6%...

imposed by the government to slow the spread of COVID-19 infections.

“Our own forecast is the GDP growth will be above six percent this year. Of course, it’s hard to grow when your base is larger,” Medalla told participants of the economic forum.

For the first quarter, he said spending in hotels and restaurants jumped by 23.8 percent in the first quarter, while car sales zoomed by 44.8 percent from January to May this year.

Likewise, tourism-related revenues amounted to P214 billion in the first quarter as the number of international tourists reached 1.47 million from January to April this year.

He added that there is also revenge spending by Filipino consumers.

“Pent-up demand has been a key growth driver,” the BSP chief said.

Medalla pointed out that the current circumstance have allowed the BSP to prioritize its mandate of price stability by bringing back inflation back to within the two to four percent target range.

In the same forum, National Economic and Development Authority

Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the Philippines performed remarkably over the past decade, with GDP growth posting between six and seven percent.

Unfortunately, the streak was interrupted in 2020 by mobility restrictions and policy response challenges

PAGE 4