FFCCCII: 8% annual economic growth key to PH transformation

The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) on Thursday urged the government to eye an 8% yearly economic growth rate to achieve meaningful transformation amid its recent lower targets.

In a statement, FFCCCII President Victor Lim said the 8% target economic growth rate is a “realistic and necessary goal.”

The group made the remark after the government lowered its economic development goals to 5% to 6% for 2026 and 6% to 7% for 2028.

“The recent revision and lowering of the nation’s economic growth targets for 2026 through 2028, as outlined by the government economic team, is a wake-up call and a sobering administrative acknowledgment of real headwinds,” Lim said.

“[8%] is the minimum viable ambition for a nation of our potential. The goal of 8% remains the ideal benchmark of transformative progress, because a steadfast and collective drive toward 8% is the critical, immediate step that will change our momentum and define this decade,” he added.

The FFCCCII president, meanwhile, commended the government’s focus on health, education, and job creation for 2026, but noted that inclusivity must not be “an alternative to ambition.”

The business chamber pushed for a partnership between the government, business, labor, and civil sectors in making significant reforms to boost the economy.

Among the proposed reforms are: transformative investment on education and public health for a more competitive workforce; an institutional anti-corruption overhaul through the creation of an anti-corruption agency; boosting of domestic manufacturing and agro-industrial development;

A strategic economics-first foreign policy; a national strategy for relevant industries and critical infrastructure; and a world-class national tourism strategy.

“Aiming for and achieving 8% growth is a realistic and necessary goal. It is a target within our grasp if we summon the collective will to reform, invest, and execute with unity and precision. It represents the threshold where growth begins to meaningfully transform lives and reshape our national destiny,” Lim said.

“The government’s revised targets are a snapshot of current momentum. We must now change that momentum entirely. This is the decade we choose ambition over accommodation, and action over acceptance,” he added.

Lim assured that the FFCCCII will continue to support the country’s development towards a steady, powerful economy “defined not by the shadows of past scandals, but by the brilliant light of our collective potential, fully realized.” — JMA, GMA Integrated News