RP managed well despite financial crisis - Tetangco

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga — While the rest of the world reels from the global financial crisis, the Philippines is doing well, managing to grow by 7.3 percent in gross domestic product (GDP) during the first quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Thursday. In a retrospective forum at the inauguration of the newly constructed BSP building here, BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said the country’s economic resilience came from the “pursuit of sustained economic reforms under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. During her term, the average annual inflation was kept at single digits, dropping to 2.8 percent in 2007, the lowest annual average in 21 years. “This year, the average inflation for the year is at 4.3 percent, well within the government’s target of 3.5 to 5.5 percent for 2010," Tetangco said. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the economy owes much to higher levels of investment and consumption. “Right now there has been a shift of investments from developed countries, specifically from troubled European countries to Asia and [investors] see that the Philippines has been undertaking a number of reforms," Teves said. “So they look to the Philippines as a stable and profitable area to invest in," he added. Tetangco said the remittances of overseas Filipino workers were also responsible for the country’s fiscal stability. In return, the BSP is working to lower remittance charges and conducting financial education on investment opportunities and investor protection programs so that OFW families will receive the complete remittance from their loved ones, he added. —VS, GMANews.TV