The Philippine economy grew in the second quarter at its fastest pace in more than three decades.

Gross domestic product expanded 11.8 percent on-year, the statistics agency said, after five straight quarters of contraction.

The increase – the best since the last three months of 1988 – was driven by a rebound in construction activity and consumer spending.

“This was the highest since the 12 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 1988,” National Statistician Dennis Mapa said.

The figure follows the revised 3.9 percent contraction in the first quarter and the 8.3 percent drop in the fourth quarter of 2020, amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The high growth figure takes into account low base effects, as the economy contracted by a record 17 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua meanwhile said the double-digit growth was achieved through better management of pandemic risks.

“Almost all sectors bounced back despite the imposition of the ECQ and the MECQ last April and May of 2021. This is a clear indication that managing risks instead of shutting down large segments of the economy runs a better chance of improving both economic and health outcomes,” Chua said.

Last year, the country’s GDP contracted a record 9.6 percent, the worst growth rate level since the end of World War 2.

In real terms, the Philippines’ second quarter GDP is 7.2 percent lower than the pre-pandemic level seen in the same quarter of 2019, according to ABS-CBN Data Analytics team head Edson Guido.

Guido also noted that the 12 percent growth in Q4 of 1988 was posted sans a recession the year before, unlike the Q2 growth rate this year.

Ron Acoba, chief investment strategist at Trading Edge said the double-digit growth figure was expected by analysts as it came from a low base. He said anything below 10 percent would have disappointed the market.

The economy lost P1.86 trillion in 2020 and P563 billion for the first half of 2021, data showed.

GDP Growth rate in the last 6 quarters:

• 2020 Q1 = -0.7 percent
• 2020 Q2 = -17.0 percent
• 2020 Q3 = -11.6 percent
• 2020 Q4 = -8.3 percent
• 2021 Q1 = -3.9 percent
• 2021 Q2 = 11.8 percent

Before the recent surge of COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the new Delta variant, economic managers have said the economy could grow by 6 to 7 percent this year.

However, gains could be tempered by the enhanced community quarantine imposed in Metro Manila from Aug. 6 to Aug. 20.

The hard lockdown will likely have an impact on the third-quarter numbers, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Benjamin Diokno earlier said.

The economy is poised to lose at last P150 billion each week that Metro Manila is under lockdown, government estimates showed.

Mobility restrictions will also likely increase unemployment to over 600,000 individuals and the number of poor Filipinos by about 250,000, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.