Philippines unlikely to hit yearly GDP target for the second time in a row
MANILA, Philippines — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) admitted that it will be difficult to reach its minimum growth target for 2024 following the calamities that hit the country toward the end of the year.
The Philippines also failed to meet its target for growth in 2023.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan echoed the earlier projections of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who said the Philippines likely did not hit its 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) target of 6%
In a press briefing on Friday, January 24, Balisacan said the Philippine Statistics Authority is set to release the latest GDP in a matter of days.
“Anticipating that given the developments in the fourth quarter especially the several typhoons that impacted heavily on our agriculture and also many industries because offices were cancelled/suspended many times ‘no and so I can imagine the losses across industries,” the NEDA chief said.
“So, I would expect the fourth quarter to be not as good as we had expected. So yeah, we may have difficulty achieving the six percent for the full year but we’ll see,” he added.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee had already previously adjusted its GDP target range for 2024, going from 6% to 7%, to a narrower 6% to 6.5%.
When asked if the government would revise its target again soon, Balisacan said that targets would be revised as circumstances warrant.
The NEDA chief said the level of uncertainty in the global environment and economy is heightened, especially in light of possible tariffs that the United States will impose on foreign products, which may have an effect on the global supply chain.
However, Balisacan said that most of the country’s growth is coming from within.
“It’s a very consumption-driven economy and the service sector is also confident. Nonetheless, that trade is an important part of the economy and we are monitoring that closely and we are using of course our budget to ensure that we can make the economy more resilient to shock,” Balisacan said.
For 2025, the government is gearing to hit a GDP rate of 6% to 8%.
Asked about the 2025 budget, which has been riddled with controversies and issues that even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. described as suboptimal, Balisacan said that government spending accounts for only 15% to 20% of the economy.
“It's really the private sector that drives the bulk of our economy. But the spending of government is so critical to enabling the entire economy from working efficiently, functioning well so that we can achieve our targets,” Balisacan said.
The NEDA chief added that the current configuration of the government budget already allows for the delivery of critical services, such as social protection, food security, and basic infrastructure.
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