‘Catch-up’ program to boost GDP growth

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the government’s implementation of a “catch-up program” following a sluggish 5.6-percent gross domestic product expansion in the first half will boost economic growth for the rest of the year.

In an economic bulletin on Tuesday, Beltran, who is also the DoF’s chief economist, said the delay in the passage by Congress of the 2019 budget weakened expenditures and the domestic economy.

“National government underspending was estimated at around P178 billion. This is about 2 percent of first semester nominal GDP,” Beltran said.

“A catch-up program has been adopted by the implementing agencies. This will boost growth performance for the second semester,” Beltran said.