Within days of assuming office on July 1, 2022, the Marcos Jr. administration unveiled an ambitious fiscal consolidation plan: the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework 2022–2028 (MTFF 2022–28). This plan was unprecedented in two respects: it was the first framework of its kind in Philippine history...
The World Bank urged the Philippines to accelerate power sector reforms to lower electricity costs and reduce its dependence on imported fuel, saying cheaper and more reliable power has become critical to sustaining economic growth, attracting investments, and reducing poverty after the country’s...
Philippine economic growth likely picked up above the three-percent level in the second quarter, mainly on improved spending on public goods and services, with most private-sector economists expecting the economy to perform better than in the previous quarter despite lingering headwinds from...
A “triple threat” of crude oil prices topping $80 per barrel, Metro Manila’s ₱85 daily wage hike, and severe El Niño conditions could push third-quarter Philippine inflation back to levels seen during the height of the Middle East crisis and prompt the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to...
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) slashed its Philippine economic growth forecast to 3.8 percent this year, which, if realized, would be the country’s slowest post-pandemic expansion amid delayed investments, higher inflation, and risks from climate shocks. In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO)...
The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) has further lowered its 2026 and 2027 economic growth forecasts for the Philippines on the assessment that the country sustained deeper wounds from the Middle East war. According to the July update of the IMF’s flagship World Economic Outlook...
The Philippines scored below the regional average in the World Bank’s latest Human Capital Index Plus (HCI+), underscoring persistent gaps in health, education, and employment outcomes despite outperforming the average for lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). In an April 2026 human capital...
Think tank Capital Economics expects the Philippine economy to grow below the government’s downgraded targets over the next three years, warning that the country’s recovery would likely remain sluggish as weak confidence, tight fiscal policy, and the lingering impact of recent shocks weigh on...
The Philippines is grappling with the fastest inflation rate among Southeast Asia’s major economies, as the country’s acute exposure to crude volatility from the United States-Iran conflict offsets the recent cooling in consumer price growth. While aggregate inflation across the ASEAN-6 nations...
Singapore-based Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. (OCBC) has significantly lowered its economic growth forecast for the Philippines, warning that the country’s vulnerability to stagflationary pressures and early signs of economic strain could result in its weakest growth pace since the peak of...
President Marcos’ economic managers are poised to lower the country 's economic growth targets as the lingering effects of state underspending, an infrastructure corruption scandal, and external inflationary pressures weigh down the near-term outlook. In an interview on TV5’s Money Talks,...
Philippine bond yields posted one of the largest increases in emerging East Asia in recent months as the war in the Middle East fueled inflation, prompted tighter monetary policy, and heightened investor concerns over the country’s economic vulnerabilities, according to the Asian Development Bank...
