In the face of this crisis, the Philippine economy remains resilient, relative to our peers in the region. Let me quickly run thru some numbers to show the “buffers” we have built. Our domestic economy has remained steady. In 2008, GDP grew by 4.6%, still within our long-term trend growth rate, and quite respectable when compared against our neighbors.
The outlook for this year remains positive, although at a slower pace of growth. Nevertheless, this is not bad at all considering that the Philippines is one of the few Asian countries seen to grow and ride out this severe global economic recession. BIS Review 59/2009  1  Our inflation rate continues to decelerate.