MANILA – The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7.4 percent in the second quarter of 2022, as the economy recovered strongly with loosened pandemic restrictions boosting economic activities.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said while the second-quarter economic growth was slightly lower than the median forecast of 7.5 percent for this year, the Philippines was the second best performing nation among the region’s major emerging economies that have released their reports.
Balisacan said the country was next to Vietnam’s 7.7 percent, but faster than Indonesia’s 5.4 percent and China’s 0.4 percent.
The GDP growth rate for the January to March period has been revised to 8.2 percent. It averaged 7.8 percent in the first half of the year. The economy posted a 5.9-percent pre-pandemic growth in 2019.
“Timely changes in COVID-related policies, such as easing alert levels, removing tourism restrictions, and accelerated vaccine rollout, helped increase economic activities,” Balisacan said.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the country’s GDP stood at P9.6 trillion at constant prices in the first semester of 2022, higher compared to the 2019 first semester of P9.49 trillion.
At current prices, GDP current value reached P10.32 trillion in the first semester this year from P9.29 trillion during the same period in 2019, he said.
Meanwhile, Balisacan said all sectors on the production side expanded in the second quarter, driven by the services and industry sectors at 9.1 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.
He cited the recovery of the services sectors that have been hit hard by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)-induced restrictions.
“Transport, accommodation, food service, and other services have shown continued yet slow signs of recovery to their pre-pandemic levels,” Balisacan said.
The agriculture sector was still weak at 0.2 percent growth as the sector remains vulnerable to natural calamities and rising input costs. (PNA)/PN
