THE PHILIPPINES declared a state of national calamity after Typhoon Kalmaegi (locally known as Tino) left more than 100 people dead and widespread destruction across the Visayas and Mindanao, with another powerful storm expected to hit within days.
-President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the measure would fast-track the release of emergency funds and ease procurement rules to speed up aid delivery.
-“Several regions — almost 10 to 12 — have been or will be affected,” he said at a situation briefing in Quezon City. “With that scale and scope, it’s clear that this is a national calamity.”
-The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council recommended the declaration as Typhoon Tino unleashed torrential rains and strong winds that triggered landslides, floods and power failures, displacing thousands of families.
-Authorities are now bracing for Typhoon Uwan, forecast to intensify into a super typhoon by Friday, threatening areas still reeling from Tino’s destruction.
-The death toll from Typhoon Tino rose to 114, with about 127 people still missing, the disaster agency said, as the storm that devastated the country’s central regions regained strength as it headed towards Vietnam.
-Tino battered large parts of central and southern Philippines this week, inundating towns, submerging villages and triggering landslides that left scores dead and thousands displaced.
-In Vietnam’s Gia Lai province, some 350,000 people were expected to have been evacuated by the middle of the day as authorities warned of heavy rains and damaging winds that could cause flooding in low-lying areas and disrupt agricultural activity.
-In the Philippines’ hardest-hit province of Cebu, the scale of the destruction became clearer as floodwaters receded to reveal flattened homes, overturned vehicles and streets choked with debris.
-More than 200,000 people were evacuated in the Philippines ahead of Tino hitting on Tuesday. Some have returned to find their homes destroyed, while others have begun the arduous cleanup, scraping mud from their houses and streets.
-“The challenge now is debris clearing… These need to be cleared immediately, not only to account for the missing who may be among the debris or may have reached safe areas, but also to allow relief operations to move forward,” Raffy Alejandro, a senior civil defense official, told DZBB radio.
-ANOTHER STORM DEVELOPS
-Even as Typhoon Kalmaegi exited the Philippine monitoring zone, weather forecasters were tracking a brewing storm east of Mindanao that could strengthen into a typhoon, raising concerns for potential impacts early next week.
-The devastation from Kalmaegi, the 20th storm to hit the Philippines this year, comes just over a month after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Cebu, killing dozens and displacing thousands.
-As Kalmaegi moved over the South China Sea ahead of its landfall in Vietnam, it was regaining strength. It was forecast to affect several central provinces, including key coffee-growing areas, where the harvest season is under way.
-Authorities were mobilizing thousands of soldiers to help with potential evacuations, rescue operations and recovery efforts.
-Vietnam’s aviation authorities said operations at eight airports, including the international airport in Da Nang, were likely to be affected. Airlines and local authorities have been urged to closely monitor the storm’s progress to ensure passenger safety.
-Mr. Marcos said the full extent of the damage was still being validated but described the casualty count as “very high.”
-“We are continuing our relief and support for those hit by Typhoon Tino, but we are also doing everything that we can to anticipate and prepare for Typhoon Uwan,” Mr. Marcos said.
-The President said government responders deployed in the Visayas might be reassigned to areas expected to be affected by the second storm, depending on how quickly relief operations stabilize in Cebu and nearby provinces.
-After the devastation caused by Typhoon Tino, the Office of the President released P760 million in financial assistance to affected local governments across the country.
-The provinces of Cebu, Capiz, Surigao del Norte, Iloilo, Bohol and Negros Occidental each got P50 million, while Eastern Samar, Surigao del Sur, Southern Leyte, Antique and Aklan were given P40 million each.
-Leyte and Masbate each received P30 million; Guimaras, Agusan del Norte and Dinagat Islands, P20 million each; and Biliran, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Misamis Oriental, Negros Oriental and Palawan, P10 million each.
-Smaller allocations of P5 million were extended to Albay, Romblon, Batangas, Northern Samar, Siquijor, Quezon, Samar, Agusan del Sur, Laguna, Zamboanga City, the City of Manila for stranded passengers, Camiguin, Occidental Mindoro, Camarines Norte, Zamboanga del Norte and Iligan City.
-The Philippines, a country located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, is battered by about 20 typhoons annually. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana with Reuters
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+ By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter
+PHILIPPINE economic growth slowed a more than four-year low of 4% in the third quarter as public construction was hit by a corruption scandal involving state infrastructure projects that has dampened consumer and investor sentiment.
+Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by an annual 4% in the three months through September, sharply decelerating from the 5.5% growth in the second quarter and the 5.2% clip in the same quarter in 2024, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released on Friday showed.
+This was substantially lower than the 5.3% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts and economists.
+On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP grew by 0.4%, easing from 1.46% a year ago.
+“The Philippine economy continues to grow, but the third quarter’s performance reminds us of the urgent need to address key challenges and strengthen our foundations for rapid, sustained, and inclusive growth,” Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said at a briefing.
+The third-quarter clip was the slowest growth logged since the 3.8% contraction in the first quarter of 2021, when the country was still reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that brought economic activity to a halt.
+Excluding the pandemic, this was the weakest expansion since the 3% growth in the third quarter of 2011.
+This brought the nine-month average to 5%, slower than 5.9% in the same period last year and putting the government’s 5.5%-6.5% full-year GDP growth goal further out of reach.
+Mr. Balisacan said that meeting even the low end of the target would be “very challenging,” especially as more storms are expected to hit the country this quarter but added that they are optimistic that private spending could rebound on expectations of increased consumption and remittances amid the holiday season.
+“While we may not be able to fully recover the economic losses within the year, we believe these are temporary setbacks. With sustained interventions and improved resilience, we expect the economy to rebound in 2026.”
+In the third quarter, household final consumption expenditure, which accounts for over 70% of the economy, grew by a slower 4.1% from 5.3% in the second quarter and 5.2% a year ago.
+This was the slowest since the 4.8% contraction in the first quarter of 2021. Counting out the pandemic years, it was the slowest growth in private spending since the 2.6% increase in the third quarter of 2010.
+“Widespread cancellations of school, work, and travel activities due to typhoons likely dampened spending,” Mr. Balisacan said.
+“Moreover, consumer confidence may have been affected by the ongoing probes and discussions on government infrastructure spending, prompting many households to postpone purchases, especially durable goods… These trends both reflect and affect consumer and business expectations and provide a clear signal for the government to act boldly and decisively.”
+PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION
+Meanwhile, government spending rose by 5.8% last quarter, easing from the 8.7% pace in the previous quarter, but faster than the 5% growth in the same period in 2024.
+This came as corruption allegations surrounding state flood-control projects flagged by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. during his State of the Nation Address in July stalled public construction activity. Investigations into the graft scandal allegedly involving lawmakers, government officials, and private contractors are ongoing.
+Gross capital formation, the investment component of the economy, contracted by 2.8% in the third quarter versus the 12.8% growth a year ago and the 1.2% expansion in the second quarter.
+National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa attributed this slowdown to the 26.2% contraction in general government construction, worse than the 8.2% fall in the second quarter and the biggest drop since the 28.6% decline in the third quarter of 2011.
+“In the aftermath of these scandals, we see that there’s so much space for improving the quality of spending,” Mr. Balisacan said. “In recent years, we have been aiming for 5% to 6% of GDP for infrastructure spending just to catch up with the rest of our neighbors — and we needed to do that for the next decade or so. But as we are seeing now, the productive capacity that we had wanted to happen was muted by all this corruption.”
+“Of course, everybody knew that there was corruption… But it’s just so shocking to see how extensive it was.”
+He said bolstering investor and consumer confidence by making institutions stronger and improving governance are important in ensuring the economy’s recovery.
+On the other hand, private construction “remained respectable” in the third quarter, but investment in durable equipment was subdued, Mr. Balisacan said.
+He added that the external sector performed well in the third quarter compared to the net export decline seen in the prior three-month period even as the 19% tariff on the Philippines’ exports to the United States took effect.
+“Unfortunately, there’s so much decline in the other sectors of the economy that the positive effects of the external sector were muted.”
+The industry sector expanded by 0.7% in the third quarter, sharply slowing from the 5% growth a year ago and 2.1% in the second quarter.
+“On the supply side, services and industry posted weaker growth, with a sharp contraction in public construction due to stricter validation measures for DPWH’s (Department of Public Works and Highways) civil works, as well as the implementation of stricter requirements that delayed billings and disbursements for government projects,” Mr. Balisacan said.
+The services sector, which had the biggest contribution among major industries, expanded by 5.5% in the third quarter, slower than 6.3% a year ago.
+Meanwhile, agriculture output grew by 2.8% in the third quarter, a reversal of the 2.7% decline a year ago but slower than the 7% growth in the second quarter.
+The PSA added that among the main contributors to the third-quarter growth were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (5%), financial and insurance activities (5.5%), and professional and business services (6.2%).
+Gross national income posted an annual 5.6% growth in the third quarter, slower than the 8% expansion in the previous quarter and 6.8% a year ago.
+Net primary income went up by 16.9% in the third quarter, slower than the 20% in the same period in 2024.
+RECOVERY IN DOUBT
+Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. economist for ASEAN Aris D. Dacanay said the contraction in public construction last quarter was expected given the graft probe.
+“Without any immediate policy or institutional reform, history has shown us that the fiscal drag can persist for longer than a year,” he said, adding that every 10% fall in government infrastructure spending risks dragging growth by 0.4-0.6 percentage point.
+ANZ Research economist Arindam Chakraborty and Chief Economist for Southeast Asia and India Sanjay Mathur said in a report that a near-term recovery is unlikely due to the impact of the graft scandal.
+“We do not anticipate a turnaround in government spending until governance issues are resolved. Both business and household confidence surveys do not portend much improvement in spending. Credit growth has decelerated over the last three months, suggesting that the impact of rate cuts has been weak until now. Overall, it appears that the official 2025 GDP forecast of 5.5–6.5% will not be achieved,” they said.
+They now expect the Philippine economy to expand by 4.9% this year, down from 5.4% previously, while they also lowered their 2026 forecast to 5% from 5.2% earlier.
+Chinabank Research also said that the public construction component “may continue weighing down economic growth, as investigations continue and due to the proposed reallocation of some DPWH funding to other priority sectors in next year’s national budget.”
+“In the fourth quarter, catch-up efforts in government spending could help lift growth, while natural calamities pose risks to consumption activities,” it said.
+Weak economic prospects and a manageable inflation outlook would give the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ample room to continue its easing cycle, the analysts said.
+The ANZ Research economists said they expect two more 25-basis-point (bp) cuts from the central bank.
+Meanwhile, Mr. Dacanay said the base case is for a 25-bp reduction at the Monetary Board’s Dec. 11 meeting, but the slowdown opens the door for a larger cut, depending on the US Federal Reserve’s stance.
+In October, the BSP trimmed benchmark rates by 25 bps for fourth straight meeting to bring the policy rate to 4.75%. It has now lowered borrowing costs by a total of 175 bps since its easing cycle began in August 2024.
+BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has signaled further easing until next year to help support domestic demand as the corruption mess has hit investor sentiment and economic prospects.
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GCash is also addressing a persistent pain point for Filipino freelancers who often lose a portion of their income to costly fees, reducing their take-home pay and delaying access to funds they rely on for daily expenses.