2nd-quarter Philippine growth highest in 20 years

In the headlines today, unfortunately the crab mentality of the Filipinos immediately stuck out like a sore thumb - including that pinoy rep of a japanese media outfit. They have to rain on someone else's parade right away.

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MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace in 20 years in the second quarter as government spending and private consumption expanded.

The gross domestic product -- GDP, the value of goods produced and services rendered, not including income from abroad -- grew 7.5 percent from the second quarter of 2006, bringing to 7.3 percent the average growth in the first semester.

It was the highest annual growth rate since the 7.7 percent in the third quarter of 1986, the year dictator Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown.

It outshone the second-quarter GDP performance of Asian neighbors, such as Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia, but trailed Singapore’s 8.6-percent and China’s 11.9-percent expansions.

The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said the first-quarter GDP growth was 7.1 percent, revised from 6.9 percent.

The gross national product -- the GDP plus income from abroad, like remittances by overseas Filipino workers -- expanded 8.3 percent, a substantial improvement over the 6.4-percent growth in the same quarter last year. Net factor income from abroad grew 16.6 percent.

A beaming President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said, “Our economic plans succeeded.”

“No one thought that we could get more revenues, cut down on tax cheats, strengthen the peso and move the stock market. No one thought we could bring our budget into the balance, repay our debts and increase jobs, but we have done it,” she said at a televised news conference.

Arroyo said the economy was on track to a full-year growth of 6.1-6.7 percent in the GDP.