The Philippines on Monday was handed a credit rating upgrade from international agency Fitch which raised the nation’s sovereign rating by one level, citing continued investor confidence despite a deadly drug war. President Rodrigo Duterte has launched an unprecedented crackdown on drugs that has killed thousands and sparked widespread condemnation of alleged extrajudicial killings from rights groups and Western powers. The bloody campaign has also risked detering investors from one of Asia’s fastest growing economies. However, Fitch raised the rating on the Philippines’ long-term foreign currency denominated debt from BBB- to BBB with a stable outlook, saying the nation’s strong macroeconomic performance had continued. “There is no evidence so far that incidents of violence associated with the administration’s campaign against the illegal drug trade have undermined investor confidence,” Fitch said in a statement. The upgrade puts the Philippines on Published in Daily Times, December 12th 2017.