Palace welcomes Moody’s investment upgrade
Malacanang welcomed the investment upgrade by
Moody’s Investor’s Service saying the move is an affirmation of the continuing
confidence of the international community in the fiscal management of the
Aquino administration.
Moody’s upgraded the Philippines’s rating
Thursday by one notch from Baa3 to Ba1. At the same time, Moody’s has assigned
a positive outlook to the rating.
“The pleasant surprise was that we were also
given a positive outlook; meaning, the prospects of another upgrade are quite
positive as well,” Presidential Communications Development and Strategic
Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang said in a press briefing on Thursday.
“This will have implications or has already had
implications for our credit standing, but this sort of just formalizes it. It
is a continuation of the confidence that the international community has in the
fiscal management of President Aquino and his team.”
Carandang said the factors that prompted the
review remain intact, mainly, the sustainability of the country’s robust
economic performance, the ongoing fiscal and debt consolidation, and the
political stability and improved governance.
With Moody’s giving the Philippines an upgrade,
Carandang said there’s no question about the country’s credit rating. Moody’s
is the last of the “Big 3” credit ratings agencies that gave the Philippines an
investment grade.
In March this year, Fitch Ratings upgraded the
Philippines’ long-term foreign-currency rating by one notch to BBB-minus and
left the outlook on the rating at stable.
In May, Standard & Poor’s raised the
country’s credit rating by a notch from BB+ to BBB- —the minimum investment
grade—citing the country’s rosy macroeconomic fundamentals amid global economic
problems. PND (as)
President Aquino cites Newborn Screening Society
of the Philippines for cooperation to curb diseases
President Benigno S. Aquino III cited the
Newborn Screening Society of the Philippines, Inc. (NSSPI) for its cooperation
with the government to curb disease.
"I am confident that your solidarity will
drive our efforts to curb disease at its roots, and to protect our youth from
potential impediments to their individual progress," the Chief Executive
said in his message to the NSSPI on Thursday.
The NSSPI opened on Thursday its two-day Annual
Newborn Screening Convention 2013 entitled, “Facing the Challenges of Expanded
Newborns Screening” at the Manila Hotel, One Rizal Park, Manila.
"Our nation relies on your collective to
establish the practice of newborn screening as a determined step towards a
robust tomorrow, with the fresh research and innovations you will uncover
today," the President said.
President Aquino said the pursuit of development
is centered on capacity-building, beginning from the empowerment of the people
and extending to the advancement of the country's health sector and
institutions.
"As a primary facet of this campaign,
health is among the key areas that your government hopes to transform into a
platform of revitalization. May this gathering allow you the tools to foster
among our citizens the cycle of opportunity through wellness," he said.
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