Gov’t working to meet full year economic growth target – Palace

MANILA, Philippines —  The government is doing its best to achieve its target of 5.5 to 6.5 percent full-year growth target for 2025, Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro said on Tuesday.

This was Castro’s reaction to Department of Economic and Planning and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan’s statement the day before that the country might miss its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for the third year in a row.

READ: Christmas holidays spending will lift PH economy – Palace

“Muli sinisikap ng Palasyo, sinisikap ng Pangulo na maabot natin kung ano iyong target po natin. So, pagsisikapan pa rin po especially with these kind of rallies na nangyari po, medyo maingay po talaga pong nakakaapekto ito sa ekonomiya,” she said.

(Once again, the Palace is trying, the President is trying to ensure that we reach our target. So, we will continue to make efforts, especially with these kind of rallies that have happened, it is affecting the economy.)

“So, pagtutulung-tulungan po ng economic team ng Pangulo at also with the help of the people na sana maabot natin ang target,” she also said.

(So, with the help of the President’s economic team and also with the help of the people, hopefully we can reach the target.)

At a separate briefing last month, Castro also expressed confidence that the upcoming holidays will boost the country’s economic growth in the fourth quarter of the year.

These remarks came in response to the 4 percent economic growth recorded for the third quarter of 2025, the slowest pace in four years.

This was the weakest GDP performance since early 2021, when the economy shrank by 3.8 percent because of strict COVID-19 restrictions. /gsg