PH to remain among region’s growth leaders

FILE: Dominguez remains optimistic about achieving an economic growth rate close to the 7-percent target. (Photo: KING RODRIGUEZ/ Presidential Photo)

MANILA — The Duterte administration’s economic managers remain confident the country is on track towards high economic growth and will continue to be among the growth leaders in the region.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said government will continue pushing reforms for growth even amid various challenges, such as oil price swings, to achieve the country’s economic resurgence.

“We are well on our way to providing the inclusive development our people aspire for. Over the next few years, we expect our economy to continue to be among the growth leaders in the region,” he said during the pre-State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) forum on Friday.

Dominguez remains optimistic about achieving an economic growth rate close to the 7-percent target.

He noted that economic strategy is anchored on two major programs, including the comprehensive tax reform program and the Build, Build, Build infrastructure modernization program.

“With the tax reform and better infrastructure, the road to higher productivity, and thus lower and stable inflation is within reach,” said the finance chief.

The average inflation rate during the first six months of this year reached 4.3 percent.

Meantime, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the government’s massive infrastructure program dubbed Build, Build, Build, should contribute to the economic growth in the near-term as well as in years to come.

“We’ve already hit the ground running, and envision the completion of 32 of 75 flagship projects by end-2022, while making sure that the 4,909 other projects in the provinces and towns throughout the country will have broken ground by then,” he said.

Pernia said rapid economic growth has also translated to significant gains with 1.52 million additional employment generated in the first half of the year, well on track to achieve the target of 900,000 to 1.1 million employment generation in 2018.

He cited the country’s gross national income (GNI) per capita also growing annually by 4.8 percent in 2017, above target of 4.5 percent growth for the year.

“Thus, our country will join the ranks of upper middle-income countries by end-2019,” he added.