The Philippine economy rebounded stronger than expected in 2021 after a relaxation of COVID-19 restriction fueled consumer spending and attracted more people back to work.
A street in Manila, the Philippines - Illustrative image (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - The Philippine economy rebounded stronger than expected in 2021 after a relaxation of COVID-19 restriction fueled consumer spending and attracted more people back to work.
The Southeast Asian country’s economy is expected to regain its pre-pandemic growth in 2022.
The Philippine statistics agency said the country’s GDP expanded 5.6 percent in 2021 following a 9.6 percent slump in 2020 due to the pandemic.
This surprising result was driven by an increase in consumer spending and construction in the second half of 2021 as restrictions eased and the number of COVID-19 infections fell.
Speaking at a virtual press conference, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary of the Philippines Karl Chua said the door to the country's economic recovery is now fully open.
He added that a change in the Philippine government's response to COVID-19 from widespread lockdowns to more granular measures, including increased vaccination and treatment capacity, had created favourable conditions for stronger economic activity.
The country’s efforts to safely reopen the ꦗeconomy allowed more Filipinos to work and e☂arn their income, he said./.
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The Philippine House of Representatives has gone into lockdown to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus while Indonesia has reportedly prepared 120,000 hospital beds to cope with outbreaks caused by this new variant.
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Philippine Secretary of Energy Alfonso Cusi has appealed to Indonesia to lift its coal export ban, saying the policy will be detrimental to economies heavily reliant on the fuel for power generation, Reuters reported.
The Philippines on January 17 logged 37,070 new COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths from the disease, bringing the respective figures to 3,242,374 and 52,929.
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This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
Efforts to empower women must transcend dialogue and translate into concrete commitments, including corporate pledges and government partnerships, according to the spouse of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
A street in Manila, the Philippines - Illustrative image (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 
