Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri welcomed the news of Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) growth as a "remarkable success."

"Our 7.6 percent GDP growth is a remarkable success, and is proof that our pandemic recovery efforts are working," he said. "COVID has been a long nightmare, but our move to slowly and surely reopen our borders and our businesses has paid off."

The country posted a GDP growth of 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, and a 7.6 percent growth for the entire year. This marks the country's highest GDP growth in 46 years, since recording an 8.8 percent growth in 1976. The Philippines holds the distinction of having the fastest GDP growth in the Southeast Asian region, among countries who have released their fourth quarter data.

Zubiri recognized the efforts of the administration, saying, "We would not have seen this growth without the Marcos administration's clear economic targets, and their strong push to sell the country as an investment hotspot.

"I am hopeful that we will continue on an upward trajectory this 2023, and with the coordination between the executive and the legislative, we are committed to strengthening our economic measures and building on the gains that we have made so far. We also need to keep supporting the sectors that are still slowly recovering from the pandemic, such as trade, tourism, and transport.

"The challenge, now, is to prepare for the threat of a global recession. We need to make sure that our macroeconomic policies and fundamentals are kept in check to weather the possible effects of external headwinds that may come our way.

"And internally, we must work on cascading this GDP growth to the masses. For this growth to be a genuine triumph, it has to be felt in the lives of every Filipino, especially in terms of day-to-day expenses."