MACTAN, Cebu — As the Middle East war continues, and tariff woes remain, investors in the ASEAN region are more cautious, Philippine Trade and Industry Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Ceferino Rodolfo admitted on Thursday.

This, amid the recent Asian Development Bank GDP growth projections for Southeast Asia which basically still still sees solid growth fueled by robust domestic demand. 

ADB’s sub-regional GDP for the ASEAN region is projected to expand by 4.7 percent in 2026 and 4.8 percent in 2027, though dynamics will vary across economies.

“The biggest enemy of investor confidence is uncertainty, and uncertainties caused by what is happening from tariffs to the Middle East crisis have brought about a more cautious investment attitude towards ASEAN in general, and across sectors,” Undersecreatary  Rodolfo said during the ASEAN Business Media Exchange, which is part of the ASEAN Summit 2026.

Action from investors

“But I have to say that there are certain key sectors that have been receiving a lot of attention, and not just attention, a lot of action from investors. So, there are opportunities within the crisis, and for the Philippines, we are fortunate enough to have already, even before the crisis, laid down the foundation so that we can accelerate the actions by investors on these particular sectors,” he added.

Rodolfo said the geopolitical tensions, which resulted in global oil shocks, have opened doors for other sectors for investments in the country, namely renewable energy, mining and mineral processing, digital infrastructure (submarine cables to fiber optic networks, telco towers and data centers)  tourism, as well as high-value manufacturing, including semiconductors and electronics.

For the renewable energy sector, Rodolfo said the Philippine government is focused on 4Ps — Policy reform, Permitting process, Partnerships, and People and workforce development.

Policies in place

“For Policy reforms, we already have policies in place before the crisis. For the Permitting process, we have the Green Lane facility, among other interventions,” according to Rodolfo.

The BoI earlier reported that renewable energy investments for 2026 are surging, approving over P20.4 billion in RE projects during February 2026 alone, accounting for 55.9 percent of total approved investments for that month.