“The legacy of President Aquino should live on.”
This is the call of the business community following the death yesterday of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.
The business community credits Aquino for the economic reforms he initiated, and continued by the current administration, that put the country in strong standing amid the pandemic.
The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said Aquino’s administration was marked by impressive economic growth, with four credit rating upgrades and a significant increase in foreign direct investments, aided by his focus on transparency and good governance.
It was during his term that the Philippines won its first investment-grade credit rating. In 2013, three years into Aquino’s presidency, Fitch Ratings raised the country’s credit rating to investment grade citing the political and economic reforms implemented under Aquino.
Other credit rating agencies followed suit.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) in a separate statement cited Aquino’s remarkable achievements in growing the economy.
The GDP grew from an annual average of 4.5 percent before his term, to 6.2 percent during his 6-year reign. GDP growth peaked at 7.2 percent in 2013 when the country was the second fastest growing economy in Asia after China.
Benedicto Yujuico, president of PCCI, said Aquino strengthened the country’s fiscal stability and macroeconomic fundamentals.
Yujuico said on the back of his high-profile campaign to weed out corruption and the excellent performance of the GDP, the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDIs) steadily improved, rising by 60 percent when he stepped down from office.
“Although his administration had its fair share of challenges, the reforms he initiated in public infrastructure, the judiciary, education, health care, and social protections created an engine for progress. And he generated a new respect for the country on the world stage.
The West Philippine Sea arbitral ruling is evidence of international recognition of our territorial integrity,” MAP said in a statement.
The Makati Business Club (MBC) meanwhile said Aquino improved Filipinos’ lives “by combining pro-people social policies – modernizing education, expanding cash transfers, for example – with a relatively clean government.”
“ That meant taxes went to public services and infra, while foreign and local businesses were excited to make job-creating investments. History will judge him well,” MBC said in a statement.
Secretary Carlos Dominguez, of the Department of Finance (DOF) said economic reforms under the Aquino administration shaped the Philippines’ strong economic growth prior to the ongoing health crisis, foremost the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA) and Sin Tax laws.
“TIMTA Law which forced disclosure and subsequent analysis of amount of revenue foregone due to fiscal incentives granted to registered companies. This resulted in the formulation and enactment of CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act),” Dominguez said.
Cesar Purisima, finance secretary under the Aquino’s term, said the former president’s legacy is fiscal sustainability, having reduced debt as a percentage of gross domestic product to historic lows of 44.8 percent by 2015 and having weaned the country off foreign debt, with external financing also at their lowest share in the portfolio at 34.8 percent.
Purisima highlighted that Aquino ended his tenure with a record low 5.8 percent unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2016, “and with high consumer and business optimism.”
The Duterte administration also acknowledged the contribution of the Aquino administration in the planning and conceptualization of major infrastructure projects.
Transportation Undersecretary Timothy Batan said the government acknowledges previous administrations including that of the Aquino administration can be credited in the conceptualization, planning, approval of some of the railway projects that were eventually financed, awarded and constructed under the Build Build Build program/
Aquino’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) programs include Light Rail Transit line 1 extension to Cavite, the Metro Rail Transit line 7; Cavite Laguna Expressway project, the San Miguel Corp’s Skyway Stage 3 and the country’s first land port Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange. The construction of Mactan Cebu International Airport new terminal was also started during the previous administration. (Irma Isip, Angela Celis and Myla Iglesias)
