Elections generally drive the economy, as poll candidates raise and spend funds to woo voters. They boost consumer spending and provide temporary jobs to thousands of so-called volunteers helping their candidates win in the 2016 polls.
But the voting exercise can also pose a risk to economic growth. Next year, Filipinos will again choose the nation’s next leader, who in turn will form his Cabinet to run the day-to-day affairs of the new government.
The election of a new chief executive brings uncertainties in the economy because his or her style of governance and policies are relatively unknown and have yet to be tested. Local and foreign businessmen will be wary of the incoming president. They may want economic reforms, but they essentially prefer a continuity of the general economic and investment policies.
Businessmen know too well what happened in the presidency of Benigno Aquino III. His government dilly-dallied on a number of issues that stalled many infrastructure projects that could have pushed the economy to greater heights. President Aquino withheld government spending despite a legislated budget program, causing a slowdown in economic growth. He also adopted an anti-mining policy that prevented the Philippines from developing a major export earner.
Businessmen prefer a national leader who will keep the investment rules intact and work for reforms to improve the economic environment.
Presidential candidates, thus, are advised to bare their economic agenda to guide voters and businessmen alike. The inclusive economic agenda that President Aquino has advocated in the latter part of his term has failed to take off. Economic development in the Philippines is still uneven—growth remains concentrated in the urban centers and has not created a trickle-down effect.
The economy will likely grow in the succeeding years but there is no assurance it will keep expanding at a rate enough to keep pace with the rest of Asia. The next leader should make the economy his or her priority to break the poverty cycle. He or she should not squander the opportunity.