Slow rehab work to blame for GDP drop

The snail-paced and much-delayed rehabilitation work in Eastern Visayas partly took a hit with the slowing down of the Philippine GDP’s (gross domestic product) growth rate, which was recorded at 5.7 percent in the first quarter.

If only the government had acted swiftly and immediately released the much-needed rehabilitation funds for the “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan)-ravaged areas, the first-quarter growth could had gone up significantly.

Nevertheless, the economic stimulus package and the pump priming activities of the government particularly in infrastructure could spell the difference in the second quarter and beyond. Still, the growth projection of the National Economic and Development Authority for the whole year of 2014 remains to be seen.

—PEDRO V. REFUERZO JR.,

jn_refuerzo@yahoo.com