The Philippine economy grew faster at 6.5% in the second quarter of 2017 with the recovery of the agriculture sector and pickup in government spending.
The second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figure is slightly higher than the 6.4% growth recorded in the first quarter of the year, but is slower than the 7.1% growth in the same quarter last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the 6.5% GDP growth means the country is “well on track” to meeting the full-year target of 6.5% to 7.5%.
The country has overtaken Vietnam’s 6.2% and Indonesia’s 5% growth rate for the period, Pernia noted.
“This puts the country as either the second or third fastest growing major Asian economy, next only to China whose growth rate is 6.9% growth in the second quarter,” he added.
Malaysia and Thailand have not yet released their data, but the Cabinet official said both countries’ performance for the second quarter is expected to be lower than that of the Philippines.
On the demand side, growth in household consumption remained at 5.9%, while government consumption expanded by 7.1% from a meager 0.1% in the first quarter of 2017.
In addition to improved expenditure management, Pernia said the government is moving to reform the tax system to make it simpler, fairer, more equitable, and more internationally competitive.
“Together with other measures, like the lifting of the quantitative restrictions on rice, we expect to increase the purchasing power of the majority of Filipinos, particularly those coming from the lower income groups. We hope that the business sector would respond by coming up with innovative processes so that goods and services are produced with good quality but affordable prices,” Pernia said.
On the supply side, industry growth was recorded at 7.3%, supported by strong performances by the manufacturing, and mining and quarrying sectors.
The agriculture sector continued to recover from El Niño, expanding by 6.3%.
The services sector remains as the main driver of growth despite a slower growth rate of 6.1% during the period.
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