SUSTAINING the country’s position as one of the fastest growing economies in the Asia Pacific Region, the Development and Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) today said the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow between 6 to 7 percent in 2024, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said on Thursday.
In a press briefing in Malacañang, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said while the figures are a revision of growth targets from 6.5 to 7.5 percent, the country is still poised to be one of best performing economies in the Asia Pacific region.
Balisacan added that the DBCC also made revision to the growth target for 2025 to 6.5 to 7.5 percent from 6.5-8.0 percent and retained the targets for 6.5 to 8.0 percent for 2026-2028. “This growth target will sustain the country’s position as one of the fastest growing economies in the Asia Pacific Region. Moreover, at this phase of growth, we are still on track to achieving or to reducing poverty incidence from 18 percent in 2021 to single digit level in 2028,” Balisacan said during the briefing.
He added that they also expect inflation to be within target this year until 2028.. “The target range for inflation is retained at 2 to 4 percent for 2024 through 2028, following the government’s assessment of recent external and internal developments that impact the prices of major commodity groups.”
Asked by reporters why the DBCC adjusted the GDP growth rate, Balisacan said the country’s economic managers have taken into account the country’s performance in the last fiscal year 2023. They also recognized the recent developments in the global economy, particularly trade and finance such as the continuing slowdown of the global economy, oil prices, as well as the trends in inflation not just in the Philippines but also in other countries, especially the country’s major trading partners like the US.
“Although we have to recuse in a way that is realistic and at the same time sustainable because our aim is to allow the opportunities for the economy to grow in a sustained basis and as you see, the economy will retain its position as one of the fastest growing economies,” he stated.
He clarified, however, that the P15 trillion Philippine debt by February this year wasn’t a factor for the GDP growth rate adjustment. “No, I think let’s clarify ‘no, in absolute value, of course, debt is increasing. But the 15 (trillion debt is) proportional (to) the size of the economy…and in our revision of the targets we continued the earlier plan to get that debt as a proportion of GDP decreasing,” he explained.
Balisacan added the inflation outlook considers the monetary policy actions the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is undertaking and a non-monetary strategy measures the government is implementing.
He further stressed that the government will further improve its performance through enhanced tax administration reforms focusing on modernizing and enhancing the efficiency of the Philippine tax system to be complemented by close coordination with Congress to pass priority tax reform measures to recalibrate and further improve the revenue mobilization.
NEDA projects revenues to reach P4.27 trillion, or 16.1 percent of GDP in 2024 and rise to P6.078 trillion, or 16.4 percent of GDP by 2028. Also based on its projection, it sees the deficit of GDP to fall from 5.6 percent in 2024 to 3.7 percent by 2028.
