The government posted a rare budget surplus due to its sale of the geothermal power producer PNOC Energy Development Corp. last month. This is one of the very few times when the Philippines posted a budget surplus and my outlook is not as optimistic as the government's cheerleaders.
Selling assets to increase revenue is nothing but a short term remedy. Good economic leadership is what this country needs in order to achieve sustained economic growth.
Despite that, the administration still aims to sustain this positive trend through a balanced budget by 2008.
In an economy such as the Philippines', a small gain can immediately be transformed into a huge loss. Political turmoil and an ambitious military can do that in an instant. Let's just hope that the soldiers will realize that they are hardly capable of being transformed into civilian leaders overnight and will stop entertaining messianic thoughts.
The politicians on the other hand, should realize the magnitude of hunger that they can induce by prolonging the passing of vital legislation and not stopping graft and corruption.
Selling assets to increase revenue is nothing but a short term remedy. Good economic leadership is what this country needs in order to achieve sustained economic growth.
Despite that, the administration still aims to sustain this positive trend through a balanced budget by 2008.
In an economy such as the Philippines', a small gain can immediately be transformed into a huge loss. Political turmoil and an ambitious military can do that in an instant. Let's just hope that the soldiers will realize that they are hardly capable of being transformed into civilian leaders overnight and will stop entertaining messianic thoughts.
The politicians on the other hand, should realize the magnitude of hunger that they can induce by prolonging the passing of vital legislation and not stopping graft and corruption.
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