The Philippine economy, once among Asia’s strongest, now faces the prospect of being surpassed by Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar if structural problems go unaddressed, the head of one of the country’s oldest business chambers said over the weekend.
Jose Luis Yulo Jr., president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands, delivered the warning at the launch of a conference the group billed as “Actionize the Missions of Economic Compass Pillars 5,” held on Saturday. The gathering brought together participants to discuss economic growth, governance reform, infrastructure development, environmental protection, and education.
The Philippines once stood alongside Japan and ahead of Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in the 1960s — a period Yulo cited as the high-water mark of the country’s economic performance. The peso traded at roughly P2 to the dollar during that era. On April 17, 2026, the market closed at P59.966 to US$1.
Several of its neighbors have since pulled ahead. Yulo said Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam have all surpassed the Philippines in GDP per capita. The gap with larger economies has also widened. “Today the leading per capital economy is Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan… China has overtaken the Philippines and we are now behind China,” he said.
Yulo attributed the country’s long decline to a confluence of systemic failures. “Because of many reasons. One, government corruption. Number two, we fail in getting best people… It’s also an educational problem. Our educational system failed, religious, cultural upbringing failed, and corruption was nurtured,” he said.
He argued the situation remains reversible. “If we had done right before, maybe if we revisit and redo what we did before, maybe we can take back our once glorious past,” Yulo said.
The warning about Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar was grounded in existing data, according to Yulo. “If we don’t do anything, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar will overtake the Philippines. You can already see it in the numbers,” he said.
