With shocking statements like “I don’t give a shit about… the son of a bitch United Nations“, “why are you Americans killing the black people there, shooting them down when they are already on the ground?”, calling the US ambassador to his country an “Annoying, homosexual, son of a bitch” and even joking about gang rape, not to mention his radical policies including the “no questions asked” killing of hundreds of drug dealers, the Philippines new president Rodrigo Duterte quickly got the nickname of the “Philippines’ Donald Trump.” More importantly, he is also seen as unleashing an unexpected “economic boom” success story.
As Reuters reports, less than two months in office, Duterte is getting high marks from the business community for policies that could engineer an economic surge and companies say they are making new investments as a result.
Shockingly, while the Philippines “Donald Trump” may be getting – and has been getting – headlines for a bloody war against drug dealers and users, less attention has been paid to one of Asia’s few economic success stories. To be sure, some of the groundwork was laid by Duterte’s predecessor, President Benigno Aquino, who took growth above 6% over his six-year term , but executives are cheering the new administration’s focus on building new infrastructure and say it could spell the start of a long-term boom. Some even see Duterte’s violent and highly controversial anti-drugs campaign as potentially positive.
“We are in a very good spot,” said Antonio Moncupa Jr., president and CEO of East-West Banking Corp, one of the top 10 lenders in the country. “The pronouncement of government prioritising infrastructure spending, accelerating it and cutting red tape, solving peace and order, I think all point to very good prospects ahead.”
It’s not just hype: last week, the government announced that the Philippines’ economy grew at 7% in the second quarter from a year earlier, its highest level in three years. It makes the Philippines the fastest growing among all countries that have reported so far for the second quarter. – READ MORE
