DOF: PHL still on track to achieve upper middle-income status in 2019

The Philippines is still on track to score an upper middle-income status from the World Bank in 2019 even as the multilateral lender downgraded its growth forecast for the year, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.

"For many decades, the World Bank helped many emerging economies achieve sustainable development," Dominguez was quoted as saying in a speech, based on a statement released by the Department of Finance (DOF) on Sunday.

"This year, as the Bank celebrates its 75th year, we are proud to announce that the Philippines will achieve the status of an ‘upper middle-income’ nation ahead of schedule," he elaborated.

Government officials have been vocal in saying that the Philippines is likely to hit the goal of achieving an upper middle-income status this year, ahead of the earlier target of achieving such status by 2020.

Under World Bank criteria for the fiscal year 2019, an upper middle-income country should have a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of between $3,896 to $12,055.

As of 2018, the Philippines was classified as a lower middle-income country with a GNI per capita of between $996 and $3,895, while high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $12,056 or more.

"Today, the Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Reaching this milestone in our development story is attributable to many years of hard work — especially in building a strong fiscal position and a bureaucracy honed to the task of catalyzing growth," said Dominguez.

This comes even as the World Bank earlier this month announced another cut in its economic growth forecast for the Philippines both this year and the next, citing risks such as the reenacted budget and the El Niño phenomenon.

The World Bank now expects the Philippine economy to grow at 6.4 percent this year, slower than the initial forecast of 6.5 percent it announced in January.

Looking ahead, Dominguez said the country will continue to focus on its ambitious infrastructure program where the administration seeks to spend P8 trillion for projects until 2022, largely funded by government revenues from taxes.

"Investment in infrastructure has the highest multiplier effects. Immediately, it creates jobs for many currently unemployed and underemployed. It will open new areas for joint ventures," he said.

"It will improve property prices, create new manufacturing zones and bring down the costs of transporting people and goods. In a word, it creates a virtuous cycle propelling domestic economic expansion," added Dominguez. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/KG, GMA News