National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said Monday the economic outlook remains “promising”, but the country should take more steps to sustain the recovery from the impact of the global health crisis.
Balisacan, speaking during the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 Forum held in Pasay City, said the plan would serve as the country’s development roadmap that would help improve the economic performance over the next six years .
“While the pandemic exposed the frailties and weaknesses within our system in the past few years, we were able to draw from those lessons and can now move forward with a better sense of what our priorities and urgent needs are,” Balisacan said.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported last week the 2022 gross domestic product expanded by a 46-year high of 7.6 percent, faster than the 5.7-percent expansion in 2021.
This also surpassed the government’s target range of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent despite the global headwinds highlighted by higher interest rates and elevated inflation.
The economy gained mainly from the strength of the industry and services sectors. The 2022 GDP growth was the fastest since 8.8 percent in 1976.
“The trajectory of our post- pandemic recovery is undoubtedly promising. Still, we cannot rest easy, knowing that we have much work ahead of us as we strive to sustain and improve our performance,” Balisacan said.
Balisacan said the PDP forum―a first in a series of stakeholder discussions and roadshows on the PDP 2023-2028―is a manifestation of the Marcos administration’s commitment to a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach for achieving long-term inclusive development.
“In these next six years, we can look forward to seeing the government take swift and decisive action, with various agencies working in synergy towards our shared goal of significantly improving the quality of life of the Filipino people and working towards a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society,” Balisacan said.
He said despite a better-than-expected GDP growth in 2022, the government maintained a growth target of 6 percent to 7 percent for 2023, mindful of the risks coming from the external front such as rising interest rates in major economies, elevated inflation and the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine.
He said that in the medium-term, the government expects an annual economic expansion of 6.5 percent to 8 percent from 2024 to 2028.