FASTEST

GROWING
ECONOMY
IN ASIA
PHILIPPINES
Economic Growth
■ Philippine GNP $105.124 billion (September 2019)

■ Philippine GDP $356.814 billion ((nominal, 2019 est.)

■ Philippine GDP grows 6.4 percent in fourth quarter of

2019

■ Rank 70th in economic freedom on 2019 index

FACTORS IN ECONOMIC
GROWTH
 Overseas Filipino
Workers
 Business Process
Outsourcing
 Philippine Offshore
Gaming Operation
 Philippine Infrastructure
 Tourism
Overseas Filipino Workers
■ Total number of OFWs estimated at 2.3 Million
■ Cumulative cash remittances for the Jan-Oct 2019 period
to $24.9 billion, higher by 4.6 percent compared to
$23.8 billion recorded last year.
■ By country source, the US registered the highest share to
total remittances during the period January to October
2019 at 37.6 percent. It was followed by Saudi Arabia,
Singapore, Japan, United Arab Emirates, the UK,
Canada, Germany, Hong Kong and Kuwait. The
combined remittances from these countries accounted for
78.4 percent of total cash remittances during the period
Business Process Outsourcing
Philippine Offshore Gaming
Operation
■POGOs are essentially online casinos operating
out of the Philippines
■Online gambling is illegal in China. The closest
and cheapest alternative destination is the
Philippines, where online gambling is legal and
now regulated by Philippine Amusement and
Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)
■Prohibition of Filipino citizens to play
Philippine Offshore Gaming
Operation
■ KMC Savills Inc. projected that the POGOs have taken up 800,000
square meters of office space
■ Colliers International report that POGOs account for 20 percent of
office space in Metro Manila
■ Leechiu Property Consultants CEO David Leechiu predicts that,
POGOs will overtake BPOs as the number one office tenant in the
country.
■ The increased demand—and rates—of commercial spaces has
spilled over into the residential market as rental rates have surged in
the POGO hotspots: the Bay Area, Makati, and Pasig. According
to Leechiu, rental rates in the Bay Area have spiked 80 percent from
three years ago. Studio units that were once priced at P18,000 are
now P32,000 per unit.
Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation
Taxes

■ Philippine Online Gambling Operations (POGOs) are creating a ripple of

economic development, particularly in the property and food sectors
■ Income from gaming operations are subject to a 5% franchise tax
■ Income from other related services or non-gaming operations is
subject to normal income tax, value-added tax, and other applicable
taxes
■ POGO operators are not relieved of their liabilities as tax withholding
agents
■ Compensation, fees, commissions, or any other remuneration for
services rendered to a POGO by its employees and service providers
(e.g., consultants, contractors) are subject to withholding tax on
compensation or to the expanded withholding taxes
Pagcor revenue from Pogo
seen hitting P8B in 2019
Philippine Infrastructure
Philippine Infrastructure

■Accelerates economic growth and job opportunities

thus increasing domestic consumption
■The availability of adequate infrastructure helps to
expand trade not only within a country by improving
transport facilities but also promote foreign trade
through improvement of ports and airports
■The Philippines suffers from unemployment and
poverty because of poor infrastructure
Build Build Build Program
■ Thus, President Duterte initiated the “Build, Build, Build” (BBB)
Program, which seeks to accelerate infrastructure
spending and develop industries that will yield robust
growth, create jobs and improve the lives of Filipinos
■ A total of PHP909.7 billion will be allotted for the construction
of the flagship projects under the "Build, Build, Build" program
(2019)
■ Among the most expensive projects are the Metro Manila
Subway Project-Phase 1 (P354.9 billion), Malolos-
Clark Airport-Clark Green City Railway (P211.4
billion), Philippine National Railways (PNR) Manila-
Bicol Line (P175.3 billion), and the PNR Tutuban-Los
Baños Line (P124.1 billion).
Philippine Infrastructure

■ Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III assured that the TRAIN law
“provided a solid footing for our infrastructure spending
program”