THE Aquino administration’s report on a lower 5.2 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the first quarter of this year is caused by several factors like the economic slowdown in China.
“China is one of our major buyers and their economic slowdown affected us,” Teresa Chan, president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.
Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan “Dondi” Joseph said GDP growth should translate to employment growth in critical sectors like manufacturing and agriculture.
“Our (Cebu) agricultural sector remains moribund but happily there is growth in manufacturing. If this growth created jobs and was caused by FDI (foreign direct investment) then that would be a meaningful result,” he said.
Chan is hopeful that more infrastructure projects in the pipeline will kickstart the country’s economy.
About 10 private-public-partnership projects are awarded, 13 are undergoing bidding and 27 are still in the pipeline.
Chan also mentioned that the slow down might not be as directly felt in Cebu.
“In Cebu, our economy is still strong. We don’t really feel the slowdown. We still have major investors coming into Cebu, and many infrastructure projects are underway,” she said.
Chan said she was satisfied with the reports given by President Benigno Aquino III during yesterday’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).
She said the “changes and improvements compared to where we were” are supported by “concrete data.”
She said the Philippines is also recognized as the country with the highest job optimism in the Asia-Pacific.
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