The Philippine government will implement a fiscal stimulus package of 200 billion pesos (about 4 billion USD) in 2010 to continue protecting the economy from the global recession.
Philippine Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph G. Recto said in an interview with reporters that most of the stimulus for next year will be used to finance infrastructure and social protection projects and details will be discussed on July 30 in a meeting of the country's senior economic managers.
While Philippine economic managers expect a modest recovery in the global economy, Recto said a fiscal stimulus package is still needed as economic activity will remain slack.
He added that investing in infrastructure will also prepare the Philippine economy for a global rebound in the next few years.
The Philippine government has already deployed 330 billion pesos (about 7 billion USD) to stimulate domestic spending in 2009.
This year's fiscal deficit is expected to hit 250 billion pesos (about 5.2 billion USD) or equivalent to 3.2 percent of the GDP and the country will continue to incur a huge fiscal deficit in 2010, said Recto./.