PH economic slump to soften in Q1 — poll enablePagination: false endIndex: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 7) — The Philippine economy was estimated to have remained in recession in the first quarter but with a contraction that is milder than three months prior. A CNN Philippines poll among 10 economists showed a forecast range of -4.5% to 2% for the gross domestic product (GDP) from January to March. This yielded an average projection of -2.82%, easing from -8.3% recorded in the last quarter of 2020. GDP measures the country's economic ouput in terms of goods and services in a given year. Market watchers mainly noted efforts to reopen the economy during the period, which ended with the government declaring once again tighter lockdown measures in a bid to curb the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases.