MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday painted a cautious outlook for his country’s economy given risks stemming from geopolitical tensions and El Nino weather phenomenon.
“While the future looks bright, dark clouds still gather on the horizon, unleashing headwinds that will temper, maybe even damage or trample on our optimistic outlook,” Marcos said in a press conference.
Marcos on Thursday announced the appointment of Ralph Recto as his new finance secretary, replacing Benjamin Diokno who is returning to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, this time as member of the monetary board. Diokno was former central bank governor.
“He has a true understanding of how the Philippine economy works,” Marcos said of Recto, who prior to his appointment was serving as congressman and deputy speaker of the lower house of Congress.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Martin Petty, Kanupriya Kapoor)