The Philippine economy exited the recession in the second quarter following five straight quarters of decline, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported earlier this morning.
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) posted a year-on-year growth of 11.8% in the April to June period, a reversal from the revised 3.9% decline in the first quarter of 2021 and the record 17% plunge in the second quarter of 2020.
This marked the first time the Philippine economy posted growth since the fourth quarter of 2019, right before lockdown measures aimed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hampered economic activity.
On a year-on-year basis, the second-quarter result was the fastest growth recorded since the 12% print in the fourth quarter of 1988.
It exceeded the 10.6% median growth estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 20 economists conducted last week.
The country’s first-half performance stood at a 3.7% growth, still below the government’s growth target of 6-7% for this year.
Gross national income — the sum of the nation’s GDP and net income received from overseas — grew by 6.6% in the second quarter compared with the 17.6% contraction in 2020’s comparable three months. — Bernadette Therese M. Gadon