PH to hit ‘fives’ despite Q3 decline

After a sharp slowdown in third-quarter growth, the Philippine economy is poised for a rebound in the fourth quarter, driven by the holiday season, the country’s chief economist said.

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Speaking to reporters last Friday, Nov. 7, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEP-Dev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan expressed confidence that the economy will recover after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that GDP growth fell sharply to four percent in the third quarter, the slowest quarterly expansion in 4.5 years, mainly as government spending on public goods and services declined in the aftermath of the flood control corruption scandal.

The third-quarter figure fell short of the government’s full-year 2025 growth target range of 5.5 to 6.5 percent and was lower than the 5.5 percent recorded in the second quarter and 5.4 percent in the first quarter.