November 6, 2026 | 11:23 am
By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter
The Philippine economy grew slightly faster than initially reported in the second quarter of 2026, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth revised upward to 2.4% from the preliminary estimate of 2.3%, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Despite the upward revision, GDP growth in the April-to-June period was still slower than the 5.5% growth recorded in the same period last year and the 2.8% expansion in the first quarter.
The revised figure was still the slowest GDP growth since the 3.8% contraction in the first quarter of 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. Excluding the pandemic years, it was the weakest in more than 16 years, or since the 1.8% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Even with the upward revision, the Philippine economy grew by 2.6% in the first half, below the government’s 3.5%-4.5% target for the full year.
The PSA attributed the upward revision mainly to upward adjustments in growth estimates for wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, and transportation and storage.
Growth in wholesale and retail trade, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, was revised to 4.7% from the preliminary 4.6%.
Growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing was raised to 2.9% from 2.7%, while transportation and storage growth was adjusted upward to 4.1% from 3.8%.
Meanwhile, the country’s gross national income (GNI) growth in the second quarter was kept at 2.2%.
However, growth in net primary income from the rest of the world was revised downward to 0.8% from the preliminary 1%.
The PSA said revisions to GDP estimates follow an approved policy consistent with international standards on national accounts revisions.
The PSA is scheduled to release third-quarter GDP data on Nov. 9.
A BusinessWorld poll of 16 economists and analysts yielded a median GDP growth estimate of 2.7% for the July-to-September period. If realized, this would put average GDP growth in the first three quarters at around 2.6%.
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