PH economy to reach pre-pandemic level by Q1 2022

The Philippine economy is projected to recover to its pre-pandemic level by the first quarter of 2022, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua.

The country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced a 7.1 percent expansion in the third quarter of the current year, a significant improvement from the 11.6 percent contraction during the same period in the previous year.

Despite the recent growth, the GDP for the first nine months of the year remains 5.7 percent lower than its pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Chua attributed the economic recovery to the government's success in controlling the Delta variant of COVID-19 and the acceleration of the vaccination program, supported by the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) measures.

The government is also optimistic about achieving the 'upper middle-income country' status within 2022, earlier than the initially projected end of 2022 or early 2023.