Philippines on track for upper-middle income status despite global headwinds

The Philippines is on track to achieve upper-middle income status by 2026 despite an anticipated global growth slowdown stemming from trade tensions, a senior economic official said in a GMA News report.

"We anticipate graduating to upper-middle income country status by next year," Arsenio Balisacan, secretary of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), formerly National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said.

Balisacan said he expects the gross domestic product to expand by 6 percent this year.

While acknowledging earlier concerns that U.S. tariffs could hinder the higher end of the government's growth target, Balisacan stated that economic assumptions now "taken into account trade policy uncertainties, risks [which] show a slowdown in the global economy and the Philippines is not exempted from that."

"But we still think that 6%… is still achievable… We are crossing our fingers, there are risks out there but we’ve been watchful, vigilant. We’ve adjusted policy tools to make sure our economy maintains its resilience amid uncertainties," he said.

Balisacan also noted that the inflation rate has slowed in the first quarter and interest rates have declined.

"These are positive forces that should impact our domestic [demand]… We can calm down, while the trade part of the economy is weakened by this uncertainty. We can count on domestic demand. Domestic demand has been the main driver of the economy over the years," Balisacan said.

"That makes us distinct from our neighbors who are dependent on global trade as a source of growth," he said.