Despite the economic impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) epidemic, two of the Philippines’ economic managers declared their agencies are committed to keeping the country’s credit rating at investment grade.

This comes as debt watcher S&P Global Ratings affirmed the country’s investment grade rating of “BBB+” with a stable outlook on Thursday.

According to the Investor Relations Office (IRO) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas  (BSP), the rating is the highest among the Philippines’ ratings with foreign debt watchers, such as the “BBB” by Fitch Ratings and the “Baa2” by Moody’s Investors Service.

It’s also a step up from the lowest possible score within the excellent “A” range. Meanwhile, the stable outlook indicates that there are no factors that could cause the rating to go upward or downward in the foreseeable future, the IRO said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said the government’s determination to establish a stronger and more inclusive economy in the post-pandemic era is demonstrated by its continued implementation of game-changing reforms, while dealing with Covid response measures.

He cited, for example, the recently enacted Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), which intends to encourage greater foreign and domestic investment, resulting in more jobs and higher earnings for Filipinos.

“We are also actively pushing the passage of other important economic bills that will further open the economy to investments and accelerate economic recovery.

“In particular, we are keen to see the passage of the proposed investor-friendly amendments to the Foreign Investments Act, Public Service Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act,” he added.

On the part of the central bank, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, assured it “will continue to promote financial digitalization, which will aid faster economic recovery and growth, and which will onboard more Filipinos to the formal sector thereby boosting incomes. We will likewise continue to promote Islamic banking for a more inclusive financial system.”