Eco managers urged to push reforms to shield RP from crisis
Iris C. Gonzales
Philippine Star
Government economic managers should push for reforms that would help the Philippines cope with the impact of the global financial turmoil, Senator Edgardo Angara said yesterday.
The lawmaker noted for instance that the government should push for the amendment of the charter of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to give the monetary agency more regulatory powers.
“Reforms such as the amendment of the charter that will authorize the Central Bank to extend its supervision to subsidiaries and affiliates must be carefully considered,” Angara said.
Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said strengthening the regulatory powers of the Philippine central bank would help isolate the financial institution from the current global financial turmoil.
He also reiterated previous calls on the government to abandon its balanced budget goal and instead use the money to pump-prime the economy. The government has a goal to balance the budget by 2010 but some economic managers already conceded that this might be difficult to achieve given the current situation of the world economy.
“What the government needs is good fiscal and financial management,” said Angara.
Latest Finance data showed that the National Government’s budget deficit swelled to P9 billion in October from a deficit of P1.5 billion in the same month last year as the state spent more than it earned during the period.
Expenditures amounted to P101.6 billion in October, up 19.3 percent compared to the P85.2 billion disbursed in the same period last year. Revenues reached P92.6 billion during the month, a growth rate of 10.7 percent compared to the P83.7 billion it earned in the same period last year.
The October deficit brought the January to October budget gap to P62.3 billion compared to the P41.5 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Total expenditures for the 10-month period amounted to P1.03 trillion or 10.4 percent higher than what was recorded in the same period last year of P937.4 billion. Total revenues, on the other hand, amounted to P972.6 billion, an increase of 8.5 percent from last year’s P896 billion.
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