(Dahil sa COVID-19 pandemic) EKONOMIYA LUMAGAPAK SA 1ST QTR

BUMAGSAK ang gross domestic product (GDP) ng Filipinas ng 0.2 percent sa first  quarter ng taon dahil sa coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Ayon kay Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa, ito ang unang pagkakataon na lumagapak ang GDP magmula noong 1998.

Ang negative GDP growth ay huling naranasan noong 1998, nang ang full year economic performance ay bumaba ng 0.5% sa panahon ng 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, na sinamahan ng El Nino phenomenon.

Ang pinakabagong numero ay kumpara sa 6.7% na naitala sa fourth quarter ng 2019, at sa 5.7% sa first quarter noong nakaraang taon.

“Our country has faced significant socio-economic risks and shocks during the first quarter of 2020, all totally unexpected,” pahayag ni Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

Kabilang sa mga salik na tinukoy ni Chua ay ang pagsabog ng  Taal volcano noong Enero, ang pagbagsak ng turismo dahil sa coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic noong Pebrero, at ang enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) noong Marso.

Ang Metro Manila, kasama ang ilang “high-risk” areas, ay naka-lockdown magmula noong Marso 17, kung saan ang enhanced community quarantine sa lugar ay pinalawig ng dalawang beses hanggang Mayo 15.

“Containing the spread of the virus and saving hundreds of thousands of lives through the imposition of the ECQ has come at great cost to the Philippine economy,” ani Chua.

“Our economic growth is showing weaker performance compared to the past two decades. Even so, our priorities are clear: to protect lives and health of our people,” dagdag pa niya.

“Containing the spread of the virus and saving hundreds of thousands of lives through the imposition of the ECQ has come at great cost to the Philippine economy.”

Kumpara sa nakalipas na tatlong buwan ng 2019, ang domestic output ay bumagsak ng 5.1 percent. Ang agriculture at industrial sectors ay bumaba naman ng 0.4 percent at  3 percent, ayon sa pagkakasunod, dahll sa unang dalawang buwan ng Luzon-wide  lockdown.

Nagawa  namang lumago ng services sector ng 1.4 percent, subalit ‘di sapat upang iangat ang overall performance.

Samantala, posibleng lalong bumagsak ang ekonomiya ng bansa sa second quarter ng taon sa pagpapalawig ng enhanced community quarantine ng anim na linggo.

“Second quarter (growth) might be worse but we are using our policies to proactively manage our trajectory so that by the second half, we can recover gradually… We will see over the months if we need to be adapt and be more realistic, but I think with the progress we are seeing on the health side, there’s a very strong chance that we will have a good recovery,” aniya.

Maging ang Malacañang ay naniniwalang lalagapak pa ang ekonomiya ng bansa sa second quarter.

“We expect the economy to shrink even more during the month of April because the whole month was basically under ECQ and in May, as well,” wika ni Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. sa hiwalay na media briefing.

“There will be a steep decline in the GDP for the second quarter. But we expect a very strong rebound through the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program,” aniya.