MANILA: The Philippine economy will likely contract by 1.9% this year, weighed down by the impact of a local volcanic eruption and the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank said on Tuesday.
It would be the country's first annual decline in gross domestic product since the Asian financial crisis, Rong Qian, senior economist at the World Bank, told a news conference.
But GDP would likely recover in 2021 as economic activity resumes following strict quarantine measures that caused the economy to grind to a halt in mid-March, she said.