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MANILA – Refinements on the government’s movement restrictions rules, as well as the strengthened implementation of the vaccination program, are expected to boost economic recovery this year.
“We think that these will be key factors in sustaining the recovery that we have observed starting late last year up to the second quarter of this year,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Department of Economic Research (DER) managing director Zeno Ronald Abenoja said in a virtual briefing on Thursday.
Abenoja also cited the accommodative monetary policy of the central bank as a plus to the economic recovery, with the BSP infusing more than PHP2 trillion worth of liquidity since last year through its various measures such as cuts in the policy rates and banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), and the temporary cash advances to the national government.
“There’s some uncertainty on the growth path and that is mainly driven by concerns on the virus,” he said, referring to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Abenoja said the government has secured vaccines enough to inoculate the target population, but the full achievement of the vaccination drive depends on the arrival of the vaccines.
“So, those key components plus the refinement of the restriction, the lockdown protocols, plus continued stimulus from the fiscal program and monetary policy accommodations, could support the 4-percent growth target for this year and also the at least 7-percent growth target for next year,” he added.
The domestic economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), grew by 11.8 percent in the second quarter of this year, ending the five quarters of negative prints due to the impact of the pandemic.
Economic managers are optimistic about the recovery of the domestic economy this year after citing “green shoots” in various sectors like manufacturing, exports and imports, among others.
The government has vowed to continue easing movement restrictions and make the economy as open as possible to allow more people to work and boost economic activities. (PNA)
