MEETING WITH JUSTICE CARPIO ON WEST PHL SEA ISSUE: Senate President Franklin M. Drilon (left) and Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio (right) were all smiles after a briefing with senators on the West Philippine Sea issue at the Senate on August 12, 2015, Wednesday. Carpio was invited by Drilon to discuss with the senators the latest developments regarding the territorial disputes between the Philippines and China on the West Philippine Sea, currently the subject of a case lodged at the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Senate President Franklin Drilon warned Friday of a possible reversal of the country’s economic growth if wrong leaders are elected as he urged voters to make the sustainability of the economy a major issue in the May 2016 polls.
Drilon issued the statement following the report of the National Economic Development Authority that the country’s gross domestic product grew by 5.8% in 2015.
“There is a lot at stake for our economy in this upcoming election. All the economic gains we have achieved in the past six years will be put to naught and our people cannot fully benefit from them if our country falls into the hands of the wrong leaders,” he said in a press statement.
He said outgoing Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan is correct in saying that “the challenge for next administration is to maintain momentum for reforms.”
He said the ability of the country to sustain its economic momentum is mostly due to the reforms implemented by President Benigno Aquino III all throughout his term, buoyed by the fiscal discipline that was employed by his economic managers.
Drilon said that the 5.8% growth in 2015 is a far cry from the 1.1% recorded in 2009.
He said the economic gains could be reversed if the people would elect an inexperienced, ineffective, and corrupt leader.
“The upcoming election is crucial in the sustainability of these reforms. The election will make or break whatever we have started under the Aquino administration. We must safeguard the reforms we have painstakingly put in place,” said the Senate leader.
“Let us not throw away the gains we have made. Let us work together in order that we can sustain the reforms that made our economy robust and attractive to both local and foreign investments,” he added.
The Senate chief also said that the laws passed by Congress helped lay the foundation for a healthy economy. These include, among others, the Sin Tax Reform Law, the GOCC Governance Act, the Philippine Competition Act, as well as the law that allows the full entry of foreign banks.
Drilon is running for re-election under the administration’s Liberal Party. (MNS)