A SURVEY conducted by business media company Bloomberg revealed that first-time Philippine Sen. Grace Poe, 46, the adopted daughter of film star Fernando Poe Jr., is the preferred candidate to steer the economy of the Philippines.
Of 23 analysts and bankers surveyed, 12 chose Poe as the best choice for the 2016 presidential elections. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, 58, received four votes and Vice President Jejomar Binay, 72, got three votes.
Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc. in Manila, said Aquino has given the Philippines a second chance to be a tiger economy, but the country is not at that point yet, according to Bloomberg.
For instance, the country’s economic growth surpassed 6 percent from 2012 to 2014, marking more than double in the Philippine stock index since Aquino assumed office. Aquino has also overseen the Philippines achieve investment-grade credit ratings while his administration took measures to reduce corruption, increase revenue and attract investment.
“The next president has to have the will to stop corruption and boost infrastructure. In the case of Grace Poe, people perceive her as honest, somebody who will protect the anti-corruption drive,” Ravelas said.
For the Philippines’ economic growth to continue rising, and more specifically hit the 8 percent target, the succeeding president will need to push harder for reforms including simpler regulations and an increased investment in education, health and infrastructure, Gareth Leather, an economist at Capital Economics LTD., said in a June report.
Still, more than half of the respondents in the survey project that the Philippines’ economic expansion rate of 6 percent will be sustained in the next 10 years, according to Bloomberg.
Whoever succeeds Aquino will also need to deal with China on the territory dispute in the South China Sea, unemployment and a skyrocketing population.
Poe, whose political career so far has been absent of any scandals, also beat Binay and Roxas in the most recent Pulse Asia survey on presidential choices.
During her tenure as a senator, Poe has championed bills including salary hikes for government nurses and doctors, modernizing the police agency and freedom of information. She “wants government to take a more active role in helping children of poor families,” according to her website.
Poe has yet to announce whether she is running for president, but has said she wishes to remain independent in the event she decides to enter the 2016 presidential race despite the fact she ran under the Aquino administration’s ticket in 2013.
The senator is a graduate of Boston College, where she studied political science. She has previously worked as a product liaison officer, a teacher and a product manager in the United States.
Poe returned to the Philippines in 2003 to assist her father in his campaign for the presidency. Fernando lost the race to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004 and died that same year.
Aquino, who has yet to endorse a candidate, said he will do after his final State of the Nation Address at the end of July. The ruling Liberal Party is anticipating that the president will endorse Roxas, according to Rappler. (With reports from Bloomberg and Rappler)
