Renewed hope for 2024
Can the Marcos administration, if at all, bring down the prices of consumer goods without heavy reliance on importation before its term ends in 2028?
Can the Marcos administration, if at all, bring down the prices of consumer goods without heavy reliance on importation before its term ends in 2028?
The day before the briefing, Marcos had raised his concern over the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio before members of the United States-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Council.
Philippine Statistics Authority national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa reported on May 11 that the 6.4% GDP growth in the first quarter of 2023 was “the lowest growth registered after seven quarters when the country started to recover from the pandemic in the second quarter of 2021.”
One year into office, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is yet to deliver “substantial” progress on his promises to improve the Philippine economic situation. But the administration’s economic managers stay optimistic that the country “remains firmly on track” toward post-pandemic recovery.
Speaking before his supporters in Cebu City last May 27, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. boasted that the Philippines is the “fastest growing country in the world,” attributing this to the right direction his administration has taken to fulfill his campaign promises. This is at least the second time, by VERA Files Fact Check’s count, that Marcos made an inaccurate claim about the Philippines’ economic standing.
Ipinakikita ng pinakabagong mga statistic mula sa Asian Development Bank (ADB) na sa rehiyon ng Asia-Pacific pa lamang, ang Pilipinas ay nasa ika-siyam na ranggo sa gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate.
The Philippines does not have the highest projected GDP growth among Asian countries. It ranks fourth in the IMF’s 30 emerging and developing economies in the region, with a projected GDP growth of 6%. Palau holds the top spot with 8.7%, followed by Maldives with 7.2%.
The figures are referring only to gross borrowings or new debt that the government has incurred.
Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines’ inflation is the sixth highest recorded in 2022. Economic experts say that even if the Philippine economy posted growth, inflation grew faster since December.
Reacting to the country’s 8.1% inflation rate posted in December 2022, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. noted that the increase in prices of goods and services is slowing. This needs context.