FORMER Albay Rep. Joey Salceda over the weekend credited President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s fiscal decisions for what he described as the country being “at the cusp or on the verge of another credit update,” arguing that tighter control over questionable spending has helped reduce the deficit and opened room for priority investments that strengthen the Philippines’ case for an upgrade.
“In fact, we are at the cusp or on the verge of another credit update, which means lower interest rate, which means more space for spending, for government investments in areas that will essentially support our competitiveness for foreign direct investments,” Salceda said during the Saturday Media Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
Salceda, an economist who previously served three terms as Albay governor and chaired the House Committee on Ways and Means, described as a turning point in the administration’s budget posture, recalling that Marcos moved to cut big-ticket allocations he linked to a flood control scam, a decision he said had the immediate effect of narrowing the deficit while keeping the government’s priorities intact.
Salceda then said improved fiscal headroom lowers borrowing costs and gives the government more capacity to invest in growth drivers, including areas that directly affect the quality of the labor force and the competitiveness of local industry.
The Philippines is currently investment grade across major credit rating agencies, and S&P Global Ratings has maintained a positive outlook on the country’s “BBB+” rating, a signal that an upgrade is possible if improvements are sustained.
Salceda’s point, in effect, is that the administration’s push to expose and squeeze out questionable items in the budget, including the flood control allocations Marcos cited in his State of the Nation Address, is freeing resources that can be redirected to social and economic priorities like education, health and agriculture.
“It was a blessing in disguise, I won’t call it a blessing, na ninakaw ’yung flood control. Pero dahil doon binawasan ni Marcos, andami niyang in-erase, hindi pinapalabas ang mga pera kaya tuloy meron tayong fiscal space and therefore, I think we are on the verge of getting a credit upgrade because of that,” Salceda said.
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