Philippines cuts 2024 growth target to 6.5%-7.5%

The Marcos administration’s economic managers trimmed their growth target for 2024, while maintaining the outlook for 2023.

In a statement on Friday, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) said it narrowed the gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for next year to 6.5%-7.5% from the previous range of 6.5%-8%.

The DBCC is an interagency body comprised of the chiefs of Budget and Management, Finance, and Socioeconomic Planning tasked to review and approve macroeconomic targets, revenue projects, borrowing levels, and budget and expenditure ceilings.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Wednesday said the 6.5% to 8% growth goal for 2024 would be trimmed given that the upper end of the target might already be out of reach since “all the multilateral agencies are seeing that the global economy is not as expansive as initially expected.” 

Meanwhile, “with robust domestic demand and broad-based expansion in major sectors, the Philippine economy grew by 5.5% in the first three quarters of the year, sustaining its position as one of the best-performing economies in the Asia-Pacific Region,” the DBCC maintained the growth target at 6% to 7% for 2023. 

As the growth momentum seen in the first nine months of the year “is expected to continue for the rest of the year and surpass that of our neighboring countries.”

Moreover, the 6.5% to 8% target range has been retained for 2025 to 2028.

The DBCC, likewise, said the average inflation rate for 2023 is expected to settle at 6%. 

“Following the monetary policy actions being undertaken by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the strategies being implemented by the Administration, through the Inter-Agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook, and consistent with macroeconomic developments and outlook, the inflation rate is expected to return to the target range of 2% to 4% in 2024 until 2028,” it said. —LDF, GMA Integrated News