Marcos admin to prioritize economic recovery — Balisacan

President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s government will prioritize the recovery of the country's pandemic-battered economy, according to incoming Socioeconomic Planning chief Arsenio Balisacan.

In an interview on GMA News’ Unang Balita on Wednesday, Balisacan said that Marcos’ economic team is already crafting a plan for “next year, next three years, and for the duration of the administration.”

Marcos had a meeting with his economic team on June 6 to discuss the priorities of his administration.

“Ang unang una na priority ng administrasyon ay mapabalik, mapalago ulit ang ekonomiya at makapag-recover fast from the impact of the pandemic,” said Balisacan, the incoming National Economic and Development Authority chief.

(The first priority of the administration is to revive the economy and recover quickly from the impact of the pandemic.)

“Si presidente [Marcos] marami na ring mga utos lalo na ‘yung pag-address sa mga problema natin ngayon nasa kalagitnaan tayo ng krisis sa mundo lalo na ang pagtaas ng mga presyo at meron pang ongoing uncertainty sa COVID-19 so malaki ‘yung challenges natin,” he added.

(The president has several marching orders, particularly on addressing the problems now that we are in the middle of a global crisis, especially with rising prices and the ongoing uncertainty brought by COVID-19. The challenges are enormous.)

The war between Russia and Ukraine has been causing global crude oil prices to skyrocket, causing domestic pump prices for net importing countries such as the Philippines to increase.

The rise in fuel and transport costs caused inflation to accelerate to 5.4% in May, with quicker spikes seen in the prices of vegetables, meat, and fish.

The increase in transport costs due to the continued rise in petroleum prices had a spillover effect on the food basket.

According to Balisacan, the solution to the "scarring" on the economy caused by the pandemic is to accelerate recovery.

He also said the economic team will carefully study the fiscal consolidation plan proposed by the outgoing Duterte administration.

The Department of Finance recently unveiled a fiscal consolidation plan aimed at raising an average of P284 billion annually for the next 10 years to pay off the P3.2 trillion in additional debt incurred due to the pandemic.

The fiscal consolidation plan involves implementing new taxes, deferring personal income tax reductions, and expanding the value added tax base.

“‘Yun naman ay pag-aaralan naming mabuti to make sure na itong fiscal consolidation ay hindi maapektuhan or ‘yung burden of adjustment ay hindi sa mahihirap na nangangailangan ng tulong,” Balisacan said.

(We will study the fiscal consolidation plan to ensure that the burden of adjustment will not be on the poor, who need help.)

He said that whether or not taxes will be raised or new taxes will be imposed is not certain at this time.

However, the next NEDA chief believes that raising taxes at a time when prices are rising is a bad idea.

Balisacan added that the option of suspending fuel taxes will be carefully examined because it would result in decreased government revenues.

“Ang gusto nating magawa is ma-address itong problema sa high prices at the same time hindi mako-compromise ‘yung plano natin na makakatulong sa pag-adjust ng ekonomiya, paglago ng ekonomiya, at saka pagtulong sa mga nangangailangan na sektor gaya ng health, education, saka tinatawag natin na social protection,” he said.

(What we want to do is to address the problem of high prices and, at the same time, not compromise our plans to revive the economy and help sectors in need, such as health, education, and social protection.) —VBL, GMA News