(UPDATE) THE prevailing political noise will not affect the performance of the economy, given the government’s “sound and sustained” economic policies, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Thursday.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan issued the statement after meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez in Malacañang on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, Balisacan said that “it’s business as usual” for the country’s economic managers even amid the worsening political strife between the and members of the Duterte family.
“I don’t think these political noises would have any impact on the economy. What is important is that our economic policies, our economic policy directions are sound and sustained,” Balisacan said during a Palace press conference.
“In fact, that has been the case for the Philippines since late 1990s — that the economy continued to progress despite the political noises simply because the economic policies and our directions have been broadly sustained,” he added.
Balisacan said the Marcos administration would continue to focus on meeting the targets set under the Philippine Development Plan to steer the country towards prosperity and resiliency.
“In this administration, we are so focused on ensuring that the goals and targets and strategies that we have outlined in the Philippine Development Plan will be achieved. And that’s what is important for the broad public to signal that the economic momentum is sustained,” he said.
The NEDA chief also said that for as long as the government stayed on course with its economic priorities and programs, the business community would maintain its confidence in the economy.
He said any impact from the political struggles would be “quite minimal.”
“What’s so important for the business community is the sustainability of our economic agenda,” he added.
During the same press briefing, Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said that more investments were also coming in despite the political tensions.
“There are a lot of investments that are coming in and we are pursuing those investments. So, they haven’t mentioned anything yet about these things that are happening in our country,” Roque said.
They issued the statement in the wake of increasing political tension ahead of the 2025 mid-term elections.
Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte, who were running mates in the 2022 presidential elections, have been embroiled in a worsening clash over the past months after the latter quit her post in the president’s Cabinet as Education secretary.
The feud has since escalated, with Duterte recently saying that she instructed someone to kill Marcos, his wife first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and his cousin Romualdez if she herself is killed, a statement she has since claimed has been “maliciously taken out of context.”
Duterte said her remarks were not a threat, and that she only highlighted the alleged threat to her security.
“They can always try to impeach me. They can always spend and waste the government’s money to impeach the vice president,” she said.
In response, President Marcos vowed to block “criminal attempts” against his life.
On Saturday, Malacañang said threats made by Duterte against Marcos have been referred to the Presidential Security Command (PSC) for immediate action.
The PSC later on implemented tighter security measures in the wake of the vice president’s supposed threat, which it considered a “matter of national security.”
“Acting on the Vice President’s clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the President if an alleged plot against her succeeds, the Executive Secretary has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action,” the Palace said in a statement.
“Any threat to the life of the President must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms,” it added.
No price hikes
In the same briefing, the DTI assured the public that there would be no price increases on commodities until the end of the year.
Prices of most items for noche buena (the Christmas eve meal), it said, would be the same as last year.
“First and foremost, for the prices for basic necessities, no price increase until the end of the year. And then for the Noche Buena, for more than 50 percent, the price will remain the same as last year. And for the others, they just increased but less than 5 percent,” Roque said in the same briefing.
“So, that will be steady until the end of the year, and will continue until the new year,” she added.
The official said minor price increases on certain commodities are already being implemented and represent the first adjustments since last year.
Among those with increased prices are mayonnaise, ham, pasta noodles, cheese, and all-purpose cream, Roque said.
These increases are necessary to account for rising costs, particularly for imported goods. However, the adjustments were kept minimal to ensure they would not overly burden consumers, she said.
Despite the slight price adjustments, consumer demand remains steady, a reflection of how Filipinos still want to celebrate the holidays.
The updated prices of Noche Buena package items can be found on DTI’s social media platforms and in newspapers for public reference, Roque said.
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