Corruption, political woes slash investment approvals by half

With ongoing political tensions and corruption issues smearing the country’s reputation on the global stage, investor confidence is taking a hit, as current investment approvals remain just above P800 billion — far from the P1.5 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

On Monday, Trade and Industry Secretary and Board of Investments (BoI) chairperson Cristina Roque announced that BoI investment approvals from January to November 2025 reached P816.81 billion across 261 projects, a 48.4 percent slump versus the P1.58 trillion approved in the same period last year.

Despite this, Roque stressed that the Trade Department is still reviewing big-ticket projects worth over P1 trillion, all of which have been granted Green Lane status for expedited approval and implementation.

“While the year is wrapping up quickly, there are still significant projects under review that could positively impact our numbers. It’s premature to make any definitive conclusions until those are finalized. We currently still have big-ticket projects being assessed by BoI worth well over P1 T. These projects are registered with our Greenlane facility. Let’s wait and see what happens,” she told reporters.

The big-ticket projects include three hydroelectric projects with a combined 2.4-gigawatt capacity; four offshore wind projects totaling 3.7 GW; two air transport service projects; and a transport infrastructure project — altogether valued at P1 trillion and expected to generate 32,864 direct jobs for Filipinos, according to the BoI.

The Energy and Electricity sector captured the largest share of approved investments at P479.78 billion (58.74 percent), followed by airports and seaports (P195.69 billion), manufacturing (P58.99 billion), mass housing (P37.55 billion), and information and communication (P21.27 billion).

Earlier, Philippine Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Jose Manuel “Babes” Romualdez, acknowledged that several American investors have expressed deep concerns over corruption issues hounding the Marcos Jr. administration.

Nordic Chamber of Commerce president Bo Lundqvist also disclosed that the massive corruption uncovered in the flood control probe has already damaged the country’s reputation among investors from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

Despite this, he noted that corruption is not unique to the Philippines; however, the scandal reinforces the country’s image as “difficult to do business in.”