Business climate not affected: RP

Business climate not affected: RP

Oliver Teves, Associated Press, Manila, Philippines

A key member of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's economic
management team expressed confidence on Tuesday that the business
climate won't be affected by scandals rocking her administration.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said investors and traders
will "see through the noise" created by allegations that Arroyo's
family took illegal gambling payoffs and that she rigged last
year's election.

"Business is about the economy, less about politics," Purisima
said. "I think what we need to focus on is on the fundamentals of
business in the country."

Philippine shares rebounded on Friday after tumbling more than
7 percent earlier last week amid worries about the scandals. The
benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose another
1 percent on Tuesday to 1955.79 after the market was closed on
Monday for a holiday.

Last week, a witness in a Senate investigation into an illegal
numbers game claimed she personally handed payoffs to Arroyo's
son and a brother-in-law. The men, both members of Congress, have
denied the allegation.

Later, a former deputy of the justice department's
investigation agency claimed he obtained a tape of a wiretapped
conversation between Arroyo and an election official about
rigging the May 2004 vote. Officials said the tape was altered.

The allegations followed the lowest approval ratings for a
Philippine president since late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and
fresh rumors of a coup plot.

Purisima, spokesman for Arroyo's economic team, told the
Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines that last
week's drop in the value of the peso was only a reflection of the
country's floating rate policy and that he was confident the
market "is smart enough to look at the fundamentals."

He cited the rise in the Philippines' gross international
reserves beyond the US$17 billion mark for the first time in two
years, growth in exports, increased investment in the service
industry, expansion of tourism, a declining deficit, and the
target of balancing the budget before 2010, when Arroyo's term
ends.

Purisima also said he plans to update investors on fiscal and
economic developments during an upcoming roadshow in Europe and
the United States.

"We are going to show them a balanced picture. My goal is to
allow them to see through the noise," he said. "The way I view
the ongoing political discussions is that it just is a very good
evidence of a vibrant democracy in the Philippines."