NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — Despite persistent tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is optimistic that the economy would rebound to pre-pandemic levels as early as the first quarter of 2022.

Karl Kendrick Chua, the Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning and the chairman of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), stated the domestic economy is in a “very good” position to withstand global headwinds because he believes the tensions between the two countries are “temporary in nature.”

“I believe we are still on track to meet our estimated growth targets for this year,” he said in a virtual press conference on Tuesday. “I continue to anticipate that we will exceed the 2019 level in the first quarter, and there have been substantial advances in the domestic economy, which has shifted to Alert Level 1, adding more than PHP9 billion every week.”

Chua also hoped that the entire country could switch to Alert Level 1, which would produce PHP16 billion in economic activity each week, and that all face-to-face schooling could be opened, generating an additional PHP12 billion per week.

“We’re still early in the game, and a large portion of our economic growth potential this year will come from within the country, where we still have a lot of room to expand.” We have not yet arrived at and returned to a more regular way of life. In fact, it has been suggested that the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjacent areas be placed on Alert Level 0. “We’re looking into it as well,” he continued.

In 2021, the Philippine economy grew by 5.6 percent, somewhat less than the pre-pandemic rate of 6.1 percent in 2019.

To mitigate the impact of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Chua stressed the importance of completely reopening the economy and providing assistance to the impacted sectors.

According to him, the Philippines is experiencing a worldwide supply shock as a result of the conflict, which has tightened supplies, notably petroleum, which the country imports entirely.

“As a result, supply will be affected, and we have seen (oil) prices rise significantly,” he said. “Our response is to provide targeted subsidies to the two most affected sectors – public transportation and agriculture and fisheries – which we believe will temper any further increase in inflation,” he added.

The Department of Budget and Management has approved PHP3 billion in funding for the Department of Transportation’s fuel subsidy program (PHP2.5 billion) and the Department of Agriculture’s fuel discount program (PHP1 billion) (PHP500 million).

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