MANILA, Philippines — Businesses have a muted outlook for the rest of the year but remain hopeful that conditions will improve next year, according to the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).
“In 2026, I think the feeling is that the book is already closed. In a way, we already know that there’s a little blip in terms of our businesses, our revenues,” MAP president Donald Lim told reporters on the sidelines of the business group’s general membership meeting yesterday.
“The economy is very, very slow. And our peso is weak. So it can be good on the OFW (overseas Filipino workers) side, but overall, it’s very weak,” he added.
While the Christmas season is typically a strong sales period for firms, he also said that businesses have a subdued outlook for this period.
“There’s not enough money,” he said, adding that consumers have become less optimistic and are holding back on spending.
Consumption is the primary engine of the Philippine economy.
However, the country’s economic growth in the second quarter slowed to 2.3 percent, the weakest in five years, as the Middle East crisis and flood control controversy continued to weigh on consumer and investor sentiment.
This brought average growth in the first half to 2.6 percent, below the government’s revised 3.5 to 4.5 percent growth target for the year.
Despite the muted outlook for the rest of the year, Lim said that businesses are upbeat for next year.
“We’re hopeful that in 2027, hopefully the Iran-U.S. crisis and geopolitical [issues] would solve themselves so that we can focus,” he said.
He also said election-related spending next year is expected to boost the economy.
Preparations for the 2028 elections are expected to start next year.
Given the more optimistic outlook for 2027, Lim said that businesses are planning for growth for next year.
“We have to be more resilient in terms of our thinking that hopefully, next year, it’s better. Let’s plan for some growth,” he said.
To get the economy back on track, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said in the same event that the Senate is prioritizing measures to address reduced infrastructure spending and consumption.
He said among the priority measures being pushed is the Master Plan for Infrastructure and National Development, or the MIND Bill, to institutionalize the country’s 30-year infrastructure masterplan.
To address high power costs affecting households and businesses, he said that the Senate would also focus on the amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
He said the Senate would also prioritize the Waste-to-Energy Bill to provide both a waste management solution and an additional energy source.
On consumption, he said the Senate would push for the GINHAWA Bill to support household demand by raising take-home pay through tax relief.
He said that the government would also grant a general tax amnesty and abolish the travel tax.