The Philippines will have a much slower economic recovery compared to neighbor countries as the pandemic remains uncontrolled, said the World Bank. It estimates that the country will contract 6.9% in 2020. This is one of the sharpest downturns in developing East Asia and the Pacific. In a worst-case scenario, it may drop to as much as 9.9%. The recent forecasts are much lower than the June projection of 1.9% contraction.
The Philippines will only see economic growth bounce back to levels prior the pandemic in the 4th quarter of 2021, said World Bank Senior Economist Rong Qian. This is slower compared to its regional peers.
“Base effects, or the numbers tending to be high because [they are] coming from a negative base, will prop up growth in 2021 while the scheduled national elections in May 2022 will boost activities in the latter half of 2021 through 2022,” added the World Bank.