The Philippines remains far from stagflation despite high inflation and sluggish economic growth, members of the Marcos Jr. administration’s economic team said, pushing back against Monetary Board Member (MBM) Benjamin E. Diokno’s characterization of the current situation as “stagflation...
The Philippines is falling behind its neighbors—not because the region is weak, but because domestic politics has become an economic drag. While much of ASEAN continues to post respectable numbers, the Philippines has slowed sharply. Its 2.3 percent growth in the second quarter of 2026 was the...
Amid both external and domestic challenges, the Philippines’ economic growth weakened further to a new post-pandemic low of 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday, Aug. 7. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed from 2.8 percent...
Many fresh graduates struggled to find jobs in June as the country’s unemployment rate worsened from both a month and a year ago, with the labor market unable to absorb a surge in new entrants despite continued job creation. The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest labor force survey...
The government attributed the easing of inflation in July to lower transport costs, improving supply conditions, and sustained interventions, even as officials vowed to continue measures aimed at stabilizing food prices and shielding vulnerable households from rising living costs. The Philippine...
The country’s rice inventory declined by 10 percent in July, equivalent to a reduction of around 280,000 metric tons (MT), as supplies fell across major rice holders, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). In its latest report, the PSA said total rice stocks in July declined to...
Commuters in Metro Manila holding a Philippine National ID will receive free rides on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 during designated peak hours throughout August and on a key date in September, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The initiative, launched in coordination...
Philippine goods exports and imports both reached record highs in the first half of 2026, defying disruptions from the Middle East war and persistent threats of higher United States (US) tariffs, with outbound shipments climbing to $46.72 billion and inbound purchases totaling $77.53 billion. The...
The country’s ocean economy grew to ₱1.08 trillion in 2025 from ₱1.02 trillion in 2024, despite a decline in the share of ocean-based activities in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, July 23, that the ocean economy...
It is no consolation to be told that inflation is easing to less than seven percent in July of 2026. Even six percent is still three times the two percent or less annual inflation target that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)Bank should be aiming for. What is more concerning is that food...
The number of working Filipino children, including child laborers, ages five to 17, inched up by 0.8 percent to about 868,540 in 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed. Economists attributed the increase mainly to persistent poverty, higher living costs, and the lingering economic...
President Marcos has extended the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Decade in the Philippines until 2030, Malacañang said. Through Proclamation No. 1339, the President extended the implementation of the CRVS Decade, originally scheduled to end in 2024. The move, Malacañang said,...
