Purisima: We welcome the upgrade, but we are still a notch underrated
“Economic growth rates offer a picture of a country’s trajectory, and growth is rarely a straight line. The Philippines under President Aquino’s leadership has consistently shown that we have changed our economic growth story to an upward and positive trajectory. The third quarter GDP growth of 5.3% puts the Philippine economy on a record of 11 straight quarters of above 5% growth and among the fastest growing economies in Asia, reflecting increasing resiliency as government seeks to improve spending and buttress against the effects of climate change and disasters. This makes for 63 straight quarters of positive growth since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and is in keeping with the 6% average quarterly growth rate in the Aquino administration.
Read MoreP7.6 trillion debt reflects a decrease of P79.0 billion from end December 2013 figure
Ratio improved 7 percentage points from 44.3% figure posted in 2009
Read More“The second quarter GDP growth of 6.4% demonstrates the increasing resiliency and diversity of the Philippine economy with varied sectors of the economy leading our growth.
Read MoreStreet vendors wait for customers on an overpass in Manila, the Philippines. Consumer prices rose 4.9 percent in July from a year earlier, the fastest pace since October 2011.
Read MoreOutstanding Public Sector Debt to GDP down to 70.2% as of 2013 Q2
Read MoreBIR posts highest tax effort since 2000
As of September 2013, the National Government posted a Deficit-to-GDP ratio of 1.2%, way below the projected 2.0% for 2013. The budget deficit was P101.2 billion, P2.7 billion lower compared to the same period last year and well within the target of P144.5 billion for the first nine months of 2013.
General Government Debt down to 38.9% of GDP
The Secretary of Finance today announced that in 2012 the overall deficit of the public sector was P163.3 billion, equivalent to 1.5% of GDP. This amount is P11.8 billion lower than what was registered last year. The ratio was 1.8% in 2011.
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