MVP: Corruption threatens credit rating, slows growth

Tycoon Manuel V. Pan-gilinan, who leads one of the biggest conglomerates in the country, warns of the adverse impact of the corruption scandal on the Philippine economy and credit ratings.

- By JAMES A. LOYOLA

Speaking at the 57th FINEX annual conference, he said that, because of this corruption scandal, “government spending can be reduced, which could slow growth,” while “investor confidence could be affected, perhaps even credit ratings—if the institutional responses are regarded as inadequate.”

He noted that, “the public is now increasingly alive to the fact that the presence of ethical attributes—or their absence—impacts businesses and the economy seriously... a country that is morally poor is likely to be also materially poor.”