Professor Victor Andres Manhit, President of Stratbase; fellow workers in government; friends in the private sector: good morning.

First of all, let me congratulate Stratbase for its 20 fruitful years of heading critical dialogues across sectors to help shape our nation’s future.

Your passion for opening difficult yet necessary conversations has allowed us in the government to steer our policies more critically and proactively.

Where we are now is definitely a product of our good teamwork to raise the Philippines’ standing on the global stage and secure a better future for every Filipino.

We now have the momentum on our side, and we must do everything to seize it.

The Philippines today is in its strongest economic state. Despite fierce global headwinds, we remain one of ASEAN’s top performers, boasting a 6.1 percent average growth rate since President Marcos Jr. took office.

The Philippine economy has already doubled its size since 2013 in terms of nominal GDP. And by 2030, our projections show that we can grow by another two-fold.

And this has not gone unnoticed by the rest of the world. Major international organizations and multilateral institutions share our promising potential.

From being the world’s 34th largest economy last year, the IMF projects that we will climb to the 28th spot by 2029.

Fast-forward to 2075, Goldman Sachs expects the Philippines to become the world’s 14th largest economy, overtaking France.

Our refined medium-term fiscal program ensures a solid fiscal and economic foundation as a launchpad for high takeoff, making sure that we get faster and farther to these projections.

The plan serves as our clear and proactive strategy for growth-enhancing fiscal consolidation that takes into account ongoing external developments, such as geopolitical tensions.

And the good news is that we are on track to reduce our deficit and debt gradually in a realistic manner, ensuring that the economy will continue to outgrow our obligations.

All while making sure that we can finance the long-term investments needed to lift our economic potential, create more jobs, increase incomes, and decrease poverty.

Our fiscal discipline and prudent debt management have already earned us a credit rating upgrade of A minus from R&I and a series of high-rating affirmations from different global agencies. We are confident that more As are within reach very soon.

Our priority legislative revenue reforms too are progressing very well, with one bill already signed into law and the rest in the advanced stages in Congress.

These reforms will provide a significant revenue boost for the government and bring our tax system in line with global standards.

On the external front, our accounts remain robust, backed by substantial overseas remittances, rising tourism receipts, and thriving BPO revenues.

These, along with our low external debt and an all-time high gross international reserves, should help mitigate the impact of external headwinds.

Our banks are also strong and stable, with capital adequacy and liquidity coverage ratios well above global standards.

Additionally, our whole-of-government efforts to mitigate food and non-food inflation are expected to keep the inflation rate within our target band for the next two years.

Low and stable prices will speed up the growth of our already robust domestic demand with household consumption accounting for more than 70 percent of our economy.

This favorable domestic inflation outlook allowed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to be the first in ASEAN to start its monetary policy easing.

To date, we have cut our interest rates to a total of 50 basis points, creating an even more conducive environment for growth and investments. And more rate cuts are expected in the coming months.

All these set the stage to fully harness our demographic sweet spot—our greatest asset to fuel long-term economic growth.

The Philippines boasts the most favorable demographics in ASEAN, with a median age of just 25 years old.

This golden moment is one we are committed to taking full advantage of to strengthen our already dynamic labor force.

Today, about 50 million Filipinos are employed and 63.9 percent of them hold formal, stable jobs. And unemployment has steadily decreased to 3.7 percent. This is proof of an expanding middle class ready to drive consumer demand.

And from 2025 to 2035, the Philippines’ working-age population is projected to grow by as much as 15 percent, based on HSBC’s assessment.

This will be the fastest pace in the region, making our demographic tailwind long-lasting.

With these favorable forces at play, we are on course to reach upper-middle-income status next year. And by 2030, the Philippines will become the 13th largest consumer market globally.

It is only then right that we take it as our collective duty as a nation to invest in the skills and education of our young population to fully capitalize on this demographic dividend.

And we recognize that the private sector’s role is indispensable in this quest. For you are our major economic lifeline. You have the power to accelerate or break our growth momentum.

That is why one of the President’s first initiatives was the creation of the Private Sector Advisory Council, which meets twice a month to offer strategic insights and industry expertise that shape government policies.

Our collaboration is grounded in core principles of transparency, innovation, adherence to the rule of law, and good governance.

Together, we have designed reforms that will ensure investments work best for the economy. Because when businesses flourish and investors succeed, the benefits ripple out to uplift more Filipino lives.

These include the Public-Private Partnership Code, which allows us to build massive infrastructure projects that enhance both our physical and intellectual assets.

We have now made it easier for you to partake not just in physical connectivity projects but also in developing the digital infrastructure required for the new economy, such as data centers.

We also need your help in rolling out our Artificial Intelligence Strategy Roadmap to upskill the Filipino workforce and cultivate a new generation of research scientists, engineers, and research and development innovators.

And equally important is your involvement in our sustainable projects for us to transition to a clean, green, and climate-resilient future.

Another game-changing measure is the CREATE MORE, which will be signed into law anytime soon.

Through attractive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, the bill will help bring in more capital-intensive investments and generate quality jobs, especially in higher value-added sectors like BPO, IT, construction, accounting, and healthcare.

This will fast-track the entry of more foreign investors into the Philippines, as evidenced by the bullishness and strong interest from nearly a thousand investors who attended our recent economic briefings abroad.

And I could go on and on. As the list of transformative reforms in motion is very extensive—from liberalizing key economic sectors, enhancing our capital market, and modernizing water resources development, to establishing green lanes.

I say extensive because these are reflective of the voices from different sectors. We all heard you loud and clear.

For the Marcos, Jr. administration is fully committed to doing everything in its power to help businesses succeed. Because we want you to make more money with us and grow your enterprises to help the nation prosper.

We are also leaving no stone unturned when it comes to protecting the future of our people.

We have actively formed strategic partnerships and alliances with other countries to strengthen our defense. For we understand that national security is inseparable from economic prosperity.

We are doing all of these to achieve our ultimate goal: to lift 8 million more Filipinos out of the poverty line by 2028.

This is the be-all and end-all of our efforts. Because this is the true measure that will define our inclusive growth, economic and national security, and shared prosperity.

I am confident that with great partners like Stratbase and the rest of our friends here today, we will make this ultimate goal happen sooner than expected.

So let us continue to keep our lines of communication open as we run faster, reach farther, and soar higher for every Filipino.

Thank you at mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas.