Gov’t stepping up spending to recover lost momentum after economy slowed in Q2

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday said the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will accelerate spending to recover lost momentum after the Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slowed in the second quarter.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Thursday that the economy grew by 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2023, slower than the 6.4 percent in the first quarter and 7.5 percent in the same quarter last year, due to lower spending. High inflation and interest rates hurt consumer demand.

“The Marcos government will accelerate spending in the coming quarters to recover the momentum following the 4.3 percent economic expansion of the country’s economy in the second quarter of this year,” said the Palace in a statement.

READ: PH GDP growth slowed to 4.3% in Q2 2023

On top of the GDP slowdown, the PSA also reported the shrinking of Government Final Consumption Expenditure by 7.1 percent.

According to a joint statement from the country’s economic managers — the chiefs of the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance (DOF) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)– the lack of election-related spending contributed to the contraction.

“While government expenditure contracted by 7.1 percent in the absence of election-related spending in the first half of the year, government spending will accelerate in the coming quarters to allow us to recover our growth momentum,” said the economic managers.

The Economic Development Group, chaired by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Neda Chief Arsenio M. Balisacan, is already discussing how government agencies can speed up programs and projects for the remainder of the year, said the Palace.

“Government agencies, including local and regional government entities, are encouraged, if not instructed, to formulate catch-up plans, accelerate, and even frontload the implementation of said programs and projects,” said the Palace.

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