Economic managers eye 5% to 6% growth in Marcos admin's last two years

The government’s economic managers have set a bold growth target for the two remaining years of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s term, even after the lackluster gross domestic product (GDP) growth performance in the first half of 2026.

Speaking at the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) Economic Forum in Manila on Friday, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the government is eyeing a 5% to 6% GDP growth for 2027 and 2028.

“And so, the next two years, for us, are really about speeding up the implementation of programs and projects and the completion, especially of strategic programs and projects,” Balisacan said.

The DEPDev chief made the remark after the Philippine economy, as measured by GDP, grew 2.3% in the April to June 2026 period, slower than the 2.8% growth seen in the first quarter of 2026.

This is the economy’s weakest footing since the fourth quarter of 2009 —excluding the contraction seen during the COVID-19 pandemic years— when the GDP growth rate was at 1.8%.

The first half of 2026 GDP growth rate stood at 2.6%, still behind the government’s downwardly revised target of 3.5% to 4.5% for the entire year.

Balisacan had cited subdued investor and consumer sentiment amid the lingering effects of the flood control corruption scandal and the inflationary pressure brought by Middle East crisis-induced global fuel price shocks for the first half of 2026 economic slowdown.

With this, the country’s chief economist cited the need to diversify the economy’s growth sources.

“We need to diversify the sources of our growth to include, on the demand side, more investment and exports, and on the supply side, industry and agriculture,” Balisacan said during the EJAP forum.

“We can get back to industry, and we can revitalize agriculture to reinforce the pillars. We have actually done well in terms of innovation. In the longer term, it is really productivity growth fueled by innovation that drives GDP,” he said.

Moreover, the DEPDev chief said the Marcos administration’s economic team is targeting to keep inflation within 4% to 5% for 2027 and 2% to 4% for 2028.

“And, of course, keeping inflation in check is a very high, is a high priority, but we'll be putting a lot of attention and investing in people, improving spending efficiency, strengthening fiscal space, and building the foundation for productivity growth and innovation,” Balisacan said. —LDF, GMA News