![[ANALYSIS] Wake up: The PH economy is turning sour, lagging behind](https://i.headtopics.com/images/2023/8/18/rapplerdotcom/analysis-wake-up-the-ph-economy-is-turning-sour-la-analysis-wake-up-the-ph-economy-is-turning-sour-la-6F3FAB8D35B522CFFAEB9A598986FF49.webp)
We’re now lagging behind our ASEAN neighbors, notably Vietnam – the average Vietnamese is now richer than the average Filipino and their learning poverty rate is less than 2%, a stark contrast to our 90%
Although shallow, a recession in normal times is unheard of in recent Philippine economic history. If it happens indeed, it will be one for the books.One thing blamed for anemic growth is the successive interest rate hikes of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas .
In other words, so-called “revenge spending” is waning already. Interest rate hikes may also be biting too hard on certain sectors. Inflation, however, is fast returning to the government’s target range of 2-4%, and the BSP expected in May that it would settle at 5.5% this year, and 2.8% in 2024.: inflation in 2023 is now expected to be at 5.6% and inflation in 2024 at 3.3% .
Even the economic managers can’t fully hide their frustration. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the situation is “Long-standing bottlenecks in spending haven’t been addressed. In recent budget deliberations, the Marcos technocrats revealed that the average obligation rate of agencies was at just