MANILA, Philippines – Umaasa ang National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) na magiging maganda pa rin ang economic growth performance ng bansa sa unang tatlong buwan ng 2025.
Sa isang panayam, sinabi ni NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan na sa kabila ng “inflation numbers… private consumption is quite sensitive to inflation and with inflation going down and the labor market remaining robust, we have a good first quarter.”
Matatandaan na bumagal ang inflation noong Pebrero sa 2.1 percent mula sa 2.9 percent noong Enero.
Ang employment rate naman ay nasa 95.7% noong Enero, bagamat mas mababa sa 96.9 percent noong Disyembre 2024.
Ani Balisacan, ang pamahalaan ay mananatili sa growth targets nito sa kabila ng paparating na Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) sa kalagitnaan ng buwan.
“We’’re sticking to that [target]…,” aniya.
Para sa 2025, tinataya ng DBCC na ang gross domestic product (GDP) ng bansa ay lalago sa 6% hanggang 6.5%.
Samantala, sa kabila ng global uncertainties dahil sa mga polisiya ni U.S. President Donald Trump, sinabi ni Balisacan na dapat tumutok ang bansa sa trading partnerships nito sa iba pang mga bansa.
“We should be more aggressive with pushing for FTAs (free trade agreements) with other countries. We need to expand to diversify our markets and move to areas where we can possibly benefit,” aniya.
“We are watching carefully and we have to make our economy resilient. Obviously, it’s for our good if the economic environment globally is stable because part of our diversification effort is to enhance our investment, our capacity to attract investments and to export more, to use the global economy as part of the world,” dagdag ng NEDA chief. RNT/JGC
