s growth might be slightly dented, there are “compensating factors” that could allow the economic targets for this year to be met.

These include increased remittances, foreign calamity assistance, and even new agricultural production.   – Paolo Romero