Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
There is no major impact caused by the Israel-Hamas war on the country’s economy, a Cabinet official said.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said there is “hardly any impact” as there is no major disruption in the supply chain due to the ongoing hostilities between Israel forces and Hamas militants.
Balisacan also said it was discussed during the meeting with President Marcos on Thursday.
“Yes, there’s a meeting yesterday and we did look at the…discuss on the impact of the economy but so far, there’s hardly any impact because there is no major disruption in the supply chain,” Balisacan said in a Palace briefing on Friday, Oct, 13.
“Oil (prices have) increased a bit but we don’t know if that’s just an initial reaction but the impact is so negligible,” he added.
The Secretary, however, said that if the conflict spreads, it would be another matter “because then if it gets into the supply chain, affecting the global movement of trade.”
“But as of this date we don’t see any major impact on the economy,” he stressed.
Balisacan also noted that the Philippines has “very little exposure” with both Israel and Palestine in all dimensions, including labor employment, trade, and investment.
“Unless that spill into the other countries and it affects the supply of oil then iyon magkakaroon ng impact sa atin (that will have an impact on us) but as of now, we are not saying that,” he explained.
— Betheena Unite
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
