Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Monday declared that among the many accomplishments of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration, transforming the Philippine economy into the strongest in Southeast Asia would be the crowning glory of his second year as Chief Executive, a press release from the House of Representatives said.
He noted that the country has surpassed Vietnam as the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia, as recognized by international financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The ADB’s latest outlook, he further noted, projects the Philippines to remain a regional powerhouse through 2024, while the IMF sees the country to grow the second-fastest globally for this year and 2025, next to India.
“The economic achievements of our country under the leadership of President Marcos are spectacular, and this is noted by many financial institutions worldwide. Our economic growth not only surpassed that of our regional peers, but also made the country a major player in the global economy,” Romualdez declared.
During the first quarter of 2024, the economy grew by 5.7 percent, the same as Vietnam and outpacing major economies such as China, Indonesia and Malaysia. Such a growth is attributed to the industry’s expansion from 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent and the recovery in exports from 1.1 percent to 7.5 percent.
Romualdez said that inflation has started to ease, the country’s fiscal management has shown significant improvement, and the decrease in the deficit-to-GDP ratio, as well as the increase in government collections, are proof of sound economic policies of the Marcos administration.
He also referred to Fitch Ratings, which has given the country a stable outlook, which he said reflects the country’s strong medium-term growth. The tourism sector, the Leyte lawmaker said, has significantly contributed to the economy with the Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) reaching P2.09 trillion or 8.6 percent of GDP in 2023, a 48 percent increase from 2022.
The House leader also praised the Marcos administration for prioritizing infrastructure development, with the public infrastructure budget exceeding 5 percent of GDP in recent years.
He explained that the “Build Better More” (BBM) Program aims to usher in a “Golden Era” of infrastructure development, with notable projects such as the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System and the Metro Manila Subway Project advancing rapidly and expected to significantly reduce travel times and improve connectivity.
He also highlighted the administration’s efforts in attracting foreign investments in renewable energy (RE), saying that amendments to the Renewable Energy Act have allowed full foreign ownership of RE sources, resulting in notable investments such as Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) committing USD$5 billion to develop offshore wind projects.
Along with this economic growth, Romualdez said, is also the rise of employment and livelihood opportunities for a population reeling from the effects of the pandemic.
He noted that data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed remarkable improvements in terms of unemployment and underemployment rates as they both declined from 2022 to 2023, surpassing the highest rates recorded since 2005.
The unemployment rate went down from 5.4 percent in 2022 to 4.3 percent in 2023. In April 2024, it was recorded at 4.0 percent (equivalent to 1.8 million Filipinos), which was also lower than last year’s rate of 4.5 percent (2.3 million).
According to Romualdez, the country’s economic gains have also enabled the government to implement social programs that ensure all Filipinos, including the most vulnerable, benefit from economic growth.
He cited the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the government’s central poverty reduction program, with P106.3 billion allocated in 2024 to support health, nutrition and education for millions of Filipinos. The program has recently expanded to include additional support for pregnant women and young children.
He explained that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has effectively implemented various social protection programs that reduced poverty incidence from 23.7 percent in 2021 to 22.4 percent in 2023.
Also, initiatives such as the Tara, Basa! Program and the Food Stamp Program (FSP) have further supported the most vulnerable sectors of the population.*
