The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) expects a slower Philippine economy in the second quarter of the year, saying gross domestic product (GDP) should be just about the same pace recorded in the first three months of 2017. “Hopefully, it could be around the first-quarter performance at least for the second quarter,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia told reporters in an interview. The Philippine economy grew by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of the year and by 7 percent a year earlier. “Because of the base effect, as you know, we also had a high growth rate of 6.9 percent in 2016. In the second quarter, the drivers of growth will be the surge in government spending, and the growth in manufacturing and exports, the NEDA chief noted.

Source: Manila Times July 11, 2017 17:37 UTC