7% GDP GROWTH SA PINAS

MANANATILI ang pitong porsiyentong paglago sa ekonomiya ng bansa hanggang sa pagtatapos ng taon dahil sa pagbagal ng inflation rate at sa malakas na infrastructure spending, ayon sa isang local think tank.

Sa pinakabagong Market Call report, sinabi ng First Metro Investment Corporation (FMIC) at ng University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Capital Market Research na ang public infrastructure spending ay patuloy na magtatala ng double-digit growth.

Babagal din ang inflation rate at lalakas ang household consumption sa mga darating na buwan, na mahalaga para sa isang consumption driven economy tulad ng Filipinas.

“We think the government (particularly, infrastructure) spending will continue to ramp up–double-digit growth over the last eight months—and the manufacturing output expansion at an unusually fast pace, will provide the basis for robust job creation (and consumer spending),” pahayag ng FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research.

“These support our view that GDP gains will accelerate to seven percent in (the second quarter) and the rest of the year. Inflation will likely start slowing down in (the third quarter) as rice imports have arrived and the September harvest just around the corner while the US Department of Energy expects crude oil prices sliding all through (the second half of the year),” dagdag pa nito.

Sinabi ng think tank na ang infrastructure spending ay tumaas ng 25 percent noong Mayo makaraang magtala ng 95.9 percent growth noong  Abril.

Gumastos din ang national government ng P292 billion noong Mayo para sa 11.5 percent year-on-year growth at ang ika-7 sunod na buwan na nagtala ng above 10 percent growth.

Ito ay dahil sa pagpapatupad ng road widening at improvement projects, gayundin ng pagkumpuni at rehabilitasyon ng mga eskuwelahan. Bumili rin ang gobyerno ng medical facilities at equipment.

“April and May expenditures, which together stood at P553.1 billion, suggest that the NG (national government) will hit its disbursement target of P813 billion in (the second quarter) and this augurs well for more job creation and healthy economic activity,” sabi pa ng think tank.     CAI ORDINARIO