Manila to stick to deficit spending until 2022

Manila

PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte's administration will stick to deficit spending until he steps down in 2022 to ensure sustainable economic growth beyond his six-year term, his budget minister told lawmakers on Monday.

The seven-week-old government has vowed to fix the country's infrastructure, create jobs and spread wealth more evenly in a country where over a quarter of the 100 million people are poor. "Having a balanced budget is not advisable. We need to invest in the future of our people," Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said as he led the economic team's presentation of the proposed 2017 budget of 3.35 trillion pesos (S$97 billion) at the House of Representatives.