Rodrigo Duterte's easy-money economic plan is unsustainable

The Philippines needs stable growth, not pursuit of 'cult of GDP'

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Duterte's government leading infrastructure projects risks a return to the bad old days of graft and runaway debt. © Reuters

Philippine central bank governor Benjamin Diokno spoke for many last week when asked about the biggest economic risk globally: Donald Trump, he replied.

But as much blame as Trump gets, and deserves, for his trade war and attacks on the Federal Reserve, policymakers in Southeast Asia confront something just as serious at home: how efforts to modernize economies often take second place to rapid growth.

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