Sep. 4--Citing the country's resiliency amid the global economic crisis, President Gloria Arroyo on Thursday said that the country is ready for an economic rebound.

Speaking at the closing ceremonies of the Mindanao-Island Cluster Conference spearheaded by the League of the Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) at the Hotel Stotsenberg in Clark, Pampanga, President Arroyo noted that the Philippines is one of only a few nations that has withstood the onslaught of the world economic downturn.

"We are ready for an economic rebound and our economic stability is our major strength that will put us in a stronger position as an attractive investment and business destination," the President told local executives.

She attributed the country's economic resiliency to "unpopular" economic reforms that her administration initiated. These reforms, Mrs. Arroyo pointed out, helped the country maintain a positive growth for 34 uninterrupted quarters of her administration.

The Philippine economy grew 1.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, up from the 0.4-percent hike in the first quarter, as public spending helped avoid a projected contraction.

It may have grown at a faster pace in the second semester of the year on lower consumer prices and the continued inflow of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances, according to First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific's (UAP) Capital Markets Research.

According to FMIC-UAP, the economy, as measured by the country's gross domestic product (GDP), is projected to grow 2.5 percent in the third quarter accelerating to 4.5 percent in the last quarter of the year.

An indicator of economic performance, GDP is the amount of final goods and services produced in a country in a year.

"The relatively strong numbers in June and July confirmed our expectation of clearly positive GDP growth figures for the second semester," FMIC-UAP said.

Through tough economic reforms, the President said, the Philippines was able to offset the effects of the global economic slowdown and remained stable throughout the crisis.

She added that economic investments continue to pour in not only in Metro Manila but also in southern Mindanao. Mrs. Arroyo cited the presence of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and call centers in the cities of Davao and Cagayan de Oro, both in Mindanao.