PH narrows 2022 GDP growth target due to external risks

2022 growth target revised to 7-8%; $100.5-B budget for 2023 proposed

The Philippines has revised its 2022 gross domestic product growth (GDP) target to 7-8 percent from the previous range of 7-9 percent to take into account external risks, the government said on Tuesday.

It also slightly lowered the budget deficit target to 7.6 percent of GDP from 7.7 percent, among revisions that it said took into account the impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict, China’s slowdown and monetary policy normalization in the United States.

The government, however, kept the GDP growth target at the 6-7 percent range for 2023 and 2024, as it expects the domestic economy to sustain its strong recovery in the medium term.

GDP would grow at the same pace in 2025, the economic managers on the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) said.

It also maintained the target budget deficits at 6.1 percent of GDP for 2023, 5.1 percent for 2024 and 4.1 percent for 2025, as it seeks to reduce the gap to prepandemic levels.

Transition to new regime

The narrower GDP growth target for this year comes after the domestic economy grew a better than expected 8.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, and as President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares to take office next month.

“As we transition to a new administration, we are confident that the country will not see an end to the enactment of more game-changing reforms,” the DBCC said.

Philippines’ antitrust agency chief Arsenio Balisacan, who will be Marcos’ economic planning secretary, said on Monday he was “mindful of the immense work” required to accelerate recovery.

Marcos could announce more appointees to his economic team by Friday, his spokesperson said.

Ahead of the transfer of power, the economic managers proposed a 2023 national budget of P5.268 trillion ($100.47 billion). That compares with this year’s budget of P5.02 trillion.