President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has made overseas investment missions a hallmark of his administration, with Malacañang frequently touting billions of dollars in investment pledges after each visit. But as the President prepares to deliver his State of the Nation Address, questions remain over how many of those commitments have translated into actual investments, jobs and economic gains.

Since assuming office, Marcos has made 45 foreign trips, including five between January and July this year, as Malacañang continues to describe him as a “working President” pursuing economic diplomacy.

His latest visits included to the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Japan, Russia, Canada and Singapore.

In January, Marcos traveled to Abu Dhabi, where he attended Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and witnessed the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the Philippines’ first free trade agreement with a Middle Eastern country. The government said the pact would expand market access, reduce tariffs and encourage investment.

In March, Marcos addressed the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and a special UN General Assembly plenary session in New York. Unlike other foreign trips, however, no investment commitments were announced.

A state visit to Japan in May yielded about $3.4 billion in investment pledges, according to Malacañang, while visits to Russia and Canada focused on strengthening diplomatic and economic ties. During his trip to Canada, the Palace announced $2.5 billion in investment commitments.

Marcos’ most recent trip, a working visit to Singapore from 14 to 16 July, also resulted in fresh investment commitments in digital infrastructure and healthcare that Malacañang said could generate about 10,000 jobs. However, it did not disclose the total value of the pledged investments.

The administration has yet to provide a comprehensive accounting of how much of the investment commitments announced during the President’s overseas trips have materialized into registered or operating projects.

The foreign missions also come with a growing price tag.

For 2025, the Office of the President’s travel budget reached P1.29 billion, higher than the original proposal of P1.054 billion and above the 2024 allocation of P1.148 billion.

Former Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Edgardo Lacson said it is common practice for governments to announce investment pledges during presidential visits.

“Some announcements are part of the usual public relations effort to demonstrate that a visit was successful,” Lacson said. “But some are genuine commitments that eventually translate into projects, jobs and economic activity.”

Political analyst Dennis Coronacion, chair of the University of Santo Tomas Department of Political Science, said many Filipinos remain unconvinced that the President’s foreign trips have produced tangible benefits.

“Because of the President’s low survey ratings, many Filipinos do not seem to feel the impact of these overseas trips to attract investors. We need foreign investments to revive the economy, but we have yet to see major foreign companies pushing through with their investment plans because of political instability and the perception of political risk,” he said.

Coronacion also noted that spending on foreign travel under the Marcos administration is significantly higher than during the Duterte administration.

“Compared with former President Duterte, President Marcos is spending more on overseas travel. If these trips fail to produce concrete results, they become vulnerable to criticism that they bring little benefit to the country,” he said.

For comparison, the Office of the President spent between P25.2 million and P36.8 million on foreign travel in 2021 under former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Government investment data, meanwhile, paints a mixed picture.

The Board of Investments reported approving P461.84 billion worth of investments during the first half of 2026, a 21-percent increase from P382.24 billion in the same period last year.

The approved projects, totaling 124, are expected to generate 14,415 direct jobs.

Foreign investment approvals, however, amounted to only P14.16 billion, led by Singapore with P3.15 billion, followed by China, the United States, Australia and Japan.