Growth prospects for the economy improved as the first quarter of 2022 year-on-year growth increased to
8.2 percent from -3.8 percent the previous year.
The Philippine economy expanded for the fourth consecutive quarter, showing clear signs of
pandemic recovery. Growth reached 8.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022, continuing the series of
positive growth rates registered since the second quarter of 2021. Both demand-side and supply-side
components performed well, particularly private consumption in the demand-side and the services
sector in the supply-side. Economic growth this quarter surpassed analysts’ anticipated median growth
forecast of 6.7 percent. As a result, the Philippines had the East Asia Region's fastest-growing
economy this quarter. This occurred despite numerous risk factors that should have slowed down
growth, such as the surge in COVID-19 cases from the Omicron variant, the reimposition of Alert Level
3 in many vital areas, inflationary pressure on key commodities, and a weakening peso. However,
external factors loom large that may impede the growth momentum of the country. With geopolitical
tensions such as the Russia-Ukraine war causing global supply shortages and the United States
intending to increase its policy rate further this year, prudent actions must be taken to ensure the
country can cushion the impacts of these factors. With all these in mind, the judicious management of
monetary policy by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), further rollout of vaccine booster doses, and
the unobstructed operations of public and private establishments, the above-average growth the
country attained in previous quarters can be maintained.