MANILA, Philippines- Kumpiyansang sinabi ni Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno na maaabot ang full-year economic growth target ng pamahalaan sa kabila ng pagbagal na nakita sa second quarter.
“The Philippine economy has to grow by 6.6% in the second half of the year to achieve the lower end of the 6% to 7 % growth target for 2023,” ayon kay Diokno.
“While there are formidable external challenges, the prospect for achieving this lofty goal is largely in the hands of the current administration,” dagdag na wika ng Kalihim.
Lumago ang gross domestic product (GDP) ng Pilipinas sa pinakamabagal na takbo nito sa siyam na quarters, 4.3% sa panahon ng Abril hanggang Hunyo, mas mababa kumpara
6.4% rate na nakita sa unang tatlong buwan ng taon kung saan ang consumption—pangunahing economic driver—ay na- temper ng tumaas na inflation at dahil sa mataas na interest rates.
Ang pagliit sa government spending ay isinisisi rin sa mas mabagal na paglago sa second quarter.
Partikular na rito ang Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) na lumiit ng 7.1% “in the absence of election-related spending in the first half of the year.”
“Relatedly, the government missed its P2.58-trillion spending program in the first semester of 2023 by 6.6%, with actual expenditures amounting to P2.411 trillion,” ang makikita sa datos ng Bureau of the Treasury.
Upang i-offset ang underspending na nakita sa unang bahagi, sinabi ni Diokno na naghahanda ang pamahalaan ng “spending catch up plan.”
“An aggressive catch-up plan for infrastructure projects (roads, bridges, airports, seaports, power, water, irrigation, telecommunications facilities, digitalization, school buildings, housing and others), quicker response by GOCCs, and strong and deliberate spending by resource-surplus local governments are essential parts of the solution to the relatively weak second quarter growth performance of the Philippine economy,” ayon kay Diokno.
Samantala, isinantabi naman ni Diokno ang nakikinita at inaasahang ‘slowing down’ ng global economy sa economic growth ng bansa dahil “the Philippines is not as export-dependent as some of its ASEAN neighbors.”
“Its growth is consumption-based, that is why it is less susceptible to the weaker exports demand owing to the slowing global economy, which is partly due to the aggressive monetary tightening, supply bottlenecks and rising commodity prices resulting from the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine,” ani Diokno.
“The more dependent the country is on exports, the slower the economic expansion. This is mainly due to a slowing global economy,” dagdag na pahayag nito. Kris Jose
