MANILA - The Philippine economy maintained a year-on-year growth rate of 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026, the Philippine Statistics Authority announced Thursday, keeping the headline figure unchanged even as individual sectors saw mixed adjustments.
While the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate stood firm, the PSA reported nuanced revisions across key domestic industries based on its latest data review.
Industrial and commercial output showed slight improvements. Manufacturing growth was revised upward to 0.7 percent from an initial 0.5 percent estimate. The transportation and storage sector also demonstrated stronger momentum than initially reported, adjusted to 5.0 percent from 4.4 percent. Meanwhile, wholesale and retail trade, alongside motor vehicle repair, edged up marginally to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent.
However, these adjustments were offset by downward revisions in other critical areas.
The "other services" category experienced a notable downgrade, dropping to 2.9 percent from a preliminary 3.9 percent. Electricity, steam, water, and waste management—nearly flatlined, plunging from 0.7 percent growth to a mere 0.03 percent. Education growth was also trimmed to 5.9 percent from 6.1 percent.
Broader macroeconomic indicators similarly faced downward adjustments. The country's Gross National Income (GNI) for the January-to-March period was lowered to 2.9 percent from 3.0 percent. Additionally, Net Primary Income from the Rest of the World was slashed to 3.5 percent from an initial estimate of 4.5 percent.
The PSA emphasized that these routine GDP modifications strictly align with international standard practices and the agency's approved national accounts revision policy.
The 2.8 percent growth was the slowest since the first quarter of 2021, which hit -3.8 percent GDP amid a pandemic. If the pandemic period is removed, the Q1 growth rate is the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2009, which recorded a 1.8 percent growth.
The PSA is set to announce the second quarter GDP figures on Friday.