MANILA -- The Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2015 is projected to remain robust with the election campaign coming towards the last quarter of the year, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President Alfredo Yao said yesterday.

Yao said a 6.8 to 7.0 percent GDP growth at end-2015 is attainable as the economy is expected to hinge on massive election campaign spending.

He added that political campaigns for national elections in 2016 will not interrupt business operations of the private sector.

“It [election] will not slow down the economic growth,” Yao said, adding that politicians will splurge money for their campaigns.

The PCCI president noted that the contribution of election spending to GDP is substantial.

“We have an election economy here. We have good economic growth during election period,” he said.

During the presidential elections in 2004, Philippine GDP posted 6.7 percent growth. In 2010, GDP expanded by 7.6 percent.

Likewise, the latest Market Call report of First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) forecasts that GDP growth could still breach 7.0 percent this year backed by election spending, rolling out of public-private partnership (PPP) projects, and lower inflation.

“Expected GDP gains remain strong, as household consumption is supported with lower inflation, more employment and more election spending,” the report stated.

In 2010, a National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) study on the impact of election spending on the Philippine economy noted that election spending “have a positive impact on the economy particularly to GDP”.

“The positive impact of elections appears to be not broad-based and has inherent bias for the services sector. For the industry sector, the impacts are complementary in nature, where impact to the manufacturing subsector appears to be limited but could have been higher, given its strong linkages (backward and forward) in the economy,” the study showed.

It also noted sectors that directly connected to campaign process including manufacturing, transportation, communication, and storage, trade, ownership of dwelling and real estate, private services, and government services which are all contributing to the expansion of GDP.

The Philippines has 56 million voting population in 2016 presidential polls wherein candidates are expected to spend for each voter to get their votes.*PNA

back to top