NEDA sets PH 2017 growth to 6.5–7.5%
Government expects PH to hit 6–7% growth for 2016
This year was a “good one” for Philippine economy and is expected to grow between 6.5 and 7.5 percent next year on the back of sustained growth and reducted poverty and unemployment rates, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.
In the agency’s year-end briefing Thursday, December 15, NEDA director-general and socioeconomic planning secretary Ernesto Pernia also expressed confidence that the Philippines will “achieve, if not surpass,” its 6-to-7-percent target growth rate for 2016, citing the 7-percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first three quarters.
 |
| MB FILE – Makati skyline / Manila Bulletinti sky |
Pernia said the government expects this momentum to continue “next year and hopefully in the years to come.”
“All things considered, our economy’s continuing strong growth, decreasing poverty, lower unemployment rates, and new foreign investments this year are all good signs of things to come,” Pernia said. “Together with a low inflation environment, sustained strong growth will pave the way for continued and faster poverty reduction.”
On the same day NEDA made its growth forecast, the World Bank also announced its revised 2016–2018 economic outlook for the Philippines.
Economic performance
Pernia touted the Philippines as one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies, “faster than China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.”
On the demand side, he attributed this growth to a boost in household consumption and investments in construction, public infrastructure and durable equipment.
“This was supported by low inflation, low interest rates, better labor market conditions and the steady growth in the remittances” of OFWs, said Pernia.
The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, Pernia said, aided not only in consumers’ purchasing power, but also in poverty alleviation.
On the supply side, there was considerable growth in the agriculture sector from five quarters of lackluster performance, aside from the industrial and services sectors.
The socioeconomic planning secretary also boasted the 95.3-percent employment rate posted in October—equivalent to 41.7 million Filipinos with jobs—and the “record low” 4.7-percent unemployment rate, which made the Philippine labor market “in better shape.”
“The growth of our economy is truly becoming more inclusive it appears, engaging more and more Filipinos to participate in the labor market,” Pernia said.
Laying the foundations
With the administration’s clear focus on ushering in the “golden age of infrastructure” to develop the regions, Pernia said 2017 will see the start of ramping up public infrastructure spending to at least 5 percent of GDP.
He said since June, the NEDA Board has so far approved 17 projects, many of which are outside Metro Manila.
To fast-track infrastructure development, Pernia said the agency is launching with the Department of Budget and Management a Three-Year Rolling Infrastructure Program (TRIP) that consolidates government infrastructure programs to identify “immediate priorities to be undertaken in three-year periods” for funding earmarking.
The agency has also introduced other initiatives:
- Public Investment Program Online System (PIPOL), an online database for government projects
- AidData Project, a web-based mapping tool that monitors the distribution and impact of donor assistance to government programs and projects, turned over by USAID
- Streamlined ICC review procedures for minor changes in scope, design, cost, and extension of implementation or grant validity of projects
Challenges to growth
Pernia also pinpointed a number of initiatives that the government must undertake in order to sustain the reforms for economic development and poverty alleviation:
- implement the comprehensive tax reform program being finalized by the Department of Finance
- continue investments in infrastructure
- ease restrictions on foreign investments
- reduce of cost of doing business
- strengthen agro-industrial linkages
- fully implement the responsible parenthood and reproductive health law. ## (By MB Online)
