DOF chief: Stock market highs reflect investor confidence

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
(File photo by JOAN BONDOC / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Despite issues on the human rights situation in the country, the head of the Duterte administration’s economic team pointed to the strong stock market performance in recent weeks as reflecting investor sentiment.

Asked to comment about the recent move in the lower house to slash to just P1,000 the 2018 budget of the Commission on Human Rights, which reports quoted foreign investors as saying they were worried about, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters that even as “there’s a lot of talk about how will it affect” foreign investments, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was nonetheless hitting record highs.

On Tuesday, the local stock barometer neared the 8,300 level, racking up 113.29 points or 1.39 percent to close at a new high of 8,291.14.

As of last week, the PSEi jumped by about a fifth since the start of the year, Dominguez said.

“It seems that there are people who are voting in their pocket books for this administration’s policies,” according to Dominguez.

Addressing the issue, Dominguez noted that the Senate was expected to put the CHR’s full budget back. “I don’t know what will come out in the end, but it seems that democracy is working.”

Dominguez pointed out that the administration submitted a P678-million budget for the CHR.

“I am really confident that the legislature will come to a rational agreement on this budget,” the Finance chief said.