MikeLigalig.com

Economic managers are considering an upward revision of the country’s growth target for this year following the higher-than-expected performance of the domestic economy as well as other economic indicators.

Reports quoting Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will meet once they are done in defending the 2011 proposed budget before Congress.

He said the possible upgrade in this year’s economic targets was boosted by the positive developments like the higher-than-expected growth of the domestic economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP).

The country registered a 7.9 percent output in the first half of this year, after a 7.8 percent and 7.9 percent growth in the first and second quarter, respectively.

Economic managers have set a five to six percent full –year GDP target for this year.

Exports is also on the same path with the August 2010 figure rising by 36.6 percent to US$ 4.745 billion against the US$ 3.473 billion during the same period last year.

The government’s export growth target for this year was set at 15 percent.

"Eventually, we will revise the target to take into account the emerging actual," Beltran said.

Beltran, on the other hand, said this year’s budget deficit ceiling of P325 billion, which is about 3.9 percent of GDP, may be retained.

Last August, the budget gap reached P228.1 billion, lower than the previous month’s P229.4 billion after the government achieved a P1.3 billion surplus for the month.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the surplus is “really in line with our effort to manage fiscal position of the government more responsibly by focusing more on revenues and expenditures.”

“On the expenditure side we’ll focus more on spending according to program and removing wastage and corruption by being more careful in spending hard-earned money of the government,” he said.

Purisima cited that because of the improving revenue collection, they are optimistic of below-ceiling budget deficit this year.

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