By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News
Published October 25, 2023 9:06pm
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Wednesday hinted that the country’s economic performance for the July to September period will be better than the preceding quarter.
At the sidelines of 12th Arangkada Philippines Forum in Pasay City, Balisacan said that as far as available data being assessed are concerned the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth “should be better.”
“That’s I think so far that I saw. I can, you know, qualitatively assess the data that we are seeing. Yes, it should be better,” the NEDA chief said.
The economy as measured by GDP or the total value of goods and services produced in a specific period slowed to 4.3% in the second quarter, bringing the first half 2023 GDP growth rate to 5.3%, below the government’s target range of 6% to 7%.
The second quarter GDP growth was also the economy’s slowest footing in nine quarters since the country entered the positive territory in the middle of 2021 following a pandemic-induced recession—amid elevated inflation and high interest rates that tempered consumption during the period as well as government underspending during the period.
Balisacan expressed optimism that the July to September GDP growth will be “better than the second semester because we have tried to address some of the concerns, particularly the underspending now.”
“Of course the inflation that we saw in September was a bit on the high side but we hope that inflation in the coming months is much more improved,” he said.
Inflation, which measures the rate of increase in prices of consumer goods and services, grew faster at 6.1% in September from 5.3% in August, as food and transport costs weighed on prices amid domestic and external supply challenges.
“So I can’t tell you now what the growth [rate will be]…. we’re still assembling the numbers, but that will be announced in the first week of November,” Balisacan said.
Government underspending, apart from high inflation, was among the factors behind the slower second quarter growth.
The administration devised a catch-up spending plan through accelerating the execution of government programs and projects, including the delivery of public services, under the 2023 national budget to support GDP growth. — BM, GMA Integrated News