The country’s recovery is not out of the woods just yet as risks posed by the coronavirus continue to threaten recent gains, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

In its latest economic bulletin on Friday, May 14, the DOF said that the pace of economic contraction in the first three-months of the year had softened compared with the previous-quarter, an indication of recovery.

However, the DOF is not yet ready to call that the Philippines is nearing the end of the coronavirus crisis.

“The economy grew by 0.26 percent in the first quarter from last year’s final quarter, indicating recovery. Recovery, however, continues to be threatened by risks posed by the virus,” the DOF said.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) dipped 4.2 percent in January to March, worse than the 0.73 percent contraction in the same period last year, but an improvement from minus 8.26 percent in the final three-months of 2020.

To better respond to risks, the DOF said the health issue “should be effectively addressed” by inoculating a sizeable number of the population.

“It is encouraging that the much-needed vaccines have started arriving,” the DOF said.

The Philippines expects its total vaccine inventory to hit over 21 million doses next month as additional 7.7 million vaccines are set to arrive before the end of the month and new 10 million doses are expected in June.

Current concern however is the slow vaccine rollout of the government.

On May 18, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), an inter-agency body that sets the macroeconomic targets of the country, will review its medium-term goals following the worse-than-expected economic performance in the first-quarter.

For 2021, the DBCC is currently targeting to grow the economy by 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent from a record contraction of 9.5 percent last year. The GDP needs to expand by at least 10.1 percent in the next nine-months to attain the full-year goal.

Despite the disappointing first-quarter GDP, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua had said the local economy was on the mend driven by the country’s strong economic position before the pandemic and improving economic data in recent months.

While the recent lockdowns in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus area will pose downside risks to growth, Chua said said that “our actions in the next eight months can reverse these initial losses.”

“This time around, we also have much more latitude. Unlike last year’s enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the government is taking a more calibrated approach to the present quarantines by addressing the highest sources of risks,” Chua said.