Duterte reveals economic agenda: Aquino’s policies continued
Amid doubts whether the Philippines’ new president Rodrigo Duterte has an economic strategy for the country when he takes over from Benigno Aquino, who increased economic growth to one of the highest in Asia, Duterte’s financial advisor Carlos Dominguez – who is set to become finance secretary in the new government – unexpectedly came up with an eight-point economic plan for the Duterte administration on May 12.
The first point of the plan reads:
“Continue and maintain the current macroeconomic policies of the Aquino government”
The other points are
- Accelerate infrastructure spending by addressing bottlenecks in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program (also on the Aquino agenda)
- Ensure attractiveness of the Philippines to foreign-direct investments by addressing the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution and our laws in enhancing competitiveness of doing business in our economy;
- Pursue a genuine agriculture development strategy by providing support services to small farmers and rural development;
- Address bottlenecks in land administration and management systems;
- Improve the income tax system to make it progressive;
- Expand and improve the implementation of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) by considering inflation; and
- Strengthen basic education system and provide scholarships for tertiary education.
Dominguez, a former cabinet secretary for the Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos administrations, said that foremost, tax reforms will be implemented to allow lower income brackets benefit from reduced income tax, one of the core undertakings of the incoming government’s macroeconomic policies.
“We will improve the income tax system to make it progressive to enable those who earn a little to have more money in their pockets,” he said, adding that the income tax system would be adjusted to rising inflation.
With regards to foreign investment, Dominguez said that the new government will follow the “Davao model” where business licenses are given in the shortest possible time. In addition, this “also means reducing crime in the areas to increase the security of businessmen and consumers,” he said.
“We will also push for something more friendly to foreign investments,” he added, apparently referring to the fact that, currently, foreigners are barred by the Constitution from owning more than 40 per cent of real properties and businesses in the Philippines.
In addition, the new government plans to expand the nationwide coverage of the Philippine Health Insurance System.
Amid doubts whether the Philippines' new president Rodrigo Duterte has an economic strategy for the country when he takes over from Benigno Aquino, who increased economic growth to one of the highest in Asia, Duterte's financial advisor Carlos Dominguez - who is set to become finance secretary in the new government - unexpectedly came up with an eight-point economic plan for the Duterte administration on May 12. The first point of the plan reads: "Continue and maintain the current macroeconomic policies of the Aquino government" The other points are Accelerate infrastructure spending by addressing bottlenecks in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP)...
Amid doubts whether the Philippines’ new president Rodrigo Duterte has an economic strategy for the country when he takes over from Benigno Aquino, who increased economic growth to one of the highest in Asia, Duterte’s financial advisor Carlos Dominguez – who is set to become finance secretary in the new government – unexpectedly came up with an eight-point economic plan for the Duterte administration on May 12.
The first point of the plan reads:
“Continue and maintain the current macroeconomic policies of the Aquino government”
The other points are
- Accelerate infrastructure spending by addressing bottlenecks in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program (also on the Aquino agenda)
- Ensure attractiveness of the Philippines to foreign-direct investments by addressing the restrictive economic provisions in the Constitution and our laws in enhancing competitiveness of doing business in our economy;
- Pursue a genuine agriculture development strategy by providing support services to small farmers and rural development;
- Address bottlenecks in land administration and management systems;
- Improve the income tax system to make it progressive;
- Expand and improve the implementation of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) by considering inflation; and
- Strengthen basic education system and provide scholarships for tertiary education.
Dominguez, a former cabinet secretary for the Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos administrations, said that foremost, tax reforms will be implemented to allow lower income brackets benefit from reduced income tax, one of the core undertakings of the incoming government’s macroeconomic policies.
“We will improve the income tax system to make it progressive to enable those who earn a little to have more money in their pockets,” he said, adding that the income tax system would be adjusted to rising inflation.
With regards to foreign investment, Dominguez said that the new government will follow the “Davao model” where business licenses are given in the shortest possible time. In addition, this “also means reducing crime in the areas to increase the security of businessmen and consumers,” he said.
“We will also push for something more friendly to foreign investments,” he added, apparently referring to the fact that, currently, foreigners are barred by the Constitution from owning more than 40 per cent of real properties and businesses in the Philippines.
In addition, the new government plans to expand the nationwide coverage of the Philippine Health Insurance System.
