The Government is keeping its hopes high for faster economic growth in the second quarter as the “momentum” in private investments continued from the first quarter, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr. said at a briefing on the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and the website dedicated to the plan.
The Philippines posted 4.9 percent growth in gross domestic product, a broad measure of the country’s economic performance, in the first quarter of 2011.
Paderanga said the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), which he heads as director general, was expecting a 5-percent GDP growth or better for the second quarter. The government is keeping its “fighting target” of 7- to 8-percent growth for 2011 even as it regularly reviews the target and the activities undertaken to achieve it.
The country’s chief economist said private investment and good agricultural production were expected to continue even though public spending has not considerably picked up. He said public spending might gain momentum in the third and fourth quarters of the year.
He noted that business process outsourcing (BPO) continued to grow and was starting to generate jobs even in secondary cities. This sector was particularly helpful in lessening the country’s need for remittances to help spur the domestic economy, he said.
Tourism projects were also picking up ahead of planned public-private partnerships or PPPs in priority areas such as Palawan and Bohol, Paderanga said.
Besides expanding employment opportunities, the growth of BPOs and tourism outside major urban areas such as Metro Manila also provided incentive for people in the countryside to learn new skill sets or provide new services. This, Paderanga said, supported what the government called “inclusive growth” as stated in the development plan.