Philippines 'on track' to meet growth target despite rising oil prices: NEDA | ABS-CBN

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Philippines 'on track' to meet growth target despite rising oil prices: NEDA

Philippines 'on track' to meet growth target despite rising oil prices: NEDA

Warren de Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

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Fuel nozzles hang at a gasoline station in Manila on February 26, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File
Fuel nozzles hang at a gasoline station in Manila on February 26, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA - Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua on Tuesday said the country remains "on track" to meet its economic growth target for the year despite the spike in oil prices.

"We believe we have a very strong domestic economy that can withstand that. We also believe the global tension is temporary, we will support affected sectors," he said.

For 2022, the government is targeting a growth rate of 7 to 9 percent.

"I think we are still very much on track to our projected growth targets for this year," Chua said.

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The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.6 percent in 2021, slightly overshooting the government target of 5.5 percent as pandemic restrictions were eased in the fourth quarter.

Chua said economic managers are also looking into further easing mobility restrictions to Alert Level 0 to mitigate the impact of the rising oil prices on the transport sector.

He said not all areas are under Alert Level 1 yet, and only 1,000 of the country's 60,000 schools have reverted to face-to-face learning.

“I really don’t know how long this crisis or tension would last, of course, we are hoping a few weeks or months, but NEDA together with DBCC [Development Budget Coordination Committee] family is looking very closely at this very regularly...In fact there is a suggestion to put NCR at alert level 0. We are looking at that also," Chua said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque earlier said the country was "ripe" for further easing after the daily cases fell below 1,000 from the peak of 39,000 in January.

Metro Manila Mayors have expressed support for proposals to further ease mobility restrictions in NCR.

If Russia's invasion of Ukraine persists, Chua said it could potentially affect the country's commodity prices, financial markets, trade and overall consumer confidence.

Inflation could reach as high as 4.7 percent if the Dubai crude averaged at $140 per barrel for the year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno earlier said, citing an internal "sensitivity analysis."

Dubai crude breached $110 per barrel last week as other benchmark crude prices also soared.

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