By TONY LOPEZ
This one is for Ripley’s Believe It or Not. The Investor Relations Office of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Finance conducted a three-hour “Big, Bold Reforms” forum for investors yesterday at Shangri-La BGC. But media was banned.
Three reasons
Why? Three reasons:
- Probably because both the BSP and the DOF do not subscribe to what is called transparency in governance;
- BSP and the DOF do not consider the Filipino people, you and I, ordinary people, investors; and
- There is no such thing as “Big Bold” reforms. Nakakahiya conducting an open-to-media forum talking about lies.
I texted the above to Finance Secretary Frederick Go, a former business reporter in his teenage days, and a property mogul by the time he joined the BBM government. His reply: “We wanted the event to be candid and for people to talk freely and openly.”
Deck’s worry is that some media people (actually many) don’t have a functional understanding of how the economy operates in terms of GDP (growth rates), inflation, and investment incentives, and other abstruse terms. Like during the post-forum presscon, a newsman wondered why achieving a five percent GDP growth rate is very good, given global standards.
Economic forecast
The World Bank’s January 2026 World Economic Forecasts reports East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) possibly posted 4.6% economic or GDP growth in 2025. “Weather-related disruptions dampened growth in the Philippines,” says the bank, noting however, “Industrial production increased, especially in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, largely owing to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven demand for semiconductor exports.”
In EAP, “private investment remained subdued across the region due to elevated policy uncertainty and high debt—except in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it was underpinned by state-led initiatives and foreign direct investment, respectively,” says the World Bank (WB). “Growth in EAP is projected to moderate to 4.4% in 2026 and 4.3% in 2027, mainly owing to a deceleration in China.”
WB sees Philippine GDP growth of 5.1% in 2025, 5.3% in 2026, and 5.4% in 2027—higher than the EAP averages of 4.8, 4.4, and 4.3 for 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively, and world GDP growth rates of 2.7, 2.6, and 2.7%.
If your economy pumps production at a rate twice faster than the global average, isn’t that great? In the six largest ASEAN economies, in 2025, only Vietnam grew higher, 7%, than the Philippines’ five.
Per surveys, the two most important concerns of the people are: inflation and corruption. Headline inflation fell to 1.7% in 2025, from 3.2% in 2024, and 6.0% in 2023, Go told the forum.
The Philippines has not done badly, despite the discovery of the largest corruption scandal in this country’s history, a scandal President Marcos Jr. himself exposed.
Credit rating
Credit rating agencies have reaffirmed the Philippines’ creditworthiness as investment destination—BBB+ Positive Outlook by S&P Global, BBB Stable Outlook by Fitch Ratings, and A-rating Stable Outlook, both by R&I and JCR.
Major reforms to attract investors are in place. The CREATE More Act offers up to 40 years of fiscal (tax) and non-fiscal incentives. The New Public-Private Partnership Code promotes greater public-private participation, and the Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way Act cuts the BS and red tape out of major infra projects.
“Our PPP Code further makes participation in our flagship infrastructure projects easier, faster, and more predictable,” says Secretary Go, citing the privatization of the new Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the new Bohol International Airport, and the Laguindingan International Airport, with government receiving windfall revenues.
Relatedly, 209 big-ticket infra projects are in the pipeline for start-up or completion under President Marcos’ “Build, Better More” (BBM) program—140 under physical connectivity, 32 water resources, nine agriculture, six digital connectivity, five health, three power and energy projects, two each under education and housing, and ten other infra projects.
Letters of Assessments
Deck Go was widely applauded for announcing the suspension of Letters of Assessments (LOAs) by the oppressive and corrupt Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Tourism has been given an adrenalin. Chinese tourists can now visit the Philippines for 14 days, no visa, if they fly in thru Manila and Cebu. This reform was warmly applauded by the forum participants. Last time the visa-free privilege was given China, one million Chinese came in droves in one year.
For its part, the Food and Drug Administration has vowed faster processing of drugs for manufacture and sale.
The Department of Agrarian Reform has lifted the five-hectare ownership limit for agricultural use. This means corporations can now go into massive food production projects by consolidating otherwise small and half productive farms into plantations.
Main character unmasked
On the anti-corruption front, unmasking the main characters behind the flood control corruption has led to the ouster of Chiz Escudero as Senate president, Martin Romualdez as House speaker, the escape of fugitives Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and ousted Public Works and Highways Secretary Martin Bonoan, the resignation of cabinet secretaries Lucas Bersamin and Amenah Pangandaman, the suicide of DPWH Usec Cathy Cabral, the build-up of plunder charges against once high-profile and high-strutting senators and former senators (you know who are because you steal repeatedly, without repentance or sense of guilty), and placement on the carpet of a number of congressmen, DPWH engineers, and other officials, including a commissioner of the Commission on Audit.
Had not BBM blown the whistle on flood control corruption the above officials would still be throwing their weight around, alive and kicking.
Why is Manila cleaning its act?
The Philippines is the chair this 2026 of various ASEAN summits.
Says DOF Secretary Go, the chief of BBM’s economic team: “We will host leaders, ministers, CEOs, investors, innovators, and media from across the region and beyond. The spotlight will be on us and we intend to keep it that way by showing how Filipino businesses are reliable, predictable, and a smart choice for investments and long-term growth.”
Deck promises future investors’ for open to media coverage.