The Philippine economy is highly unlikely to achieve the government’s full-year growth target, according to a frank assessment from the nation’s top economic planner.
Department of Economic Planning and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan stated on Monday that current indicators and persistent economic uncertainty make hitting the revised 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) growth range of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent nearly impossible.
“Honestly, that’s very unlikely now,” Balisacan confirmed. He explained that to reach even the lower bound of 5.5 percent, the economy would need to expand by roughly 7 percent in the fourth quarter. Given the latest data and continuing situational uncertainties, he described that necessary surge as “quite unlikely.”
The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) is scheduled to meet on December 9 to officially review and possibly revise the country’s macroeconomic targets, including the GDP goals, for the current year up to 2028.
The anticipated downward revision underscores the challenge facing the administration as it grapples with external headwinds and domestic factors weighing on growth momentum.