NEDA bares stimulus plan for higher growth

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration has gone full blast in using its infrastructure funds to build roads, bridges, irrigation systems and schools in the last quarter of the year to spur a higher economic growth next year.

This was the administration’s answer to a slowdown in the gross domestic product growth in the first nine months of the year which was only 3.6 percent, disclosed Ruperto Majuca, assistant Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The government was blamed by not a few economists for contributing little to spur higher economic growth this year because it held back on spending the money Congress had set aside for infrastructure and social services for this year.

“The government has accelerated public spending and pouring more money on infrastructure projects in tandem with export-friendly monetary policies,” said Majuca.

He told exporters gathered in the National Export Congress held recently at the World Trade Complex that no less than President Aquino had given the green light for the acceleration of spending a P70 billion stimulus fund to coax the economy into growing faster this coming year.

Economic czar Cayetano Paderanga, Jr. earlier this week announced that in addition to the already funded public works projects, NEDA has already invited bidders to some of the big ticket public-private partnership projects whose feasibility have been reviewed by his office.

At least one of those projects will be bidded out before the end of the year, he told Philexport News and Features.

He said that the program to build a new airport in Bohol and the expansion of the airport in Puerto Princesa in Palawan is on track with preconstruction spade work being done by the Price Waterhouse Cooper, a global financial investment advising company.

Majuca, for his part, posited that the retreat of Philippine exports that started last May has finally bottomed out.

The economic official said that most of the top ten exports led by furniture and food enjoyed comfortable growth while electronics and semiconductor suffered the slowdown. He expects the sector to bounce back by next year.