The Philippine economy grew at a moderate pace in the first quarter of 2024, expanding by 5.7 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
This is an improvement over the previous quarter of 5.5 percent, but slower compared to the 6.4 percent in the first quarter of last year.
The latest gross domestic product (GDP) figure, however, fell short of the government’s target range of 6 percent to 7 percent for the year.
The PSA said the main contributors to the first quarter 2024 growth were: financial and insurance activities, 10 percent; wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 6.4 percent; and manufacturing, 4.5 percent.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the economy continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and growth despite the challenges on both domestic and international fronts.
Balisacan said the country’s GDP performance retains the country’s position as a leading force among Asia’s emerging economies.
“Our first quarter GDP growth rate is about the same as Vietnam’s, surpassing other major economies such as China at 5.3 percent, Indonesia at 5.1 percent, and Malaysia at 3.9 percent, but slower than India’s projected growth rate of 6.2 percent,” Balisacan said.
“From the start of the year, we have been experiencing several shocks, the major ones being the long period of the heatwave, and related to that, the El Niño, and geopolitical tensions. Our first quarter economic performance is a testament to our people’s and industries’ resilience,” he added.
Despite the damage caused by El Niño, Balisacan said agriculture sector still managed to record growth, albeit at a slower pace of 0.4 percent.
The Industry sector, driven by growth in manufacturing and higher output of food, electronics, and chemical products, showed robust performance with a 5.1 percent increase. The Services sector also grew by 6.9 percent, supported by the continued recovery of tourism-related activities.
“I am confident that growth will accelerate further in the coming quarters as we prioritize shovel-ready projects for a more efficient implementation of the Build-Better-More program,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
“We will also continue to pursue the catch-up plans submitted by the various National Government Agencies to ensure massive improvement in their budget utilization rates. We also look forward to the passage of the new Government Procurement Reform Act, which will certainly boost efficiency in procurement and exponentially improve budget utilization,” she added.