Malacañang said that 51 percent of adult Filipinos thinking that the country's economy will improve in the next 12 months is a clear indication of the effectiveness of the government's Covid-19 pandemic response efforts, particularly the Alert Levels System.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar made this statement after the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that 51 percent, or +44, of adult Filipinos think that the Philippine economy will improve in the next 12 months.

This rating, which the pollster classified as "excellent," is the highest net economic optimism since September 2016.

Only seven percent of the 1,440 Filipino adults surveyed from December 12 to 16, 2021, thought that the economy would worsen in the next year.

In his statement on Thursday, April 7, Andanar described the result of the Fourth Quarter 2021 SWS survey as a "welcome development" as it proves how effective the government's response to the pandemic is.

"The Palace considers this rating... as clear indication of how effective our calibrated strategy of shifting to Alert Level System to further reopen the economy – where more businesses are operating, and more Filipinos are able to go to work – while ramping our Covid-19 vaccination drive," he said.

According to Andanar, the public has "more reasons to feel confident about the future," especially after President Duterte signed Executive Order No. 166, which adopted a Ten-Point Policy Agenda to accelerate and sustain economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The said policy likewise directs a whole-of-government approach to align all economic recovery programs and measures of the national government.

"This indeed demonstrates that government has concrete plans to sustain our economic rebound," Andanar said.

Recently, the government eased even further the arrival protocols for international travelers by allowing the use of rapid Antigen tests when entering the Philippines.