MANILA - The Philippines revised upwards its second quarter gross domestic product growth rate to 12 percent from a preliminary estimate of 11.8 percent.

The Philippine Statistics Authority made the revision on the eve of its announcement of third quarter GDP data.

Major contributors to the upward revision were the higher than earlier estimated growth rates in education, financial and insurance activities, and construction, the PSA said.

GDP are revised estimates based on an approved revision policy which is consistent with international standard practices on national accounts revisions, the agency added.

The Philippine economy contracted a record 9.6 percent in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered businesses and weighed down economic activity.

GDP continued to decline in the first quarter of 2021, shrinking 3.9 percent compared to the same period in 2020.

Last August, Philippine economic managers lowered the growth target for 2021 for a third time to 4 to 5 percent due to the effects of the pandemic.

This was after the government reimposed the strictest quarantine level that month following a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases triggered by the spread of the virus' Delta variant.

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