DOMESTIC consumption is expected to remain stable in 2026 as the government strengthens its social protection programs and remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector continue to grow.
In an online briefing on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, Maybank Investment Banking Group economist Azril Rosli said the Philippine economy showed signs of rebalancing in 2025 toward high-value services, citing the rising contribution of net external demand to domestic growth.
Rosli noted that despite this shift, domestic consumption remains the backbone of the economy, accounting for about 73 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Maybank estimates that private consumption grew by 4.8 percent in 2025 and is expected to expand at the same pace this year.
Government consumption, meanwhile, is estimated to have increased by 9.4 percent last year but is projected to slow to 4.8 percent this year.
Consumption is expected to stay strong and support economic growth of about 4.8 percent in 2025 and 4.9 percent this year. However, these figures remain below the economic managers’ revised growth target of five percent to six percent for 2025.
Household consumption continues to be supported by remittances from OFWs, which account for about 10 percent of the GDP, as well as by the BPO sector.
Rosli said they believe remittances would “support and provide continued measures to actually help weather the tariff uncertainties,” and cited the strong inflows from the US, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
He added that remittances support the country’s external position despite the peso’s weakness against the US dollar.
“Remittances are larger than the FDI (foreign direct investments) and more stable than portfolio flows, making them the single most important external anchor for the economy,” Rosli said.
On the BPO sector’s contribution, Rosli said it “is one of the contributing factors towards anchoring the GDP towards the positive trajectory.”
“It could actually lift up the labor market to make the labor market more positive and to also contribute towards the overall positive outlook for the economy,” he added. / PNA