Finance chief: Govt. may revise 2023 growth targets

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 2) — The Marcos administration’s economic team will meet later this month to review the country’s growth targets for this year, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

During a roundtable discussion with media members late Friday, Diokno said that the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will have a meeting on Oct. 19.

The DBCC is composed of the top officials of the Budget and Finance departments and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

“We'll review the first-semester report performance,” he said, which would include economic growth, inflation, and underspending.

Diokno hinted that adjusting growth targets is possible.

“There's always a chance, based on the most recent info,” he said.

“I think the general sentiment, at least based on my conversation with the WB (World Bank), globally talaga downgrade lahat, but the good news is the Philippines will remain to be the fastest growing in this part of the world,” the official added.

In August, the government reported a sluggish economic growth of 4.3% for the second quarter of 2023, mainly weighed down by elevated inflation and the impact of higher interest rates.

For this year, the DBCC’s target growth was set at 6% to 7%. To hit this goal, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the local economy must expand by “at least 6.6%” in the second half.