MANILA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Philippine economy contracted by slightly less than expected in the last quarter of 2020, official data showed on Thursday, helped by increased spending around the Christmas holidays. The gross domestic product shrank 8.3% in the December quarter from a year earlier, the statistics agency said. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected the economy to shrink 8.5% after a revised 11.4% fall year-on-year in the third quarter. (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)