National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan expressed confidence the Philippine economy would expand by at least 6.6 percent in the second half of 2023 to achieve the government’s full-year target.
Balisacan, speaking during the national budget briefing with the Senate Committee on Finance on Aug. 15, said along with other measures to ramp up spending by the public sector, the government was expecting to achieve the full-year growth target of 6 percent to 7 percent.
“We need to grow by 6.6 percent in the second half in order to achieve the lower target of 6 percent for the entire year. We really believe that it is achievable,” he said.
“We have not lost the value of the underspending in the first semester that we can deploy in the second semester. That will actually add to the assumed growth of 6.2 percent for the second semester. So, you’ll have all these underspent resources put into the second semester,” he said.
Balisacan said inflation was also expected to further decelerate. “That would buoy consumer demand, investment, and the rest of the economy,” he said.
He said that in 2024, the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget would support the government’s efforts to address inflation, protect the purchasing power of Filipino families and address the constraints to investment and inclusive economic growth.
“We are determined to address the inflation problem, resulting in the easing of both food and non-food inflation. The country’s overall inflation has been decelerating since February 2023, with both food and non-food inflation moderating,” he said.
Balisacan said despite the moderate 5.3-percent growth of the Philippine economy in the first half of 2023, several risks might aggravate inflation and decrease Filipinos’ purchasing power.
He said household consumption remained the main driver of economic growth on the expenditure side as it grew by 6.0 percent in the first half of 2023, despite domestic and external headwinds.
Balisacan said the economic team would focus on and commit to sustaining the downward trend in inflation by intensifying supply-side interventions and demand-side management.
The government will aso implement priority measures to ensure food security and reduce transport, logistics and energy costs to strengthen the purchasing power of Filipinos, he said.