“Kung datos lang ang pag-uusapan, maganda ang ating ekonomiya, tumaas ang kumpiyansa ng mga negosyante. Bumaba ang inflation, dumami ang trabaho. Ngunit ang lahat ng ito ay palamuti lamang, walang saysay, kung ang ating kababayan naman ay hirap pa rin at nabibigatan sa kanilang buhay,” said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his 2025 SONA.
AFTER PRESIDENT FERDINAND Marcos Jr. said in this third State of the Nation Address (SONA) that macroeconomic figures can mean nothing if more Filipinos still have daily struggles, his finance chief still loves to rattle off numbers to show that the country’s economy is improving, as if gross domestic product growth (GDP) growth and lower inflation numbers can automatically solve poverty and income inequality.
During his recent SONA, Marcos made it very clear that despite the somewhat impressive macroeconomic figures the country’s economic has recorded this year, there are still many Filipinos who have daily struggles.
“Kung datos lang ang pag-uusapan, magandaang ating ekonomiya, tumaas ang kumpiyansa ng mga negosyante. Bumaba ang inflation, dumamiang trabaho. Ngunit ang lahat ng ito ay palamutilamang, walang saysay, kung ang atingkababayan naman ay hirap pa rin at nabibigatansa kanilang buhay,” he said.
(If we look at the data, our economy is doing good, investor confidence is up. Inflation went down, there were more jobs created. But these can be just all but decoration, or without sense, if our countrymen have struggles and hardships in their lives).
RECTO CITES ECONOMIC GAINS
In a post-SONA forum, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto proclaimed that the Philippine economy is among the fastest growing economies, quoting figures that Marcos said in his SONA could be nothing but decoration.
“Kung titingnan natin (If we look at it) we are of the fastest growing economies. We’re able to create jobs, and if we can grow by 6 to 7 percent annually for the next 10 years, that will double the size of the Philippine economy,” he said.
Recto said that Philippine GDP growth increased by an average of 5.9 percent since the Marcos administration took office in 2022. This makes the Philippines one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, despite the external headwinds such as the Russia-Ukraine and Middle East conflicts that increased prices of food and fuel, and global trade uncertainties.
“Sabi ko nga kanina ang expectation ng ekonomiya ng buong mundo ay lalago ng 3 percent sa taong ito. Ang Pilipinas namaninaasahan natin na ang ating ekonomiya ay lalagong mahigit 6 percent (As I said earlier, the global economy is expected to grow by 3 percent this year. As for the Philippines, we expect our economy to grow by more than 6 percent),” Recto said.
He added that Philippines is on track to be a P37-trillion economy by 2028.
The Finance chief added that the Marcos administration managed to bring down the country’s inflation rate to 1.4 percent as of June this year and increase the number of employed Filipinos.
As of May 2025, the number of Filipinos in the labor force has reached an all-time high of 52.33 million, and wage and salary workers continued to comprise the majority of employed individuals, reaching 31.6 million.
ELECTION RESULTS
While Recto’s report on the positive macroeconomic figures is also good news, Marcos said in his SONA that much is still expected from the government. The chief executive even cited the result of the May 2025 polls where the administration’s senatorial bets did not dominate.
“Malinaw sa akin ang mensahe ng naging resultang halalan. Bigo at dismayado ang mga tao sapamahalaan, lalo na sa mga pangunahingserbisyo. Ang leksyon sa atin ay simple lamang: kailangan pa natin mas lalong galingan. Kailangan pa natin mas lalong bilisan,” Marcos said.
(To me, the message is clear from the result of the recent polls. The people feel they were failed, and are dismayed, especially in the provision of primary services. The lesson here is simple, we need to level up. We also need to speed up.)
Also, the way the Marcos administration is managing the country’s fiscal health remains a big question, as data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed the Philippines’ sovereign debt has ballooned to a record-high of almost P16.92 trillion at the end of May this year, as the government seeks funds to plug budgetary gaps. As of end-April, the country’s sovereign debt stood at P16.75 trillion.
In the final analysis, Marcos can be admired for saying the painful truth – that impressive macroeconomic figures – such as GDP growth and lower inflation – does not automatically mean a better life for most Filipinos.
Recto should also take note.
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