PH economy seen bouncing back from calamities

The government is confident that the economic impact of recent calamities that shut down the country’s financial centers this week, however minimal, can be recovered in the third quarter.

In a statement, Department of Finance’s (DOF) Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said the agriculture sector likely took the brunt of the effects of tropical storm Maring and Typhoon Labuyo.

Despite this, Beltran said floods that hit Metro Manila and most parts of Luzon would have minimal impact on output for the third quarter.

“Losses from the two major typhoons that hit the country in the third quarter can be recovered,” Beltran said.

According to the Department of Agriculture, combined damage to agriculture by Typhoon “Labuyo” and the southwest monsoon—as enhanced by tropical storm “Maring”—amounted to P2.6 billion, equivalent to 0.09 percent of projected third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP).