Economists clashed Monday on the state of Philippine economy at the Kapihan sa Manila at the Manila Hotel, with Albay Gov. Joey Salceda saying the nation is better off now than at any time during the administrations of previous presidents and opposition lawyer J.V. Bautista rebutting that progress has yet to be felt by the masses.

Salceda, an economic adviser of President Arroyo, said all administrations before President Arroyo ended in a crisis but the Chief Executive was able to steer the ship of state well and lead the nation to progress despite the difficulties encountered by the region and the whole world.

As an example, Salceda pointed out that when both the Philippines and Indonesia recently borrowed the same amount of money ($1.5 million) with the same terms (25 years to pay), the country was charged 5.6 percent interest while Indonesia’s interest payment was 6.04 percent. He said the Philippines enjoys a higher credit rating than its neighbors.

The Albay governor also said while previous Presidents constructed or repaired only 2,400 kilometers of roads per year, Mrs. Arroyo more than doubled this up to 5,400 km of roads a year.

At the Kapihan hosted by columnist Neal Cruz, lawyer J.V. Bautista said he begs to disagree with Salceda, pointing out that the figures and statistics cited by the Palace’s mainstay economist are good to hear but do not reflect the situation of the masses both in urban centers and the countryside.

Another guest, Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, chairman of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO) said the island of Mindanao in the south did not suffer financially from the recent peace and order problems in isolated areas of one province, Maguindanao.

Leyretana said economic activities were never disrupted by the isolated pockets of violence.