Thank you for inviting me to discuss latest economic developments and outlook in this forum aptly titled, “Looking beyond the pandemic endgame.” Today, I will cover the following: (i) first, update on the Philippines’ recent economic performance; (ii) second, the BSP’s support to the economy to ensure strong and sustainable economic recovery; and (iii) third, economic outlook.
To begin, after five consecutive quarters of decline, the economy rebounded strongly in the second quarter of last year with a growth of 12 percent. Since then, the country has managed to sustain this positive growth amid a calibrated approach to virus containment. In Q4 2021, the economy grew 7.7 percent, resulting in 5.6-percent full-year growth.