Marcos attributes economic growth to infra investments, construction

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday vowed that his administration would continue pursuing job-generating initiatives that could help in further transforming the Philippine economy.

Marcos made the pledge, as he attributed the 6.3-percent economic growth in the second quarter of 2024 to the increase in investments and construction under the Build Better More program.

"Inuulit ko, balewala lahat ng ating ginagawa kung walang pagbabago sa buhay ng mga Pilipino (I repeat, everything we do is meaningless if there are no changes in the lives of Filipinos)," he said in a video message uploaded on the Presidential Communications Office's official Facebook page.

"So I assure you, this government will continue to invest in job-generating infrastructure, social protection programs, health and education for all Filipinos. We will not rest on our laurels but use them to propel us forward into social and economic transformation," he added.

The country's economic growth accelerated to 6.3 percent in the second quarter of 2024, higher than the 4.3 percent during the same period last year and the 5.8 percent in the first quarter of this year.

He said the government is doing everything to give Filipinos "decent and formal" jobs to elevate them to middle class.

"Kaya patuloy ang ating pagbibigay ng sapat at kalidad na trabaho (That's why we continue to provide adequate and quality jobs). This June, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.1 percent, one of the lowest on record for the last two decades. Over 50.3 million Filipinos are now employed, with 63.8 percent of them in the formal sector," Marcos said.

Marcos assured Filipinos of his administration's commitment to combat poverty, saying the goal is already "within its reach" as the latest poverty rate also dropped to 15.5 percent.

"[That] means we have lifted two and a half million Filipinos out of poverty and only 10.9 percent of Filipino families remain poor. Our goal is to further reduce this rate to 9 percent by 2028, and improve the lives of eight million Filipinos," Marcos said. (PNA)