Presidential spokesman Harry Roque on Tuesday, September 7, trumpeted the country’s “A-“ rating from the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCRA) and the drop in the unemployment rate to 6.9 percent.

During a virtual press briefing, the Palace official reported that the Japan Credit Rating Agency or JCRA affirmed the credit rating of the Philippines.

“We maintained our A- rating with a stable outlook. According to JCRA, and I quote, ‘Once the pandemic gets subdued, the country’s potential growth will recover and the economy is expected to return to a high growth path,’” he said.

The JCRA, whose ratings matter to Japanese investors, affirmed the A- credit rating despite the country’s economic fallout because of the pandemic.

READ: JCR affirms PH credit rating

The agency believes that the country’s fiscal soundness will not be diminished despite the weak revenue collections and ballooning pandemic expenses.

This seems to be a nod to the Duterte administration’s decision to rein in spending to avoid incurring budget deficits, although such policy is seen to lead to deep economic issues.

In July, Fitch Ratings, one of the biggest credit rating agencies in the world, revised its outlook on the Philippines’ economy from “stable” to “negative.” This puts the country at risk for a possible credit rating downgrade for the first time in 16 years.

Meanwhile, Roque also highlighted that the unemployment rate in the country dropped from 7.7 percent in June 2021 to 6.9 percent in July 2021.

READ: Unemployment rate drops to 6.7% in July, lowest since pandemic

The numbers are based on the July 2021 Labor Force Survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“Ito ay naging ganito po dahil rin po sa pag-alis natin ng mga quarantine restrictions, pagpaluwag ng ating ekonomiya. Sana po patuloy na ang pagbubukas ng ekonomiya nang mas marami pa sa atin ang magkaroon ng hanapbuhay (It came to this because we removed our quarantine restrictions, opened the economy. We hope that we can continue reopening the economy so many will have jobs again),” he said.

“We are aiming for total health po. Hindi naman po pupwede na habang napapababa ang kaso ng COVID-19, eh dumarami ang hanay ng walang trabaho at hanay ng mga nagugutom (It cannot be that despite the decreasing number of COVID-19 cases, the number of people losing their jobs and going hungry is increasing),” Roque added.

Although the Delta variant is admittedly more contagious, the spokesperson said the government is aiming to reopen the economy.

The country reported 18,012 new cases on Tuesday, down from the new highest daily tally of 22,415 cases reported on Monday, September 6.