MANILA, July 11 — The Philippine economy likely expanded by about 6.4 percent in the second quarter, recording the same pace of growth in the first quarter, on the back of higher government spending and robust exports, said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.
“I’m hoping it would be around the first-quarter performance at least for the second quarter,” Pernia told reporters, attributing the economic growth also to higher factory output.
Pernia said he was “more cautious” on the performance of the economy considering the base effects due to election spending last year.
He recalled that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) plummeted to measly 3.7 percent in 2011 from 7.3 percent in 2010, an election year, due to the base effects.
“Because of the base effect, we also had a high growth rate in 2016 so in 2017, we also experience the same fate but hope not as deep dive. So I’m being more modest, careful this time on the forecast,” said Pernia, also Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The economy accelerated 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2017 on strong performance of agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
First-quarter growth was below forecasts during the period and the 6.5 percent to 7.5-percent target set by government for the year.
The World Bank has reduced its growth projection for the Philippines to 6.8 percent this year, slightly lower compared to the 6.9 percent it predicted earlier this year.
The Bank said slower public spending in the first quarter, government consumption and investment growth somewhat weakened on an annual basis. However, export and growth of private consumption remained strong.
“I think they just tended to adjust it because of the lower-than-expected first quarter,” the NEDA chief added. (PNA)
