Our Way Forward

In the Debts of Crisis: Debunking Myths on Philippine Public Debt

Filipinos have a complicated and painful history with debt, as seen in cautious reactions toward the Philippine government's borrowings to fund COVID-19 response measures.

Filipinos have a complicated and painful history with debt, as seen in cautious reactions toward the Philippine government's borrowings to fund COVID-19 response measures. Maxine, Sevi, Liam, and Carmela trace why and at the same time argue that additional borrowings are necessary to finance stimulus—the caveat being that the stimulus goes to its intended beneficiaries. They also enumerate the key metrics that citizens can focus on to assess public debt.

DISCLAIMER:

The views and opinions expressed in this video do not represent the views of any institution or organization the co-producers, co-writers, voice-over artist, and video editors are affiliated with.

Co-written and Co-produced by

Maxine Pinpin

Miguel N. Sevidal

Liam C. Lu

Voice over by

Manuel Aldeguer

Graphics and Editing by

Carmela B. Masiglat

About the program:

Our Way Forward is a series where experts across various fields share their analyses, speculations, and projections on the way the COVID crisis might shape the future, and envision resilient systems in a post-pandemic world.

About the authors:

Maxine (BS ME '17) is the head of investments at GCash. Sevi (BS ME '17) is currently an equity analyst at BPI Securities and a finance lecturer with the John Gokongwei School of Management. Liam (AB EC '18) is currently a candidate at the University of the Philippines College of Law. Carmela is currently an information design senior and currently the design executive editor of The GUIDON.