The big jump in the country’s annual growth recorded in 2022 should motivate the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to perform even better in the years to come, an economist said on Saturday.

For lawyer Franklin Quijano, a former economics professor at the San Carlos University in Cebu, the 7.6-percent economic growth last year “is a good indicator” for the Marcos administration’s “performance benchmark.”

In a news forum in Quezon City, Quijano, who also serves as the chairperson of the National Commission of Senior Citizens, said the 7.6-percent growth gave the new administration “a good start.”

“Looking at it positively, perhaps, this 7.6-percent growth is a good indicator for this administration’s performance benchmark because it will have to perform well,” he said.

He, nevertheless, recognized that it would take much to sustain this growth, citing natural disasters as a challenge for the government.

The gross domestic product of the Philippines, a country that is prone to typhoons due to its geographical location, is easily hurt whenever there are disasters and calamities.

Quijano agreed that the President’s move to digitalize the country and build more infrastructures would help maintain the positive momentum of the country’s economy.

He likewise recommended better management of natural resources.

“We have so much in mineral resources even under our seas, the reason why other countries have competing claims with us, but we are not using this as a basis for developing our country,” he argued.

“We do not measure the Philippines’ assets, particularly its natural resources. But if we measure it, it will have a big expansive opportunity not only in terms of real production but also in terms of money measures.”

Meanwhile, Assistant National Statistician Vivian Ilarina revealed that the Philippine Statistics Authority is currently developing satellite accounts to allow the government to “see the stock of natural resources.”

“We are pursuing this. This is important, especially for the Philippines. Now, we are rich in natural resources, we need to account for them,” said Ilarina, who also joined the news forum.

“Once you extract the gold and other minerals, then that becomes part of the GDP,” she pointed out. “It’s up for the other agencies like the Department of Agriculture to do their own interventions, programs based on the data we are releasing.”