Philippine economy grew by 4.6 percent in 2008: govt

[purecebuana]

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MANILA, Jan 29, 2009 (AFP) - The Philippine economy grew by 4.6 percent in 2008, down from a 30-year high of 7.2 percent the previous year, the government said Thursday.

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Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the last quarter of the year was 4.5 percent. The whole-year figure was slightly higher than initial forecasts of between 4.2 and 4.5 percent.

The data reflected the effects of the global financial crisis, the government said, announcing the figures.

The government also said it had revised its growth figure for the third quarter of 2008 from 4.6 percent to 5.0 percent.

Some economists have said that increased government spending and remittance-driven consumption kept the economy growing in the fourth quarter, helping it avoid the downturn hitting other parts of the region.

Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said he expects the economy to grow steadily this year due to increased spending on infrastructure projects, while monetary policy easing is likely to cushion the impact of the global slowdown.

Recto said a growth target of 3.7 to 4.7 for gross domestic product this year is "a welcome challenge" for the government.

He said construction will be the key driver of growth.

"As the government implements fiscal and monetary policy to mitigate the impact of the crisis, our economy is expected to remain resilient and prepared for the eventual economic rebound," Recto said after the release of the data.

Vincent Tien You Tsui, economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said that although the economy slowed in the fourth quarter, and may slow further in 2009, the Philippines could escape outright recession.

"Overall, the Philippines will be better insulated from the collapse of external demand compared with other Asian economies" as exports account for just 32 percent of GDP.

Luz Lorenzo, an economist and market strategist at ATR-KimEng Securities, believes the economy got a strong boost from private consumption because of lower commodity prices and increased government spending.


economy got a strong boost from private consumption because of lower commodity prices and increased government spending ---> maau unta ang increased in gov't spending will benefits us! beside wla sad ko ka feel nga lower ang commodity prices..

[istoryaaah]

yeah grew 8.5% but will drop 9.8% in the next months to come...

This is like a casino game. You win $100,000 but you lose half a million pif... more of a mind game.

[wng]

And statistics from our government are as reliable as the COMELEC counts. Takes very long to come out and are unreliable. Mura pud ug naay dagdag-bawas before it comes out.

[rig]

no changes ghapon!
dghan ghpon magutman!

[rig]

no changes ghapon!
dghan ghpon nagutman!

[ceden_yu143]

is this sure....

and why we cant feel it now....numbers ray ni.asenso ana..

numbers ray nag dako ana...

[KaRoger]

MANILA, Jan 29, 2009 (AFP) - The Philippine economy grew by 4.6 percent in 2008, down from a 30-year high of 7.2 percent the previous year, the government said Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the last quarter of the year was 4.5 percent. The whole-year figure was slightly higher than initial forecasts of between 4.2 and 4.5 percent.

The data reflected the effects of the global financial crisis, the government said, announcing the figures.

The government also said it had revised its growth figure for the third quarter of 2008 from 4.6 percent to 5.0 percent.

Some economists have said that increased government spending and remittance-driven consumption kept the economy growing in the fourth quarter, helping it avoid the downturn hitting other parts of the region.

Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said he expects the economy to grow steadily this year due to increased spending on infrastructure projects, while monetary policy easing is likely to cushion the impact of the global slowdown.

Recto said a growth target of 3.7 to 4.7 for gross domestic product this year is "a welcome challenge" for the government.

He said construction will be the key driver of growth.

"As the government implements fiscal and monetary policy to mitigate the impact of the crisis, our economy is expected to remain resilient and prepared for the eventual economic rebound," Recto said after the release of the data.

Vincent Tien You Tsui, economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said that although the economy slowed in the fourth quarter, and may slow further in 2009, the Philippines could escape outright recession.

"Overall, the Philippines will be better insulated from the collapse of external demand compared with other Asian economies" as exports account for just 32 percent of GDP.

Luz Lorenzo, an economist and market strategist at ATR-KimEng Securities, believes the economy got a strong boost from private consumption because of lower commodity prices and increased government spending.


economy got a strong boost from private consumption because of lower commodity prices and increased government spending ---> maau unta ang increased in gov't spending will benefits us! beside wla sad ko ka feel nga lower ang commodity prices..

never ever believed that the philippines is getting better with all these "GDP" B*******
because all of these so called growth are the result of foreign walk in capital. What is that?

Money (w/c is from the first place not capital in its strict technical definition) that comes here in the Philippines, that generates lots of profit via the use of "OUR" "( OUR= Philippine Patrimony)" "CHEAP LABOR" and "RAW MATERIALS", and eventually flies back to the "PARASITE COUNTRY" i.e US, JAPAN, EUROPE, and the entire 1st world.

There is a deception here, because GDP counts the overall output of the economy regardless of what nationality the firms are. For example if you have an American firm producing lots of weapons for use in the killing of innocent people in Iraq or elsewhere, being produce in the Philippines, and a Filipino firm producing "banigs" and "ropes" which has a relatively LOW revenue compared to the American firm; in counting Philippine GDP, the high revenues of the American firm will boost up the country's GDP. So what's the bad thing about that? Well there is no real growth because the profits earned by the American firm will not stay in the Philippine economy to circulate, rather, it will fly out form the country thus becoming a leakage to the Philippine economy. So in short theres no real economic growth in what the government calls "High GDP"

Its just a stupid illusion, theres no trickle down effect thats happening, theres only exploitation, abuse, and an outright violation of our constitution. Do you know that Foreign mining firms are actually violating the Philippine constitution? have you heard of the so called Patrimony of the Land? they're breaking our damn rules and were not doing anything about it... Yes they do generate jobs, but Substandard ones, and they're taking advantage of our poor labor laws which are not entirely implemented... This is NEO COLONIALISM!!! IMPERIALISM at its highest!!

so in short im calling all Filipino intellectuals to ponder on these things, to the workers and peasants i call upon you to unite for a common cause and against a common enemy. Strike while the iron is hot! As of now the reigning Global Econmic System is going down... this is our chance to finally end the cycle of poverty an exploitation... I call upon you workers of the world to unite, we have nothing to loose but our chains!