THERE must be something in President Duterte’s character and demeanor that endears him to his hosts when he visits foreign countries, which many of us in our country, notably his critics, have so far failed to discern since he assumed the presidency. Otherwise, why is it that, despite his controversial statements, his seemingly uncontrollable tongue, the bad things that have been and are being written about him in the local and foreign press, particularly his “bloody and brutal” war on drugs, he has managed to score impressively in his foreign trips, far beyond the expectations of even his most ardent admirers?
Perhaps, we have not fully developed what outgoing Central Bank Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. described as the ability to be more discerning in distinguishing what is political noise and what should be pursued.
Consider the report of Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III that this early in his administration, Duterte has already managed to attract close to P1 trillion in official development assistance (ODA). “And I am only counting the amounts from China and Japan, and there’s more ODA that have been received but haven’t been counted in from various countries,” Dominguez said in his statement released by Malacañang. Duterte has also previously visited Thailand, Vietnam, Lao PDR, South Korea and Brunei Darussalam. The finance chief said he was referring specifically to the amount of ODA received, not including that which stand to be gained in the trade pacts that the President has already signed with the leaders of the countries he has visited.
If Duterte was that inept as a leader, why this huge assistance from his hosts, which, if managed well, would help the country’s economy leapfrog to the forefront?
Already, it is being bruited about that the Philippines’s growth story will continue despite growing external and domestic risks. Economists from banking giant HSBC, in a research note issued recently, forecast a 6.8-percent GDP growth for 2016 and 6.5 percent for 2017 and 2018. The World Bank, in its 2017 Global Economic Prospects, said it expects sustained economic growth in the Philippines at 6 percent to 7 percent level in the next three years. The watchdog Standard & Poor’s also upgraded its growth forecasts for the Philippines for 2016 and 2017, as it continues to see the economy remaining a “super performer” in the region.
Of course, domestic growth will continue to be threatened by several factors. The “domestic risk” list of outgoing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Tetangco mentioned traffic, lack of infrastructure and the weather.
His last item on the list was “political noise and the need to develop more discernment so we can distinguish what is noise and what needs to be pursued.”
In a recent speech before journalist-members of the Edsa Shangri-La Tuesday Club, Tetangco said that, despite the external and domestic risks (including the controversial statements of Duterte that are invariably described as “troubling” by some foreign businessmen operating here), “the country’s underlying growth story remains intact.”
Tetangco’s challenge to his audience: “We hope that you who actually write the news and determine what gets printed and talked about will help us put this story front and center.”