Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said domestic growth this year is seen to remain resilient, with the assumption of an expansion of between 6 percent and 7 percent, given the continued growth of a favorable demographic profile and a lot of investment opportunities, among others.
Diokno said the lower gross domestic product (GDP) assumption for this year compared to the higher-than-expected 46-year high of 7.6 percent last year, which exceeded the government’s 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent target band, is due to the expected impact of global economic developments.
The growth assumption for this year remains “high but doable,” he said, noting that the government’s fiscal health remains strong, with revenues continuously rising after the pandemic and the reopening of the economy.
For one, Diokno said, infrastructure investments would continue to rise and account for about 5 percent to 6 percent of the economy’s annual output.
“Infrastructure spending is front and center of our growth strategy. We are committed to reverse the decades-long under-investment in infrastructure from 2001 to 2015, where average infrastructure spending is only at 2 percent of GDP,” he said during the Philippine government’s economic briefing in Washington DC on Wednesday
He said the situation changed in 2016 when the government introduced the “Build, Build, Build” program, which some said is the golden age of infrastructure in the country.
“For the next six years, we are determined to sustain this high infrastructure investment but with a twist. This time, we will complement government spending with the enhanced public-private partnership mechanism,” he said.
Diokno said this mechanism would greatly boost energy, logistics, transportation, telecommunications, and water infrastructure.
CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE
