All growth cylinders down, warns BDO exec By Carmel Pedroza
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BDO’s Federico “Fritz” Ocampo during a business forum in Cebu said Filipino households are feeling the squeeze as prices of fuel, food, and other basic goods continue to rise. He added that higher commodity costs shrink consumers’ purchasing power, leading to reduced spending and slower economic activity. Story at right. CARMEL PEDROZA
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EBU CITY—Economic growth in the Philippines is expected to slow further this year as rising oil prices, inflation, and a weakening peso continue to weigh heavily on consumers, businesses, and investments, according to a top executive of BDO Unibank Inc. “All the growth cylinders— household consumption, government spending, investments — lahat humina [they all weakened]. So, our forecast of 4.5 percent [when we were] entering the year, is now just 3 percent to 3.7 per-
cent,” Federico “Fritz” Ocampo, Senior Vice President and Department Head of Investment Management under the Trust and Investments Group, said, partly in Filipino. Ocampo warned that the prolonged Middle East conflict is beginning to inflict deeper economic pain on the Philippines, particularly as the country remains heavily dependent on imported oil, fuel, fertilizers, and agricultural inputs. “The longer the conflict, and we are now on its third month, the more painful for the Philippines,” he said at a BDO Business Talk held
in Cebu on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. He outlined five major economic consequences currently confronting the country: slower economic growth, higher inflation, rising interest rates, a weaker peso, and a stagnant stock market.
Inflation pressures intensify
ACCORDING to Ocampo, Filipinos are already feeling the impact of soaring fuel prices, noting that diesel prices surged by as much as 150 percent, reaching P154 per liter, while gasoline prices climbed to P100 per liter. As commodity prices rise, household purchasing power shrinks,
reducing consumer spending and slowing economic activity. “Kapag tumataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin, lumiliit ang inyong pitaka [When the prices of goods go up, your wallet shrinks]. Therefore, you can spend less,” he explained.
BSP seen raising rates further
OCAMPO also projected more aggressive monetary tightening by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as inflation accelerates. “As inflation goes up, the Central Bank will start raising interest rates, which they did,” he said. See “BDO,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
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ECONOMISTS: FISCAL SIDE MUST EASE BSP BURDEN www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 225
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By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
HE fiscal side should “step up more decisively” to enable the central bank to focus on its primary duty of stabilizing prices especially amid global risks like the Middle East tensions. In separate messages, analysts explained how the monetary side is currently having “greater difficulty” of doing its job due to the absence of fiscal stimulus alongside the political noise, mostly generated by recent events in the Senate. The economists raised this concern a few days after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. signaled in a televised interview that in a lowgrowth and high-inflation environment, there is a need for “good division of labor.” “Fiscal policy should focus on growth. It should stimulate growth and then monetary policy should focus on inflation. So that’s what we’re trying to do,” Remolona said, adding that the fiscal side is “trying to do its job.” The central bank governor de-
scribed the current job division as becoming “trickier,” as the monetary side is “trying to help as much as we can on the fiscal side” while also doing its part to curb inflation, its primary mandate. With this, Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., agreed that the monetary policy is “doing a bit more than it ideally should” such as helping support growth “because fiscal support has not been as strong or as targeted as it could be.” Ravelas told this newspaper: “It’s not that fiscal policy isn’t doing its job, but there’s room to be more proactive and better aligned—especially in boosting infrastructure, supporting key sectors and cushioning vulnerable households without overstimulating inflation.” See “Burden,” A2
DEATHS TIED TO BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS JUMP 55.5% IN ‘25 By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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EATHS linked to mental and behavioral disorders sharply increased last year even as overall mortality in the Philippines declined, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday. PSA data showed fatalities associated with mental and behavioral disorders rose by 55.5 percent to 1,014 cases from January to November 2025, up from 652 cases recorded in the same period in 2024. The increase was among the steepest recorded across the country’s top causes of death during the 11-month period. In contrast, deaths due to intentional self-harm or suicide declined by 3.1 percent to 2,734 from 2,821 cases a year earlier. Ischaemic heart disease remained the leading cause of
death in the country despite posting an 8.4 percent decline to 111,896 cases from 122,170 previously. Cancer remained the country’s second leading cause of death with 64,864 recorded fatalities, while cerebrovascular diseases—including stroke— ranked third with 55,756 deaths during the period. Both figures declined by 8.6 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively, from those recorded a year earlier. “Pneumonia emerged as the fourth leading cause of death with 38,607 cases, while diabetes mellitus ranked fifth with 34,611 deaths,” the statistics agency also noted. One of the sharpest declines was recorded in Covid-19 deaths, which plunged by 81.7 percent to 306 from 1,673 previously, See “Deaths,” A2
HIGH VOLTAGE CLEANUP Electrical Safety Month is being marked to highlight ongoing efforts to reduce hazards in communities, The Manila Electric Company, together with the Pasig City government led by Mayor Vico Sotto and Vice Mayor Dudut Jaworski, carry out a clearing operation in Barangay Kalawaan, Pasig City, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The operation focused on removing dangling, excess, and illegally attached wires from utility poles, part of a broader drive to eliminate electrical risks such as electrocution and fire, while also addressing visual clutter in urban areas and reinforcing public safety compliance. NONOY LACZA
New DOLE chief outlines priorities F
OCUSING on displaced workers affected by the Middle East crisis and expanding job opportunities for the youth will be among the priorities of newly appointed Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Tolentino said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had directed him to prioritize assistance for workers who may lose their jobs due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. “Dapat matulungan talaga yung mga na-displace, yung mga walang-wala, at dapat din siguraduhin na ang mga kabataan natin ay mabigyan ng tamang oportunidad sa ngayon,” Tolentino said. [Those who have been displaced, those left with nothing, must truly be helped. We also need to ensure that our youth are
given the right opportunities at this time]. He admitted that the marching orders would be “quite heavy and difficult” given the current economic environment. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the country’s unemployment rate averaged 5.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, higher than the 4 percent recorded in the same period last year. This, coupled with inflation accelerating to 7.2 percent in April and economic growth slowing to 2.8 percent in the first quarter, has prompted several economists to warn that unemployment could worsen in the coming months as firms reduce working hours, trim their workforce, or delay expansion plans. Asked by BusinessMirror about
the specific initiatives he plans to implement, Tolentino did not provide details.
Legal reforms
BEYOND the President’s marching orders, Tolentino said he also plans to focus on strengthening legal assistance for workers, including the possible creation of a labor attorney’s office that would function similarly to the Public Attorney’s Office by providing free legal services to workers. “So that our workers who cannot afford lawyers will have access to free legal counsel if they are facing cases or have labor complaints,” Tolentino said in Filipino. He also floated the idea of establishing a 24-hour hotline for workers in the gig economy and pushing for the “professionaliza-
tion” of labor arbiters. Tolentino said the move aims to ensure that decisions made by labor arbiters are consistent, humane and aligned with the law, adding that he wants to institutionalize clear protocols within the labor dispute resolution system. The newly appointed labor chief said he is also studying the possible codification of past rulings issued by labor secretaries to improve consistency in labor decisions. He added that he plans to reach out to both labor and management groups, a move that several workers’ organizations had earlier said they hoped he would pursue following his appointment. “It may not happen all at once, it may be one at a time. I will also talk to management,” Tolentino said. Justine Xyrah Garcia
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.4370 n JAPAN 0.3867 n UK 82.9768 n HK 7.8430 n CHINA 9.0570 n SINGAPORE 48.1217 n AUSTRALIA 44.0380 n EU 71.5250 n KOREA 0.0405 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.3731 Source: BSP (May 26, 2026)