The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the economy is still poised to grow within the government’s target for this year as the Omicron variant has had more than a mild impact on business activity.
At the Management Association of the Philippines Economic Briefing on Thursday, Feb. 10, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the 7.0 percent to 9.0 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for 2022 remains achievable.
“I believe the stage is now set forth for us to grow and accelerate to seven to nine percent in 2022,” Chua said.
“Despite the setback of the Omicron variant in the first month of this year, we have seen the virus go away fast and we were able to manage the risk and see a more responsive or more open economy in the latter part of January,” he added.
In addition, Chua said job indicators are also closer to pre-pandemic levels as the country reopens the economy and manage risk despite the spikes.
To recall, Metro Manila and nearby provinces went back to the more strict Alert Level 3 in January. The heightened alert level in the first few weeks of the year was in response to the sustained rise in daily infections of COVID-19 in the country.
However, restrictions in Metro Manila eased to Alert Level 2 since Feb. 1 on the back of the improving COVID-19 situation.
Chua said the current risk management strategy of the government is correct, attested by the better than expected 5.6 percent economic growth performance in 2021.
Last Jan. 7, the Development Budget Coordination Committee said the shift to strict Alert level 3 for Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, was estimated to result in an economic productivity loss of about P3 billion per week.
But despite the losses, Chua had assured that the Omicron variant cannot not slam the Philippines' growth prospects, citing the tighter quarantine controls were only temporarily.
However, Chua admitted that the virus, which was first reported in China in late 2019, is not going to go away easily.
He explained that the emergence of new variants, such as the highly transmissible Delta and Omicron, has shown the world that the COVID-19 virus is not going to simply disappear.
“Economic prospects in 2022 still remain promising, and we urge everyone to play their role in the recovery by getting vaccinated, availing of booster shots, and strictly adhering to the minimum public health standards,” Chua said.