The Department of Finance (DOF) sees the need to come up with “more realistic” targets to take into consideration the impact of recent events, and as the economy’s growth in 2023 fell below the government’s growth assumption.
“I think we have to come out with more realistic targets. I think we need to. Something more realistic but still high for 2024 and beyond,” Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told reporters last week.
“We are reviewing all of that. It’s a six-year term for the President, one year and a half is already over, we know what’s happening globally, so we have an idea of something a little more realistic,” he added.
The new members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), specifically Recto and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, joined the special DBCC meeting held at the DOF last February 5.
No adjustments were made then as the DBCC convened to discuss updates on investment and infrastructure strategies, revenue and disbursement assumptions, and financing strategies, among others.
Recently, the Philippine Statistics Authority announced that the Philippine economy’s growth in 2023 fell below the government’s full-year goal as it grew by 5.6 percent last year.
The average growth last year fell below the 7.6 percent expansion in 2022 as well as the government’s growth assumption for 2023 of six to seven percent.
In its December meeting, the DBCC already narrowed the growth target for 2024 to 6.5 to 7.5 percent from the previous range of 6.5 to eight percent.
Meanwhile, it retained the 6.5 to eight percent growth assumption for 2025 to 2028.
