PH pandemic recovery lags behind SEA countries — IBON
The Philippines is among the worst performers in pandemic recovery among countries in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region, said economic think tank IBON Foundation.
In the group’s latest report, the Philippines ranked 8th out of 11 countries in economic recovery based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) after the outset of the pandemic.
The country also recorded the highest inflation rate in SEA and the second-highest unemployment rate in the region.
According to the IBON Foundation, the Duterte government “hyped” its legacy, and accomplishments during the pandemic period but lagged behind the performance of other countries in the region.
“This is due not only to its poor COVID response, harsh lockdowns, and refusal of economic stimulus but also due to pre-pandemic mispriorities,” the think tank stated.
Last March, IBON also reported that the Philippines has a “widening inequality gap,” which highlighted the group’s comprehensive opinion on how the Duterte government handled the pandemic.
IBON noted that “spending priorities continued to be distorted, with the amount spent on the COVID-19 response grossly disproportionate to the scale of the social, health and economic crises.”
Earlier this month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country reached a 5.4% inflation rate — its highest since December 2018’s 5.1%.
