Growth goals under review

MANILA, Philippines – The Duterte administration’s economic managers are reviewing their growth forecasts for this year as they assess the impact of the extension of the general community quarantine in Metro Manila, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

When asked about the economic impact of the extension of GCQ in the National Capital Region and some parts of Calabarzon, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said: “I don’t know if it will deepen the recession, it probably will level it off.”

“But certainly it will not pull us up,” he said.

The head of the Duterte administration’s economic team said they “are currently reviewing the emerging figures” to determine if their earlier forecasts are still appropriate given the current situation.

In its meeting last May, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) projected that the economy could contract by two to 3.4 percent this year.

On Wednesday night, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced that President Duterte had agreed to keep the National Capital Region under GCQ until the end of the month. Laguna, Cavite and Rizal were also placed under GCQ.

Dominguez earlier urged the President to place Metro Manila and the Calabarzon region under modified general community quarantine “as quickly as possible” to jumpstart economic recovery.

He noted that these regions contribute as much as 67 percent to the economy.

Dominguez said there is a need to “strike a reasonable balance between safeguarding public health and restarting our economy.”

Nevertheless, signs of economic recovery are already emerging, he said.

Dominguez also expressed confidence the Philippines would bounce back from the health and economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s true we are having a hiccup, we are having a bad spot but we are strong enough to weather this problem and come out of it probably even stronger than before,” he said.