By Leslie Gatpolintan | Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The Philippine economy expanded by 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2019, slower than the 6.5 percent growth recorded during the same period last year, the government reported on Thursday.
“As we have forewarned repeatedly, the re-enacted budget would sharply slow the pace of our economic growth. We estimate that we should have grown by as much as 6.6 percent this first quarter, if we were operating under the 2019 fiscal program,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said in a press briefing.
Among the major economic sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said services contributed 4 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in January to March, followed by industry (1.5 percent), and agriculture (0.1 percent).
Pernia attributed the slower growth of the agriculture sector to the El Niño phenomenon, which is projected to continue until August.
To reach the full-year growth target of 6 percent to 7 percent, he said the economy will need to expand by an average of 6.1 percent over the next three quarters.
“This is still achievable given the current performance of the private sector and if the government sector is able to jumpstart and speed up the implementation of its new programs and projects,” he added.
