The Philippines’ economic growth in the second quarter was higher than what was initially estimated, coming from a low base last year, then at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic induced lockdown measures.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the second quarter was revised upward to 12 percent.
The figure is 0.2 basis points higher than the preliminary estimate of 11.8 percent, which is already the highest GDP growth recorded since the fourth quarter of 1998.
“Major contributors to the revision were the growth rates in education, from 10 percent to 12.6 percent; financial and insurance activities, from 4.2 percent to 5.2 percent; and construction, from 25.7 percent to 27.1 percent,” the PSA said.
The economy recorded a double-digit expansion in the second quarter versus the 17 percent contraction posted in the same period a year ago, as tight quarantine restrictions were in place in the second quarter of 2020, with majority of the economy practically at a standstill.
The PSA reported the growth rate in net primary income from the rest of the world recorded a downward revision from -53.8 percent to -54.4 percent, while the growth rate in gross national income in the second quarter of 2021 recorded an upward revision from 6.6 percent to 6.8 percent.
The PSA is set to announce the country’s economic performance for the third quarter at 10 a.m. today. – Angela Celis
