The Duterte administration registered a strong fiscal performance last year that enabled the government to maintain macroeconomic stability and helped maintain investor confidence, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Finance Undersecretary and Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said as he pointed out that the cumulative budget deficit of P1.332 trillion in the first 11-months of the year is only 71.8 percent of the programmed deficit of P1.855.6 billion for 2021.

The end-November fiscal gap, however, is 24.6 percent higher compared with P1.969 trillion in the same period in 2019.

“The strong fiscal performance in 2021 has enabled government to maintain macroeconomic stability and this has helped maintain investor confidence,” Beltran said in his latest DOF economic bulletin.

“This will boost efforts to reboot the economy and restart businesses adversely affected by lockdowns,” he added.

Last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the country’s economy grew 5.6 percent last year, slightly beating the government’s downgraded target of 5.0 percent o 5.5 percent. In the fourth quarter, the gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7.7 percent

“The door to our economic recovery is now fully open,” the government’s economic managers said in a statement read by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua at a virtual briefing.

“This growth performance was much faster than most analysts forecast, making the country’s expansion among the highest in the region,” Chua said.

He said the strong 2021 performance showed that the government’s policies are also on the correct path to a resilient recovery.

“The stage is now set for growth to accelerate in 2022,” Chu said.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), an inter-agency body that sets the country's macroeconomic targets, is forecasting that the economy would grow by seven percent to nine percent this year.

“We are optimistic that we will not only recover to the pre-pandemic level in 2022, but achieve the upper-middle income country status,” Chua said.

The World Bank defines an upper middle-income economy as a country which has gross national income per capita of between $3,956 and $12,235.

“The Duterte administration will stay the course until its last hour in office. We remain committed to rebuilding a stronger economy and delivering on our promise to provide a comfortable life for everyone,” he concluded.