PRESIDENT Duterte on Monday said the Philippines maintained its BBB+ credit rating which enables the country to borrow from international sources at low interest rates.
“I am happy to report that the Philippines has maintained its credit rating of BBB+,” the President said in a recorded public address that was aired late Monday night.
The President said the country sustained its good rating even as other countries had started to feel the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on their respective economies.
The President said the Philippines took immediate actions like the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon in anticipation of the effects of the coronavirus on the country.
Duterte also recognized the continued work exerted by government in cushioning the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic along with the lockdown and travel bans that ensued.
He also cited the hard work of the frontliners like the police and the military that implement the lockdown and the health workers that attend to the patients and those affected by the disease, among others.
It was, however, not clear what credit rating agency gave the BBB+ rating.
Fitch Ratings, in February this year, upgraded the Philippines’ “BBB” rating from stable to “positive,” while Moody’s Investors Service, in October last year, retained its Baa2 stable rating. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in April last year gave the country a BBB+ with a stable outlook.
