“While our growth is slower than India’s projected 6.5-percent expansion, we are expected to outpace Malaysia’s 4.3 percent and Thailand’s 2.4 percent,” Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
THERE IS SOMETHING wrong with the Philippine economy despite claims by government economists that it is resilient and the among the best performers in emerging Asia.
This, as the gross domestic (GDP) growth increased by 5.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, a big drop from the 6.5 percent in the same period last year.
Also, the latest economic growth figure is a slight increase from the 5.4 percent logged in the first quarter of this year.
What is disturbing from the 5.5-percent GDP growth is the manufacturing sector recorded a low 2.1-percent growth in the second quarter this year, a big decline from the 7.9 percent of the same period last year.
Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the decline in the manufacturing sector’s growth was due to the declines in output for coke and refined petroleum products, chemical products, and computer and electronics.
For its part, the services sector increased slightly to 6.9 percent from 6.8 percent last year, with gains recorded in real estate and professional and business services.
The agriculture sector emerged as the savior of GDP growth, logging an impressive 7-percent growth during the quarter, a turnaround from the 2.3 percent contraction in the second quarter of 2024.
However, the better output of the agriculture sector in the second quarter this year can also be attributed to the better weather, as the sector was battered by the El Nino in the first six months of last year.
Balisacan said the agriculture sector’s rebound in the second quarter was largely driven by improved harvests of palay and corn, supported by the Department of Agriculture’s initiatives such as the Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid Program and productivity boosting investments in cold storage, small water impounding dams, farm reservoirs, and solar-powered irrigation systems.
STILL RESILIENT AS CLAIMED
Government economists are quick to cite that the country’s economy is still among the best in emerging Asia,
“With this performance, we maintain our place among the fastest-growing economies in emerging Asia, behind Vietnam’s 8 percent growth, but ahead of China’s 5.2 percent and Indonesia’s 5.1 percent,” Balisacan said.
“While our growth is slower than India’s projected 6.5-percent expansion, we are expected to outpace Malaysia’s 4.3 percent and Thailand’s 2.4 percent,” he added.
Balisacan added that the government continues to safeguard the purchasing power of Filipinos.
This as on the demand side, household consumption growth accelerated to 5.5 percent from last year’s 4.8 percent.
“Our strategic, sustained, and coordinated efforts to manage inflation and safeguard purchasing power are clearly making an impact,” said Balisacan.
“Prices have stabilized, and employment conditions have improved, allowing Filipino families to spend more confidently. Notably, rice prices, a major concern for households, have been declining steadily in recent months,” he added.
