Rice prices continued to ease in early May, indicating a potential further slowdown in inflation after headline inflation decelerated in April to its slowest pace since November 2019.
Foreign investment approvals plunged 82 percent in the first quarter to a total P27.99 billion compared to P155.26 billion in the same period last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The Philippine labor market showed a slight increase in unemployment in March, with the jobless rate rising to 3.9 percent from 3.8 percent in February, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Philippine agriculture started the economy on a stronger footing in the first quarter, growing 1.9 percent, with better weather conditions and intensified government interventions helping the sector recover from a full-year contraction in 2024.
The Philippine trade deficit widened further to USD4.13 billion in March, as export growth failed to keep pace with the double digit expansion in imports, the Philippine Statistics Authority said 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.