MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday welcomed the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report that the Philippine economy grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter this year.
“We welcome the good news that the Philippine economy grew by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018 — faster than the 6.5 percent growth recorded in the same quarter of 2017,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
According to the National Economic and Development Authority, this figure is slightly lower than the full-year growth target range of 7 to 8 percent but remained among the fastest in Asia.
This figure is also higher than the 6.5 percent growth in the same quarter last year.
The PSA said that manufacturing, other services, and trade were the main drivers of growth for the quarter.
Roque, meanwhile, expressed hope that the Philippine’s economic momentum will be sustained.
“We are optimistic that our economic momentum would continue to be sustained with higher tax revenue collection and bigger public spending in infrastructure,” Roque said. (PNA)
