The Philippines will continue to see robust growth in 2013 and 2014 based on strong domestic consumption and an increase in investments, but this expansion has yet to generate new jobs or reduce poverty levels, according to an updated Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast. The Philippine economy continues to show resilience to global market risks with a strong domestic demand, expansion in public and private investment, low inflation and interest rates, buoyant remittance flows, and higher business confidence, said Norio Usui, senior country economist at ADB, who spoke at an economic forum in Manila last week. "Economic growth has been accelerating since the first quarter of 2012,” agreed Celia Reyes, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies who also lectured at the same conference. The ADB’s revised Asian Development Outlook 2013 released earlier this month forecasts the country’s 2013 gross domestic product (GDP) growth at seven percent, up from six percent in its April estimates. For 2014, growth is now pegged at 6.1 percent, from the previous projection of 5.9 percent. Last year, growth reached 6.8 percent.
