Philippines receives A- rating from Japanese Credit Rating Firm

House Ways and Means chairman Rep. Joey Salceda said the Philippines received an A- sovereign credit rating from the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR), one of the leading credit bench-markers in Asia.

“This is an unprecedented achievement and it is validation of the hard work we have been doing over recent years,” said Salceda.

The lawmaker added that the credit rating adjustment brings the country alongside the strongest emerging economies in the world.

“The rating suggests that we can borrow at very favorable rates, and that we can beef up our infrastructure spending more sustainably. I take this as a sign both to continue the pace of reforms that we have undertaken, and to push for reforms that will speed up infrastructure completion to bolster GDP growth,” Salceda said. 

The credit agency attributed its rating to the Philippine government’s ability to maintain momentum in its pursuit of reforms. Salceda highlighted infrastructure spending reforms in the government’s Build, Build, Build program as part of the effort to keep this momentum.

JCR also kept its credit outlook for the Philippines at Stable, which Salceda explained as “more or less secure.”

“That’s why I am relieved that we are facing the current crisis from a position of great strength,” he said.

“The Duterte administration's centerpiece infrastructure development policy and Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) aimed to secure part of the development costs have been steadily progressing since JCR's last rating review,” said the JCR in its rating document.