Philippines loses ₱2.75T as investors wait for political stability — Gatchalian

Sam Benedicto

The Philippines has taken an estimated P2.75 trillion in losses from the second quarter of 2025 to the second quarter of 2026, largely by issues Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian labelled as “self-inflicted damage.”

The senate president presented the figure during a hearing of the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Reinvigorating Investment and Sustainable Economic Growth (RISE) on September 24, saying the loss includes both actual economic contractions and missed opportunities.

The hearing came as the Senate continues to grapple with the political fallout of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. 

According to Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Undersecretary Reynaldo Cancio, total investments declined to negative 6.5 percent in the first half of 2026 from negative 5.9 percent in the second half of 2025, with public construction registering a negative 32 percent growth rate in the first half of 2026.

“Kung makikita ng mga negosyante at mga nangangapital na seryoso ang ating bansa sa pagpo-prosecute, pagpapakulong ng mga plunderers ng public money, I’m sure the erosion of public confidence and business confidence will be addressed,” said former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo, who was invited as a resource person.

GDP growth fell from 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2025 to just 2.3 percent in the same quarter of 2026, which Gatchalian described as the slowest pace since 2017, excluding pandemic years. 

Meanwhile, full-year growth for 2025 settled at 4.4 percent, which was still well below the government’s 5.5–6.5 percent target.

Cancio noted that while post-pandemic recovery averaged 5.8 percent from 2022 to 2025, the economy decelerated to 3.5 percent in the second half of 2025 and further to 2.6 percent in the first half of 2026.

“Hindi pa naman too late, we’re not saying it’s too late,” Gatchalian said. “What we’re saying is we need to get ourselves in order. We need to strategize.”

Gatchalian has previously noted as early as January 2026 that investors are waiting for the impeachment trial’s outcome before making decisions.

Senator Loren Legarda, who echoed Gatchalian’s concerns, pointed out that the Philippines plummeted to 120th out of 182 countries in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, with a score of 32/100, ranking among the worst in Southeast Asia.

Gatchalian said that corruption is one of five major economic vulnerabilities the committee aims to address, alongside natural disasters, dependence on imported oil, politics, and geopolitics.

Beyond prosecution of plunderers, resource persons offered several structural recommendations, such as the passage of a genuine anti-political dynasty bill, lowering and improving the reliability of power, passing of the Freedom of Information bill, and people and nature-centered government projects.

Cancio noted that some ASEAN neighbors—particularly Vietnam and Malaysia—were able to capitalize on artificial intelligence and AI-related products, which the Philippines did not, being part of the “foregone” losses Gatchalian described.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the RISE committee, said their goal is to “prioritize structural legislative reforms and long-term policy interventions aimed at sustainable economic growth.”

“Isang taon nang humihina ang ating ekonomiya. Mula 3.9 percent noong third quarter ng 2025, nasa 2.3 percent na lang ngayon,” Hontiveros said during the committee’s first hearing.

“Our urgent task is clear: make sure Filipinos do not fall back into poverty every time a crisis hits,” she added.

The P2.75 trillion figure is an estimate based on the Senate committee’s computation, and is not an audited or official government statistic.

The committee will share its findings and recommendations with the Senate Committee on Finance to guide the budget process this year.