Improvements in the country’s healthcare system, among others, are expected to further solidify the domestic economy’s recovery and boost its capacity to hit the revised target of between 5 percent to 5.5 percent.
In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said domestic output, which averaged at 4.9 percent in the first three quarters this year, “has exceeded our expectations in 2021.”
“So there’s a greater likelihood that our full year growth will hit the revised target of our GDP (gross domestic product) growth ranging from 5 to 5.5 percent this year,” he said.
During the same briefing, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said growth in the third quarter of this year alone reached nearly 7 percent.
Dominguez thus was hopeful about hitting the full-year target.
“Backed by (a) stronger healthcare system and the massive rollout of the vaccination program, we will solidify our recovery by reopening the economy,” he said.
Dominguez said movement restrictions, at least in the national capital, are expected to ease to Alert Level 1 by January 2022.
To avert long term productivity losses and restore more employment, he said the country will resume face-to-face schooling most likely in January 2022, increase public transport capacity for all types of transport to 100 percent, and relax restrictions.
“Next year, we are confident that we will reach our GDP growth target of 7 to 9 percent as the numbers are now all in our favor. This growth target is higher than our pre-pandemic growth rate of an average of 6 percent,” he added.
Asked for his thoughts on the possibility of a 7-percent domestic output in the last quarter of this year, Dominguez did not directly give an answer but said: “People have told me that it’s very difficult to get seats in restaurants now. People are going out but I didn’t know.”
Beltran said the October 2021 figure for the manufacturing sector alone rose by 24.7 percent.
“So because we have further opened the markets, I think the growth rate will be sustained,” he said.
Asked if a 7 percent growth is doable, Beltran said: “It’s doable.”
Source: Philippines New Agency
