Balisacan rules out growth target adjustments

ECONOMY Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said Tuesday that he sees no need to adjust the government’s growth targets, despite the setbacks from recent storms coupled with the Southwest Monsoon.

Asked if the government needs to revise its targets, Mr. Balisacan said “No, I don’t think so. So far.”

He added that the business sector can adapt to flooding.

“I think people in the business sector can adjust. They can do some overtime,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a Senate budget hearing.

The government set a growth target of between 5.5% and 6.5% in 2025. In the second quarter the economy grew by 5.5%, oustripping the 5.4% expansion in the first quarter. A year earlier, growth had been 6.5%.

The Philippines was hit by five consecutive tropical depressions in recent weeks, alongside the southwest monsoon.

“We hope that there will be less and less of this because whenever you have floods, economic activity stops (or) reduced,” he added.

“If it happens frequently, then you have to start worrying about the impact,” he added.

Last year, Gross Domestic Product came in at 5.6%, falling short of the revised 6-6.5% target. This was party caused by setbacks like extreme weather events, geopolitical tensions, and subdued global demand.

“Every time you have floods and typhoons assets are destroyed, that reduces the potential of the economy. When assets and physical capital are destroyed, there’s less productive capacity,” Mr. Balisacan said.

The Philippines experiences about 20 storms each year. It also lies iwithin Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes strike. — Adrian H. Halili