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A health worker prepares a coronavirus vaccine at the Justo Lukban Elementary School in Paco, Manila, Jan. 3. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS
THE PHILIPPINE economy could regain its pre-pandemic output this year, but the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could still cloud the outlook, the World Bank said.
In its latest “Global Economic Prospects” report released on Tuesday, the World Bank said the rapid spread of the Omicron variant may coincide with the threat of inflation, growing debt, and heightened income inequality in emerging and developing economies.
The outlook for the Philippines, as well as Maldives, and Thailand, are still negatively affected by the sustained weakness in international tourism amid the pandemic, it said.
“In many countries, especially in the economies that rely heavily on tourism, the recovery of output to its pre-pandemic level is not expected until 2022 (Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines) or 2023 (Thailand, some small Pacific Island economies),” the World Bank said.
The multilateral lender kept its growth projection for the Philippine economy at 5.9% for 2022 and 5.7% for 2023. These are below the 7-9% and 6-7% growth projections set by economic managers for both years.
The World Bank expects the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) to post a 5.3% growth in 2021, which is within the 5-5.5% target by the government.
The Philippine government was looking at reopening its borders to some foreign tourists on a trial basis for two weeks in December. The plan was scrapped as border controls were tightened due to the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
The Health Department reported 32,246 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with active cases hitting 208,164.
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