THE Philippine economy grew by 8.3 percent IN THE fiRST QUARTER OF 2022 DESPITE STRICTER QUARANTINE MEASURES TO CURB THE SPREAD OF the Covid-19 Omicron variant earlier this year.

In a briefing on Thursday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the gross domestic product (GDP) expansion during the quarter was a turnaround from the 3.8 percent in the same period last year.

It was also higher than the 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the 6.3 percent median estimate of analysts earlier polled by The Manila Times.

“Growth in the first quarter exceeded the median analyst forecast of 6.7 percent, making the Philippines the fastest growing economy in the East Asia Region for the period,” the country’s economic team composed of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd, and Budget and Management Officer in Charge Tina Rose Marie Canda said in a joint statement.

At current prices, the GDP in the first quarter was valued at P4.9 trillion, higher than the 2019 prepandemic level of P4.43 trillion.

Net primary income (NPI) from the rest of the world grew by 103.2 percent, pushing the gross national income (GNI) up by 10.7 percent.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy grew by 1.9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

“We have overcome our country’s greatest economic and health challenges. The headwinds we faced were strong, but our quick rebound from the Omicron surge in January proved that we can live and deal with the virus. With our strengthened health care capacity and accelerated vaccination program, we were able to contain the surge and safely reopen the economy,” the team said.

By economic sectors, agriculture, forestry and fishing grew by 0.2 percent, industry by 10.4 percent, and services by 8.6 percent.

On the expenditure side, growth was mainly driven by private consumption which went up by 10.1 percent, a reversal from the -4.8 percent in the same period last year.

“With much-relaxed quarantine restrictions and more vaccinated Filipinos, family activities, leisure, travel and tourism have all grown significantly,” the team noted.

Investments grew by 20 percent from -13.9 percent. Exports rose 10.3 percent, while imports rose by 15.6 percent.

The growth in government expenditure slowed to 3.6 percent from 16.1 percent as public construction contracted by 4.9 percent.

The team attributed the contraction to the election spending ban toward the end of the first quarter and expects public construction to accelerate in the second half of the year.

“Our strong economic performance moves us closer to achieving our growth target of 7 to 9 percent this year, but we will not rest on our laurels. We will continuously work hard to strengthen our domestic economy against heightened external risks such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China’s slowdown and monetary normalization in the United States,” said the team.

To help sustain growth, the economists recommended the resumption of face-to-face schooling.

“More than the foregone economic activity due to school closures, we are very much concerned about the learning loss and impact on the future productivity of our children,” it said.

Under Alert Level 1, children can engage in leisure and recreational activities in all indoor and outdoor venues, “but the most important activity of children — studying — continues to be restricted,” the team said.

With more than a month left before the new administration takes over, Chua said the administration of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. must see to it that there is policy continuation and prudent fiscal policy.

“That is the first, to maintain a responsible and prudent fiscal policy. That will ensure that the Philippines will remain strong so that we have resources to help the people address other concerns,” he said.

The next administration should also reevaluate its priorities by making sure that subsidies being provided are targeted, Chua said.

The incoming administration should also consider tax reforms to assure funding for the infrastructure program.

For policy continuation, Chua said the reforms enacted by the Duterte administration such as the Comprehensive Tax Reform; Rice Tariffication; Build, Build, Build; National ID; Universal Health Care; Ease of Doing Business; and three liberalization bills that opened the economy to more foreign investments should be preserved and not reversed.

“Policy continuity I think is the most important and we stand ready to have a dialogue with the transition team of the new administration to discuss the details,” he said.

Chua said managing inflation should also be one of the priorities of the next administration.

The spike in global oil and other commodity prices drove inflation to a three-year high of 4.9 percent in April.

On the bright side, Chua said the Rice Tariffication Law helped keep the inflation of rice at low levels despite the effects of typhoons in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2022.

The law will also help Marcos to fulfill his P20 per kilogram of rice promise since the law aims to provide adequate support to rice farmers.

Palace spokesman Martin Andanar said that because of the economy’s good showing, President Duterte will step down believing he delivered on his promises.

“Isang magandang ekonomiya. Makikita sa tatlong good news na ito na maayos na ekonomiya at isang napakagandang Duterte legacy na ipapamana ng Pangulong Duterte sa susunod na administrasyon,” Andanar said.

He added that a strong economy is Duterte’s best legacy.