President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday welcomes two new members to his economic team and administers the oath of office of Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto as new finance secretary and businessman Frederick Go as special assistant to the president for investment and economic affairs.
The Bank of Japan should gradually raise short-term interest rates and make its bond yield control policy more flexible, if inflation stays around its 2 percent target and is accompanied by sustained wage growth, the OECD said on Thursday.
The Philippines in 2023 is projected to post growth, measured as the gross domestic product (GDP), averaging lower than the official growth target of 6 to 7 percent to only 5.7 percent, according to the Asian Development Bank.
Foreign direct investments (FDI), useful both as a measure of and as vehicle for economic advancement, flowed inward on net basis in the first 10 months last year but stood 17.5 percent lower to only USD6.5 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Wednesday.
The Philippines’ trade deficit continued to widen in November as export sales drop sharply, negating the impact of flat imports, data from the statistics office showed Wednesday.
Finance Secretary and Social Security Commission Chairman Frederick D. Go praised the Social Security System (SSS) for launching its Emergency Loan Program (ELP), saying it will help members get faster and easier access to financial support during disasters.
Ischaemic heart diseases, cancer, and strokes are still the deadliest threats in the Philippines. From January to June 2025, 53,985 deaths—nearly one in five—were due to heart disease alone, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The Philippine baby boom has hit the snooze button. Parenthood, once almost automatic, is now treated like a major purchase—priced, budgeted, and often postponed. Diapers and infant formula increasingly feel less like essentials and more like luxury items with designer tags. Timing, finances, and ambition are all carefully calculated before committing to the ultimate life investment.
The Philippines’ tourism rebound is still stuck in economy class, slowed by the weak return of China and South Korea—once the twin engines of foreign arrivals. Latest Department of Tourism (DOT) data show 5.606 million international visitors as of December 20, with arrivals from January to November slipping 2.16 percent year on year to 5.35 million.