SunStar
SunStar File January 24, 2021 AT THE rate the government is addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, economist Bernardo Villegas thinks the Philippines will be left behind in terms of economic recovery.
“If we are to consider economic development as a race, a sprint in 2021, the Philippines will be left behind by practically all of its neighbors. We are not going to recover that quickly this year because of the way we have not managed very well the Covid-19 pandemic in comparison with Singapore, Vietnam etc.,” said Villegas during the Asia CEO Online Forum on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021.
Villegas, who is also a professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific, projected that the Philippine economy will grow only four percent this year.
BusinessWorld
January 17, 2021 | 7:05 pm
Special Features Writer
A look back at economic upsets during lockdown and initial rebound upon relaxed quarantine
The year that passed can be described as disruptive and tumultuous for the Philippine economy due to the widespread effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.
Stranded commuters are seen at Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City during the implementation of modified Enhanced Community Quarantine on Aug. 4, 2020. Photo by Michael Varcas
Sandwiched into the pandemic’s impact are the effects brought by the Taal Volcano eruption back in January 2020 and the typhoons that struck the country in the last quarter of that year, with Typhoon Ulysses causing the biggest damage.
Reporter
THE National Government’s budget deficit ballooned to 7.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) last year from 3.4% in 2019, but slightly below the cap set by the economic team, as spending increased and revenues slumped amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a speech at the virtual meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) on Tuesday, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said preliminary data showed last year’s budget deficit reached P1.36 trillion or equivalent to 7.5% of GDP, more than double the 3.4% deficit-to-GDP ratio in 2019.
Last year’s fiscal gap surged to a fresh all-time high, or twice as much as the previous record of P660 billion in 2019.
The banking industry expressed a more subdued optimism on the country’s economic prospects as risks remain tilted to the downside due to the effects of coronavirus pandemic, a new survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed.
Based on the results of the Banking Sector Outlook Survey (