Philippine Economic Growth Slows To 5.5% In Q2

The Philippine economy posted slightly lower growth in the second quarter of this year due to the budget delay and the current difficult times. Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s economy, based on gross domestic product (GDP), rose 5.5% in the second quarter, slightly lower than the 5.6% it grew in the first quarter, and a long way below the 6.2% growth rate a year before. The GDP figure is the country’s lowest growth rate in over four years.
Socioeconomic planning secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Ernesto M. Pernia said that “challenging times” in the past, including the El Niño phenomenon and the US-China trade war, were still affecting the country’s economic growth potential. Pernia pointed out that the increasing protectionist stance of advanced countries was moderately impacting the IT-BPM sector, which only posted a 1.3% growth instead of the usual double digits. Pernia also urged the IT sector to retool and retrain amid the rise of artificial intelligence so it can cater to the higher value-added business processes.