DAVAO CITY — Presidential spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque has remained optimistic about the country’s economic performance and forecasting growth will happen from all indications.
In a press briefing at the Presidential Guesthouse in Panacan here on Monday, Roque said Moody’s Services already predicted that the Philippine economy would grow by 6.57 percent, which is within the target growth of 6.5 to 7 percent forecasted by authorities.
“The growth forecasted by authorities will happen from all indications,” he said, adding that the country’s economy is on track considering that it is already the month of November.
Roque said the agricultural sector also posted 4.64 percent growth from January to September 2017 while the gross production increased by 2.3 percent during the third quarter with a gross value of P380.5 billion.
According to Roque, this increase is attributed to production gains in the crops and livestock sub-sectors. He also revealed that the Department of Agriculture posted growth of 3.68 percent for the period from July to September and 4.9 percent for the first nine months of 2017.
Meanwhile, Roque said the country continues to attract foreign investors.
The Board of Investments (BOI) reported a 187 percent increase in investment approvals.
Roque said investments in October 2017 amounted to P27.6 billion, almost triple the amount recorded during the same period in 2016 at P9.6 billion.
From January to October 2017, Roque said the country showed significant growth in investment approvals amounting to P408 billion, which is higher by 38.1 percent compared to the P286 billion in the corresponding period last year.
The approved projects also increased from 283 last year to 369 in the first 10 months of 2017.
In earlier reports, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the targeted growth of 6.9 percent is attributed to the sustained expansion in the third quarter.
Diokno said that among the main drivers of domestic growth is government spending. The implementation of infrastructure projects, payments to contractors, and disbursement of the year-end bonuses for government employees would boost expenditures in the remaining months of the year.
Roque also confirmed that the government has a high percentage of budget spending. He pointed to the improved absorptive capacity compared to previous years.
“It will be good this year. The DBM has assured that we are on track,” Roque stressed. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
