Philippines plunges into recession as coronavirus devastates economy, GDP plummets
- Gross domestic product shrank 16.5 per cent on-year in the second quarter, the biggest contraction on record
- The outlook for the archipelago is bleak, with the number of coronavirus infections surging past 115,000 this week
Gross domestic product shrank 16.5 per cent on-year in the second quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority said, when the country endured one of the world’s longest stay-at-home orders to slow the spread of the virus that has devastated economies globally.
It followed a revised 0.7 per cent contraction in the first three months of the year and marked the biggest reduction in economic activity since records began in 1981 during the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. It is the country’s first recession in three decades.
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The outlook for the archipelago is bleak, with the number of coronavirus infections surging past 115,000 this week – a more than fivefold increase since early June when the economy-crippling restrictions were eased.
“Without doubt, the pandemic and its adverse effect on the economy are testing the economy like never before,” said acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua. “But unlike past crises, the Philippines is now in a much stronger position to address the crisis.”