The Philippine economy grew just 2.1% from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2026, its weakest growth since late 2009 outside the pandemic period and the fifth straight quarter of slowing growth, as agriculture shrank and household spending and investment remained weak.
The figure was below the revised 2.4% in the second quarter and 4% a year earlier. Growth for the first nine months was 2.5%. Agriculture, forestry and fishing shrank 4.8%.
Industry fell 0.003%. Services grew 3.7% and remained the main support for output. Household spending rose 2.4%, slower than in the previous quarter.
Gross capital formation, a measure of investment, fell 0.2%. Government consumption rose 6.8%. Exports of goods and services rose 8.6%.
These gains provided some support against weakness elsewhere. The country’s economic planning secretary said high food and energy costs, weather-related disruptions to agriculture, and weak investment were weighing on growth. The government’s full-year growth target is 3.5% to 4.5%.
The weak performance for the first nine months makes meeting that goal more difficult. After accounting for seasonal patterns, the economy grew only 0.1% from the second quarter to the third. That compares with seasonally adjusted growth of 0.6% from one quarter to the next in the previous period.