New Finance Chief Expects Philippines to Have the Highest Economic Growth Rate in ASEAN+3

If the Department of Finance's new Medium-Term Fiscal Consolidation Framework hits its targets, the Philippines would have the highest economic growth rate in both 2022 and 2023 in Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Wednesday. 

“We expect the economy to grow by 6.5 to 7.5 [percent] this year. In fact, this is going to be the highest," Diokno said in a press briefing at Malacañan Palace. "The consensus is this will be the highest growth rate among all ASEAN Plus Three countries this year and next year.”

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The other three countries that the Philippines would eclipse, Diokno pointed out, are Japan, South Korea, and China. Meanwhile, the new framework was recently submitted to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. for review. It detailed how the economic team would achieve its goals in the next six years, including achieving a middle-income economy and reducing poverty incidence during the new Marcos administration.

Diokno went as far as saying that the Philippines would have a consistent 6.5 to eight percent growth from 2023 to 2028. By the end of President Marcos' term, the poverty incidence in the country should also be cut to single digits.

“If I remember right, it started at around 25 percent during [former President Rodrigo] Duterte’s first year in office but we’re almost down to around 18 to 17 percent then the pandemic hit us,” Diokno claimed. “So there’s a slight backsliding, but our target under this framework is that the poverty rate will be down to nine percent by 2028."