The Philippine economy on its way to recover lost ground, but should remain alert and not let its guard down as Omicron variant poses a threat to public health, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said on Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, that the higher-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, coupled with improved economic outlook even by the private showed the country’s long-term prospects.

“The Philippines has grown more than expected in the second and third quarters, averaging 4.88 percent in the first three quarter of the year. With higher-than-expected growth, the Philippine is on its way to recover lost ground,” Beltran said in a DOF Economic Bulletin.

“Indeed, outlook on the Philippine economy by the private sector, including credit rating agencies, improved. Fitch , for instance, revised upward its 2021 growth outlook for the Philippines from 4.2 percent to 4.5 percent,” he added.

Moreover, Beltran cited that the Philippines’ total merchandise trade in the nine-months was 125.11 percent of its pre-pandemic level.

According to the finance official, the recovery in external trade is broadly in line with similarly rated peers and ASEAN neighbors.

In addition, Beltran said the Philippines also managed to attract nearly $4.3 billion in foreign direct investments in the first half, 40 percent higher than the level in the same period of 2020 and nearly half the full-year pre-pandemic level.

"The arrival of much needed vaccines and the efficient administration thereof should be able to help in the safe and gradual reopening of the economy, bring back investor confidence, and speed up recovery,” Beltran said.

But still, he said the country needs to stay alert and not let its guard down.

“Already, the newly identified Omicron variant is threatening to dampen the merry mood of the Yuletide season—lest hopes be dashed again as the previous scenes replay where the situation would appear to get better before things got much worse,” Beltran said.

“Living prudently with the virus bears in mind that it ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” Otherwise, it will be quarantines redux and the future is exactly what it used to be,” he added.

Meanwhile, Beltran reiterated the DOF’s call for the passage of important economic bills—the amendments to the Public Service Act, Foreign Investment Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

“In addition to CREATE and the Build, Build, Build, Program, will help attract more investments, generate yet more employment, hasten the country’s recovery, and put the country back on its stellar pre-pandemic growth rate of above six percent,” Beltran said.