The economic recovery of the Philippines is lagging behind compared to other countries hit by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
This was confirmed by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez following the negative growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the increased unemployment rate of the country.
According to Sec. Lopez, this is different from neighboring countries where some have improved their economy a little and others have managed the impact of the pandemic while maintaining a small number of COVID-19 cases. This setback is a great loss since the country was the second fastest growing economy before the emergence of the global health crisis.
The trade secretary then reiterated his recommendation to have more relaxed restrictions and open the economy to aid the recovery of the Philippines. -PTV News
