Economic managers of the Duterte administration blamed Congress for the slowdown of economic growth for the first quarter of this year.
In a joint statement, the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management and the National Economic Development Authority said the delay in the passage of the 2019 budget “set off a spending cutback, which, in turn, stifled economic activity.”
The Duterte administration was hoping for a 6.6 to 7.2 percent growth domestic product for the first quarter, but because of the budget impasse, the growth only registered at 5.6 percent.
This is the slowest economic growth in 16 months.
It is also the slowest GDP for an election year, as compared to the last three elections in 2010 (7.8%), 2013 (7.7%) and 2016 (6.9%).
“The Senate-House deadlock over the 2019 General Appropriations Bill forced the government to operate on a re-enacted 2018 budget for the entire first quarter. This resulted in underspending of about P1 billion per day, equivalent to P80-90 billion in disbursements for the first quarter of 2019,” the joint statement reads.
One of the most affected sector of the budget impasse was the Department of Education, its repair and rehabilitation projects of school buildings were postponed due to no budget release.
Thus, the GDP growth target for 2019 was adjusted from 7-8 percent to 6-7 percent range.
Despite the delay in budget release, President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team said they are committed to quickly implement and disburse the programs as planned.
