27/09/2020
While we understand that the decrease in our gross domestic product growth rate is a result of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)/modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), we are concerned by the steep drop which is much worse than what our government economists had expected.
The Palace is aware of the hardships and the sufferings of our people. We thus provided an emergency subsidy program, which is considered the largest single relief program in the countryβs history, when we took the painful choice of imposing the strictest quarantine measure on our people.
Our resolve to recover at the soonest possible, however, remains strong. Ingat buhay para sa hanapbuhay is our battlecry. The economic managers of the Administration have put together a phased and adaptive economic recovery program, PH-Progreso or the Philippine Program for Recovery with Equity and Solidarity, to fight the pandemicβs effects on business and livelihood. We have likewise recalibrated our budget for next year and restarted our Build, Build, Build programs, subject to health and safety protocols, to create jobs.
Per the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the main contributors in our drop were the decline in manufacturing, construction, and transportation and storage β sectors that were greatly affected by our strict lockdown. We expect an improvement in the performance of these sectors during the second semester of the year, with our gradual reopening of the economy, as well as our proposed stimulus measures.
We assure everyone that the government will continue working round the clock to strengthen our resilience and bring us back to the path of inclusive growth.
A source
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on the Second Quarter 2020 GDP Growth Rate August 6, 2020 113 Facebook Twitter Google+ While we understand that the decrease in our gross domestic product growth rate is a result of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ)/modified enhanced community quarantine (...