By Darryl John Esguerra
MANILA – Malacañang expressed optimism on Monday about the Philippine business confidence outlook for the second quarter of 2025, following a report from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) indicating improved business sentiment.
In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro welcomed the findings of the BSP’s latest Business Expectations Survey (BES), which projected business sentiment to increase for the second quarter of the year, with the overall confidence index (CI) rising to 45.4 percent from 40.3 percent in the last quarter of 2024.
“That’s good news… Maganda pong pangitain po iyan, maganda po na nakikita po na dumadami pa rin po ang may tiwala sa ating pamahalaan, sa ating administrasyon para ang mga investors po ay maglaan ng kanilang mga investment sa ating bansa (It is a good indication, it’s good that many are trusting our government, our administration so more investors will be encouraged to invest in the country),” Castro said.
The report from the BSP showed a mixed sentiment for the first quarter of 2025, with the CI dropping to 31.2 percent from 44.5 percent in the last quarter of 2024.
The decline was attributed to concerns over post-holiday demand and the potential return of inflationary pressures. However, the outlook for the second quarter was significantly brighter, signaling a renewed confidence in the business climate.
Castro emphasized that the government is focused on maintaining and even surpassing this positive outlook for the remainder of the year.
“We will try our best, the administration will try its best to maintain the status or to be better than that. So, that we can encourage more investors to invest in our country,” she said.
Looking ahead to the next 12 months, the survey revealed that the overall business outlook remains strong, with a CI of 56.4 percent, holding steady from the fourth quarter of 2024. (PNA)
