MANILA -- The Philippine economy contracted 0.2% in the first quarter through March as travel restrictions and lockdowns crippled business activity and household consumption.
This is the first contraction in the country's real gross domestic product since the fourth quarter of 1998, which came a year after the Asian financial crisis and during an El Nino drought. But Philippine officials say the worst is yet to hit and that the economy could contract in the next two quarters.
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