The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has revised the country’s second-quarter economic growth rate upward, showing a slight improvement to 6.4% from the earlier estimate of 6.3%. This update comes as the country anticipates the release of its third-quarter economic performance data today.
According to the PSA, the revised GDP growth was driven by stronger performances in key sectors. Manufacturing saw its growth adjusted to 3.9% from 3.6%, while accommodation and food service activities were notably upgraded to 12.1% from 10.4%. Real estate also played a role, with its sector growth revised to 7.6% from 7.2%.
The PSA stated, “GDP estimates are revised based on an approved revision policy (PSA Board Resolution 1, Series of 2017-053), which is consistent with international standard practices on national accounts revisions.”
Additional upward adjustments were seen in the Gross National Income (GNI), which increased to 8.1% from 7.9%. The net primary income from the rest of the world was also revised to 25.7% from the preliminary 24.7%.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, experts anticipate a mixed economic performance. In a PhilStar report, Moody’s Analytics economist Sarah Tan projected a slower growth of 5.7%, citing muted private consumption and potential weaknesses in export performance. “Government spending and private investment will drive growth,” Tan noted, adding that the impact of recent rate cuts would take time to be felt across the economy.
Meanwhile, Ateneo’s Center for Economic Research and Development director Ser Percival Peña-Reyes and Emmanuel Lopez from the University of Santo Tomas expressed a more optimistic outlook, both forecasting a potential 6.5% growth. Lopez highlighted the stabilization of basic commodity prices and the positive influence of the Monetary Board’s policy rate cut as contributing factors.
