The Philippine economy is expected to continue growing next year despite warnings by some international organizations to prepare for the worst amid the economic woes in Europe, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the country's fiscal situation right now is prudent and it managed to avoid pitfalls that other economies have experienced.
"Our banks have been very prudent in their practices. Our government has not piled on debts. We have been very prudent in our fiscal situation so we believe that domestically we are in a good situation," he said.
The Philippine economy grew 3.2 percent in the third quarter of this year, lower than the 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent growth target for this year.
But Lacierda said that with the expected passage of the 1.82- trillion-peso (41.5 billion U.S. dollars) budget for next year, infrastructure spending is expected to increase.
He said that other public-private partnership projects will be bidded out in 2012.
International organizations, specifically the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have urged policy- makers around the world to prepare for the worst because of the economic problem in Europe.