It is not true that the Philippine stock market lost an estimated P1.7 trillion in value in just three weeks after the flood control projects scandal broke out.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA) Secretary Frederick Go on Tuesday debunked the claim of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 

chairperson Francis Lim that the stock market had lost that much, or 12 percent of its value, after the corruption in flood control projects came to light.

“Unfortunately, the SEC chairman was quoting off a confirmed fake news social media post designed to catch attention and falsely sensationalize. The attributed source confirmed that this was fake news and it did not come from them,” Go said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Go explained that the drop in numbers wasn’t 12 percent in value, as earlier reports claimed. DAILY TRIBUNE had been trying to contact Lim to get his reaction to Go’s statement up to press time.

“The fact is that the drop wasn’t 12 percent. You may confirm this with the Philippine Stock Exchange or your favorite stockbroker. They know all of this. All of our index [sic] are public knowledge,” he said. 

“And I have personally confirmed this with the PSE president and the top brokers in the stock market,” he added.

The Palace official elaborated that from 11 to 29 August, the PSE only dipped 1.6 percent, with 1.58 percent as the official number.

Only 1.5% drop

Go clarified that “in the all shares index in our Philippine stock market of 282 companies, the drop was only 1.5 percent. And in terms of the market cap, which was the clickbait number of that fake socmed post, the drop was only 1.4 percent.” 

He stressed that amid the “unfortunate fake news,” the investment pledges from foreign countries remained intact.

“The pledges continue to come in. As a matter of fact, we are now transmitting to the Office of the President approval of the first beneficiary of the CREATE MORE Act, which is an investment from a Korean company of over $1 billion.” 

“The FRIB will be transmitting this to the Office of the President this week. So I don’t think we have lost any investment pledges because of this ongoing issue,” Go said.

Meanwhile, in local investments on the ground, Go said the situation remained the same.

“I think sometimes when there is unpredictability in the environment, people might temporarily think about their investment projects. But we’re quite confident that when this is all resolved, they will all come back. So they have not pulled out. They will continue rather, they will continue with their projects,” he said.

According to Go, the business sector pointed to corruption and red tape as key concerns in conducting business in the country. The government has vowed to fight corruption and red tape and has made it part of the country’s economic strategy, he added. 

Short-term challenge

“We have come up with several programs such as the CREATE MORE Act, the PPP (Public-Private Partnership)code, and the green lane for strategic investments. Precisely, these are all meant to address these matters,” he said.

He also lauded the formation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the appointment of the Ombudsman.

“[This] shows we are serious about responding to the issues. By enhancing the effectiveness of public spending, we are turning a short-term challenge into an opportunity to reallocate funds to projects with a far greater growth and employment multiplier effect. This is the clearest signal that the Philippines is building a future-ready economy, anchored on trust and sustainable growth,” he said.

For Go, the current situation appears to be temporary and nothing but a “short-term challenge” caused by the negativity in the news and on social media.

“I think it will really help our country if we start moving on from this, focusing on the reform and the corrective measures to address these issues that we have uncovered. By doing that, I think the rebound will be stronger,” he said.

Moreover, the business community, according to Go, is “very appreciative” of the efforts of the government, particularly the leadership of President Marcos, against corruption.

“It’s not lost upon them that the President himself initiated this, and he is very serious about fixing this longstanding problem,” he said. 

Lim had admitted to being taken for a ride.

“I deeply regret any confusion or concern that my statement may have caused,” Lim said, explaining that the figure came from an unverified source circulating in business circles.

Lim said his intent was to emphasize “the devastating impact corruption can have on investor confidence.”