PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s administration has protected the poorest Filipino families by keeping inflation under control and the economy on a strong growth path in 2025.
Inflation, or the rate at which prices of basic goods and services rise as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was cut by more than half from 3.4% in 2024 to just 1.6% from January to November 2025. This continues a downward trend since President Marcos, Jr. assumed office, from 5.8% in 2022 and 6.0% in 2023.
The sustained slowdown reflects the Marcos, Jr. administration’s decisive and coordinated actions to stabilize prices, secure food supply, and protect household purchasing power particularly for rice, which account for the largest share of spending of low-income families.
“To put this in perspective, a 6% inflation rate means that your PHP 100 can buy only about PHP 94 worth of goods and services. But with inflation down to just 1.6% in 2025, that same PHP 100 can now buy about PHP 98.4 worth of goods and services,” Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto explained
“Kaya napakahalaga nito para sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino, lalo na ang mga mahihirap. Kapag mababa ang inflation, napapanatili natin na abot-kaya ang mga pangunahing bilihin, lalo na ang pagkain,” he added
Rice prices continue to improve, with the Department of Agriculture (DA), upon President Marcos, Jr.’s directive, delivering on its commitment to bring rice prices down to PHP 20 per kilo or about half the average price in 2022.
As a result, inflation for the bottom 30% income households fell to -0.2% in November 2025, marking the sixth consecutive month of contraction and underscoring how price stabilization efforts are directly benefiting the most vulnerable Filipinos
The country’s low and stable inflation environment has been cited as a key strength by S&P Global Ratings, which recently reaffirmed the Philippines’ ‘BBB+’ high investment-grade rating with a Positive Outlook—a strong vote of confidence in President Marcos’s economic leadership.
Lower prices, combined with a vibrant labor market, are expected to boost domestic demand and consumption, and support the Philippines’ economic growth.
With inflation easing, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has greater policy space to recalibrate interest rates, potentially providing further support to household spending and overall economic activity.
Investment prospects also remain robust as the economic team continues to remove bottlenecks and streamline regulations to attract greater private sector participation. New initiatives and investment opportunities, particularly in agriculture, will soon be announced.
Multilateral institutions remain optimistic about the Philippines’ growth prospects, with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasting a 5% GDP growth, while both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) project expansion at 5.1% for 2025.
This outperforms the 1.6% average growth projection of advanced economies this year, including the United States (2.0%), Japan (1.1%), and the Euro area (1.2%), according to the IMF.
The Philippines’ projected expansion is also higher compared to the 4.2% average growth for ASEAN-5 in 2025. In fact, it is second best among its peers, following Vietnam at 6.5% and higher than Indonesia at 4.9%, Malaysia at 4.5%, Singapore at 2.2%, and Thailand at 2%.
By 2026, the IMF projects the Philippines to be the fastest-growing economy in ASEAN, tied with Vietnam at 5.6% growth
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