The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is optimistic that the Philippine economy will recover by the second quarter of 2021.
In an Economic Journalists’ Association of the Philippines’ (EJAP) virtual forum, NEDA Secretary Karl Chua said he believes that the country’s economy will recover by 6% to 7% in 2021, following the relaxation of quarantine restrictions in various areas in the Philippines.
He highlighted the importance of the resumption of several industries’ operations that are currently closed due to the quarantine restrictions. He added that the public must take advantage of the national vaccination program to have additional protection against COVID-19.
According to NEDA, despite the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) in the last three months, the country’s economy has only dropped by 25% due to the continuous operation of the transport sector and movement of essential workers.
“We manage the risk and open up as many sectors as safely as we can. Number 2, we use prudently our resources to help those most affected, and number 3, accelerate the vaccination and this will help us achieve positive growth this year and next year,” he said.
The agency set the growth target to 6% to 7% for 2021 and 7% to 9% for 2022.
Report from Naomi Tiburcio/NGS- jlo
