A first line of defense should aim at ensuring the availability of efficient and well-targeted social safety nets that limit the potential damage to the most vulnerable, and that better equip them to face a far more competitive environment. But seen from a broader perspective, there is a need for development strategies that explicitly foster more inclusive and sustainable growth paths.
This time around, we believe that the Philippines is better able to withstand the shocks due to the following reasons…”buffers” as I would like to refer to these: the underlying growth momentum due to improving fundamentals; we have a stronger external liquidity position; we have gained dividends from our structural reforms in the areas of fiscal policy, power, banking, and capital market; and we have better information disclosure, which encourages markets to look at Philippine-specific risks and not be prone to herding behavior.