Finance Secretary Margarito Teves admitted recently in Dumaguete City that it is not an easy task for government to deal with the present crises, but that, the Arroyo administration is now rationalizing fiscal incentives.

Teves said that, as in most economies, more challenges are expected this year due to a combination of continued high prices of oil now reaching US $119 per barrel, increasing prices of rice and food items and a slowdown in the US economy.

This has an impact on worldwide economies, not just the Philippines, and the government has to find ways in handling this, the immediate concern of which is how to handle the rice issue with a projected NFA deficit of P43 billion, he added.

back to top