2016 growth to beat 2015 despite Duterte

AFTER the better-than-expected 6.9 percent GDP rate in the first quarter, analysts are more convinced growth in full-year 2016 will outpace that of 2015 at above 6 percent despite an easing in the second half of this year as election spending cools and the new Duterte-led government goes through a learning curve.

The economy looks strongly driven by robust domestic consumption and could also benefit from an expected recovery in global growth, they said.