BSP chief: Rate cut remains an option

Flags weaker-than-expected Q4 growth

- By KEISHA TA-ASAN

The Philippine economy likely hit a deeper slowdown than initially thought, with fourth-quarter growth turning out weaker than expected and pushing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to reassess its outlook for 2026, while keeping the possibility of further interest rate cuts on the table.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said the central bank’s earlier projections did not fully capture the extent of the fourth-quarter weakness, raising the possibility of a forecast revision for 2026, although he stressed this was still under review.

“We expect growth to recover by the second half of 2026,” Remolona told reporters on the sidelines of the BSP’s Media Information Session in Dumaguete City.

He added that the BSP was still analyzing the fourth quarter data and assessing why its earlier estimates missed the mark.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by just three percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, the lowest level since 2011 excluding the pandemic, bringing average expansion to 4.4 percent for the full year.