(Sa first quarter ng 2024) PH ECONOMY LUMAGO NG 5.7%

LUMAGO ang gross domestic product (GDP) ng Pilipinas ng 5.7 percent sa first quarter ng 2024, ayon sa Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Mas mataas ito sa  5.5 percent na naitala sa fourth quarter ng 2023, subalit mas mababa sa 6.4 percent growth sa first quarter ng nakaraang taon.

Ayon sa PSA, ang lahat ng major economic sectors na kinabibilangan ng agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF); industry; at services ay nagposte ng year-on-year growths sa unang tatlong buwan ng taon.

Gayunman ay bumagal ang paglago ng agriculture sa gitna ng mga epekto ng  El Niño phenomenon.

Sa datos ng PSA, ang household consumption ay lumago ng 4.6 percent habang ang government spending ay tumaas ng 1.7 percent, ang gross capital formation ay lumago ng 1.3 percent, exports of goods and services ng 7.5 percent, at imports of goods and services ng 2.3 percent.

Sinabi ni National Statistician Dennis Mapa na ang  4.6 percent growth sa private consumption ang pinakamabagal na quarterly figure magmula nang maitala ang 2.6 percent sa third quarter ng 2010, hindi kasama ang pagbaba ng consumption noong COVID-19 pandemic.

Ayon kay Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, naapektuhan ng matinding init na dulot ng El Niño ang paglago ng construction at  household spending.

“Construction slowed down, no doubt affected by prolonged periods of extreme heat. Household spending also slowed due to elevated prices of major food items and the heat wave,” aniya.

Gayunman ay binigyang-diin niya na ginagawa ng pamahalaan ang lahat para matugunan ang climate change.

Nang tanungin kung hihilahin pa rin ng init ang ekonomiya sa second quarter, sinabi ni Balisacan na, “I’ve been in government for a while…I don’t see any more serious efforts now in dealing with climate change than what we are putting today.”

“(The) key really is really innovation. We are encouraging — as you know NEDA is also spearheading the efforts to get this innovation ecosystem coming up quickly so that we can get our people, our entrepreneurs, startups, even ordinary citizens come up with solutions to our daily problems,” sabi pa ni Balisacan.

“On a bigger scale of course we need a lot of investment, including infrastructure development to address climate change, especially for adaptation, especially in vulnerable areas like agriculture. And we are tapping development institutions to augment our capacity there, particularly in the financing of adaptation measures,” dagdag pa niya.

Nauna nang ibinaba ng mga economic manager ang  growth target para sa  2024 sa 6 hanggang 7 percent mula 6.5 hanggang 7.5 percent dahil sa external factors tulad ng global demand at trade growth, oil price movements, inaasahang exchange rate at inflation trends.

Sa pagtaya naman ng Asian Development Bank ay lalago ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas ng  6 percent ngayong taon, bumaba mula sa naunang projection na 6.2 percent.

Samantala, sinabi ng World Bank na lalago ang ekonomiya ng bansa ng average na 5.8 percent sa 2024.