Second-Sem Slowdown Expected According to UP Economist

From BusinessWorld Online

Victor A. Abola, an economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific, said GDP growth could go as high as 5.5% this year, buoyed mainly by the manufacturing and construction sectors.

"First quarter [performance] was broad-based. The succeeding quarters will also be broad-based but slightly lower. Our exports still have a long way to go," he said in a telephone interview.

University of the Philippines economist Benjamin E. Diokno said a second-semester slowdown should be expected even if April-June growth turns out to be as strong as the first three months of year.

"I think the effect of [government and election spending] will no longer be there in [the second half]. And if La Niña turns out to be worse than expected, we don’t have a respite," he said in a separate telephone interview.

Mr. Diokno, a former Budget secretary, declined to offer a revised 2010 growth forecast, saying: "It would be more prudent to leave this to the next government."

From: http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bworldonline.com%2Fmain%2Fcontent.php%3Fid%3D12004&usg=AFQjCNGIFoGL8uVinlevWiB8Bw6Tcr5bQg