Philippines to take 45 years to reach Singapore status—BSP exec

CAGAYAN DE ORO City, Philippines—It would take the Philippines 45 years before it reaches the current economic status of Singapore, according to a Bangko Sentral official.

Antonio Cintura, BSP’s director of economic research, said during the Philippine Economic briefing attended by business leaders here on Monday, that if the Singapore economic status was to be achieved, the country should make a lot of adjustments to make the economy run like a well-oiled machine.

Cintura said the Philippine economy has indeed been growing but sluggishly compared with neighboring countries, particularly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region.

The current economic growth of the Philippines is four percent.

“The Philippines is still lagging behind,” he said, adding that the Philippines has been running only next to Cambodia as the slowest-growing country in the Asean.

Compared with other rising Asian economies, the Philippines has also been behind, he said.

“On an average, China has a sustained an economic growth of 9-10 percent while the Philippines has only four percent growth annually,” Cintura said. Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the country might be poised for growth during the “Asian Century.”

The Asian Century is the so-called period when Asian economies would be stronger.

He said that a growth of 7-8 percent would be “reachable” for the country in the next five to seven years.

“We are building a stronger economy and creating more and better opportunities for our countrymen,” Cintura said.

He added that the country would weather the global economic and financial crisis now gripping many countries because the Philippines “is entering into the global economic and financial crisis from a position of strength.”

“The strengthening of macroeconomic fundamentals and stronger fiscal position placed the country in a good position to deal with both natural calamities and economic and financial volatilities,” he said.

Beltran said the economic fundamentals of the Aquino government also made them optimistic that the government would attain its target budget deficit of 3.5 percent for the current year and 2.5 percent in 2012.

He said to realize this, the government would continue its zero-based budgeting (ZBB) and to review all budget proposals to cut waste of fund.

“In ZBB, all national government agencies are required to present their programs’ outputs and outcomes,” he said.

Achilles Bravo, Southern Mindanao director of the Department of Budget, said the public expenditure management system adopted by the Aquino government would ensure that “every peso the government spends goes to the right projects.”

Beltran, meanwhile, said that the government has been increasing its revenue collections because of the strengthening of the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE), Run After the Smugglers (RATS), and the Revenue Integrity Protection Service campaigns.