By Joann Villanueva/PNA
MANILA — Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III is optimistic of at least 7 percent growth for the Philippine economy in 2019, citing the impact of the massive infrastructure program and improved fundamentals.
In his speech during the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) inaugural meeting and induction ceremonies at the Shangri La at the Fort Wednesday, Dominguez said the administration decided to maintain the 7 percent “as a fighting target” for this year’s domestic output even as multilateral lenders have cut their global growth forecast.
The 7 percent is the lower end of the target band set by economic managers, with 8 percent being the higher end of the target.
“We are building on our own momentum and on the massive economic investments we have programmed for this year. We fully expect to be a growth leader in this dynamic region,” Dominguez said.
The Finance chief pointed out that “not enough credit has been given to the no-nonsense leadership provided by President Rodrigo Duterte in making possible the new economic powerhouse that is the Philippine economy.”
“The President and his team are determined to push the reforms and bring about the strong and inclusive economic growth our people deserve,” he added.
In an interview after his speech, Dominguez said economic managers “will fight to meet it (the economic target).
He explained that the domestic economy is “quite insulated” from the external headwinds since the Philippines does not rely on exports to drive growth.
“Of course, we are affected by the headwinds but because we have this “Build, Build, Build” program, we are sort of… quite insulated. And we have good credit, we have good tax collections, we are quite insulated,” he added.
Relatively, Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno, in a briefing Wednesday, said economic managers remain optimistic since domestic output will get further boost from the implementation of major infrastructure programs this year.
He also cited the additional push from the mid-term polls, noting that elections normally provide at least 1 percent contribution to growth.
He added that economic managers are “not really” concerned with trade war issues between the US and China because the Philippines is not a net exporter.
Instead, he pointed out that the country’s importation will further rise because of increased infrastructure investments. “Hopefully if we can energize agriculture… If we hit 4 percent in agriculture, definitely 7 percent GDP (gross domestic product) is attainable,” he added.
The government is scheduled to report on Thursday the economy’s output for the fourth quarter last year as well as the full-year performance.
GDP in the third quarter last year slowed to 6 percent from the previous quarter’s 6.2 percent.
This brought the output in the first three quarters last year to 6.3 percent, below the revised target of between 6.5-6.9 percent.
