Government confident growth will be sustained

MANILA, Philippines - The government expressed confidence yesterday the country’s economic growth would continue and be more felt by the people with further accelerated spending on projects to improve social services.

“Certainly, apart from a stable macro-economic framework and the continuing vibrancy of overseas Filipino workers’ remittances and the business processing sector, the dramatic recovery in government consumption at 24 percent and public infrastructure at 62.2 percent will further heighten investor interest in our country,” Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said.

“We expect government spending to continue accelerating in the second quarter, especially in social services, such as social protection, basic education, public health and affordable housing and economic services, like roads and bridges, rural electrification and agricultural modernization. These can only mean more equitable and sustained growth,” Abad said.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda also called on the critics of the government to stop being cynical about the country’s 6.4-percent economic growth in the first quarter, saying it could not possibly be hype since economists were the ones releasing the figures.

Lacierda said every Filipino should be happy for this gain for the Philippines, if not for the administration, even if only for the sakes of patriotism

He said if critics like Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong could not prove that the economic figures were just “media hype,” then he should not be talking.

“Even our (political) opponents admit that the economic growth was good. We are the second highest in Asia. China’s number one, 8.1 (percent); we are 6.4 (percent). Our first quarter growth is the highest in Southeast Asia, in the ASEAN region. So these are figures, the statistical figures that can be verified,” Lacierda said.

“So I would like to invite Congressman Simeon Datumanong to look into the statistics and not just sweep it away as mere media hype. It does not have the tools, the scientific tools, it does not have the statistical tools to just brand it as a media hype,” he said.

“So in the absence of verifiable tools, I think, Simeon Datumanong should be happy that as a Filipino our economy is growing at a very high rate.We should welcome this growth not because... this growth because he is a Filipino and he should not be grudged the efforts of this administration because he is an opposition member. I think patriotism should rise above partisan politics,” Lacierda said.