It is perhaps a discouraging sign of the times that even an objectively neutral analyst such as Moody’s Investors Service — whose stock-in-trade is, after all, making formulaic assessments of various entities’ creditworthiness — feels obliged to burnish its “woke” bona fides, but apparently it does, and to that end released on Tuesday a report warning about the dangers of income inequality in certain countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the Philippines among them.

Moody’s explained that “while not a rating driver in itself, persistent income inequality is linked with weak institutional frameworks and effectiveness, and lower and less stable economic growth, which breeds social and political strains.” The problem of income inequality has grown during the coronavirus pandemic because, the report noted, “informal sector workers have been faced with a double whammy of significant job losses and inadequate coverage under social protection systems.”

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