The director general of NEDA believed Hillary Clinton as president will be better for the Philippine BPOs.
National Economic and Development Authority director general warned that the win of Donald Trump as president of the United States could have negative impact on the economy of the Philippines.
NEDA chief Ernesto Pernia told reporters on Wednesday as the Philippines Development Forum closed.
According to Pernia, Democrat Hillary Clinton as the president will be “better” for the Philippines.
“I think Clinton is better… more continuity from Obama, because Obama has been campaigning for [Clinton],” Pernia said.
The NEDA chief added Trump tends to be “protectionist and inward-looking,” which could then impact on Philippine economic relations.
“There could be less investments coming from the US. Our BPOs (business process outsourcing) could suffer,” Pernia said.
However, Pernia recognized that not all Trump’s campaign promises may actually come to fruition.
“He might have just said that to win,” he said.
During the campaign days, Trump promised to ban migrants from the US, because he has America First policy.
According to government data, remittances from migrant Filipino workers living or working in the US are equivalent to around 3 percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product.
Nearly three fourths of BPO earnings come from the country’s oldest ally, while it continues to be ranked among the top five export destinations and import sources.
Meanwhile, a London-based think tank also sees the likelihood of a Trump presidency as a risk to the economy of the Philippines.
“The Philippines, followed by Taiwan and Korea, stand out as the countries in Asia with most to lose in the event Donald Trump is elected as the next president of the United States,” Capital Economic said in its Emerging Asia Economic Update publication.
“The Philippines would be the biggest loser if Trump followed through on his threat to punish American companies that outsource jobs abroad,” it said.