The Philippines stands ready to manage the risks posed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the devastating effects of natural calamities, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Sunday, adding those factors have driven steep and persistent inflationary pressures on food, transportation, and energy.

The Philippines stands ready to manage the risks posed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the devastating effects of natural calamities, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Sunday, adding those factors have driven steep and persistent inflationary pressures on food, transportation and energy.

In his intervention during the Second ASEAN Global Dialogue, President Marcos said this will be done through the Medium-Term Fiscal Program and the upcoming Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, which will contain targets and strategic actions of government agencies in the next six years.

“I am quite optimistic that we have started along the path to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant problems in our economy,” said Marcos.

The chief executive noted the GDP displaying a rebound growth rate of 5.7-percent in 2021 and a 7.8-percent average growth rate for the first half of 2022.

“These numbers are welcome indicators. They show that our recovery is proving to be robust and that we are returning to our original growth trajectory prior to the crisis,” the President pointed out.

However, the President cautioned that everyone is not out of the woods yet.

Marcos maintained a single country cannot achieve economic progress alone.

“We, as ASEAN, must promote a people-oriented and people-centered recovery and development pathway beyond the COVID-19 pandemic,” Marcos said. #