3 days ago
Palace still hopeful of PH upper middle-income status under Marcos rule
Malacañang on Friday expressed hope that the Philippines will still become an upper middle-income country under the administration of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.
This, after the World Bank's latest classification for fiscal year 2026 showed that the Philippines remained a lower-middle-income economy, even as its gross national income (GNI) per capita in 2024 stood at $4,470, up from GNI per capita of $4,320 in 2023.
GNI per capita measures the country's total income divided by its population.
According to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro, the government has a plan to achieve an upper-middle income status within Marcos' term.
'Ang gagawin ng pamahalaan ay lalong palakasin ang macroeconomic foundation at ipagpatuloy pa po ang mga reporma sa infrastructure, education, innovation at digitalization pati na po ang ease of doing business like the CREATE MORE Act, pati po ang PPP or Private-Public Partnership Code,' Castro said in a palace briefing.
(What the government will do is to further strengthen the macroeconomic foundation and continue the reforms in infrastructure, education, innovation and digitalization as well as the ease of doing business like the CREATE MORE Act, and the PPP or Private-Public Partnership Code.)
'So, makakasa po tayo na magiging positibo tayo para po makamit natin at makarating po sa upper middle-income group sa panahon po ni Pangulong Marcos Jr.,' she added.
(So, we can hope that we will remain positive in achieving and reaching the upper middle-income status within the term of President Marcos Jr.)
The World Bank earlier said that the Philippines' elevation to upper middle-income status might take longer, possibly by 2027.
In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 2022, Marcos revealed his administration's goal for the Philippines to hit a GNI per capita of $4,256 to attain an upper-middle income status by 2024.
The timeline to hit the target has been repeatedly adjusted, with Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan expressing confidence that the country would move up to become an upper middle-income country by 2026, as he was optimistic that the economy would expand by 6% for the entire year 2025.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
