PH Economy Surprises, Posts Q3 7.3% GDP Growth

The Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate much faster than what was expected, posting a GDP growth of 7.6 percent, which was largely driven by the service sector.

National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, Ph.D. reported on the growth of the country’s GDP, citing the main contributors for the third quarter growth being the wholesale and retail trade, financial and insurance activities, and construction.

Wholesale and retail trade, specifically the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles accounted for 9.1 percent of the growth, financial and insurance activities accounted for 7.7 percent of the growth, while construction accounted for 12.2 percent.

Moreover, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report of Mapa added that major economic sectors of the country also recorded growth in the third quarter of 2022 as agriculture, forestry, and fishing grew by 2.2 percent; wholesale and retail grew by 5.8 percent, while industry and services grew by 9.1 percent, respectively.

The growth of the country for the third quarter of the year is also slightly higher than that of the recorded second quarter GDP growth of 7.5 percent.

GDP growth for the first quarter of the year was at 8.1 percent.

The Philippines is also the second country that saw the largest expansion of GDP, trailing Vietnam’s 13.7 percent, and in front of Indonesia’s 5.7 percent.

Additional spending to boost the economy

Amid the report of the country’s growth, several lawmakers are now calling for boosts in spending on all sectors to further improve the country’s GDP.

Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo (Marikina) welcomed the country’s GDP growth in the third quarter.

“We welcome these developments. Despite high inflation in the third quarter of 2022, we saw growth in output in the same quarter. On the supply side, all sectors grew. At the same time, domestic demand remained robust,” Quimbo said.

She added that domestic output must be expanded.

“At this point, the best defense against inflation is domestic output expansion. The government has been providing fuel and fertilizer subsidies to boost agricultural production,” Quimbo added.

“This enables greater consumption and well-being, especially when targeted to the most vulnerable sectors. We see the relevance of providing immediate assistance to qualified Filipinos through programs such as the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations or AICS program of DSWD,” she noted. (GFB)