PHILIPPINE economic growth is expected to slow this year, with risks to it primarily driven by government underspending and tight liquidity in the financial market, economists say ahead of the release of first-quarter gross domestic product data today.

During the Security Bank Economic Forum in Makati City on Wednesday, economist and Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) President Calixto Chikiamco said 2019 growth “should be between 5.8 percent and 6.2 percent.”