THE COUNTRY’S effective coronavirus alert level system has made Filipinos become more optimistic about economic growth, according to the presidential palace.
In a statement, presidential spokesman Jose Martin M. Andanar said the system had facilitated economic reopening ang job recovery.
“Our people have more reasons to feel confident about the future, especially now that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed Executive Order No. 166, which adopted a 10-point policy agenda to accelerate and sustain the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
More than half of adult Filipinos thought the Philippine economy would improve in the next 12 months, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said, citing a Dec. 12-16 poll.
It said 30% of Filipinos thought the economy would stay the same, while 7% said it would worsen.
“The Dec. 2021 net economic optimism was a continuing recovery from the mediocre -9 in July 2020, mediocre -5 in Sept. 2020 and high +24 in Nov. 2020,” SWS said. “This is the highest since the excellent +44 in Sept. 2016.”
SWS said 45% of adult Filipinos expected their quality of life to improve, 42% said it would stay the same and 3% said it would worsen in the next 12 months. The December poll found that 43% of Filipino families considered themselves poor.
The poll had an error margin of ±2.6 points. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza