THE administration of President Duterte is redoubling its efforts to expand the economy at a much faster rate in its remaining quarter to recover the opportunities lost for high and inclusive growth in the two-year pandemic, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has said.
Armed with the passage and implementation of its hard-won reforms, the Duterte administration “will continue working till the last hour of our mandate to contribute all that we can to our strong economic resurgence,” Dominguez told a virtual gathering of Rotarians.
“The reward for all the work we do now is a better future for the next generation of Filipinos,” Dominguez said in his recorded video message on Friday, March 25, during the first day of the virtual Rotary International District 3870 Conference.
Dominguez said conditions for the Philippines’ post-pandemic rapid growth have never been better, owing largely to how President Duterte exercised strong political will to push game-changing reforms that that had gotten stuck in the legislative mill for decades, and how the entire nation worked together to overcome the challenges of the pandemic-induced global health and economic crises.
“The election season will not be an issue. We have a long history of orderly and peaceful transfers of power. We will transition to the next administration a comprehensive fiscal consolidation plan to bring the country back to its high growth trajectory,” Dominguez said.
With the pandemic now subsiding and the COVID-19 vaccination program proceeding at a quick pace, Dominguez said the country is well on its way to a strong recovery from the pandemic that broke out in March 2020.
“Our risk management strategy culminated in a full-year growth of 5.6 percent in 2021, exceeding target and market expectations. This year, we expect our economy to grow by 7 to 9 percent,” he said.
In 2021, revenue collection was already 5 percent higher than in 2020, while total merchandise trade and remittances were also above the pre-pandemic levels, which all signal a return to robust economic activity, Dominguez said.
He added that he expects to fully bring back revenue collection to pre-pandemic levels this year.
