Philippine economy predicted to face recession hinh anh 1Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipnas (BSP) Benjamin Diokno (Photo: https://www.philstar.com/)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) will likely shrink by 5.7-6.7 percent in the second quarter of 2020, much higher than the 0.2 percent contraction in the first quarter, according to Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipnas (BSP) Benjamin Diokno.

The two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction due to the full impact of the tight lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will put the Philippines’ economy in recession, he said.

Diokno stressed that the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis is harsher than what was originally predicted.

Economic managers through the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) have forecasted that the country’s GDP will fall by 2-3.4 percent this year from a growth rate of 6 percent last year.

Previously, S&P Global Ratings announced a deeper GDP contraction of 3 percent instead of 0.2 percent this year after the Philippines implemented one of the world’s longest tight lockdowns to combat COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded the Philippines’ GDP to a 3.6 percent decrease instead of growing by 0.6 percent this year as it sees the global economy shrinking by 4.9 percent instead of 3 percent due to the pandemic./. 
VNA