IMF, World Bank told to help curb ‘polycrisis’

MANILA  -Multilateral financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) Group should do more to combat multiple and simultaneous crises their member-nations are facing, especially the effects of climate change and high inflation.

Thus said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno as he addressed the meeting of representatives of the Group of 24 in Washington D.C. yesterday, highlighting the challenges faced by developing countries around the world, including the Philippines.

“The ‘polycrisis’ we’re facing threatens to reverse the years of progress we’ve made towards poverty reduction and shared prosperity,” he said, speaking as first vice chair of the body and the country’s sitting governor at the World Bank. “Together, we must be decisive in tackling these challenges.”

In particular, Diokno raised four areas that need to be addressed: inflation, climate, international tax reform and ongoing reforms to the Bretton Woods institutions.

He shared that, while Philippine inflation eased to 7.6 percent in March 2023 from 8.6 percent in February, the key metric remained at elevated levels due to high food and energy prices.

Philippine authorities—especially the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas under Governor Felipe Medalla—have moved aggressively to mitigate the effects of inflation. Other measures included the promotion of food and energy security and the provision of timely and evidence-based recommendations considering global and regional developments.

Diokno also stressed the urgent need to respond adequately to the climate crisis, saying it was “clearly one of the biggest adversaries of development.”

“When disaster strikes, climate-vulnerable countries such as the Philippines stand to lose the most,” he said.

Because of this, he called for global cooperation to facilitate a just green transition. INQ

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