The Philippine economy expanded by 6.2 percent in July to September period this year after two quarters of deceleration, making it still one of Asia’s fastest, the government reported.

In a press briefing, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the Philippines likely ranked second behind Vietnam’s 7.3 percent but higher than China’s 6 percent during the period.

“The stronger growth in public spending in the third quarter contributed significantly to our third-quarter performance,” Pernia said. “Government is committed to speeding up the implementation of its programs and projects that were affected by the budget impasse and the election ban earlier this year.”

The third-quarter figure brought gross domestic product (GDP) of the last nine months to 5.8 percent, slightly below the lower-end of the government’s 6 to 7 percent target for the year.

“This means that the Philippine economy will have to expand by at least 6.7 percent in the last quarter of the year to meet the low-end of the full-year target of 6.0-7.0 percent for 2019 — a challenge that we are confidently taking on,” Pernia added.

Among the major economic sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that services posted the fastest growth with 6.9 percent in the third quarter.

Industry followed, which grew by 5.6 percent, while agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing all registered a growth of 3.1 percent.

The economy grew by 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2019. (PNA)