“The second quarter GDP growth of 6.4% demonstrates the increasing resiliency and diversity of the Philippine economy with varied sectors of the economy leading our growth.

“While consumption was is the traditional driver of growth in the Philippines growing 5.3% this quarter, exports took the lead with a robust 10.3% growth. On the supply side, industry grew at 7.8%, of which manufacturing led with 10.8% growth, compensating for the slower growth in construction. Agriculture also grew at 3.6%, rebounding from its Q2 2013 contraction of -0.2%, and the previous quarter’s 0.9% growth.

“This is positive news for our country as the second quarter figure shows the potential of the Philippines to sustain inclusive economic development as new sectors of the economy begin to pick up speed. But, we can do better.

“We are confident the fundamentals of rapid growth are in place and some adjustments in government disbursements will bring growth to a higher path

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“To realize our potential to grow even faster, President Aquino’s administration will continue to focus efforts on institutionalizing good governance reforms including but not limited to Fiscal Incentives Rationalization, Tax Incentives Monitoring and Transparency Act, shortening the Foreign Investments Negative List, and the Amendments to the Build Operate Transfer Law that will support our already successful Public Private Partnership program.

“For example, we recently signed into law the liberalization of banks to allow 100% foreign ownership. These are all steps in the right direction as we continue on the right path of increasing investments in infrastructure and in our people, thus addressing bottlenecks to our growth and realizing the full potential of the Philippines.