Romualdez explains why PH economy is 'in good hands' with Marcos
House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left) and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Speaker's office)
House Speaker Martin Romualdez has credited the Marcos administration for the country's recent economic upswing, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). In a statement Friday, May 11, Romualdez hailed the 6.4 percent growth in GDP posted by the Philippines for the quarter of 2023, as per the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). To put context to the 6.4 percent growth in the first quarter, the Speaker said the economy expanded by 7.6 percent in the third quarter and 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, when the economy started to reopen and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The high growth quarters of 2022 and the first quarter of this year are the first nine months of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s tenure in Malacañang, Romualdez said. “The average economic expansion during that period is 7.07 percent, which is a respectable growth rate that is slightly higher than the median of last year’s growth target of 6.5 percent and 7.5 percent. So the economy is in good hands,” he stressed. The Speaker noted that the first quarter GDP growth is almost in the middle of this year’s expansion goal of 6 percent to 7 percent. “So our first quarter growth rate is within target,” said the Leyte 1st district representative. The House leader further said the Philippines “was the star economic performer in the first quarter among ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members, plus China and India". According to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Arsenio Balisacan, the country outperformed Indonesia (5 percent), China (4.5 percent) and Vietnam (3.3 percent). The Philippine growth rate was also higher than first quarter expansion forecasts for Malaysia (4.9 percent), India (4.6 percent) and Thailand (2.8 percent). Romualdez said the national government is expected to ramp up spending, especially in infrastructure and social services. “The government will be the lead driver of economic activities and job and income generation,” he said.