NEDA: Economy in good shape despite missing targets

Even if the Philippines is likely to miss its growth targets for 2024, it still remains on track in reducing poverty and taming inflation while its economy continues to fare better than its neighbors in Asia, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said yesterday.

- Helen Flores

With the Philippine Statistics Authority's report on the country's Gross Domestic Product to be released next week, Balisacan cited several factors that are expected to result in GDP growth lower than six to 6.5 percent set by the Marcos administration for 2025.

Six typhoons stomped through the country from late October to mid-November last year, of which three made landfall, leading to an estimated two-percent contraction of the agriculture sector, he said.

“We may have difficulty achieving the six percent for the full year, but we’ll see,” Balisacan told reporters.

“Otherwise, the rest of the economy is doing well. Of course, doing well, meaning, in relation to those constraints that I mentioned, but we could have done well if the environment is more favorable,” he said.

“But expect to have speedy recovery in 2025,” he added.