PH Q2 GDP dives to its worst in history

By Raadee Sausa August 9, 2020 The Philippine economy shrunk in the second quarter of 2020 plunging into recession, following one o...

By Raadee Sausa
August 9, 2020







The Philippine economy shrunk in the second quarter of 2020 plunging into recession, following one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was at -16.5 percent, the worst reading in a data series going back to 1981, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.





The country’s economic managers said they now expect the economy to shrink 5.5 percent this year -- down from earlier estimates for a 2-percent to 3.4-percent decline -- before rebounding strongly next year.

"It is clearly the worst retraction among regional peers. I think the application and targeting of the fiscal support package is more important than its size," economist Ben Kritz told Sentinel Times on Thursday.





"However, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd already warned that the P1.3 trillion being considered was unsustainable, and I think he's probably right," he added.

The package has to be both within the country's means, and has to be used efficiently to get some real value out of it.

Moreover, Kritz said that "We don't know how long this thing is going to go on. Maybe years. So they should be thinking longer-term."

President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a stringent quarantine that shut most businesses and suspended public transport from March to May. A surge in Covid-19 infections prompted the government on August 4 to reimpose a lockdown in the capital region and surroundings.