A 6- to 7-percent growth in the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) is doable this year despite several global headwinds that pose risks to the domestic economy, according to Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said.
The prolific lawmaker-economist, who chairs the House committee on ways and means, told reporters on the sidelines of the economic outlook forum organized by the Management Association of the Philippines that growth this year could be driven by consumer demand and the country’s ability to “suck in” incomes from abroad.
“I think, for this country, given the renewed interest, 6 percent actually is doable. In fact, I would say 6 to 7(percent) is doable,” said the former equities analyst.
He also cited the contribution by the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and revenues from online independent contractors.
“There are 1.7 million Filipinos who are independent contractors and you call them freelancers,” said Salceda.
Salceda is also pushing for the implementation of the “Multilateral Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters” for these freelancers, whose withholding tax deductions in the United States would be lowered from 30 percent to 15 percent.
“It will definitely increase the incomes of our independent contractors,” he said, adding that they were already communicating with U.S. authorities to effect this change.
“We will file with the (Internal Revenue Service) there,” he said further, estimating that these freelancers were bringing in about $7 billion in revenues each year.
When it comes to global headwinds, Salceda noted that Europe was already in recession while economic contraction was possible in China this year, but he downplayed their possible effects on the country.
In 2022, Philippine GDP grew by 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, resulting in a 7.6-percent full-year growth, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
For 2023, the Development Budget Coordination Committee expects the domestic economy to expand by 6 to 7 percent.