Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)

November 2025 Philippines Inflation Lands At 1.5%

December 16, 2025December 8, 2025carlocarrasco

The inflation rate of the Philippines eased further this past November landing at 1.5%, according to a business news report by GMA News.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the business news report of the GMA News. Some parts in boldface…

The country’s inflation rate slowed down in November 2025 on the back of slower increase in food costs during the period, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

At a press conference, PSA Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia del Prado said the overall inflation —which measures the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services— clocked in at 1.5%. This was slower than the 1.7% rate seen in October 2025.

November’s inflation rate brought the year-to-date national average to 1.6%, well within the government’s comfortable ceiling of 2% to 4%.

“Ang pangunahing dahilan ng mas mababang antas ng inflation nitong Nobyembre 2025 kaysa noong Oktubre 2025 ay ang mas mabagal na pagtaas ng presyo ng Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages na may 0.1% inflation rate,” del Prado said.

(The main reason for the lower inflation rate in November 2025 versus October 2025 was the slower increase in the prices of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with an inflation rate of 0.1%.)

The inflation rate for the heavily weighted index clocked in at 0.5% in October 2025.

The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index contributed 85.3% to the country’s overall inflation print.

Meanwhile, food inflation —which tracks the price movements of food items in a “basket” commonly purchased by households— registered a negative rate of 0.3% from 0.2% in the prior month due to slower increase in vegetable prices at 4% from 16.4% month-on-month as well as the slowdown in the growth of meat prices at 4.2% from 5.2%.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Did you think the nation’s inflation could slow down even more to as low as 1% by the end of December?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Approved Foreign Investment Pledges Fall Down 48.7% In 3rd Quarter

November 21, 2025November 14, 2025carlocarrasco

The flood control corruption scandals connected with the weaker investor sentiment resulted in a 48.7% fall in foreign investment pledges during the 3^rd quarter this year, according a news report by BusinessWorld. It should be noted that Philippines GDP growth for the same quarter slowed down a lot.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of BusinessWorld. Some parts in boldface…

APPROVED foreign investment pledges plunged nearly 50% in the third quarter as investor sentiment soured due to the corruption scandal involving government infrastructure projects, the local statistics agency said.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the value of foreign commitments approved by investment promotion agencies (IPAs) fell by 48.7% to P73.68 billion in the July-to-September period from P143.74 billion in same period last year.

However, this was the highest amount of investment pledges since the third quarter of 2024.

Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes, director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, said the decline in approved investments can be attributed to the weaker investor sentiment.

“Tingin ko. Wala pang nakukulong eh (I think so. No one has been imprisoned yet),” he said in a Viber message, when asked if this sharp slump in approved investments will likely persist in the fourth quarter until 2026.

Quarter on quarter, the approved pledges rose by 9.34% from P67.38 billion in the second quarter.

Singapore was the top source of foreign investment pledges in the third quarter with P20.26 billion (27.5%), followed by Japan with P13.59 billion (18.4%) and Cayman Islands with P13.14 billion (17.8%).

Investment commitments from South Korea stood at P5.57 billion (7.6%), while those from China stood at P4.51 billion (6.1%)

PSA data showed the investment pledges were approved by seven IPAs — the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Board of Investments (BoI), Clark Development Corp., Clark International Airport Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? What do you think the government must do to convince foreign investors to become more confident about investing in the Philippines? Do you think the investigation and pace of justice related to the flood control corruption scandal is moving too slowly?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Philippines 3rd Quarter GDP Growth Lands At 4%

November 8, 2025November 8, 2025carlocarrasco

The official economic numbers have been unveiled at last by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the results are disappointing as the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the Philippines for the 3^rd quarter of 2025 landed at a disappointing 4%, according to a Malaya Business Insight new report. The results could mean that the Philippine economy could fall short of the 5.5% to 6.5% GDP growth range by the end of this year.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of Malaya Business Insight. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine economy expanded by 4 percent in the third quarter of 2025, a sharp slowdown from the second quarter and the year earlier as public construction spending eased amid stricter validation measures for government projects.

The third-quarter growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) marks a deceleration from a 5.49 percent rise in the second quarter.

Data released on Friday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also showed growth in the third quarter this year lost some momentum from 5.2 percent in the third quarter of 2024.

For the first nine months to September 2025, GDP grew by an average of 5 percent, easing from a rise of 5.8 percent in the year-earlier period.

Department of Economic Planning and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said services and industry, on the supply side, posted weaker growth. He pointed out that Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) civil works went through stricter validation measures.

Q3 growth drivers – National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said the main contributors to growth during the July-to-September period were wholesale and retail trade, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (up 5.0 percent); financial and insurance activities (5.5 percent); and professional and business services (6.2 percent).

“All major economic sectors — agriculture, forestry, and fishing; industry; and services — posted year-on-year growths in the third quarter,” Mapa said, citing respective increases of 2.8 percent, 0.7 percent, and 5.5 percent.

On the demand side, household final consumption expenditure grew by 4.1 percent year-on-year, while government spending rose 5.8 percent. Exports of goods and services climbed 7.0 percent, and imports expanded 2.6 percent. In contrast, gross capital formation — the measure of investment in fixed assets — fell 2.8 percent, reflecting caution among businesses and slower project rollouts.

Weaker services and industry – In a separate statement, DEPDev Secretary Balisacan, referring to the easing of the supply side, particularly in the services and industry performance in the nine-month period, cited “a sharp contraction in public construction due to stricter validation measures for DPWH civil works, as well as the implementation of new requirements that delayed billings and disbursements for government projects.”

Despite the slowdown, Balisacan pointed out that private construction “remained respectable,” though investment in durable equipment “was subdued.”

Indeed, the latest GDP growth statistics are disappointing. The national government plans to spend more than P1.3 trillion to boost the economy in the 4^th quarter and we will only find out the results of that in early January 2026.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the economy of the Philippines does not have enough momentum to achieve the national government’s GDP growth range for 2025? Do you think the ongoing flood control corruption scandal developments have turned away lots of foreign investors?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Philippines Inflation Rate Reaches 1.5% In August 2025

September 13, 2025September 7, 2025carlocarrasco

The inflation rate of the Philippines grew to 1.5% this past August and the recent price hikes of food and non-alcoholic drinks were factors, according to a Manila Bulletin news report.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…

The rate of increase in consumer prices has accelerated last month due to jump in food prices, with recent weather events heavily impacting the cost of vegetables, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday, Sept. 5.

Headline inflation accelerated to 1.5 percent in August 2025, faster than the 0.9 percent recorded in July, although still below the 3.3 percent recorded in the same month last year, data from the PSA showed. From January to August, average inflation stood at 1.7 percent.

According to the PSA, the uptick was mainly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages, which posted an inflation rate of 0.9 percent and contributed 69.3 percent to the overall figure.

Within this group, vegetables, tubers, and bananas rose by 10 percent, while fish and other seafood climbed 9.5 percent.

PSA Chief Dennis Mapa stated that recent typhoons had significantly impacted vegetable prices.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), vegetable inflation reached 26.5 percent, compared with 6.9 percent in areas outside NCR.

“The impact of the typhoons in the past few months has been attributed particularly to vegetables,” Mapa said in Filipino, adding that vegetable prices surged in both NCR and other regions in August.

Despite the rise in headline inflation, the bottom 30 percent of income households continued to experience deflation.

Mapa explained that rice, which accounts for about 18 percent of the spending basket for poor households, has posted a sharp price drop.

Rice deflation was recorded at –17 percent for all households and an even deeper –19.3 percent for the bottom 30 percent, offsetting higher costs of vegetables and fish.

Mapa noted that rice inflation is likely to remain negative in the coming months, although the decline may not be as steep as current levels.

Prices are expected to continue trending downward, but the deflationary effect is narrowing, he said.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to the recent developments? Did you spend a lot more on food and beverages this past August?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 Causes Disturbance on Philippines Information Technology and Business Process Sector

August 21, 2025August 12, 2025carlocarrasco

More than twenty years ago, I had a job at an American call center in Mandaue City, Cebu Province here in the Philippines. Back then, the call center industry of the nation was very young and yet quickly growing in terms of revenues, new foreign investments and new jobs. Today, the Philippines has a large information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector.

That being said, America today is quickly reforming under the leadership of President Donald Trump and already business ties and trade relationships have quickly been changing. In the United States Senate (US Senate), a bipartisan bill was formally filed – the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025.

Already, the proposal is already disturbing the information technology and business process management sector of the Philippines as revealed by the Manila Bulletin in its business news report.

To make things clear, I am not taking sides here. I am a citizen of the Philippines who worked for a few months in an American call center a very long time ago and at my age, I have no intention to return to call center work. I am already engaging in a new business that has nothing to do with call centers and business process management. As for how America’s leaders deal with call centers and business processing centers located in different parts of the world, that is their decision to make. It would be interesting, perhaps intriguing, to see how the Philippines IT-BPM sector will adjust if ever the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 becomes a law someday.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of the Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector is bracing for the potential impact of a bill in the United States (US) Senate that seeks to end the practice of offshoring among American call centers.

The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the country’s leading IT-BPM group, said the industry is currently monitoring the progress of this proposed legislation.

“At this stage, we are continuing to track developments,” IBPAP told Manila Bulletin.

The proposed Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025, filed as a bipartisan bill in the US Senate, is aiming to curb offshoring or relocation of business operations from one country to another as it pertains to call center jobs.

In a statement by Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, he said the bill looks to reverse the continued decline of call center operations in America, driven by the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) offshoring.

Citing data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Gallego noted that the American call center industry will lose approximately 150,000 workers by 2033 if such practices persist.

“The Keep Call Centers in America Act would work to reverse this trend by limiting federal benefits to companies that ship call center jobs overseas,” said Gallego, who filed the bill with West Virginia Senator Jim Justice, a Republican.

Under the proposed bill, companies are required to notify the US Department of Labor (DOL) at least 120 days before relocating operations overseas or contracting out call center work to another entity that relocates abroad.

The DOL, meanwhile, will be mandated to maintain a public list of employers that have relocated operations. Companies will remain on the list for five years “unless they return an equal or greater number of call center jobs in the US.”

Call center firms on this list will be ineligible for new federal grants and guaranteed loans and will not be given preference when awarding contracts.

In a CBS News report, Gallego said that aside from supporting the return of domestic jobs, the bill will likewise address consumer concerns when it comes to “security around their private information.”

The bill, if enacted, will cover businesses with either 50 or more full-time employees, or 50 or more employees whose combined work hours total at least 1,500 per week. As such, the measure will impact large-scale call center operations such as those that are currently operating in the Philippines.

Based on a 2023 report by the Ateneo Policy Center, more than 200 US-based firms have invested approximately $7.8 billion to set up operations in the Philippines since 2003.

The proposed Keep Call Centers in America Act could not have come at a worse time, given that the Philippines’ services exports are slowing down.

In a report, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) lead economist Emilio Neri Jr. noted that services exports shrank by 4.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2025, citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This followed a 6.3-percent growth rate in the first quarter, which decelerated from a 13.2-percent expansion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Neri said the services export sector is weighed down by a sharp drop in travel and signs of weakness in the IT-BPM sector.

To examine the details of the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025, click here and here.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you know a lot of people here in the Philippines who work in American call centers? Do you seriously believe that if ever the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 becomes a law, it will someday compel American companies to close down its call centers here in the Philippines and create a wave of new job losses? Without American companies and clients, do you think the Philippines IT-BPM sector will shrink dramatically? Do you think the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 will be passed by US Congress and get signed into law by US President Trump?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Jobless Filipinos reach almost 2 million in June 2025

August 14, 2025August 6, 2025carlocarrasco

The number of jobless Filipinos swelled largely to almost two million this past June when compared to a year prior, according to a Manila Bulletin news report. Among the factors were the job losses in the gambling and betting sector, the construction sector and in 3 other sectors.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of the Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…

Coupled with an increase in unpaid workers, the number of jobless Filipinos swelled by more than 300,000 to 1.95 million in June from 1.62 million a year ago, with the online gambling sector partly contributing to the pool of unemployed.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that job losses in June translated to a higher unemployment rate of 3.7 percent from 3.1 percent in the same month last year.

“Gambling and betting activities contributed to the drop in arts, entertainment, and recreation, along with other amusement and recreation activities,” Deputy National Statistician and PSA Assistant Secretary Divina Gracia L. Del Prado said during a press briefing on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Del Prado reported that the gambling and betting subsector shed nearly 210,000 workers, stressing that this had the largest share in the decrease of employees in arts, entertainment, and recreation.

Other than arts, entertainment, and recreation, the four other sectors that were major contributors to June’s job losses were construction (-692,000), agriculture and forestry (-580,000), manufacturing (-424,000), and mining and quarrying (-96,000).

Conversely, the employment rate dropped to 96.3 percent in June from 96.9 percent from June last year. In terms of numbers, employed Filipinos stood at 50.47 million, nearly 200,000 individuals higher than 50.28 million a year ago.

Data from the PSA showed that the services sector accounted for the largest share of jobs during the month at 61.4 percent, followed by agriculture with 20.9 percent, and industry with 17.7 percent.

Fishing and aquaculture posted the highest gains in June, with an additional 512,000 employed. Wholesale and retail trade, and vehicle repair recorded the second largest gain of 375,000.

Completing the subsectors with largest increases were financial and insurance activities (327,000), transport and storage (211,000), and health and social work (179,000).

“What we’re seeing now isn’t very encouraging. If you look at the increase by class of worker, a large portion came from unpaid workers—actually, 296,000. Employers increased by 80,000, and self-employed by 75,000,” Del Prado said.

“But the more [impacted] group is the unpaid workers, since that’s where the increase happened—and that’s not the kind of growth we want. The rise should have been in wage and salary earners, so this isn’t a very good result,” Del Prado further said.

Del Prado noted that wholesale and retail trade saw a significant increase, with unpaid workers in this sector bloated by nearly 150,000. Fishing and aquaculture also added 102,000 unpaid jobs.

“Employment in both sectors increased, but a large part of that growth was in unpaid work. This suggests we still need to improve the quality of jobs. And if you also notice the trend in underemployment, it has barely dropped to single digits—only once so far.”

“So we still need to improve job quality. While our employment rate has been rising over time, I think we need to focus more on improving the quality of work, because the underemployment rate shows that it hasn’t improved yet,” she urged.

According to Del Prado, underemployment last fell to single digits in May 2024 at 9.9 percent but has remained in double digits since then. Underemployment in June lowered to 11.4 percent from 12.1 percent a year ago.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? What do you think needs to be done in order to improve job quality? Are a lot of people in your local community considered unemployed or underemployed? Do you think the current growth of the national economy will create a significant number of new jobs before the year ends?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Philippine Economy Grew by 5.5% in 2nd Quarter of 2025

August 9, 2025August 7, 2025carlocarrasco

The economy of the Philippines expanded by 5.5% during the 2^nd quarter of 2025, according to a GMA Network news report. Among the factors are strong 2^nd quarter gains by the agriculture, forestry, fishing, industry and services sectors.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of the GMA News. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine economy grew marginally quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2025 amid the growth seen in services, agriculture, and industry sectors, and posted a deceleration from the same period last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) — the value of goods and services produced in a period — grew slightly faster by 5.5% in the April to June 2025 compared to the 5.4% growth seen in the January to March 2025 period, PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa reported at a press conference in Quezon City on Thursday.

The second quarter GDP growth was the fastest in four quarters, however, it was still slower than the 6.5% growth rate in the same period in 2024.

All major economic sectors posted annual growth during the quarter — agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 7.0%, industry with 2.1%, and services with 6.9%.

The PSA attributed the year-on-year growth to wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with 5.1%; public administration and defense, and compulsory social security with 12.8%; and financial and insurance activities with 5.6%.

Fixed capital investments climbed 2.6%, led by private construction which grew 11.2%, and investments in durable equipment up 10.6%.

Government spending posted an 8.7% growth rate during the quarter, slower than the 18.7% seen in the first quarter, which Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attributed to the election spending ban.

“We expect to maintain that momentum in the spending side. I think that the next half, the second half of the year, you should see improvements in the construction, public construction spending,” he said in a briefing.

While the election spending ban hit government spending, officials said the campaigns boosted household spending which grew by 9.5%, faster than the 5.29% in the previous quarter, and the 5.4% in the second quarter of 2024.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the economy of the Philippines will be able to accelerate to achieve 6% gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the entire year?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Tourism registers 8.9% share of 2024 Philippine gross domestic product

June 23, 2025June 20, 2025carlocarrasco

The tourism of the industry of the Philippines accounted for a share of 8.9% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the year 2024, according to a BusinessWorld news report.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of BusinessWorld. Some parts in boldface…

THE SHARE of the tourism industry in the Philippine economy rose to a five-year high of 8.9% in 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday.

Tourism direct gross value added (TDGVA) — an indicator of the economic contribution from tourism-related activities — jumped by 11.2% year on year to P2.35 trillion last year, preliminary data from the PSA showed.

However, TDGVA growth was slower than the 49.9% surge logged in 2023 and the slowest annual growth since the 10.3% expansion in 2020.

Despite the slower growth, the share of TDGVA to the economy rose to 8.9% in 2024, the highest share since the 12.9% recorded in 2019.

By industry, country-specific tourism characteristics goods – shopping accounted for 21.8% of the total with P512.68 billion. It was followed by miscellaneous services (20.2% share or P476.23 billion) and accommodation services for visitors (18.4% share or P432.9 billion).

Domestic tourism expenditure, which includes resident visitors’ spending within the country on a domestic trip or as part of an international trip, grew by 16.4% to P3.16 trillion last year.

Outbound tourism spending reached P345.68 billion in 2024, rising by 37.5% from P251.35 billion in 2023.

Inbound tourism expenditure, meanwhile, inched up by 0.4% annually to P699.99 billion. Total employment in the tourism sector grew by 6.1% to 6.75 million in 2024. Tourism accounted for 13.8% of the total jobs in the country in 2024.

The majority of the tourism-related jobs were centered on miscellaneous activities. The health and wellness sector employed 1.83 million, accounting for a 27.1% share.

The accommodation and food and beverage sector had 1.69 million workers (25% share), while passenger transport had 1.67 million workers (24.7%).

Reinielle Matt M. Erece, an economist at Oikonomiya Advisory and Research, Inc. said easing inflation helped boost tourism spending last year.

“Lower inflation relative to 2023 and better economic conditions in the country may have encouraged tourists due to better prices,” he said in an e-mail. Inflation averaged 3.2% in 2024, cooling from the 15-year high of 6% in 2023.

Last year, the Department of Tourism recorded 5.95 million visitor arrivals, falling short of its 7.7 million target.

“While Philippine tourism has made substantial progress — particularly in revenue generation — it hasn’t achieved full recovery in terms of visitor numbers, and the pace of recovery appears to be slowing in early 2025,” Leonardo A. Lanzona, Jr., an economics professor in Ateneo de Manila University, said in an e-mail.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think Philippine tourism will end up being weaker as an economic sector this year? Do you think the weakening Philippine Peso will convince foreigners to visit the Philippines very soon?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Philippines inflation rate settles at 1.3% in May 2025, the lowest since November 2019

June 10, 2025June 5, 2025carlocarrasco

Once again, inflation in the Philippines went down as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently confirmed that the headline inflation landed at 1.3% for the month of May 2025, according to a news article by Philippine News Agency (PNA). The said inflation result is the lowest since November of 2019.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of PNA. Some parts in boldface…

Headline inflation further slowed to 1.3 percent in May this year from 1.4 percent in April, the lowest recorded since the 1.2 percent in November 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.

In a briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said this brought the year-to-date average inflation to 1.9 percent which is at the lower end of the government’s 2 to 4 percent target range.

Mapa said the downtrend was primarily brought about by the slower increase in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 2.3 percent from 2.9 percent in April. Restaurant and accommodation services also recorded a slower inflation of 2 percent from 2.3 percent in April.

Mapa said the faster annual decline was likewise recorded in the transport index, at 2.4 percent in May from 2.1 percent in the previous month. Food inflation meanwhile remained at 0.7 percent. Mapa, however, said rice inflation was at -12.8 percent from -10.9 percent in April.

According to Mapa, the rollout of the PHP20 per kilogram rice program in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” helped lower rice prices.

In May, the average price of regular milled rice declined to PHP43.19 per kg from PHP51.11 in May 2024. The average price of well-milled rice likewise fell to PHP49.45 per kg from PHP56.06 per kg while special rice also declined to PHP59.80 from last year’s PHP64.41 per kg.

The bottom 30 percent income households experienced zero percent inflation in May 2025, a sharp decline from 5.3 percent in the same month last year.

The National Capital Region also posted a slower inflation rate of 1.7 percent in May, down from 2.4 percent the previous month while other regions maintained a low average inflation rate of 1.2 percent.

More stable cost of living – In a separate statement, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said the continued decline in the country’s headline inflation shows progress toward easing price pressures and achieving a more stable cost of living for Filipinos.

“We are encouraged by this development. It reflects the success of our sustained efforts to protect the purchasing power of Filipinos and ensure a more affordable cost of living,” said DEPDev officer in charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon.

To sustain this downward trend, DEPDev said the Marcos administration is committed to implementing targeted policies aimed at mitigating inflationary pressures and safeguarding the purchasing power of Filipino families.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) are strengthening their collaboration to ensure the availability of safe and effective animal vaccines amid ongoing African Swine Fever (ASF) and Avian influenza outbreaks.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think it is possible for Philippines inflation to fall below 1% by the end of the year?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Philippine economy grew by 5.4% in 1st quarter of 2025

May 12, 2025May 8, 2025carlocarrasco

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the economy of the Philippines grew by 5.4% in the first quarter of this year, according to a GMA Network news report.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of GMA Network. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine economy expanded faster in the first three months of 2025 amid the growth seen in services, industry, and agriculture sectors, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) —the value of goods and services produced in a period— grew faster by 5.4% in the first quarter of 2025, higher than the upwardly revised growth rate of 5.3% in the last quarter of 2024, PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa reported at a press conference in Quezon City on Thursday.

This was also the fastest GDP growth rate seen since the third quarter of 2024, albeit slower than the 5.9% growth recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

At constant prices, the economy reached a value of P5.477 trillion during the period, up 5.4% from P5.196-trillion GDP seen in the same quarter last year.

Department of Economy, Planning and Development Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the country’s GDP needs to increase by 6.2% in the remaining quarters of 2025 to hit at least the lower-end of the. government’s growth target of 6% to 7% for the year.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the economy of the Philippines can still grow by 6% by the end of the year? Do you think election spending will add a lot to economic growth?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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