Frederick Go, special assistant to the president for investment and economic affairs, on Thursday allayed concerns raised by the United States State Department that corruption remains a major barrier to investments in the Philippines.
He said the administration’s ongoing probe shows its seriousness in pursuing clean governance.
At a briefing, the official was asked whether or not Malacañang is bothered by the assessment and how it would affect the Philippines’ image globally. ‘I’d just like to stress that the swiftness and decisiveness of the president (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) shows the resolve of the government to clean up corruption, which is good for the economy and builds confidence,’ Go responded.
‘From the formation of respectable members of the independent commission to the very swift appointment of an Ombudsman with gravitas (high seriousness), it shows how serious the president is about fixing this problem,’ he also said.
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Go noted that ‘the negativity is overblown’ and that the Congress and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s probe into anomalous flood-control projects will be good for the country in the long run.
‘The effect of this is that the budget, and we already see it now, will be more efficiently spent and allocated on more productive programs which will benefit the country and our people,’ explained the presidential assistant.
‘Better deployment of the budget will result in projects with greater multiplier effect, bringing about better effects on the economy and jobs created. So while this may be a short-term issue, it definitely will have long-term benefits,’ he added.
According to the 2025 Investment Climate Statement, corruption is still a significant barrier to investments in the Philippines.
It cited the country’s rank of 114th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index-a position Philippines has held since 2019. /apl