Services

NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - ECUADOR RUNOFF: SHIFTING VOTES AND THE ROAD AHEAD...

Learn More

COUNTRY INSIGHTS

Reflections on economic growth: dynamics and risks
PHILIPPINES · Report · 14 Mar 2025

At end-January 2024, the Philippines’ statistical authority announced that the country’s economy expanded by 5.6%, just a tad higher than the 5.5% growth in 2023. Growth was propelled by financial and insurance activities up 8.5 percent; construction up 7.8 percent; and wholesale and retail trade...

Elusive inflation
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 05 Mar 2025

GlobalSource Partners Philippines has been monitoring and analyzing domestic inflation in the Philippines, its dynamics and directions. Its focus has been to assess the appropriateness of monetary policy settings on the evolving inflation trend, rather on any point observation or estimate of next...

Keeping inflation at bay could be tricky
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 08 Feb 2025 · 1 response

Last January 30, 2025, the media bannered that inflation may likely fall within the target of 2-4% for the next two years. This was based on the latest BSP survey of external forecasters as contained in its latest Monetary Policy Report. Mean inflation rate was quoted at 3.1% against the central ...

Anti-2025 budget group gathers force, to hold indignant rally January 31
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 29 Jan 2025

At the end of December 2024, we wrote that the Philippines’ national budget for 2025 may not be able to achieve those lofty goals of promoting higher food production, arresting inflation, elevating the quality of education and skills training as well as public health. Despite the protestations co...

Food security emergency could risk inflation
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 20 Jan 2025

The beginning of 2025 does not seem to augur well for the Marcos government. It is under heavy siege for the so-called “sub-optimal” 2025 budget, for some, “unconscionable” budget. It is accused of corruption at all levels of government. Even retired generals and uniformed officials of the police...

National Budget for 2025: more than a zero-sum game
PHILIPPINES · Report · 31 Dec 2024

The Philippines’ P6.3 trillion national budget for 2025 may not succeed in delivering on the lofty social goals enunciated by President Marcos in his July 2024 State of the Nation Address for 2025. The allocations involving some realignment disfavored the priority sectors of education, health and...

Beating inflation: Doing beyond the usual stuff
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 30 Dec 2024

During the weekend, the Philippines’ central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that the December inflation rate could have tipped the scale at 2.3% -3.1%, well within the 2%-4% target. If inflation hits the mid-point of this forecast at 2.7%, the actual whole-year inflation ra...

BSP's Less Restrictive Monetary Policy to Remain Data-Driven
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 20 Dec 2024

As we indicated in two broadcast interviews on the next move of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the other day, the Philippines’ monetary authority was likely to sustain its less restrictive monetary policy. And yesterday, the BSP adhered to such monetary stance and reduced by 25 basis point...

In bad need of a fuse
PHILIPPINES · Report · 19 Dec 2024

With the impeachment complaints having been filed against the Philippines' Vice President Sara Duterte, it is expected of Congress, in exercising its power of impeachment, to investigate the issues of public concern not only because the matters in question put forward involve issues of governance...

Political noise and its more serious impact
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 29 Nov 2024

It started with unity, and it might as well end up in one single stroke to rock the Philippine economy. The political situation in the Philippines seems to be getting more explosive from an economic standpoint. Indeed, the unity team of President Bongbong Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte wa...

Trump win: Philippines' gain or loss?
PHILIPPINES · Report · 25 Nov 2024

On November 5, 2024, the United States held its 60th quadrennial presidential election, with Donald Trump emerging as the 47th US president by a decisive majority. Trump, together with his vice president, JD Vance, are scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025. With a change in the ruling p...

The War on Drugs: Did Duterte testify against himself?
PHILIPPINES · Report · 04 Nov 2024

As a cornerstone of his presidential campaign, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in his inaugural address on June 30, 2016, vowed to exert relentless and sustained efforts in the campaign against drugs and criminality. This appeared to be his priority as he delegated the formulation o...

Challenges in going digital while future-proofing banknotes
PHILIPPINES · Report · 28 Oct 2024

Working for greater digitalization, the BSP initiated the formulation and implementation of key policies and regulations, including the creation of the National Payment Retail System as well as the establishment of automated clearing houses (ACH), namely, InstaPay and PESONET, electronic fund tra...

Another weather devastation hits Manila
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 26 Oct 2024

Despite the government of President Bongbong Marcos spending about half a trillion pesos for flood control projects in just over two years, and there are about 5,000 of them, nothing seems to have come out of such massive public spending. Those projects were nothing to tropical storm Kristine, wi...

As fiscal space compresses, borrowings bloat
PHILIPPINES · In Brief · 17 Oct 2024

It’s not surprising that the Philippine National Government (NG) should further increase its borrowings both from the local and external capital markets. With revenue collections amounting to P2.993 trillion for the first eight months of 2024, equivalent to 17.1% of GDP, and expenditures totaling...

Copyright 2025 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved.