’28 targets for GDP, debt-GDP not likely met By Justine Xyrah Garcia
T
HE tepid economic growth will make it more difficult for the Marcos administration to hit its debt-togross domestic product (GDP) target by 2028, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. The PSA’s 2025 Statistical Indicators on Philippine Development (StatDev), released Wednesday, showed that both GDP growth and the national government’s debt-to-GDP ratio are less likely to meet their end-of-plan (EOP) targets under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028. The agency said GDP expanded by 4.4 percent in 2025, well below the government’s 6- to 7-percent target, while the debt-to-GDP
WORLD » A6
TEHRAN THREATENS TO HALT ALL MIDDLE EAST ENERGY EXPORTS AFTER US REIMPOSES BLOCKADE ON IRAN
ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
ratio climbed to 63.2 percent from 60.7 percent a year earlier, moving farther from the 58- to 61-percent goal. Ateneo de Manila University economist Leonardo A. Lanzona explained that the slower economic growth has made it more difficult for the government to bring down the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio, as the economy has not been expanding fast enough to keep pace with the increase in public debt. Economic growth has in fact been slowing over the past three quarters. GDP growth eased to 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2025, after the corruption scandal broke out, before slowing further to 3 percent in the fourth quarter. The economy then plunged to 2.8 percent pace in the first quarter of 2026, the weakest
quarterly expansion since the country’s recovery from the pandemic. Lanzona said the country’s rising debt-toGDP ratio is largely a consequence of weak economic growth, arguing that reviving the economy should take priority over focusing solely on reducing debt. “Debt-to-GDP is the symptom that will keep flashing red for as long as the growth engine underperforms; fix growth and the debt trajectory improves almost mechanically, whereas fiscal consolidation alone, without growth, risks becoming self-defeating,” he told the BusinessMirror. Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Dante B. Canlas echoed this view, saying the country’s debt stock has continued to grow because the national government has been
running budget deficits since the pandemic, forcing it to borrow to finance government spending. He added that slower economic growth also weakens tax collections, making it more difficult for the government to reduce its fiscal deficit and stabilize the country’s debt burden. “These two targets are looking impossible to achieve by 2028, given the resumption of the US-Iran war. Getting back on a high-growth path hinges on the hoped-for growth of investments in the Luzon Economic Growth Corridor anchored on industries with increasing returns in IT and AI,” Canlas told the BusinessMirror. Lanzona also said meeting the government’s 2028 GDP growth and debt targets See “GDP,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
OFW REMITTANCES KEEP FLOWING AMID WAR WOES www.businessmirror.com.ph
n
Thursday, July 16, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 275
RAISING QUESTIONS The country’s justice institutions took center stage on Wednesday,
July 15, 2026, as two separate high-profile legal proceedings unfolded. (Left) House prosecutor and Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno urged the Senate impeachment court to issue subpoenas for Vice President Sara Duterte’s bank records, tax documents, and records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), arguing that the documents are material to the impeachment proceedings. (Right) Former congressman Mike Defensor raises his handcuffed arms upon arriving at the Sandiganbayan for his arraignment on plunder charges stemming from the alleged P75 million in undeclared campaign donations involving Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, a political ally of Vice President Sara Duterte whose arrest came just hours before the opening of her Senate impeachment trial. ROY DOMINGO-SPPA POOL AND NONOY LACZA
F
By Andrea E. San Juan
ILIPINOS working abroad have poured larger-than-usual amounts of money into the household coffers of their families back home despite grappling with war-triggered inflation for the third straight month. Local economists pointed this out after the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed cash remittances amounted to $2.713 billion in May 2026, up 2 percent from the $2.66 billion in May 2025. This brought cash remittances in the January to May 2026 period to $14.11 billion, 2.5 percent higher than the $13.766 billion in the fivemonth period in 2025. Historical data showed the 2-percent growth rate year-on-year in May 2026 was the slowest pace of cash remittances in four years. Moreover, when looking at the month-on-month data, the $2.713-billion cash inflows in May was the lowest amount sent home by OFWs in 12 months. However, economists pointed out the bigger picture: the $14.11 bil-
lion sent home by OFWs to their families back home which is also the highest on record in terms of the five-month period data. Despite the slow pace in cash remittances, economists concurred that the bigger picture points to the “remarkable resilience” of Filipinos working abroad. Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. said: “The latest remittance data tell us that while growth has slowed, the bigger picture remains one of resilience. A 2-percent increase in May may be the slowest in four years, but remittances are still growing and, more importantly, the January-May total reached a record-high $14.1 billion.” “That suggests Filipino workers abroad continue to support their See “Remittances,” A2
MSMES TOLD: FIX OPERATIONS FIRST BEFORE ADOPTING A.I. By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
C
EBU CITY—Philippine micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) should begin their digital transformation by identifying operational problems rather than rushing to adopt artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies, according to industry and banking executives. During a panel discussion at the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Week (RSTW) in Central Visayas on Monday, speakers said technology investments are more likely to succeed when businesses first understand where they are losing time, materials, productivity or revenue. Andrei Paolo Lim, managing director of Summit Consultancy, said many MSMEs still make decisions without reliable operational data, making it difficult to determine where technology can deliver the greatest value. He said businesses often fail to monitor basic performance indicators such as production yield, waste levels, product quality and order fulfillment rates, even though these are critical to improving operations. “A lot of business owners don’t even know their rate of waste
reduction, their yield in operations, even the rate of quality that has improved already, and even the order fulfillment rate of their services or products served to customers,” Lim said. According to Lim, digitalization begins with management deciding to collect and regularly analyze business data before selecting the appropriate technologies. “It all starts with a management decision,” he said. For his part, Ryan Tan Yu, cofounder and chief operating officer of Mata Technologies Inc., echoed the view, saying many businesses mistakenly make AI the objective instead of treating it as a tool for solving existing problems. “If I make using AI the goal, then I’ll already have started at the wrong place,” Tan Yu said. He illustrated this through the example of a farmer seeking to improve irrigation. Rather than looking for AI applications immediately, he said the farmer should first address the operational issue, with AI serving only as a tool to determine the appropriate equipment or design. “So I should find my problems and make the use of AI...the effect,” he said. Tan Yu added that Filipino See “MSMEs,” A2
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
Draft JAO seen finally licking port congestion By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
R
ECURRING congestion at the country’s major ports could soon be addressed under a draft order that designates the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as the lead agency to oversee third-service providers, standardize destination and local charges and enforce optimal yard utilization rates. Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.’s meeting on Tuesday that port congestion stems from infrastructure constraints, lack of container yard capacity and practices of shipping lines and importers. “There’s a lack of discipline among shipping lines and importers,” Nepomuceno said. “There are importers who would rather leave their containers inside the ports because the lease there is cheaper than the lease in the container yards outside the ports.” Congestion in ports is still concerning, Nepomuceno said. “As long as the trackers and other stakeholders are complaining, that’s a sign that the problem is still persisting.” “But there are solutions,” he added, noting that lease rates could be increased to make it more expensive to stay in ports than in container yards. Most important, a joint administrative order (JAO) has been drafted and is awaiting signatures of the secretaries of Finance, Transporta-
tion, Trade and Industry, as well as the chairman of the Philippine Competition Commission. The draft JAO proposes to appoint the BOC as the lead agency to manage the entire port congestion issue, Nepomuceno said. Among the measures being considered is giving the BOC authority to standardize the destination and local charges imposed on importers, including the price caps when warranted, he said. Shipping lines cannot increase rates or impose new changes without the BOC’s approval and must submit monthly average freight rates to the BOC and the Department of Trade and Industry for transparency. The proposed order would also assign the BOC, as well as the Philippine Ports Authority and terminal operations of the Port of Manila and Manila International Container Port, to continuously monitor and enforce a container yard utilization rate of not more than 75 percent. If yard utilization increases by 5 percent over two consecutive weeks, the BOC could implement the transfer of laden containers to off-dock facilities to maintain port efficiency. The BOC would also be empowered to impose penalties on shipping lines, importers, or truck operators who fail to comply with designated return schedules or locations, and to dispose of seized or abandoned containers immediately. See “Port,” A9
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.6920 n JAPAN 0.3804 n UK 82.6118 n HK 7.8711 n CHINA 9.1085 n SINGAPORE 47.7899 n AUSTRALIA 43.0178 n EU 70.4523 n KOREA 0.0415 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.4254 Source: BSP (July 15, 2026)