MANILA — The Philippines is "better than on track" to meet its medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF) goals, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Monday, a few hours before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation Address.

Under the MTFF, the government aims for economic growth of 6.5 percent to 8 percent annually from 2023 to 2028.

The Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7.6 percent in 2022, exceeding expectations.

"At this time, we compare ourselves to our medium-term fiscal framework, which we prepared 1 month after the President was elected. I can say we are on track, in fact better than on track," Diokno told ANC.

• Philippine economy exceeds target, grows 7.6 percent in 2022

Diokno said the country's debt-to-GDP ratio stood at about 60 to 61 percent, which was "not bad" compared to other countries, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MTFF aims to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60 percent by 2025.

"In our medium-term fiscal framework, our target debt-to-GDP ratio is around 62.3 percent and it was much lower than that, we're on track even in our debt-to-GDP ratio," he said.

The country's P14.1 trillion debt recorded in May is also "manageable", Diokno said.

He said the government is also pushing for additional and rationalized taxes for digital transactions, junk food and motor vehicles to increase revenue collection.

"If we get all these taxes including mining tax, we'd be able to collect P1 trillion," he said.

• Philippine debt hits record P14.1 trillion in May
• Digital VAT seen yielding P96.7 billion for gov't

— With reports from Jessica Fenol and Michelle Ong, ABS-CBN News

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