DOWNWARD revisions to the country’s growth targets are a “wake-up call” that should spur efforts to achieve a “transformative” level of expansion, the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) said on Thursday.
Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan last week said that the government was now aiming for 5.0- to 6.0-percent growth this year and 5.5-6.6 percent in 2027, down from 6.0-7.0 percent previously.
FFCCCII President Victor Lim acknowledged that the impact of a massive corruption scandal and global trade uncertainties had prompted the revisions, but added that the new targets should not “represent the limit of our national economic ambition.”
“To meet fundamental moral and social imperatives, the Philippine economy must target and seek to achieve sustained annual growth reaching eight percent and beyond,” he said, adding that “this is the minimum viable ambition for a nation of our potential.”
“The goal of eight percent remains the ideal benchmark of transformative progress, because a steadfast and collective drive toward eight percent is the critical, immediate step that will change our momentum and define this decade.”
The FFCCCII noted that Vietnam, in comparison, posted eight percent growth last year and is aiming for 10 percent in 2026.
“Their success in attracting investment, boosting tourism, and raising per capita income underscores a critical truth: global capital and opportunity flow decisively to destinations perceived as dynamic, disciplined, efficient, reformist and relentlessly forward-moving,” the business group said.
The Marcos administration’s focus on inclusive growth, while “correct and commendable,” should be an outcome and not an alternative to ambition, the FFCCCII added.
“We cannot significantly improve inclusivity on a sluggish and small economic base. A faster, larger, and more robust Philippine economic expansion provides the essential resources and opportunities to ensure a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ not as a hope, but as a tangible reality.”
It called for a whole-of-nation approach focused on six reforms:
– transformative human investment, particularly in education and public health;
– an institutional anti-corruption overhaul, including the creation of an independent anti-corruption agency;
– an industrial and agricultural revival via strategic incentives and efforts to combat smuggling, high costs and unfair import competition;
– strategic, economics-first diplomacy that secures national interests, supports stable relations and opens up markets;
– an infrastructure and innovation surge that includes digital transformation, research and development and green technology strategies; and
– unlocking tourism and the creative economy.
“We acknowledge the favorable macroeconomic fundamentals — low inflation, prospective interest rate cuts — mentioned by the economic team,” Lim said, but added that “these are not reasons for comfort; they are the launchpad for acceleration.”
“Let us be clear: aiming for and achieving eight-percent growth is a realistic and necessary goal. It is a target within our grasp if we summon the collective will to reform, invest, and execute with unity and precision. It represents the threshold where growth begins to meaningfully transform lives and reshape our national destiny.”