DOF chief says end of Marawi crisis to boost investor confidence
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the impending end of the drawn-out conflict in Marawi City will further boost investor confidence in the economy, more so now that the government can focus on a comprehensive plan to reconstruct the southern city and provide economic opportunities for its returning residents.
Dominguez said the record performance of the stock market following President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement last Tuesday of the “liberation” of Marawi City from Islamist militants pointed to the positive investor sentiment on the end of the conflict.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) gained 49.80 points or 0.59 percent to end 8,497.74 on Tuesday. That day’s stock rally saw an 8,586.73 intraday peak.
The President announced Marawi’s liberation after the deaths of terrorist leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute in the hands of military sharpshooters during a predawn offensive on Monday. The two Islamist militants led the attack on Marawi last May 23.
According to the military, although the fighting in the city was not completely over, the remaining rebels were "stragglers" who no longer posed a threat.
Duterte said Marawi’s liberation marked the “beginning of the rehabilitation” of the city.
Dominguez noted that even with the crisis in Marawi City and the declaration of martial law in Mindanao, the business community has remained bullish on the economy and supported the President’s decisive action to deal with the terrorist attack.
“We expect investor confidence to strengthen further and the economy to grow even faster now that the conflict has been virtually resolved and the government has started raising spending on infrastructure and human capital development, which will supercharge growth and create more jobs for our people,” Dominguez said.
The government still has to conduct clearing operations and assess the extent of the damage in Marawi so that it could come up with a detailed recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation program for the city, but efforts are now underway to provide immediate assistance to displaced residents and open up economic opportunities that would enable them to get back on their feet and rebuild their lives.
Duterte created last July an interagency task force chaired by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana that will spearhead the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation program for Marawi City.
Although the Department of Finance (DOF) is not a member of the Task Force, it is involved in the fund-raising aspect for the program, with Dominguez revealing plans last August for the Bureau of Treasury to sell “patriotic” bonds to aid in Marawi’s rehabilitation. DMS
