By Junex Doronio
MANILA — The bickering between loyalists of President Ferdinand Bongbong R Marcos Jr and diehard Duterte supporters (DDS) has created a negative impact on the country’s economy political pundits claim.
They said the country suffered a blow as the full-year 2023 growth was only 5.6 percent, markedly down from the 7.6 percent growth in 2022 and below the government’s target range of 6.0 to 7.0 percent.
But Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan noted that while growth is lower than the target, the Philippines still maintains a strong position as one of the top-performing economies in Asia.
On Wednesday (31 January 2024), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also reported that the although the Philippine economy expanded but it was at a slower pace by 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year,
The PSA said this was down from the previous quarter of 6.0 percent and 7.1 percent in the same quarter of the previous year.
Maharlika NuMedia gathered that in the fourth quarter 2023 real gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures, the Philippines trailed behind Vietnam (6.7 percent) but outperformed China (5.2 percent) and Malaysia (3.4 percent)
Political pundits expressed belief that the “Marcos-Duterte war” may have caused the economic slowdown.
A topnotch Customs broker in Cebu earlier told Maharlika NuMedia that importers were hesitant to pour their investments into the country because of what they perceived as political instability.
The high duties and taxes also discouraged the importers, revealed the Customs broker who requested anonymity.
(El Amigo/MNM)