THE widespread havoc wrought on Luzon and some parts of Visayas by strong typhoons in the last quarter of 2020 could further weigh on the economy, which is already reeling from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
In a virtual press conference, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said initial estimates suggest that the recent typhoons – particularly Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses – could “shed off 0.15 percentage points to the full-year [gross domestic product].”
“In peso terms… I don’t have the exact amount but it will be something like P90 billion,” she said.
The NEDA official noted that the figures could still change since data is still being collated on the ground.
Latest data available from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council showed Typhoon Quinta caused P1,561,935,343.72 worth of damage to infrastructure and P2,660,730,962 to agriculture.
Super Typhoon Rolly, on the other hand, caused P12,867,014,693.78 damage to infrastructure and P5,008,430,180.00 to agriculture.
As for Typhoon Ulysses, the cost of damage to infrastructure stood at P5,256,272,751.28.
For the damage to agriculture, latest data from the Department of Agriculture showed Ulysses caused P3.84 billion in damage to rice, corn, livestock, high-value crops, irrigation and agricultural infrastructures.
The Philippine economy remained in the negative territory during the third quarter, clocking in at -11.15 percent.
The figure, however, is a slight improvement from the revised record-low of -16.9 percent in the second quarter, but still a turn-around from the 6.0 percent growth in the same period last year.
The year-to-date economic growth averaged -10 percent, making it difficult for the country to achieve the government’s forecast of a modest -5.5 percent contraction for the entire 2020.
Nevertheless, economic managers are expecting that the economy will bounce back by 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2021.(with GMA News/PN)
