Much a Duterte about nothing: continuity, complacency, and crisis in the Philippine economy (2016–23)
Published in Games, changes, and fears: the Philippines from Duterte to Marcos, 2024
Abstract
In 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte inherited an economy with years of steady growth, low inflation, a lower debt burden, an influx of investments, and robust consumer and business confidence. In some ways, the Duterte administration (2016–22) kept that momentum. But this period also saw the reversal of some of these beneficial macroeconomic outcomes, as evidenced by slowing growth, a spell of high inflation, the steady decline of foreign direct investments, and the deep recession wrought by the pandemic (exacerbated by Duterte’s inept pandemic response). The subsequent Marcos Jr. administration will have to contend with the deep economic scars left by the pandemic. But early signals suggest that Marcos Jr. is more interested in efforts to rehabilitate his family’s image and rehash old programmes and policies of the late dictator, Marcos Sr.Recommended citation: Punongbayan, J.C.B. (2024). Much a Duterte about nothing: continuity, complacency, and crisis in the Philippine economy (2016–23). In A. Arugay and J. Encinas-Franco (Eds.), Games, changes, and fears: the Philippines from Duterte to Marcos (pp. 33–58). ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute.
Download Paper