By ALBERT CASTRO

Philippine growth for the first quarter of the year is expected to slow down to 6 percent due to the slowing US economy, according to National Economic Development Authority acting director general Augusto Santos.

Santos said initial data indicate a slowing down in production. in agriculture and in manufacturing sectors.

A US decline of 1 percent will result into a 0.176 percent decline in the Philippine economy the NEDA earlier said.

Santos said that while services sector continues to be the growth driver, it may not be enough to offset the slowdown in manufacturing.

Ildemarc Bautista, head of research at Metrobank, however said the economy can grow higher than six percent, given the government's plan of pump priming.

" The government's pump priming activities helped the economy in Q4," said Bautista.

The president has announced that expenses will be frontloaded in the first quarter to pump prime the economy.

Bautista said the problem is how can the government balance the budget while pump priming the economy.

"They must look at the revenue growth while they keep on spending. How long can they keep on rejecting offers on treasuries if collections are below par," said Bautista.

Former Socio-economic Secretary Cayetano Paderanga meanwhile said that a slow economic growth for the Philippines will also result on a slower "equitable distribution of wealth" among the Filipino people. Paderanga noted that while a 6 percent economic growth will not necessarily result to a lack of trickling down effect of economic benefits to grassroots, it makes the delivery of services much slower.

The Asian Development Bank earlier said that the Philippines has to grow between 7 - 8 percent in a successive periods of time for economic growth to trickle to grassroots.

Paderanga said a slow economic growth hinders the urban poor sector "to participate in a globalized market."

""What we have to be concerned of is that this sector will have a hard time trying to participate in globalization," he said.

Paderanga said the government should be investing in socially-oriented projects to equip the less fortunate sectors (urban poor) the skill to be competitive in the current economic trend.

Paderanga said that even a 5.5 percent economic growth could still assure the Philippines that the growth could trickle down to the poor.