GDP growth likely down to 1.8% in first quarter

Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) likely slowed year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 as effects of the Taal eruption and enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic exacted their toll on the economy, economists polled by The Manila Times said.

Projections for the first-quarter GDP growth ranged from -0.8 percent to 4.5 percent with an 1.8-percent average, significantly lower than the 5.6-percent expansion in the same period last year.