ADB: PH GDP growth to slide in ‘20 due to Covid-19

MANILA -- The Philippines’ economic growth will slow significantly this year before a strong rebound in 2021, with expansionary fiscal and monetary policies partly offsetting slower domestic demand and disruptions in tourism, trade, and manufacturing, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released Friday.

In its annual flagship economic publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020, ADB projects the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 2.0 percent in 2020 following an enhanced community quarantine imposed by the government in March to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country.

But ADB expects a strong recovery to 6.5 percent GDP growth in 2021, assuming that Covid-19 infections in the country are curbed by June this year.

“This unprecedented and extraordinary public health emergency brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic will substantially slow down economic growth this year, with most of the contraction in the economy occurring in the second quarter. We are anticipating a bounce-back starting in the second half of this year, supported by the government’s stimulus spending and easier monetary policies,” ADB Country Director for the Philippines Kelly Bird said in a statement.

Bird said the ADB has been working closely with the Philippine government in its fight to ease the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Filipinos. /