Vice presidential aspirant Senator Christopher "Bong" Go on Friday said he remains optimistic with the country's economic resilience as the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 7.1 percent in the third quarter of 2021.

With this figure, Go lauded the economic managers of the Duterte administration whom he said have worked tirelessly to keep the economy afloat despite the recent COVID-19 restrictions.

“Malaki ang inilago ng ating ekonomiya sa third quarter ng 2021, kabaliktaran sa parehong quarter po ng 2020. Bagamat mahirap pa rin ang buhay, unti-unti namang nakakabangon ang ating ekonomiya mula sa epekto ng COVID-19 (Our economy grew impressively during the third quarter of 2021, in contrast during the same quarter in 2020. Though life is still difficult, our economy is slowly recovering form the effects of COVID-19),” Go said in a statement.

“Ang importante lang ay tuluyan nang matigil ang pagkalat ng sakit para matutukan natin muli ang pagpapalago ng ating kabuhayan pati ang pagsugpo sa hirap at gutom (What is important is to make sure to stop the spread of the coronavirus so we can focus on improving livelihood and eradicating poverty and hunger),” he added.

Nevertheless, Go urged Filipinos not to be complacent even as movement restrictions have been eased as the threat of COVID-19 continues to spread and evolve especially with the emergence of a more contagious Delta variant.

“Bagama’t magandang indication ito, huwag muna tayo magkumpyansa dahil mahaba pa ang laban at delikado pa rin ang panahon (Though this is a good indication, let’s not be complacent because we still have a long way to fight and time is uncertain),” he said.

However, he also urged authorities to make sure that vaccines reach far-flung communities so that they will also be protected and not left behind in the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.

Go reiterated vaccination is key to full economic recovery as more economic sectors can open and move once communities reach herd immunity.

“Kapag marami nang bakunado sa ating komunidad at patuloy na bababa ang bilang ng mga may sakit, maaari na pong luwagan ang mga restrictions at makapagbubukas na muli ang ibang mga industriya (If more people in our communities are vaccinated and the number of people falling ill will continue to go down, we can ease the restricitons and more industries will open),” the Senate Committee on Health chief said.