‘Address weaknesses in budgeting, fiscal rules’

The Philippines needs to address its large infrastructure gap to boost its growth potential, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, pointing out that the country’s public investment management institutions may be strong in planning and project selection, but weak in fiscal rules and budgeting.

In a working paper entitled “Improving Public Infrastructure in the Philippines,” IMF economist Takuji Komatsuzaki said addressing such challenges would help reduce the country’s poverty and external imbalances.