[In This Economy] Four years on, Marcos failed to deliver on his economic promises

If you go back to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2022, you will find a tidy list of headline numbers. (Which many people also found quite boring.)

Real GDP growth of 6.5 to 8% every year. Single-digit poverty by 2028. Upper middle-income status by 2024. A deficit down to 3% of GDP by 2028, and debt below 60% of GDP by 2025.

It was, Marcos told Congress, an anchor for the whole six-year plan, a “credible commitment” to the country.

Four years later, that anchor has mostly failed to hold. With the 2026 SONA coming up, now is as good a time as any to check the promises against the record.

Anemic growth