Foreign investments drop nearly half: Corruption Issues Hound Marcos Administration

With political tensions rising and corruption scandals tarnishing the country’s image abroad, investor confidence is taking a direct hit — reflected in the sharp drop in investment approvals, which stand at just over P800 billion, barely half of 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 said that BoI investment approvals from January to November 2025 hit P816.81 billion across 261 projects — a 48.4-percent plunge from the P1.58 trillion logged in the same period last year.

Despite the drop, Roque emphasized that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is still reviewing over P1 trillion worth of big-ticket projects, all under Green Lane status for fast-tracked 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 the BoI worth well over P1 trillion. These projects are registered with our Green Lane facility. Let’s wait and see what happens,” Roque told reporters.

The big-ticket projects include three hydroelectric plants with a combined 2.4-gigawatt capacity; four offshore wind projects totaling 3.7-GW; two air transport service ventures; and one major transport infrastructure project. Altogether, they amount to P1 trillion and are expected to generate 32,864 direct jobs for Filipinos, according to BoI estimates.

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 Jose Manuel Romualdez acknowledged that several American investors had expressed serious concerns about the corruption issues currently hounding the Marcos administration.

Nordic Chamber of Commerce president Bo Lundqvist said the massive corruption revealed in the flood control probe has already stained the Philippines’ reputation abroad — especially among investors in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, who are reassessing the country’s stability and credibility.

Despite this, he said corruption is not unique to the Philippines, but it gives the country a reputation “of being difficult to do business in.”

Political turmoil

Asked if the current political tensions in the country have something to do with the decline in foreign and local investments, Roque said this was an issue with some investors.

“The political environment is, of course, an important consideration for any investor. However, strategic BoI projects typically have a medium to long-term gestation period. And as such, investors attach greater importance to long-term factors such as economic fundamentals and structure, market demographics, and direction of policy reform,” she said.

The DTI has set a target of P1.75 trillion in investment approvals this year, and despite the current numbers, Roque said they are still hoping to meet it.

“The project approvals will definitely still increase. But we cannot predict yet whether the increase will be enough to reach the P1.75 trillion we targeted for 2025,” she said.

She said that 10 big-ticket projects worth well over P1 trillion are currently being assessed by the BoI, noting that almost all of them are registered under the agency’s Green Lane facility. 

“So, we are certain these are strategic in nature. And we have been keenly keeping track of the project milestones,” she said. 

She said the BoI does not want to rush or preempt the assessment of their technical services teams, precisely because these are strategic big-ticket projects and “we have to be very prudent in their evaluation.” 

The P1.92-trillion Green Lane-certified projects to date are expected to generate 161,325 direct jobs, spanning renewable energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, food security, pharmaceuticals, and digital infrastructure.

Renewable energy leads with P1.42 trillion across 60 projects, followed by public-private partnerships, infrastructure and water (P416.08 billion), digital infrastructure (P49.56 billion), manufacturing (P30.13 billion), food security (P4.33 billion), and pharmaceuticals (P45 million).

Since its launch in February 2023, the Green Lane has certified 229 projects worth P6.06 trillion, projected to create 396,822 jobs, underscoring its key role in attracting strategic, future-ready investments.

Moreover, Roque said, as they are a prudent administrator of incentives, they carefully evaluate these projects according to the requirements of the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan and its guidelines.

“While we are working double-time, we are unsure if all of these can be approved for registration this year. But what this signifies is that the pipeline of strategic investments remains strong,” she underlined.