Economic team to review growth targets in Nov.
Due to underspending, geo-political conflicts
At A Glance
- National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said a special meeting with the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee will be held to review the growth targets in early November.<br>Edillon said that the growth rate of 5.3 percent in the first half of the year was less than the target.<br>The country is aiming to have a six to seven percent growth by year-end, but to achieve the lower end, the country must have a 6.6 percent growth this second half of the year. <br>The slower target may be attributed to the continuous underspending in government agencies and developing conflicts between Hamas and Israel.
President Marcos' economic team will reevaluate its growth targets after the "Undas" holiday break due to underspending in some government agencies and risks associated with the Hamas-Israel conflict.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said a special meeting with the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will be held during the first days of November.
The NEDA official said the economic growth, as measured by the country's gross domestic product (GDP), of 5.3 percent in the first half of the year was less than the target.
The country is aiming to have a six percent to seven percent growth by year-end, but sees six percent as a feasible target.
“This means that if we want to reach the lower end of our target for 2023, then we should be growing by 6.6 percent this second semester,” Edillon told reporters on the sidelines of the SGV Tax Symposium on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
The slower target may be attributed to the continuous underspending in government agencies, said the NEDA official.
The latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that government spending on goods and services reached P3.82 trillion from January to September, up 4.12 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.
Despite the increase, this is still one percent below the targeted P3.86 trillion expenditures.
“The one that dragged down growth is government expenditures minus point two, and net exports minus point three,” Edillon stated.
“In terms of government expenditures, there’s many explanations to this, one is during the second semester of last year, we had an elections so it was coming from a high phase,” she added.
The economic impact of the new conflicts in Europe and the Middle East is also being monitored by the government as global oil prices increase.
Oil companies Monday announced that they will increase gasoline prices by P0.95 per liter and a hefty upward adjustment of P1.30 per liter for diesel prices.