Gov’t urged to step up stimulus spending

To minimize the pandemic-induced economic scarring, the Philippines needed to tap its available fiscal space to ramp up stimulus spending amid the threat posed on recovery by the more contagious COVID-19 strain, London-based Capital Economics said.

In a webinar, Capital Economics senior Asia economist Gareth Leather noted that while recent COVID-19 infections in the Philippines were relatively lower compared to spikes in neighboring Malaysia and Thailand, “cases are starting to take off as well, especially now that the Delta variant has taken place.”

With easing inflation and the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) still about 10-percent smaller than prepandemic levels, Leather expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to ease interest rates to aid in economic recovery.

Leather said the support extended by the Philippines and Indonesia to sectors badly hit by the…