BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the government’s campaign to secure a long-coveted “A” credit rating will resume only if a recovery is seen next year.

“Assuming that we get a U-shaped recovery as predicted by many institutions, we can grow by 7-9% next year, then the ‘A’ rating campaign is still on the table, and we hope that would be enough,” Mr. Diokno told reporters in an online briefing yesterday.

For now, Mr. Diokno said the government’s priorities will be on “saving jobs and saving lives” during the coronavirus crisis.

Economic managers project the economy will shrink by 2-3.4% this year before bouncing back with 7.1-8.1% growth in 2021. The country’s gross domestic product unexpectedly contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter, where business activity was affected by the Taal Volcano eruption, the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown in mid-March.

Mr. Diokno’s remarks came after S&P Global Ratings last week affirmed the country’s rating at “BBB+”, just a notch away from an “A” rating which the government was targeting before the outbreak. S&P said the ratings reflect the expectation for a strong recovery by next year and the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals.

The debt watcher also maintained the rating outlook at “stable,” signifying that the rating is likely to remain for the next six months to two years.

S&P’s credit rating for the Philippines compares to the “BBB” and “Baa2” ratings both with “stable” outlooks given by Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service, respectively.

Mr. Diokno said that the path to recovery with the gradual reopening of the economy is still uncertain given that a coronavirus vaccine has not been found.

“We don’t know how the consumers will behave and how the financial market will do. So there’s a lot of uncertainty. Fear factor — that’s the main question here,” he said.

Mr. Diokno said the government needs to do more to clinch the “A” rating. These include the passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), a revised version of the earlier Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act. CREATE eyes to speed up a 5% reduction on corporate income tax to 25% from 30%, and also offers flexible tax and nontax incentives for investors.

Mr. Diokno said they were hoping that President Rodrigo R. Duterte would call a special session to have the bill passed before July. He said it “will send a signal to potential investors that we are improving the policy environment of the Philippines.” — Luz Wendy T. Noble