7.1% GDP growth bucks seasonal slowdown — Palace official

(Updated 7:48 p.m.) The 7.1-percent growth posted by the economy in the third quarter surprised even those in government, a Palace official noted on Wednesday, saying that historically this period “is always the slowest” in terms of output. “We were given also the performance indicators and certainly we have seen how our economy has been resilient,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a briefing. “This is historically a weak quarter for the Philippines… In spite of that, we have shown robust growth in the third quarter of this year,” he added. In his own statement, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that the growth in GDP indicates growing confidence in the Philippine economy. “We are, in other words, creating an environment that’s ripe for both local and foreign investments and stable enough to keep our fiscal performance at a reasonable high,” he said. “We are optimistic that our fourth-quarter growth will remain as energetic. Public consumption will most definitely stay robust, fueled by high consumption levels during the holidays, continuing investments in public and private infrastructure, and the kick-start of election-related spending this Christmas season,” Abad added. Job creation Lacierda said that growth in sectors such as construction (by 24.3 percent) and manufacturing (5.7 percent, compared to 2 percent last year) also means the creation of more jobs. “Sa private construction marami na pong nagsasabing maraming construction na ginagawa po, and so you’ll need more people to be employed. So, karagdagan po ito sa pagha-hire po ng mas marami sa ating sambayanan na magkakaroon ng trabaho,” he said. Best in the region The country’s output – measured by gross domestic product – topped ASEAN neighbors that already disclosed their numbers, Lacierda said. “Among our neighbors the country’s GDP growth was higher than Indonesia’s 6.2 percent, Malaysia’s 5.2 percent, Vietnam’s 4.7 percent, Thailand’s 3.0 percent, and Singapore’s 0.3 percent.” Lacierda noted that the administration was well aware that this kind of economic growth is more easily felt by those in the business sector, and thus have taken pains to let the benefits trickle down to all sectors. “We want to make sure that itong kagandahan sa ekonomiya hindi lang ito nararamdaman ‘nung nasa stock exchange – kaya nga tinatawag nating inclusive growth – and these are hard or visible manifestations of growth,” he said. In a statement, Lacierda added that this unprecedented growth has allowed the government to spend more for the people, making improvements felt by a wider number of Filipinos. — VS/BM, GMA News