debt

New taxes to pay for Duterte indulgences, not for COVID response—IBON

May 26, 2022

The DOF’s proposed new taxes for the incoming administration are for paying off the Duterte government’s relentless borrowing for its infrastructure and debt servicing fetish, not for much-needed COVID-19 response.

PH isn’t Sri Lanka… yet

May 25, 2022

The Philippines isn’t going the way of Sri Lanka yet in defaulting on its foreign debt payments anytime soon. Which is not to say that there are no lessons to be learned from the first canary to die in the coal mine of growing global debt distress.

Duterte’s Borrowing Binge (as of March 2022)

May 6, 2022

The Duterte administration leaves behind the biggest debt burden on the FIlipino people since the Marcos dictatorship.

Gov’t, not pandemic, caused record deficits and debt – IBON

March 5, 2022

Had the Php5.3 trillion gross borrowings in 2020 and 2021 been spent on ayuda and producer subsidies, and less on infrastructure and debt servicing, economic rebound would have been bigger, revenues would have recovered faster, and there would have been less need for borrowing.

Record debt not due to COVID-19 response

March 5, 2022

The Duterte administration did not change its priorities despite urgent pandemic needs and, if anything, only used COVID-19 response to cover up massive borrowings for continued debt servicing and infrastructure.

Duterte’s borrowing binge

March 2, 2022

Government debt doubling in six years under the Duterte administration is the biggest increase since the Marcos dictatorship.

Yearstarter: Seeking better normal in 2022

January 14, 2022

The administration that is exiting and the new one entering can take a more rational and humane approach to recovering and reforming the economy.

Duterterioration of the Philippine economy

June 3, 2021

Under the Duterte administration,the Philippine economy was already weak before the pandemic and made worse by inept COVID-19 response.