MANILA, Philippines – SINABI ni National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan na ang paglikha ng Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) ay hindi makapagpapataas sa utang ng bansa.
Sa sidelines ng forum sa Makati City, sinabi Balisacan na ang MIF ay mayroong “small initial capitalization to make an impact on the country’s fiscal health.”
“I don’t think so. That’s a small [amount] of P125 billion to P500 billion capitalization,” the NEDA chief said when asked if the MIF will further bloat the country’s debt stock.
Ito’y matapos naiulat ng Bureau of the Treasury reported na ang outstanding debt stood ng national government na P13.911 trillion “as of end-April 2023, up 0.4% from P13.856 trillion as of end-March 2023, mostly due to the weakening of the peso, which increased the local currency equivalent of foreign obligations during the period.”
Sinabi ni Balisacan na ang MIF ay mamuhunan sa profitable sectors gaya ng infrastructure at energy projects.
“We have a Medium Term Fiscal framework to address the issue of debt, deficits, macroeconomy, and the economy so I’m not too worried about it [debt],” anito.
Sa ilalim ng Medium Term Fiscal Framework, target ng administrasyon na ibaba ang debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio “to less than 60% by 2025, then further down to 51.1% in 2028, and reduce the budget deficit to 3.0% of GDP by 2028.”
“The debt-to-GDP ratio represents the amount of the government’s debt stock relative to the size of the economy,” ayon sa ulat.
“As of the first quarter of 2023, the Philippines’ debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 61%, down from 63.5% in the first quarter of 2022,” ayon pa rin sa ulat. Kris Jose
