PH ‘not borrowing much’ compared to ‘crisis years’ – Diokno

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Based on projections and targets, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno does not see the Philippines “borrowing as much” during the Marcos administration.

At the economic briefing on Tuesday, a day after the State of the Nation Address, Diokno laid down the administration’s goals of bringing down the country’s debt.

“Our fiscal consolidation strategy will bring down our debt to GDP ratio from the current 63.5 percent to less than 60 percent by 2025. It will cut the deficit to GDP ratio from the current 6.4 percent to 3 percent by 2022,” Diokno said.

“The implication is clear: We do not have to borrow as much as we did during the crisis years,” he added.

GDP ratio refers to the size of a country’s debt relative to the size of its economy.

Diokno also stressed the administration’s goals to boost infrastructure projects in the country.

“At the same time, we will continue to boost economic activity with our massive infrastructure investments of 5 to 6 percent of GDP,” Diokno said.

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