Pernia: PH growth of 6.5% ‘attainable’
Credit to Author: ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES| Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2019 16:14:49 +0000
THE Philippines can still reach a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.5 percent for this year, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said on Thursday.
“I would say 6.5 percent is attainable,” Pernia told reporters on the sidelines of the 27th Metro Manila Business Conference in Manila.
The figure falls within the government’s downwardly revsied 6- to 7-percent growth target for 2019.
According to Pernia, growth drivers are election spending, consumption, consumer spending, and lower inflation.
Business confidence also continues to be high, he noted.
The country’s GDP hit a four-year low of 5.6 percent in the first quarter due to the delayed approval of this year’s budget.
Government spending may continue to drag growth in the second quarter, Pernia said.
The Bureau of the Treasury reported on Wednesday that the government incurred a budget surplus of P2.6 billion in May, with revenue collections outpacing state spending.
The NEDA chief said that, for the second quarter alone, the country’s economic growth “should be around 6.2 percent.”
Growth in April to June “is not as strong” as the third quarter would be when government spending is expected to pick up, he added, emphasizing that “it takes time to get started.”
Economic managers earlier said they would implement an expenditure catch-up plan to offset the impact of the budget impasse on growth.
They added that economic growth should expand by at least 6.1 percent over the next three quarters to hit the full-year target.
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