The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) and left-leaning think tank IBON Foundation—often at opposite ends of the policy debate—arrived at the same conclusion that the Philippine economy underperformed in 2025 and faces serious structural weaknesses heading into 2026, based on separate interviews aired on DZRH’s Special on Saturday on January 3.
ECOP: Weak job creation, investor confidence slump dragged economy in 2025
ECOP President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said job generation failed to keep pace with the growing labor force, leaving many new entrants without employment opportunities.
“Well, medyo hindi kagandahan yung naging resulta ng ating employment, in the sense na dapat sana mas maraming na-employ,” Ortiz-Luis said, noting that around 800,000 to one million Filipinos enter the labor market every year.
“Unfortunately, while tumataas ang employment, dahil hindi ganun kadami yung na-i-employ at may mga naiiwanan,” he added.
The ECOP president said that while employment figures technically rose, the increase was insufficient relative to demand, creating a persistent gap between jobseekers and available work.
Ortiz-Luis added that weak investor confidence worsened the situation, particularly as foreign investments and tourism slowed.
“Kaya sana mapalakas pa natin yung mga investors natin na humina, masyadong humina, nawalan tayo ng mga investors, pati sa mga area ng tourism natin medyo humina,” he said.
He directly attributed the decline in foreign investment interest to corruption controversies that became widely known internationally.
“Ngayon eh ito namang problema natin dito sa corruption na issue na alam na alam ng buong mundo,” Ortiz-Luis said, adding that some trading partners even issued advisories discouraging investment in the Philippines.
Ortiz-Luis said the country has fallen behind its regional peers in both tourism and investment inflows, making the restoration of confidence an urgent priority.
“So tayo dito sa ating rehiyon ngayon eh kulelat na tayo sa investment, kulelat na tayo sa tourism,” he said. “’Yung mga investors na nakukumbinsi natin eh paliit nang paliit. Dati-dati, alam mo dun sa PCCI, nag-i-entertain kami ng mga dalawa, tatlo every week ha, ng mga possible investors delegation. Ngayon halos wala. Ayun ay halos wala.”
He argued that confidence could only be rebuilt through credible investigations and swift accountability targeting those responsible for large-scale corruption.
“Kumbinsihin ang mga tao na yung imbestigasyon ay seryoso, at merong mabilis na mabilis na mga parusahan sa mga ’yun, at tsaka ’yung mga talagang may kasalanan, hindi lang ’yung mga small fries ano,” Ortiz-Luis said.
IBON: Lack of support for agriculture, local industry drove economic slowdown
In a separate interview on the program, IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa said the economy’s weakness was already evident in slowing growth figures.
“Hindi maganda yung takbo ng ekonomiya nitong 2025,” Africa said, noting that growth slowed to about 5% in the first three quarters, down from 5.7% the year before and far below the post-pandemic rebound in 2022.
Africa said slower growth translated into worsening conditions for ordinary Filipinos, particularly in employment, income, and food security.
“Sa pagpasok ng Bagong Taon, pagkatapos ng ilang linggong kasiyahan natin dahil sa bakasyon, ang headline figure natin dapat, nadagdagan ng 2 milyong mahirap na pamilyang Pilipino mula noong umpisa ng Marcos administration,” he said.
He added that hunger and joblessness also increased as economic momentum weakened.
“Nadagdagan ng 3.3 million ang nagugutom na pamilya sa ilalim ng Marcos administration, at actually nadagdagan ng at least isang milyon ang walang trabaho sa ilalim ng Marcos administration,” Africa said.
While agreeing that corruption must be addressed, Africa said prosecutions alone would not stabilize the economy without major changes in budget priorities.
“Pero sa totoo lang, kahit ayusin yung usapin ng pork barrel, kahit walang pork barrel sa pambansang budget, kulang pa rin ang binibigay na budget para sa agrikultura para maging mas mura ang pagkain,” he said.
Africa criticized the 2026 national budget for channeling increased agricultural funding primarily to farm-to-market roads rather than productivity-enhancing support.
“Hindi actually ’to mag-i-increase ng productivity ng magsasaka,” he said, arguing that irrigation, farm inputs, post-harvest facilities, and support for domestic industry were being neglected.
