The prolonged COVID-19 quarantine and slow mass vaccination are hurting domestic consumption and production, such that think tank Moody’s Analytics sees the Philippines to underperform in the region en route to economic recovery.
In a report on Monday, Moody’s Analytics economists Katrina Ell and Dave Chia said they expected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by only 5.3 percent this year, below the government’s downscaled 6 to 7 percent target.
“The Philippines isn’t forecast to return to prepandemic levels of output until the end of 2022. In contrast, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam have returned to previous output levels, while Indonesia and Thailand are on track to return this year. This makes the Philippines the clear laggard in Asia,” they said.
Moody’s Analytics mainly blamed the…
