Palace counters “prophets of doom”: GDP growth target attainable

May 10, 2019

Malacañang has expressed optimism that the government could still achieve its target economic growth for this year despite a lower gross domestic product expansion in the first quarter.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the budget impasse, blamed for slower spending on infrastructure projects, resulting to the 5.6 percent GDP growth from January to March, is aleady a "thing of the past."

He also said soaring inflation has been addressed.

"President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the Cabinet have been thoroughly briefed and apprised by our economic managers on the situation, and the Palace therefore remains confident that we will still reach our full-year 2019 economic target of 6 to 7 percent," he said.

"We expect higher growth in the next few quarters as the Build Build Build Infrastructure Program starts to gather steam and domestic consumption, as a result of deflation, starts to pick up," he added.

Aside from the delay in the passage of the P3.757 trillion budget, growth in agriculture sector was almost flat, expanding by 0.8 percent only as a result of the El Niño phenomenon, Panelo said.

"The economic momentum is on our side. The future looks bright despite the prophets of doom and the negative forces that try to mislead our countrymen into believing an opposite outlook, who however refuse to bite," he said.

According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, the economy needs to grow at least 6.1 percent in the remaining three quarters to meet at least the lowest end full-year GDP growth target. Celerina Monte/DMS