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Wednesday, April 22, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 190
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PHL COURTS LONG-TERM BETS ACROSS PRIORITY INDUSTRIES By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
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HE Philippine government is courting longterm investments across multiple priority sectors as it continues to position the country as a stable destination for global capital amid shifting economic conditions. Speaking during a business roundtable with the United States private sector on April 14, Finance Secretary Frederick Go said that the country
WINGS OF HOPE Children from Quezon City fold origami paper
cranes in solidarity with Pope Leo XIV’s call for peace and an end to war on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. Inspired by Sadako Sasaki—a child victim of the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima—the activity aims to unite children worldwide in calling for peace amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. NONOY LACZA
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto & Samuel P. Medenilla
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OLLOWING Fitch Ratings’ “negative” outlook on the Philippine sovereign, economists said the government must urgently address the risks that prompted the downward revision to safeguard its investment-grade standing.
In a rating action commentary, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on
the Philippines’s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to “negative” from “stable,”
while affirming the IDR at “BBB.” “The Outlook revision reflects rising risks to the Philippines’s strong medium-term growth prospects from recent disruptions to public investment, exacerbated in the near-term by elevated exposure to the ongoing global energy shock,” Fitch said. “These challenges could narrow the country’s GDP growth outperformance relative to peers, amid higher post-pandemic government debt and a gradual and sustained deterioration in its external finance position,” it added. The credit rater forecasts GDP
growth of 4.6 percent in 2026, as public capital expenditures recover gradually and household consumption is weighed down by higher energy costs. With its reliance on energy imports and potential slowdown in remittances from the Gulf region, Fitch said the Philippines is “highly exposed” to the Middle East conflict. The sovereign could face a credit rating downgrade if confidence in economic growth is reduced, the government debt-to-GDP ratio increases and foreign-currency reserves deteriorate. See “Fitch,” A2
PBBM: Economy must keep running By Samuel P. Medenilla
GAVEL READY Senate President Vicente Sotto III speaks during a press conference on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, outlining the Senate’s preparations for a possible impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Sotto said the chamber is ready to move swiftly once the articles of impeachment are transmitted, noting that the Senate could convene as an impeachment court as early as May 4, 2026, with trial proceedings likely to begin about two weeks later. Story in Nation, A4. ROY DOMINGO
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ARY of a possible economic “stagnation” amid the Middle East crisis, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed concerned government agencies to ensure the country’s economic activities will continue to run smoothly with sufficient fuel supplies, reduce logistic costs, and increased government spending. The chief executive raised the concern during the fourth meeting of the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) Committee on Tuesday in Malacañang. “The President insisted to Secretary of En-
@blessogerio
ergy Sharon [Garin] that the supply of crude oil or petroleum products not be disrupted because he does not want [economic] stagnation,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in Filipino during a press briefing. During the meeting, the Department of Energy reported the arrival of 471,000 barrels of fuel will now allow the country’s fuel supply to last for 52 days. The Philippines is a net importer of petroleum products. Castro said Marcos was concerned with headline inflation accelerating to 4.1 percent in March from 1.8 percent year-on-year after the start of the tensions in the Middle East last February. Food and non-alcoholic beverages were
among the biggest contributors to the uptrend in inflation. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has yet to issue gross domestic product (GDP) figures for this year. “There was already inflation because of the conflict in the Middle East so he does not want it to reach a state of stagnation; so it is necessary that the supply of crude oil remain and continue in our country,” she added.
Toll and port fees holiday
TO help bring down inflation, Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto has directed concerned government agencies to reduce toll and port See “Economy,” A2
is opening key industries to deeper foreign participation, including semiconductors and electronics, mineral processing, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, food and agriculture, steel, renewable energy, infrastructure and tourism. He added that ongoing policy reforms are aimed at making these sectors more accessible and investment-ready. Go also pointed to emerging opportunities in electric vehicles and shipbuilding, citing See “PHL,” A2
BSP expected to keep rates steady on Apr. 23 By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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@reine_alberto
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to keep its key policy rate unchanged in its upcoming rate-setting meeting on Thursday, adopting a “wait-and-see” approach. BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said in its outlook that the BSP will hold rates steady, currently at 4.25 percent, during its Monetary Board Meeting. “Given the weak growth backdrop, we think the Bank will opt to look past temporary supply-driven price surges and adopt a wait-and-see approach,” BMI said. In 2025, economic growth slowed to 4.4 percent from 5.7 percent in 2024, as the flood control scandal weakened investments in the country. Inflation, meanwhile, quickened to 4.1 percent in March—hitting a 20-month high—from 2.4 percent in February. This is due to the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict, such as higher global oil prices, on domestic costs, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This also breached the central bank’s inflation target range of 2 to 4 percent for the first time since July 2024. BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said in a recent interview that the central bank is in a wait-and-see mode while the Monetary Board
is “waiting for spillover effects onto demand.” Remolona said monetary policy tools are “demand-side” tools that cannot address inflation driven by supply shocks, although the transmission of oil shock into local prices of goods may start to surface sooner than expected. (See: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2026/04/11/bsp-on-wait-andsee-mode-fears-quick-spillover-effectsof-middle-east-war/). BMI said the March inflation is in line with its Country Risk team’s upward revision of the fullyear 2026 inflation forecast by 0.4 percentage points to 3.6 percent. “This will erode household purchasing power and weigh on domestic consumption,” BMI said, noting that higher global oil prices have led to higher domestic pump prices, with diesel prices up by 80 percent relative to pre-conflict levels. “As such, we hold a cautious but positive outlook for consumer spending in the Philippines,” BMI added. Real household spending growth is also seen to slow down to 4.5 percent year-onyear in 2026, from 4.7 percent in 2025. In real terms, BMI said it expects household spending to grow to P14.1 trillion (at 2010 prices) over 2026, or 26.2 percent higher than 2019 levels. “Spending will remain influenced by the elevated inflationary pressures as well as currently high debt levels, along with related debt servicing costs although a tight labor market will still support spending,” BMI said.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 59.9740 n JAPAN 0.3778 n UK 81.2168 n HK 7.6598 n CHINA 8.7975 n SINGAPORE 47.2385 n AUSTRALIA 43.0373 n EU 70.6974 n KOREA 0.0408 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.9897 Source: BSP (April 21, 2026)