Manufacturing output up in March – PSA

The Philippine manufacturing industry grew for the second consecutive month in terms of value and volume in March from a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.

The volume of production index (VaPI) rose to12.2 percent in March versus 0.8 percent in the same month last year. The volume production index (VoPI) grew to 11.1 percent from the 8.2 percent.

The PSA noted an increase in petroleum products, transport equipment, leather products, food manufacturing, machinery and miscellaneous manufactures.

"This momentum signals the desire of the sector to support the government's ambitious infrastructure development program," National Economic and Development Authority Officer-in-Charge Rolando G. Tungpalan said in a separate statement.

"As such, we must push for the adoption of innovative technological advancements to increase the productivity of local producers and enterprises," he added.

The government earlier announced plans to spend more than P8 trillion to finance the country's infrastructure needs over the next six years, with P860.7 billion allocated for big-ticket projects this year alone. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News