The World Bank has urged East Asia and Pacific (EAP) countries to strengthen the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of their maritime sectors, saying the Philippines and its regional peers need reforms to support economic growth, improve trade competitiveness, and create more jobs amid aging...
Three multilateral lenders are expected to greenlight up to $8.9 billion, equivalent to about ₱549 billion, in new loans over the next two years before the Philippines’ upper-middle-income-country (UMIC) status limits the country’s access to concessional financing in the coming years....
Another $1-billion loan has been added to the World Bank’s financing pipeline for the Philippines, aimed at strengthening government disaster preparedness and response amid increasing climate as well as natural hazard risks. The World Bank disclosed in a July 22 program information document...
The World Bank has released an initial $248 million, or over ₱15 billion, from its $1-billion financing for the Philippines to jumpstart the government’s ambitious agriculture modernization program aimed at boosting food production, strengthening climate resilience, and modernizing food supply...
Multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Washington-based World Bank Group (WBG), increased climate financing to a record $163 billion in 2025, reinforcing their role in supporting resilient and sustainable economies amid mounting...
At long last, as of July 2026, the Philippines has attained Upper-Middle-Income status, as announced by the World Bank on July 1, 2026. This reclassification from Lower-Middle-Income to Upper-Middle-Income marks an important milestone in our efforts to eventually be considered a High-Income...
The World Bank has seen “tangible progress” in a delayed $300-million project aimed at protecting Metro Manila from “The Big One” earthquake, with contracts finally awarded to retrofit school buildings after years of implementation setbacks. In a July 10 implementation status and results...
More than 60 kilometers (km) of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) and bridges with total funding of ₱2.06 billion have received clearance from the Department of Agriculture (DA), kickstarting the development of much-needed infrastructure to boost food productivity. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu...
The Philippines ' achievement of upper middle-income status after nearly four decades validates the economic policies pursued by the administration and serves as a "vote of confidence" in the country 's future, President Marcos said. In a video message on Thursday, July 2, Marcos said...
Climbing to upper-middle-income-country (UMIC) status comes with a trade-off: the Philippines faces a looming decline in access to concessional official development assistance (ODA), or low-interest loans extended by the country’s multilateral and bilateral development partners. However, for...
Malacañang has welcomed the Philippines ' official graduation to upper-middle-income country (UMIC) status, saying the milestone signals stronger economic fundamentals and could translate into more jobs and better opportunities for Filipinos. In a statement on Thursday, July 2, Executive...
The Philippines has finally moved up to upper-middle-income status, breaking out of a lower-middle-income classification it held for nearly 40 years. According to new data from the World Bank, the country joined the upper-middle-income bracket, which requires a gross national income (GNI) per...
