NUMBERS DON’T LIE. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman (2nd to 4th from left), with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila (leftmost), gather for a briefing in this undated photo. The officials said the drop in President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s approval and trust ratings won’t distract them from their work. (Photo courtesy of DBM Facebook)

MANILA – Members of the economic team on Friday assured that they remain confident in President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. despite a drop in approval ratings based on a recent survey.

Approval and trust ratings fluctuate given uncontrollable factors such as global or regional shocks, but the economic team remains confident in Marcos, who continues to have one of the highest trust and approval ratings in the world, the officials said in a joint statement.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman make up the President’s economic team.

The economic team made the statement following the results of a recent “Pahayag” survey which showed that “economic headwinds” caused President Marcos’ approval rating to go down from 62 percent in the second quarter to 55 percent in the third quarter.

Results of the survey conducted by PUBliCUS Asia Inc. Inc. also showed that the President’s trust rating went down to 47 percent from 54 percent.

“As surveys are primarily based on perceptions, not facts, let it be clear that on GDP (gross domestic product) growth, the Philippines’ real GDP growth of 5.3 percent in the first semester of 2023 in fact proved to be highest among emerging markets in the ASEAN-6, beating Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand,” the economic team said.

They added that the Philippines was also the third fastest growing economy among Asian countries with available GDP data, following only India, which was first with a real GDP growth of 6.9 percent for the first half of the year, and China at 5.5 percent.

“Rest assured that regardless of any survey, the economic team has been working doubly hard to improve the economy even against various headwinds and ensure that the government’s package of economic policies remains sound, responsive and coherent,” the economic team added.
The economic team pointed out that the DBM already issued a circular asking national government agencies to quicken the implementation of their programs and projects in light of the significant drop in government spending in the second quarter to bring growth rate back on target.

Monetary and fiscal authorities are also ramping up efforts to temper inflation to bring it back to the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent by the fourth quarter of 2023 and settle within the target range in 2024 and 2025.

“Our economic performance in 2022 was one of the best in the world and we will do everything we can to make sure that we continue to achieve our growth targets and stay on track with our Agenda for Prosperity,” the economic team said. (PNA)