Philippine finance secretary optimistic on recovery despite surging inflation

Manila [Philippines], July 15:Philippine Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Thursday that the economy continues to be robust despite the surging inflation, given the "favorable" expansion of economic activity early this year.
Diokno made the remarks following the central bank's decision to raise the interest rate on the overnight reverse repurchase facility by 75 basis points to 3.25 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also raised to 2.75 percent and 3.75 percent, respectively.
The target range for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate "has been set to be able to incorporate the various pace of monetary policy normalization by the BSP," Diokno told reporters.
Last week, the government lowered the economic growth rate assumption for 2022 from 7-8 percent to 6.5-7.5 percent to reflect recent domestic trends and challenges from external developments.
According to a national survey released on Tuesday, 57 percent of the respondents said the new administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos must control inflation amid the spiraling cost of basic commodities, followed by raising workers' salaries, creating more jobs and combating corruption.
"We estimate the economy (to return) to where it was before the pandemic by (the) middle of this year or by the third quarter of 2022 at the latest," said Diokno.
He also said that the safe re-opening of the economy supports the growth outlook through loosened quarantine restrictions and the positive impact of structural reforms by the government.
The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,371 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,725,382.
Source: Xinhua