MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine economy grew by 5.2 percent for the first quarter of this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Thursday.

The expansion slowed down from 6.6-percent rate in the last quarter of 2014.

The government is targeting a 7 to 8-percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2015, higher than the 6.5 to 7.5-percent target set for 2014

The first quarter figure was primarily driven by the services sector which accelerated by 5.6 percent as transport, storage and communication, real estate, trade, manufacturing and other services all saw positive growth.

The industry sector expanded by 5.5 percent, slightly lower compared to the the 5.4-percent growth in the first quarter of 2014.

The agriculture sector, meanwhile, posted 1.6-percent progress, leaping from the 0.6-percent rate in the same period last year.

The gross national income, meanwhile, grew by 4.7 percent, but still lower than the 6.6 percent of the same period last year.

Per capita growth similarly slowed down to 3.4 percent from 3.8 percent in Q1 last year.

The Philippines remains the top performer in the ASEAN bloc.