The Marcos administration made an assurance Thursday that it would continue to work to attain the country’s economic and social transformation targets particularly after the government reported a 5.9 percent year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter of 2023, the fastest among emerging economies in Asia.
“We remain committed to fully implementing the strategies and the transformation agenda outlined in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. The government is currently assessing our progress concerning the target outcomes and the strategies identified in the PDP. This Philippine Development Report will provide the necessary guidance on the way forward,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
“We would like to assure all Filipinos that we will make every effort to remain on course in attaining the economic and social transformation targets of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 and achieve a matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay para sa lahat.”
According to Balisacan, who heads the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Philippine economy continues to grow despite several major headwinds that the country has experienced and continue to experience.
The year-on-year 5.9 percent GDP growth in the third quarter of 2023 is a marked improvement from the 4.3 percent growth in the second quarter.
This performance makes the Philippines economy the fastest among the major emerging economies in Asia that have released their third-quarter 2023 GDP growth: Vietnam at 5.3 percent, Indonesia and China at 4.9 percent, and Malaysia at 3.3 percent.
With 5.5 percent GDP growth rate for the first three quarters – January to September – of 2023, he said the economy will need to grow by 7.2 percent year-on-year for the fourth quarter of 2023 to attain at least the low end of the government’s target of 6 percent to 7 percent for the entire year, the NEDA chief said.
While inflation recently eased to 4.9 percent in October 2023 from 6.1 percent in September 2023, he said the government will continue to prioritize strategies in response to the potential impacts of El Niño phenomenon, which is projected to intensify in the coming months until early 2024.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. directed government agencies to provide much-needed support to provinces that could still produce food despite the worst El Niño impact.
Additionally, the government will provide emergency employment opportunities for farmers in provinces that cannot sustain production during such period. These efforts will be coordinated through the inter- agency El Niño Task Force, Balisacan said.
At the same time, Balisacan emphasized the importance of non-monetary measures to protect the purchasing power of Filipinos as the government addresses the high inflation issue.
“Moving forward, we will continue to leverage the full implementation of liberalization reforms to intensify investment promotion in the country and boost growth, thereby generating higher-quality employment opportunities for our growing labor force,” Balisacan said, thanking Congress for passing the consolidated version of the Public-Private Partnership Act.
Once signed into law by the President, most probably within the year, Balisacan said the legislation would promote greater private sector participation in the country’s infrastructure development. PND
