The National Economic and Development Authority said Tuesday economic activity started to pick up as the government works on programs to help severely affected sectors cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are starting to see a U-turn in the trajectory of economic activity and manufacturing production. While we are not yet in the positive territory, we are hoping that we can continue to manage this recovery as best as we can,” acting Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in a presentation during a webinar hosted by Globe MyBusiness Academy in and the Alumni Association of Xavier School.
Chua said the government’s recovery program would include the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act 2, the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program and the 2021 budget.
He said some P655 billion would be allocated to help people cope with the pandemic and improve the healthcare system the phased and adaptive recovery approach,
This includes the ramped up spending to protect 18 million low-income households and 3.1 million workers of small businesses.
“Moving forward, we are optimistic that the Bayanihan 2 will help the country bounce back from the crisis with its improved provisions on the healthcare system, public transport, and restoring consumer demand,” Chua said.
He said the government would also provide equity support to distressed firms that were deemed strategic and allow banks to dispose of bad loans and assets so they could serve more businesses.
Chua said the government was also focusing on enhancing the productivity of the agriculture sector which plays a crucial role in the economic recovery.
“There’s no way for the Philippines to complete its structural transformation if we don’t make the agriculture sector productive. We have already taken huge steps through the Rice Tariffication Law and the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund. We can also do more through our infrastructure and logistics programs,” he said.
The economy contracted by 9 percent in the first half because of the devastating impact of the pandemic. GDP fell by 16.5 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, deeper than the 0.7-percent contraction in the first quarter.
The government is now looking at a 5.5-percent contraction for the entire year, a steep reversal of the actual 6-percent growth in 2019.
