As a result, “the budget deficit could breach the 2020 program of 3.2 percent of GDP to around 3.6 percent,” he added. Despite this, Dominguez assured the public that the government could finance the wider deficit because of the corresponding increase in its borrowing level. The NEDA’s forecast for the inflationary impact of the outbreak is different from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP). “Our baseline number before the emergence of Covid-19 is 3-percent growth for remittances,” he added. The central bank official also said the outlook for remittances growth took into consideration the temporary ban on the deployment of workers in Covid19-affected areas, such as China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Source: Manila Times March 10, 2020 14:03 UTC