PH economic growth targets attainable, solon says
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippine House of Representatives’ Way and Means Committee chair Joey Salceda said that despite headwinds, the Philippines is likely to hit the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) set targets.
The threat of a global recession and higher inflation rates can burden the local economy, but the growth will still be within range of the set goal of 5.5 to 5.6 per cent, according to Salceda.
“Overall, it will be hard to match 2022 growth rates this year. More likely than not, growth will be within 5.5 to 6.5 percent—which is still an overwhelmingly positive performance,” the lawmaker said.
He said the “key headwind” for 2023 will be inflation, which he said, “could dampen consumer spending and erode wages.”
Salceda said the growth drivers for this year will be consumer demand and the country’s ability to “suck income” from abroad through the business process outsourcing (BPOs), overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and independent contractors or freelancers.
The Philippine economy grew by 7.6 per cent in 2022.However, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently reported that inflation reached 8.7 per cent in January, the highest in 15 years or since November 2008 when inflation clocked in at 9.1 per cent.
