Aquino convenes Cabinet in bid to bolster gov’t spending, growth

President Benigno Aquino III convenes the Cabinet for a meeting at the Malacañan Palace’s Aguinaldo State Dining Room. Photo from the Official Gazette

President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday ordered Cabinet members come up with measures that will ensure higher growth after a lackluster performance during the first quarter of the year.

Aquino convened his Cabinet almost two weeks after it was announced that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth from January to March 2015 was down to 5.2 percent, the slowest since 2012.

The drop in GDP growth was attributed to sluggish government spending.

READ: PH growth slows to 5.2%

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Aquino instructed the Cabinet members “to accelerate the pace of government spending.”

“The President directed the Cabinet to exert maximum efforts to continually meet the people’s expectations on delivery of responsive public service and ensure that the attainment of an annual GDP growth that will match if not surpass the 6.3 per cent average growth achieved in the last five years,” he added.

Coloma said the secretaries presented their programs and how they will meet the government’s economic growth target.

He, however, assured that a large portion of the national budget will be allocated to social services and poverty reduction.

The President mentioned “the continuing expansion of fiscal space due to good governance and the sound management of macroeconomic fundamentals that has earned the country investment-grade ratings and sustained high confidence levels in the growth prospects of the Philippine economy.”
READ: Gov’t spending seen enough to boost economic growth

Coloma said the meeting was called to “review the government’s performance vis-a-vis national budget for the first quarter of 2015.