MANILA – Malacañang expressed optimism on Friday that the country’s economic growth would be back on track in the coming months after it slowed down in the second quarter.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the administration, through the economic managers, had taken several measures to ensure that the domestic growth remained sustainable.
“While growth has slowed down in the second quarter of this year, the Office of the President has been assured by our economic managers that this is simply a temporary setback,” Panelo said.
“The Palace remains optimistic in pursuing our macroeconomic targets despite the challenges we face as a nation,” he added.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia on Thursday said that the economy grew by 5.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, the slowest in four years since the gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 5.1 percent in the first quarter of 2015.
Pernia said the El Niño phenomenon, as well as the increasing protectionism in advanced economies and the election ban on construction activities earlier this year impacted the economy.
Panelo said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), through Pernia, suggested the creation of an apex water body to “address the water crisis brought by the El Niño and mechanisms for resiliency in the agriculture sector, either through technology or insurance program, in the wake of weather disturbances brought by climate change.”
He further said President Rodrigo Duterte directed concerned government agencies to undertake pre-procurement processes to attain target disbursements in addressing the economic impact of the previous ban on public construction activities.
He said the President also instructed the agencies to expedite the approval of permits and requirements for public construction projects.
Panelo said Duterte ordered the Department of Information and Communications Technology, together with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, to aim higher value-added business processes to enhance the IT-BMP sector with the hope that those in said industry would undergo retooling to further improve their skills.
“Likewise, tourism is made a priority early on, and fortunately international travel has not been affected by the ongoing trade wars even as we expect the growth of this sector offset the drop in our exports,” he added.
He said the Office of the President joins Pernia in calling on the legislative branch for the timely passage of the 2020 national budget for the continuing implementation of the Build, Build, Build Program,
“We request our lawmakers to prioritize the legislative agenda of the President, which include the TRABAHO bill, the Foreign Investment Act, the Public Service Act, the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, and a revised Security of Tenure Bill, to address investment uncertainties caused by external factors,” Panelo further said.
He said the President and the administration are facing the challenging times head on, confident that the country will go back on track in keeping the growth momentum in the right trajectory.
“The President remains committed in making the lives of all Filipinos secure and comfortable,” he said.(GMA News)
