The Philippines reported economic growth of just 4.4 percent on January 29, with a corruption scandal and climate change-fuelled weather woes blamed for the country’s lowest non-pandemic numbers in nearly 15 years.
The Philippines economy grew at its slowest non-pandemic pace in 14 years in 2025, data showed Thursday, as it was swamped by a corruption scandal and climate change-fuelled weather woes.
The 4.4 per cent expansion was well below a June projection of 5.5-6.5 per cent, which was already a downgrade that took into consideration the imposition of US tariffs and “global uncertainties”.
The full-year figure was the worst since a 3.9 percent rate in 2011 — though it contracted 9.5 per cent in 2020 during the Covid crisis.
The data also showed just 3.0 percent growth in October-December, compared with 5.3 per cent the year before, marking the second straight quarter that targets have been missed.
Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told reporters Thursday that a spiralling scandal over bogus infrastructure projects had weighed heavily on short-term growth.
“Admittedly, the flood corruption probe scandal weighed on business and consumer confidence,” Balisacan said of alleged fraud that is believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Construction spending has cratered since the scandal over bogus flood control projects erupted in July, when President Ferdinand Marcos made it the centrepiece of a speech. Scores of officials, lawmakers, and construction firm owners have now been implicated.
Balisacan said Thursday that even normal figures from the sector would have improved 2025’s growth numbers dramatically.
“If public construction (had not been) been flat, GDP for 2025 would have actually increased from 4.4 to 5.5 per cent,” he said of a 0.24 per cent dip for the year.
“Weather and climate-related disruptions” had also taken a toll, he said, with missed work days and school closures amid heatwaves and nationwide flooding contributing to depressed domestic demand.
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Balisacan predicted that reforms being enacted due to the infrastructure scandal would lead to a bounce back in 2026.
“The resulting measures and governance reforms are necessary to strengthen accountability, improve project quality, ensure better value for scarce public resources, and build our capacity for faster and more sustainable growth in the years ahead,” Balisacan said.
But London-based analysts Capital Economics, noting an 18.4 per cent plunge in public investment, warned growth would likely remain soft, while predicting interest rate cuts in the near term.
“Overall, we expect the economy to grow by around 4.5 percent in 2026, which would remain below trend and consensus (5.3 per cent),” said Asia economist Shivaan Tandon.
“With inflation set to stay low, we think the central bank has scope to deliver a couple more interest rate cuts in the coming months.”
AFP
