Philippines sees fastest growth in over 30 years

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 11.8 percent from a year earlier, posting the biggest year-on-year expansion since Q4 1988, as domestic demand improved, according to country’s the statistics agency.

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Karl Chua warned that hopes for the continuous positive growth could be erased by the current two-week lockdown in the national capital region, which accounts for a third of the economy, and other areas aimed at slowing the spread of Delta variant.

The longer the enhanced community quarantine lasts, then the higher the risk that the Philippines may not achieve its target, he said.

The tightened restrictions, which include a ban on restaurant dining and an eight-hour nighttime curfew, are expected to cost the Philippine economy about 3 billion USD a week in lost output.

The number of COVID-19 infections in the Philippines has exceeded 1.6 million, the second-highest caseload in Southeast Asia. Only 10 percent of the population is fully vaccinated./.