Diokno floats possibility of revising economic growth targets

The economic managers of the Marcos administration might revise their growth targets, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

During his weekly briefing with reporters, Diokno said the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC)—composed of the secretaries of the Budget and Finance departments and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), as well the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)— will meet on October 19.

The economic team will review the first semester gross domestic product (GDP) performance, inflation, and government spending.

Asked if the DBCC would likely revise its growth targets, Diokno said, “There's always a chance, based on the most recent information.”

The DBCC has set its GDP growth target for 2023 at 6% to 7% and 6.5% to 8% for 2024 to 2028.

However, the country’s economic growth slowed to 4.3% in the second quarter, bringing the first half 2023 GDP growth rate to 5.3%, below the government’s target range. 

The economy needs to grow by 6.6% in the second half of the year to achieve at least the lower-end of the target.

“Well, I think the general sentiment, at least based on my conversation with the World Bank, globally everything was downgraded,” the Finance chief said. — BM, GMA Integrated News