Everybody Is Bullish On Philippine Economy: Miraflores

By Venus G. Villanueva

“Everybody is bullish about the Philippine economy”, said Aklan Rep. Florencio T. Miraflores.
He issued this statement over the radio in Kalibo, Aklan as he tried to assess the economic progress the country is reaping right now.
“Investors are coming in. This is good for the country. They view the Philippine economy as very bright. This would create more jobs and more food for the people. There are new businesses coming in, there are many call centers and infrastructure projects. There is infrastructure boom in the country, many buildings are being built in Manila and even in Boracay,” the Aklan solon said.
“These spell positive things for our country with many investors wanting to do business here, despite the political noise”, Miraflores pointed out. “Overall, our economy is getting better. There are long term investments and we can feel that in the next three to five years, there will be job opportunities for our children. That’s why we must move forward and leave the political noise to the politicians,” Miraflores said.
As Aklan’s representative to Congress, Miraflores is keen on bringing infrastructure projects to the province for further enhancement of its agriculture and tourist thrusts.
The Philippine eco-nomy is currently further buoyed by strong inflows of portfolio investments and remittances from Filipinos working overseas which continue to support the peso’s climb to a seven-year high of P44.15 to the dollar. The Philippines peso, which is now considered one of the best performing Southeast Asian currencies, had risen about 11 percent this year. It is expected to continue getting stronger until the end of the year due to increasing remittances by overseas-based Filipinos for Christmas holiday spending and capital inflows.
Due to the appreciation of the peso against the US dollar, the government’s outstanding debt decreased by 0.5 percent in July from June. Domestic debt fell by 0.2 percent in July from June and the value of the foreign debt decreased by 0.8 percent which took out all the equivalent of P30 billion from the government’s debt.
The improving business sentiment due to the impressive performance of the economy and the improvement in its economic policies has encouraged an increasing inflow of foreign direct investments. /MP