THE Department of Finance remains optimistic that the government can achieve the target growth rate for 2024.

Department of Finance Chief Economist Domini Velasquez said the economic growth remains "very achievable," despite the lower-than-anticipated outturn in the first quarter.

He said that this is due to the continued growth drivers that will pick up this second quarter.

To achieve this, the gross domestic product (GDP) needs to grow by 6.1 percent in the next 3 quarters to achieve this, Velasquez said.

For this year, the target was revised downwards by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) to 6 to 7 percent. The previous 6.5 to 7.5%, is "very achievable still" according to the DOF.

They expect the household consumption to increase with inflation stabilizing.

"Once this kicks in, once we have stable inflation this will increase, prop up the growth," Velasquez said.