MANILA -- The Philippines stands ready to manage the risks posed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the devastating effects of natural calamities, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Sunday, adding those factors have driven steep and persistent inflationary pressures on food, transportation and energy. 

In his intervention during the Second ASEAN Global Dialog, President Marcos said this will be done through the Medium-Term Fiscal Program and the upcoming Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, which will contain targets and strategic actions of government agencies in the next six years. 

“I am quite optimistic that we have started along the path to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant problems in our economies. Our GDP has displayed a rebound growth rate of 5.7 percent in 2021 and we have averaged in the first three quarters of this year above 7 percent growth rate,” said Marcos.

“On the other hand, our inflation rate has reached a peak of over 7 percent. This has gone down and it hovers around 5 and a half percent right now, upon the upward adjustment of our interest rates of 75 basis points.  So overall, it is clear that inflation remains a continuing concern. Although these numbers, many of these numbers, are welcome indicators. They show that our recovery is proving to be robust, and that we are returning to our original growth trajectory prior to the pandemic,” the President pointed out.

However, the President cautioned that everyone is not out of the woods yet. 

Marcos maintained a single country cannot achieve economic progress alone. 

 “We, as ASEAN, must always promote a people-oriented and people-centered recovery and development pathway beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” Marcos said. (PND)