The Greek people are voting on a future in which they face two painful prospects: the slow grind of years more of austerity cuts or the country’s potentially catastrophic exit from the 19-nation euro zone.
The question is whether their vote on Sunday can help them escape either.
“Yes” to more budget cuts demanded by creditors in exchange for a financial-aid package for the country? Or reject it in the hope it will not lead the country out of the euro?
For the radical left-led Greek government, the proposals are unacceptable. It’s urging a “No” vote and says that will have no impact on Greece’s euro status.
Proponents of a “Yes” vote, including a parade of former prime ministers and the main opposition party, say backing the government will jeopardize Greece’s place in the euro. Instead, they argue that by voting “Yes,” Greece would get a new deal quickly to shore up the economy.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the crisis in Greece should have no significant effect on the flow of remittances, as Greece-originated remittances account for only a small part of total earnings that migrant Filipino workers send home regularly.
“When it comes to remittances, Greece is not really a major source and most Filipino workers are seafarers in vessels that are of Greek registry,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. told reporters.
He quickly added that in the past, whenever remittancess were threatened by developments in the host countries, Filipinos always manage to find jobs in neighboring countries within the same area or region.
“So we don’t believe this is going to be significant in terms of the effect on remittances,” Tetangco said.
Earlier, the BSP governor said the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals—including sufficiently deep international reserves and robust spending by the national government—should help shield the local financial markets from bouts of volatility.
Right now, Tetangco said the BSP is keenly observing developments related to the Greek referendum whose impact has bearing on talks between the European Union (EU) and Greece.
“That is why we continue to monitor how the different markets are doing and how they all respond or react to all these developments,” Tetangco said.
“Just like other countries, we have to assess how that will affect the talks between the EU and Greece, the EU and other creditors, on one hand, and Greece on the other hand,” he added. Meanwhile, Tetangco expressed optimism on the continued growth of the economy no matter the low output results in the first months of only 5.2 percent.
“We believe that the economy continues to be strong, that there are drivers of growth. That monetary situation is such that there [is] sufficient liquidity in the system and interest rates continue to be in historic lows,” Tetangco said.
“So based on that and considering the statement of the government that itº going to accelerate government spending, the Monetary Board was on the view that there is no need for additional monetary stimulus at this time because there is enough liquidity, interest rates are low. Those who need funds can access funding through the banking system or the capital markets,” he added.