STRUCTURAL reforms and policies have made the Philippines highly attuned to global risks, economic managers claimed on Monday as they made the case for investing in the country.

These and strong macroeconomic fundamentals have allowed the Philippines “to weather the pandemic” and positioned it to be “one of the fastest rising economies in the Asia-Pacific region,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told potential European investors.

He spoke in Frankfurt, Germany during the first leg of the 2023 Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) that will run up to Friday, January 27, with another stop in London.

Diokno highlighted the recovery made following 2020’s 9.5-percent contraction, with gross domestic product having rebounded to an annual 7.7 percent as of the end of September last year.

Fourth-quarter and full-year results will be announced this Thursday, and Diokno has previously said that 2022 growth would be at least 7.5 percent, at the upper end of the government’s 6.5- to 7.5-percent target.

“Our dramatic recovery was the result of deliberate, well-crafted structural reforms and the resolve to recalibrate policies during times of crises,” the Finance chief said, noting that these had paved the way for the economy’s reopening, improved the ease of doing business and allowed industries to grow.

The reforms, among others, include the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, and the liberalization of the renewable energy sector to allow full foreign ownership.

Diokno also claimed that the government had created a “more competitive” and enabling environment for public-private partnerships that allowed it to direct more public resources to critical areas.

The controversial Maharlika Investment Fund, meanwhile, will serve as a vehicle for private and public sector funds to be used for infrastructure development, create jobs, increase incomes and promote growth.

In all, “our strong economic base is a fertile ground for your investments,” Diokno said.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, meanwhile, spoke on expenditures to be prioritized this year in line with the 20232028 Philippine Development Plan.

The agriculture budget, for example, was said to have been increased by 40 percent from last year with the government looking to add more farm-to-market roads and agricultural facilities to boost productivity and ensure food security.

Infrastructure — public, digital and social — will be upgraded to establish an enabling environment for growth, Pangandaman added, with the Transportation department having been allotted P106 billion from projects.

As for social services, P896.08 billion has been programmed for education, still the number one priority as mandated by the Constitution. The Health department will get P314.7 billion while P199.5 billion will go to the Social Welfare development.

To ensure program longevity and continuity, Pangandaman stressed that “we have set in place legislative and budget reforms to safeguard the integrity of our budget process.”

The PEB was organized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in partnership with the British Embassy in the Philippines, Philippine embassies in Europe, and banks such as HSBC, UBS, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley, among others.