In the second half of his presidential term, Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. faced a mix of political, economic, and environmental challenges while steering the country toward structural reforms.
The Philippine economy grew at its slowest post‑pandemic pace in 2025, expanding 4.4% year‑on‑year, below the 5.5% to 6.5% range projected by the government and the 5.1% forecast by the World Bank Group. The slowdown was attributed to climate‑related disruptions, corruption scandals, reduced public spending, and lingering global uncertainties.
Growth has continued to lag into 2026, with the first quarter registering only 2.8% expansion compared to 5.4% in the same period a year earlier. Analysts predict further deceleration to 2.6% in the second quarter, citing high inflation and weaker domestic demand.
The 2024 State of the Nation Address highlighted the completion of roughly 5,000 flood‑control projects, yet a subsequent scandal revealed a loss of approximately 118 billion pesos tied to those projects. Investigations identified 15 contractors who collectively accessed 100 billion pesos of the flood‑control budget, leading to prosecutions of senior officials and politicians.
In response, the administration trimmed unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 General Appropriations Act to a bare minimum, reinforcing budgetary accountability. The move helped the country maintain its status as the most transparent budget holder in Southeast Asia, with a transparency score of 76 out of 100 in the latest survey.
Global oil price spikes, driven by Middle‑East tensions, pushed domestic fuel costs higher and amplified inflation. To mitigate these effects, a new law permits the suspension or reduction of petroleum excise taxes when international crude prices exceed a specified threshold.
Alongside crisis responses, the administration pursued long‑term institutional reforms. The Government Optimization Act allows the executive branch to reorganize agencies over five years to eliminate redundancies. The E‑Governance Act requires all public agencies to adopt interoperable digital systems, while the Konektadong Pinoy Act removes the need for congressional franchises for internet providers, aiming to lower costs for consumers.
These reforms aim to modernize bureaucracy, strengthen institutions, and improve competitiveness. The challenge ahead is to translate these policy changes into tangible benefits for ordinary Filipinos before the term concludes.
