Lackluster GDP to impede property’s recovery

The third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the Philippines was a disappointing 4% — due mainly to tempered household consumption as well as constricted government infrastructure spending. The third quarter (Q3) 2025 GDP growth was the weakest quarterly economic expansion recorded since the third quarter of 2011, a period that also saw slower spending due to corruption allegations involving public projects.

While Q3 is historically a slow quarter, the sharp slowdown was worse than what economists projected. Average GDP growth for 9M 2025 is now at 5%, even lower than the 5.5% to 6.5% estimate of the country’s economic managers. Hence, it is no longer surprising to see credit rating agencies and multilateral aid agencies also downgrading their growth forecast for the Philippines for 2025.

Colliers Philippines is still hoping for a strong finish for the property sector. Fourth quarter is traditionally a strong period for retail spending due to higher remittances and disbursement of holiday bonuses for public and private sector employees.

Greater purchasing power supported by attractive ready for occupancy (RFO) promos should also help lift demand for residential units, especially mid-income (P3.6 million to P12 million a unit) condominiums primarily targeted by developers’ “renter to owner” schemes.

The office market has so far surpassed initial projections for 2025, but stakeholders are on the lookout for anti-outsourcing measures that might impede the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector’s growth beyond 2025.

SLOWEST QUARTERLY GROWTH SINCE Q3 2011

In Q3 2025, the Philippine economy expanded by 4%, the slowest since the 3.8% contraction in Q3 2011. As of 9M 2025, average GDP reached 5%, lower than the government’s full year target of between 5.5% and 6.5%. The country remains one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia in 9M 2025, next to Vietnam’s 7.7%.

Steady GDP expansion is essential for the country to generate decent jobs and ensure growth in individual incomes. Improving workers’ purchasing power is crucial in fueling residential demand.

CENTRAL BANK EASES RATES FURTHER, INFLATION HOLDS STEADY

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or central bank cut its policy rate for the fourth straight meeting, reducing the benchmark rate by another 25-basis points (bps) to 4.75% in October, the lowest since September 2022.

The central bank noted that inflation outlook remains within the target range of 2% to 4% but highlighted the weaker economic outlook and the decline in business confidence as key reasons for further rate cuts.

Since August 2024, the central bank has cut a total of 175 bps.

Inflation reached 1.7% in October 2025, an easing from 2.3% a year ago. As of 10M 2025, average inflation reached 1.7%, below the government’s 2%-4% target range.

SHIFTING GEARS BEYOND 2025

The office and residential markets are now starting to move sideways in the property cycle. With substantial correction in office rents at the height of the pandemic, Colliers is hopeful that recent tailwinds in the office market will result in gradual recovery in lease rates within and outside Metro Manila.

It appears that property developers have finally accepted what needs to be done to revive the Metro Manila vertical market, especially the mid-income segment which is now the focal point of developers’ RFO promos. The retail segment continues its aggressive recovery post-covid, with strong absorption and limited new retail space resulting in drop in vacancy and rise in rents.

The Q3 results point to a need for massive pump-priming from the government. Continued slowdown in government’s infrastructure program will likely result in a Philippine economy grinding to a halt — so it is crucial that private personal consumption expenditures in Q4 are supported by ramped up public sector spending.

With the current market dynamics, it’s obvious that the Philippine economy and property are still moving, but not sprinting. Until we see sweeping governance reforms and an eventual return of private investor confidence, we’re bound to see property opportunities not exactly shouting, but whispering.

Source: Business World

Noche Buena for P500: The Christmas script no one believes anymore

Every December, the Philippine state performs a familiar ritual. Government agencies release upbeat pronouncements on the affordability of the Noche Buena, complete with curated grocery lists, smiling inspection photos, and carefully rehearsed sound bites about stable prices.

These announcements follow a predictable script. They are designed to soothe public anxiety, create an appearance of control, and project an image of administrative competence.

But this year, when the Department of Trade and Industry claimed that a family could celebrate Noche Buena with only 500 pesos, the public reaction was immediate and fierce. What was meant as reassurance turned into ridicule and outrage across social media, sari sari stores, palengkes, and dining tables. The backlash was swift because the number did not merely underestimate economic hardship. It underestimated the meaning of the season itself.

Filipinos were not angered simply because 500 pesos was unrealistic. They were angered because the statement felt dismissive.

It was the latest reminder that those in charge of economic policy seem increasingly detached from the realities of everyday families who navigate inflation not through spreadsheets but by rearranging their desires, postponing essentials, and sacrificing personal comfort for their children.

In short, the statement revealed a government out of touch with the emotional and cultural depth of the holiday it was reducing to a price point.

Spreadsheeting a tradition

To argue that 500 pesos is enough is to treat Noche Buena as a technical puzzle that can be solved by removing costly items.

Ham, queso de bola, fruit salad, spaghetti sauce, even bread. As long as one reaches the lowest possible total, the state suggests that the celebration remains intact and that a Filipino family should be able to produce a respectable Christmas meal.

Yet families know this is not how rituals work. The sociological value of Noche Buena lies in its emotional and symbolic weight. It is one of the few moments in the year when households attempt to suspend the relentless pressure of survival. Parents work overtime for ingredients not because these items are luxuries but because they help restore a sense of normalcy. They provide continuity with the Christmases parents remember from their own childhoods. They signal an effort to protect joy in an increasingly difficult world.

A fruit salad may not be essential for survival, but it is essential for memory. Ham may not be necessary for nutrition, but it is necessary for tradition. Spaghetti may not solve hunger, but it does create a shared moment of delight. These meals are not simply consumable goods. They are affective anchors that remind families of who they are, where they come from, and what values they want to hold on to.

When the state compresses this meaning into a 500-peso budget, it tells families to shrink their aspirations. It reframes celebration as a minimalist exercise rather than a cultural practice rooted in care, obligation, and continuity. It sends the message that the only valid celebrations are those that are cheap enough to justify.

Resilience is not public policy

The 500-peso claim is part of a larger political pattern. Philippine governance has long relied on moral narratives about the Filipino character. Industrious. Resilient. Resourceful. Patient. These traits, while admirable and often true, have been weaponized as political tools to shift responsibility away from institutions and toward individuals.

When inflation rises, Filipino families must adjust. When wages stagnate, they must budget better. When living costs increase, they must make sacrifices. In this narrative, the structural failures of policy become reframed as personal shortcomings. The burden is placed not on the systems that create hardship but on households that are expected to absorb its effects with dignity.

The 500-peso Noche Buena list is a perfect example. Instead of acknowledging that wages cannot keep up with prices or that agricultural policies remain weak, the state focuses on teaching families how to make do. It suggests alternatives, cheaper substitutes, and thriftier options. It treats poverty as an individual problem to be managed rather than a structural condition to be addressed.

Public frustration grows because people know their struggles are not caused by a lack of budgeting skills. Their struggles stem from an economy that no longer matches their hard work, from policies that fail to secure affordable food systems, and from governance that repeatedly asks citizens to stretch their resources while refusing to stretch its imagination.

When scarcity is the new normal

Beyond economics, there is a symbolic dimension to the issue. When officials insist on unrealistic numbers, they participate in what sociologists call symbolic violence. This is the imposition of a worldview that makes inequality seem natural, normal, or inevitable.

By stating that 500 pesos is sufficient, the state implicitly suggests that limited options should be accepted and that those who want more are unreasonable. Over time, expectations are lowered. A fuller table begins to feel like a privilege rather than a basic mark of care. Celebration becomes a luxury. Scarcity becomes a baseline. The slow erosion of expectations is precisely how inequality becomes entrenched.

This is why the public reaction was emotional. Citizens recognized the statement as an attempt to normalize the very struggles policymakers refuse to confront. They heard in the announcement not a practical suggestion but a political message: that the state is comfortable with how little families can afford.

The uproar reflects a deeper disconnect between policymakers and the daily realities of ordinary people. If government officials cannot accurately estimate the cost of a simple holiday meal, how can they be expected to design policies for wage adequacy, food security, or market regulation.

The issue is not pasta or ham. It is government credibility. When officials speak from a place detached from everyday life, they erode public trust in institutions that rely on legitimacy to govern effectively. A government that cannot understand the emotional logic of Noche Buena is unlikely to understand the needs of the households who live paycheck to paycheck.

As inflation continues to shape household decisions, people look for leaders who can speak honestly about hardship. They look for empathy. They look for clarity. What they often receive instead are holiday graphics, supermarket walk throughs, and unrealistic calculations designed to create the illusion of control rather than addressing the reality of struggle.

Why settle for survival?

In the end, the debate is not about whether a family can technically survive Noche Buena on 500 pesos. Under enough pressure, Filipino families have always found ways to stretch their resources. The real question is why the state continues to operate on the assumption that survival is an acceptable benchmark.

Public policy should uplift living standards, not minimize expectations. It should address food systems, wages, agricultural bottlenecks, and corporate pricing practices. It should confront, not obscure, the structures that make celebration feel like an economic burden. It should treat dignity as a non negotiable, not as an optional upgrade.

Filipinos do not ask for extravagance. They ask for the ability to create moments of joy without feeling punished by the economy. They ask for a holiday meal that reflects care rather than constraint. They ask for a government that confronts reality rather than performs optimism.

Filipinos deserve a state that does not ask them to shrink their dreams every December. They deserve leaders who listen before they prescribe and who understand that rituals hold societies together. They deserve policies grounded in empathy rather than assumptions.

A 500-peso Noche Buena is not just unrealistic. It is a reminder that the politics of pretending has gone too far.

Source: Rappler

When a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) Abroad Needs Authentication in the Philippines

It is an important legal requirement: a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) executed and notarized abroad must be authenticated if it is to be valid and binding in the Philippines.

Why? Because a notarization from a foreign country by itself does not guarantee that the document will be accepted by Philippine authorities. Authentication confirms the genuineness of the notarial act — the identity of the notary, the validity of the seal or stamp, and that the person signing actually appeared before the notary or authorized official.

If this authentication step is skipped, Philippine government agencies, courts, banks or the registry of deeds may reject the SPA — even if it was properly notarized overseas. This can derail transactions involving property, banking, legal representation, or other significant acts that rely on the SPA.

What changed with the Apostille Convention

Traditionally, the process of authenticating foreign documents for use in the Philippines was cumbersome: documents had to be recently legalized by the foreign government (often via its “foreign ministry” or equivalent), then authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate (“consularization” or “red ribbon”).

But since the Philippines became a party to the Apostille Convention on 14 May 2019, there is now a simpler route — apostillization.

• If the country where the SPA was executed is also a member (contracting state) of the Apostille Convention, the notary’s act can be certified via an apostille by that country’s designated “competent authority.” This apostille — usually a sticker, stamp, or attached certificate — verifies the authenticity of the notary’s signature/seal and the authority of the notary.

• Once properly apostilled, the SPA can be used in the Philippines without further authentication by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate.

• However, if the SPA was notarized in a country not part of the Apostille Convention, you must still follow the older procedure — foreign legalization + consular authentication before the SPA is considered valid in the Philippines.

Thus, the Apostille Convention streamlines cross-border recognition of public documents (including SPAs), reduces bureaucracy, and makes it easier for Filipinos abroad to send notarized documents home for legal purposes.

What is the Apostille Convention — in simpler terms

The Apostille Convention — more formally the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (1961) — is an international treaty that simplifies the process of authenticating public documents (e.g. notarial acts, birth certificates, marriage certificates, court documents) when they are used abroad. Under the Convention:

• A participating country designates a “competent authority” (e.g. a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State, County Governor). That authority issues an Apostille Certificate for the document.

• The Apostille certifies authenticity — of the signature, the capacity of the signer, and, when applicable, the seal or stamp. Importantly, it does not certify the content of the document.

• Once a document bears a valid apostille, it becomes “honored as public document” in any other member country of the Convention. No further legalization (e.g. consular legalization, embassy certification) is required.

In effect, the Apostille Convention replaced the older “red ribbon / consularization” system with a single-step international certification — massively easing cross-border document exchange.

Who are the “Apostille Countries”? (Selected List & Highlights)

As of 2025, there are over 120 contracting states to the Apostille Convention worldwide.

Here are some examples across different regions:

• Europe: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and many others.

• Americas: United States, Canada (joined Jan 2024), Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, many Latin American and Caribbean countries.

• Asia–Pacific: Japan, Australia, South Korea, China (note: only Hong Kong & Macao SARs; mainland China isn’t party) according to some sources.

• Others: Various countries across Africa, Middle East, Latin America, and elsewhere. For example, a number of less-commonly cited countries are part of the convention according to publicly available member-lists.

Because the Convention is widely ratified, most countries where Filipinos live or travel are likely to be contracting states — which greatly helps in easing the authentication process for documents like SPAs, birth certificates, or educational credentials.

What This Means for Filipinos Abroad — And You

Given that you — and likely some people you know — may need to have documents notarized abroad for use in the Philippines (e.g. SPAs for real-estate dealings, representation, banking, remittances, family law, etc.), here are the practical takeaways:

• If you’re in a country that’s a contracting party to the Apostille Convention:  Have your SPA or relevant document notarized there, then request an Apostille Certificate from the country’s competent authority. Once apostilled, the document can be used in the Philippines — no further embassy/consulate authentication needed.

• If the country is not part of the Convention: Be prepared for the older process: notarization → legalization by foreign government → consular authentication by Philippine embassy/consulate. This can be longer and more complex.

• Always present the original notarized + apostilled/consularized document when submitting to Philippine authorities — e.g. Registry of Deeds, banks, courts. Some agencies may require a “certified true copy,” but the apostille or consular seal must be visible.

• Understand: an Apostille doesn’t validate the content, only the authenticity of the notarial act. The receiving agency in the Philippines still has the right to assess whether the document meets substantive legal requirements (e.g. SPA must contain detailed description of powers; certain acts like property sale require notarization per law).

Why the Apostille Convention Matters — Not Just for SPAs

Beyond SPAs, the Apostille Convention facilitates international mobility and transactions for Filipinos abroad:

• Birth, marriage, death certificates — important for dual citizenship, overseas employment, visa or immigration processes abroad.

• Educational credentials — diplomas, transcripts, certifications for foreign study or work.

• Court or notarial documents — affidavits, powers of attorney, contracts, adoption papers, etc.

Because over 120 countries are parties (and more join from time to time), this system significantly reduces red tape and speeds up cross–border legal and personal processes.

For Filipinos living partly abroad, dealing with properties in the Philippines, or planning international transactions — understanding and using the Apostille system could save time, money, and headaches.

Final Thoughts

We underscore a simple but often-overlooked truth: notarization abroad does not automatically guarantee recognition in the Philippines. 

Without proper authentication, foreign SPAs and other documents may be rendered ineffective.

But since the Philippines’ accession to the Apostille Convention, there is now a smoother, internationally-recognized path: apostillization.

This system reflects global legal cooperation and makes things easier for Filipinos abroad dealing with cross-border documentation.

If you are ever in the process of executing a Special Power of Attorney abroad — whether for land, banking, or personal matters — make it a point to check:

1. Is the country an Apostille Convention member?

2. If yes: apostille the SPA. If no: prepare for consular legalization.

3. Retain the original apostilled/consularized SPA when submitting it in the Philippines.

Source: Ziggurat Real Estate