FALSE: PH only ASEAN nation with projected positive GDP growth in July 2022

At a glance

• Claim:  Among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), only the Philippines has a projected positive year-on-year Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate in July 2022.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: The social media graphic by the Daily Tribune used in the post shows other ASEAN nations with projected positive year-on-year GDP growth rate for July 2022.
• Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in a July 16 post in the Facebook account of Mark Lopez, with about 2,300 reactions, 59 comments, and 145 shares, as of writing. 

Complete details

In Lopez’s post, he shared a July 15 Facebook post with the graphic from the official Facebook account of the Daily Tribune. He stated, “Only the PHILIPPINES in ASEAN forecasted with POSITIVE GDP Growth for 2022.”

The claim, that in the Daily Tribune graphic only the Philippines has a projected positive year-on-year GDP growth in July 2022, is false. 

The graphic shows that the Philippines has a 6.9% projected positive year-on-year GDP growth in July 2022. All other ASEAN nations mentioned in the Daily Tribune graphic also have a projected positive year-on-year GDP growth in July 2022. These are: Brunei (3.0%), Cambodia (4.9%), Indonesia (5.1%), Lao PDR (3.5%), Malaysia (6.0%), Myanmar (1.5%), Singapore (3.9%), Thailand (3.2%), and Vietnam (6.3%). 

Even if the projected positive year-on-year GDP growth in July 2022 is lower than or the same as that for April 2022, the July 2022 data still showed positive projected GDP growth for these nations. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ 6.9% rate for July 2022 is higher than the April 2022 rate of 6.5% shown in the graphic. 

The data in the Daily Tribune graphic can be seen in the Quarterly Update of the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO) for July 2022. The AREO report also showed the projected year-on-year July 2022 GDP growth rate for the entire ASEAN, which is 5.1%.

In the AREO report, examples of negative GDP growth rates seen are the 2021 (Actual) figures for Brunei Darussalam, which is -1.6%, and Myanmar, which is -18.7%. 

A positive GDP growth means an expansion of the economy, while a negative GDP growth means a contraction of the economy.

Mark Lopez, whose Facebook post has the false information about the data in the Daily Tribune graphic, was one of the two “rabid supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte” who “sneaked into the Rappler headquarters on February 21 [2019] to condemn the media organization for allegedly destroying the country’s image before the world.” (READ: Duterte supporters call for attacks on Rappler newsroom, journalists)– Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

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