Philippines' Covid-19 crisis in for the long haul: Inquirer

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): There is simply no denying the economic and social malaise the country is in right now. A rundown of the latest Ed-numbers going into the last year of the Duterte administration paints a discomforting picture: The worst post-war recession that saw the economy contract by 9.5 per cent in 2020 and another 4.2 per cent in the first quarter this year.

A precarious 16-year high debt-to-GDP ratio of 60.4 per cent as of March (international debt watchers consider as manageable a public debt equivalent to 60 per cent of gross domestic product). Government debt of 11.07 trillion pesos (S$300 billion) as of May and US$97 billion (S$132 billion) in outstanding foreign borrowings as of end-March.