The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday that the country's performance of manufacturing production in April recorded the highest decrease since 2001.

Based on the preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries, the PSA said the value of production index (VaPI) for the manufacturing sector continued to "abruptly drop" at a year-on-year rate of 61.4 percent in April 2020.

"This contraction was the highest recorded annual decrease in VaPI since 2001," PSA Head Claire Dennis Mapa said in a report.

Mapa said the volume of production index (VoPI) also plunged to an annual rate of 59.8 percent in April 2020. "As for VoPI, this month's annual decline was the highest since 2001," Mapa said.
The Philippines has been on lockdown since mid-March to contain the spread of the COVID-19. The lockdown forced establishments, including manufacturing firms, to shut down.

Some of the lockdown restrictions have been eased on June 1 to restart the country's economy.
The Philippines now has 20,382 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 4,248 recoveries and 984 deaths.

Source:Xinhua