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Saturday, January 31, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 111
By C. Mendez Legaspi
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UTYA ng Pilipinas 2025 Christina Labareño Vanhefflin finished her Miss Intercontinental campaign as the fourth runner-up. Held on January 29 (extending to the wee hours of January 30 Manila time) at the V Hotel Sahl Hasheesh in Hurghada, Egypt, the “United Nations of glamour and beauty” crowned Russia’s Varvara Yakovenko as its 53rd queen.
HE weakening growth momentum alongside subdued inflation has strengthened the case for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to deliver a rate cut in February even after the Federal Reserve has hit the brakes on rate cuts, according to commercial bank economists.
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See “Vanhefflin,” A2
“I’m looking for a 25-basis-point cut in February. The risk to my call is actually one more rate cut to bring the policy rate to a terminal rate of 4 percent.”—Jonathan Koh, Standard Chartered
turned out to be weaker than expected in 2025. “I’m looking for a 25-basispoint cut in February. And the risk to my call is actually one more rate cut to bring the policy rate to a terminal rate of 4 percent,” Koh said. As to the timing of the second rate cut, he said the BSP could deliv-
Biz groups cite trust, reform issues in missed growth target By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
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PCCI: Not surprised
FOR the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the slowdown was not entirely unexpected. “The 3-percent growth rate in the 4Q25 was an after-effect of the corruption scandal. It was expected because government has reduced or even stopped public spending,” PCCI President Perry Ferrer said. Ferrer said the immediate task is recovery, but one anchored on safeguards to prevent similar disruptions. Among his proposals is exploring the use of blockchain technology in the 2026 national budget to ensure public funds are fully traceable. He said such systems could help guarantee that “every peso spent is accounted for.” However, experts previously
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EAK investor confidence and unresolved governance issues are weighing on growth just as momentum was expected to pick up, trade industries and business groups warned. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday showed that the gross domestic product (GDP) averaged 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, down sharply from the 5.3 percent recorded in the same period a year earlier. Full-year growth, meanwhile, slowed to 4.4 percent, falling short of the 5.7 percent posted in 2024. The outcome undershot the Asian Development Bank’s 5-percent growth forecast and the World Bank’s 5.1-percent estimate for the year.
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SLOW GROWTH BOOSTS CASE FOR FEB RATE CUT
“Against this backdrop of subdued inflation and weakening growth momentum, the case for a February rate cut by the BSP has strengthened,” Jun Neri, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) lead economist, said in a statement on Friday. Neri pointed out that even as the Federal Reserve is “widely expected” to stay on hold until Jerome Powell’s term ends in May, local growth considerations may prompt the BSP to move ahead of the Fed at the February 19 policy meeting. For his part, Standard Chartered Bank economist and [foreign exchange] FX analyst Jonathan Koh said at a briefing on Friday that the BSP could deliver two more rate cuts this year after the Philippine economy’s growth pace
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er another quarter-point cut at the next scheduled policy meeting of the Monetary Board (MB) after its February 19 rate-setting meeting. “The risk there is because I think the governor has alluded before that if [gross domestic product] GDP growth for this year falls below 5 percent, then there’s a risk that they could do more than what the market is pricing in,” added Koh. The economists’ pronouncements on the odds of the BSP delivering further rate cuts came a day after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the Philippine economy grew 3 percent in the last three months of 2025, bringing fullyear growth to 4.4 percent last year, well below the government’s target band of 5.5 to 6.5 percent. At the December 2025 policy meeting of the BSP, the Monetary Board reduced the BSP’s Target Re-
verse Repurchase (RRP) Rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 percent. BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. signaled during this meeting that depending on the data, the easing cycle may have ended already, even pointing out that “this may be the last cut.” “But depending on what else we see, we can still consider another cut,” the BSP governor said in December. At the 2026 Annual Reception for the Banking Community held in Manila last week, Remolona told reporters that while a rate cut remains uncertain, a weaker-thanexpected fourth-quarter GDP print “would help us decide to cut.” He pointed out, however, that the GDP data is not the sole determinant of another interest rate cut, adding: “Our mandate is inflation. See “Rate Cut,” A2
’NOT THE END OF THE WORLD’:
Govt to ramp up spending amid anemic 2025 growth of 4.4% By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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HE government is ramping up spending and remains confident of attaining its revenue targets this 2026, as it seeks to attract more investments after the economy posted disappointing growth of 4.4 percent last year. On the sidelines of the Philippine Life Insurance Association, Inc. (PLIA) induction on Friday, Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go told reporters that revenue targets of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are attainable. “We continue to do what we do,” Go said. “I think their targets are achievable. I’m hopeful we will achieve those targets,” he said, when asked
cautioned lawmakers during a joint House hearing last year that blockchain-based tracking of government spending could introduce new risks, citing technical complexity and potential vulnerabilities.
FPI: Structural weakness, too
BEYOND governance issues, industry leaders flagged structural weaknesses in the economy. Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) Chairperson Elizabeth Lee warned that growth driven largely by services leaves the country exposed. “Without a strong industrial backbone, the economy risks overdependence on services, which cannot fully absorb employment demand or provide the production base for global competitiveness,” Lee said. She pointed to slower infrastructure rollout, high energy costs and supply chain disruptions as persistent constraints on industrial growth, compounded by external See “Trust,” A2
FINANCE Secretary Frederick D. Go: “We’re growing at 4.4 [percent], so it’s not the end of the world… all the fundamentals that allow the economy to grow at 5.5 percent are intact.”
how the government will raise this year’s P4.824-trillion revenue target amid last year’s slower economic growth. This year’s revenue targets of the BIR and BOC were lowered by the economic managers See “GDP,” A2
Asean pins hopes on tourism partnerships with East Asia By Carmel Pedroza
“The 3-percent growth rate in the 4Q25 was an after-effect of the corruption scandal. It was expected because government has reduced or even stopped public spending.”— PCCI President Perry Ferrer
THE Philippines’ Christina Vanhefflin, wearing Chico Estiva couture, placed fifth at Miss Intercontinental 2025 MUTYA NG PILIPINAS (INSET) Russia’s Varvara Yakovenko is Miss Intercontinental 2025 @AHMEDARAFA
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EBU CITY—Philippine Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco has underscored the economic weight and strategic importance of Asean’s tourism partnership with China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, describing it as “one of the most economically significant and deeply integrated tourism partnerships in the world.” In her speech at the opening of the 25th Meeting of Asean, China, Japan, and Republic of Korea Tourism Ministers, Frasco said the partnership—built on decades of travel, people-to-people connections, and sustained market demand—continues to support enterprises, anchor livelihoods, and reinforce confidence across tourism value chains in the region. She noted that the strengthening of travel across Asean and its dialogue partners signals not only recovery, but renewed trust, improving certainty, and a shared responsibility to ensure tourism growth remains resilient and aligned with long-term economic interests. The ministerial meeting brought together Asean tourism leaders and their counterparts from China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea in this city on Fri-
JAPANESE Parliamentary Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Manabu Nagai and Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco at the opening of the 25th Meeting of ASEAN, China, Japan, and Republic of Korea Tourism Ministers, January 30, 2026. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DOT
day, January 30, 2026. Representing Japan, Parliamentary Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Manabu Nagai expressed his “sincere respect” to the Philippines as chair country, the Asean Secretariat, and all those involved in making the meeting possible. Speaking on behalf of the Government of Japan, Nagai conveyed his deepest gratitude and emphasized Japan’s commitment
to advancing regional tourism cooperation. Nagai said the meeting marked the first Asean tourism ministers’ meeting since Timor-Leste officially joined Asean, expressing confidence that its accession would further strengthen Asean’s collective efforts toward prosperity. He also noted that the Asean Plus Three is scheduled to adopt a new tourism cooperation action plan during the meeting, which
will outline the future direction of tourism collaboration and serve as a guide for jointly addressing challenges across the region. “I hope that cooperation through this plan will lead to more effective results,” Nagai said, adding that as co-chair, he looks forward to smooth discussions, active inputs from participating countries, and a fruitful outcome for the meeting. In her address, Frasco emphasized that tourism engagement with China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea remains central to the vitality of Asean tourism, supporting employment, sustaining enterprises across the tourism value chain, and contributing meaningfully to economic activity throughout the region. She stressed that stability, predictability, and confidence in travel are critical to sustaining investments in tourism infrastructure, services, and human capital. From the Philippine perspective, Frasco cited concrete examples of cooperation with each dialogue partner. She noted the Republic of Korea’s sustained air connectivity and strong people-to-people ties, Japan’s long-standing cooperation in capacity building, See “Asean,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.8880 n JAPAN 0.3847 n UK 81.3361 n HK 7.5449 n CHINA 8.4723 n SINGAPORE 46.5849 n AUSTRALIA 41.4925 n EU 70.5007 n KOREA 0.0412 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.7018 Source: BSP (January 30, 2026)