By Joann Villanueva/PNA
MANILA — The Philippines’ growth rate may fall below 6 percent this year if delays in the approval of the proposed PHP3.757-trillion national budget will be prolonged.
The Bicameral Conference Committee has yet to discuss the proposed 2019 national budget even after Senators have already passed it unanimously on third and final reading last January 21. Members of the House of Representatives approved their version on November 20, 2018.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Ernesto Pernia, during the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s (PCOO) “The Presser: Dutertenomics 2.O” at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Monday, said full year growth may be stunted by 1 to 2.3 percentage points if government operates on a reenacted budget.
“That’s for the full year. So, if it’s just one quarter maybe one fourth of that would be the net impact,” he said.
Economic managers have set a growth target of between 7 and 8 percent from 2019-22.
Last year, growth, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 6.2 percent, slower than year-ago’s 6.7 percent on account of slower consumer spending due to elevated inflation rate.
Economic managers are hopeful of hitting the government’s GDP target this year, with the help of government’s massive infrastructure program and the possible implementation of the national budget by the second quarter this year.
They earlier said that domestic growth in the first three months this year face downside risks since new infrastructure projects cannot be implemented.
Asked on the impact of delay in the implementation of some government projects in the second quarter given the construction ban during election season, Pernia said he is optimistic that this would be addressed.
“We can ask for exemption especially now that we have a reenacted budget,” he said in an interview by the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Relatively, Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno, during the same event, said this year’s proposed national budget is currently “going through its critical phase.”
He said that since the budget proposal is already in the hands of lawmakers, the Executive branch is not meddling on it.
“But we communicate with them the importance of having a new budget as soon as possible. Also, in the light of the forthcoming elections and the election ban sometime in March this year,” he said.
“They know exactly the critical nature of the budget and we tell them that it is very important that we have a new budget passed as soon as possible. We cannot intervene in what is going on in the Houses,” he added.
