2009 GDP growth within target
Fuelled by government spending and Christmas retail sales, the Philippine economy grew by 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, pushing the full-year growth of the gross domestic product (GDP), or the sum of goods and services produced in the country, to 0.9 percent.
This was within government’s target range of between 0.8 percent and 1.8 percent but lower than the previous year’s growth of 3.8 percent.
“The positive GDP growth is a clear indication that the country has already survived the worst effects of the global economic crunch,” Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar said in a press briefing today after the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) released this morning its latest economic data.
The
If remittances are factored in, the country grew by three percent last year compared to the previous year’s 6.2 percent.
This year, the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) projects GDP growth of between 2.6 percent and 3.6 percent.
Olivar said another 0.5 percent may be added to this year’s GDP due to the massive rehabilitation of
Earlier, the World Bank revised its GDP forecast of the
Number of registered voters in Caraga Region jump 11.29% to 1.38M
The Joint Security Control Center (JSCC) is a body overseeing security matters for honesty, orderly and peaceful elections which is composed of the COMELEC, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Agusan del Sur topped the four other provinces composing Caraga region, with 325,642 registered voters, up 17.20 percent from 277,840 in 2007 elections.
Surigao del Sur followed with 335,492, up 10.97 percent from 302,323; Surigao del Norte with 288,653, or 10.28 percent higher than 261,736 in 2007 elections; Agusan del Norte with 357,992, or 8.12 percent from 330,996; and Dinagat Islands province with 70,353, up 7.42 percent to 65,492.
The total number of PCOS machines allocated for the five provinces of the region is 2,145 units.
PCOS machine allocations are to be distributed to 2,135 total clustered polling precints in a total of 1,310 barangays of the region.
Caraga Region has an average of 78 percent turnout of voters in 2001, 2004 and 2007 local and national elections, including the 2008 nationwide barangay election. (Ben Serrano, PNA)
Palace urges public to support COMELEC poll automation
The Palace today brushed off fears that the computers and peripherals purchased by the Commission on Election (COMELEC) will not work, resulting in the failure of the May 2010 elections.
In a media briefing, Undersecretary Gary Olivar said there is no reason to be alarmed over the reported failure of the subscriber identification module (SIM) to send signal to the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines during a field test conducted by the COMELEC recently.
He said the government is confident that the COMELEC information technology experts can address the problem at the soonest possible time.
Nonetheless, he called on IT experts in the private sector to help the COMELEC iron out the kinks.
“Let’s help them solve the problem,” Olivar said, adding the agency is to be praised for opening the test to the public.
Meanwhile, Olivar said, the Palace is happy over the poll body’s dismissal of the last disqualification case against filed by the opposition against the President.
He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would sustain the COMELEC if the case went up that far.
In a promulgation Thursday, the COMELEC second division ruled that there is no constitutional provision barring President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from running in the May polls. (PNA)
