
SOCIOECONOMIC PLANNING SECRETARY KARL KENDRICK T. CHUA, FINANCESECRETARYCARLOSG.DOMINGUEZ,
BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT OFFICER-IN-CHARGE TINA ROSE MARIE L. CANDA
MAY12,2022
Colleagues in government, friends from the media, fellow Filipinos, good morning.
We have overcome our country’s greatest economic and health challenges.
The headwinds we faced were strong, but our quick rebound from the Omicron surge in January proved that we can live and deal with the virus. With our strengthened healthcare capacity and accelerated vaccination program, we were able to contain the surge and safely reopen the economy.
On February 1, we shifted our economic centers to alert level 2. By the end of March, around 70 percent of the economy was placed in alert level 1. This quick turnaround in the first quarter shows that we can win both the economic and health battles.
Performance of the economy
Having adeptly managed the risks posed by COVID-19, the Philippine economy grew by 8.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022. This is a significant reversal from the 3.8 percent contraction in the same period last year. We have surpassed the pre-pandemic gross domestic product level.
Growth in the...