By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has revised the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the second quarter of 2026 upward to 2.4%, from the preliminary estimate of 2.3%, meaning the economy expanded slightly faster than initially reported for the April-to-June period.

Even with the upward adjustment, second-quarter growth remained slower than the 5.5% recorded in the same period last year and the 2.8% expansion posted in the first quarter of 2026. The revised figure is still the weakest GDP performance since the 3.8% contraction in the first quarter of 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic. Excluding the pandemic years, it was the slowest growth in more than 16 years — since the 1.8% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2009.

With the revision, first-half growth stands at 2.6%, below the government's 3.5%-4.5% target for the full year. Meeting even the lower end of that range would require second-half expansion to run well above the first-half pace.

The PSA attributed the upgrade mainly to higher 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 raised to 4.7% from the preliminary 4.6%. Growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing was adjusted to 2.9% from 2.7%, while transportation and storage was lifted to 4.1% from 3.8%.

The country's gross national income (GNI) growth for the quarter was left unchanged at 2.2%. Growth in net primary income from the rest of the world, however, was revised downward to 0.8% from the preliminary 1%.

The agency said revisions to GDP estimates follow an approved policy consistent with international standards on national accounts revisions. Such revisions are a routine part of national accounts compilation: preliminary figures are refined as more complete source data becomes available, which is why a quarter's initially reported growth rate can change after its first release.

The PSA is scheduled to release third-quarter GDP data on Nov. 9, the next scheduled update on whether the economy is tracking toward, or falling further behind, the government's full-year goal. A BusinessWorld poll of 16 economists and analysts yielded a median growth estimate of 2.7% for the July-to-September period — modestly above the revised second-quarter rate. If realized, this would bring average GDP growth for the first three quarters of the year to around 2.6%.

Source: BusinessWorld — https://bworldonline.com/top-stories/2026/11/06/792007/philippines-q2-gdp-revised-upward-to-2-4/