PH economy grows by 6.7% in 2017
Despite a slower start to the year, the economy still saw a 6.7% rise in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2017.
Bolstered by a 7 percent and 6.6 percent growth during the last six months of 2017, the country managed to stay the course set by the government, which had growth rates pegged somewhere between 6.5 and 7.5 percent.
IMAGE NEDA
“We are glad to report that the performance of the Philippine economy remains on target, hitting a solid 6.6 percent growth rate in the last quarter of 2017. This stable performance brings our full-year growth in 2017 to 6.7 percent—a strong finish that keeps our position as one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia after China’s 6.9 and Vietnam’s 6.8 percent,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia during a press conference last January 23.
2017 may not have been as robust as 2016, which saw the country’s economy grow by 6.9 percent, but, as Pernia explains, this is to be expected after an election year.
“Look at the performance in 2005, which was a post-election year. After an election year, a deep dive, and even deeper was the case in 2011, which was a post-election year after the 2010 election year.”
STILL ONE OF ASIA’S FASTEST. Despite the 0.2 percent decrease, the Philippines is still one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, coming in behind Vietnam (7.7%) and China (6.8%)./IMAGE NEDA
He also said the 0.2 percent decrease is very moderate compared to the 1.9 percent drop from 2004 to 2005 and 3.9 percent drop from 2010 to 2011. Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was elected President in 2004 while former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino was elected in 2010.
A release from the Philippine Statistics Authority points to the industry and service sectors as the main drivers for growth in Q4 of 2017. Agriculture also recovered from its decline in the previous year, posting a 2.4 percent growth compared to its -1.3 percent in 2016.
For 2018, Pernia hopes to “shift the trajectory upwards some more,” bolstered by the government’s Build Build Build program and recently-implemented tax reforms, which he says will boost domestic demand.
Written by Andronico Del Rosario
Source: NEDA, Philippine Statistics Authority
Images: NEDA
Featured image taken by jopetsy, grabbed from Flickr
