PROPERTY SECTOR. The speakers at the launch of the 14th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards in Makati City on Wednesday (March 4, 2026), some of whom are experts in the Philippines’ property sector. The panelists discussed local property sector developments. (PNA photo by Joann Villanueva)
MANILA – The government’s increased infrastructure investments has improved investors’ appetite towards the Philippines, officials of various firms said Wednesday, underscoring chances of economic recovery this year.
In a briefing at the 14th PropertyGuru Philippines Property Awards in Makati City, Japan Balboa, Robinsons Offices Vice President and Head of Corporate Lease, said they “remain bullish and confident” on the growth of the office space sector.
He said that while challenges like U.S. policies and competition remain high, “at the end of the day, we are very encouraged with how the IT-BPM (information technology-business process management) sector has grown through the years.”
He said the sector is forecast to have around 2 million employees by the end of this year, which means high demand for office spaces.
He said there are some companies who opted for office spaces for seasonal demand.
Some choose flexible office spaces as a strategy for their operations, as well as availing of office spaces to test domestic operations.
He said “flexible workspace will be a permanent strategy” among business process outsourcing (BPO) players.
“It see that as a permanent demand of the market, but at the same time, it’s also complementary,” he said.
He said there is no certainty whether the target to have 2 million BPO employees this year could be achieved but for Robinsons, they would focus on what they can control.
“We will control the quality of our projects, taking care of our clients, and continue to promote the Philippines as a viable destination,” he said.
For Jolan Formalejo, Vice President for Project Delivery of Aboitiz Economic Estates, he said the Philippines is on the right track in terms of really promoting the country as an investment destination by ensuring the businesses are given incentives.
He said the law that allows the 99-year lease of property for foreign investors is a big plus that encourage more foreign investments.
“This is really encouraging regional players to (the) Philippines. But on top of that, we take pride in terms of the infrastructure that we provide, not only within the economic states, but on how government is really connecting all these economic corridors,” he said.
Ambassador Chantal Wong, former U.S. Executive Director to the Asian Development Bank and founder of CW Consultants, said the Philippines became the largest borrower among ADB members in recent years because of its goal to increase infrastructure spending.
“Once these things come online, I would say in the economic corridors, it would be a game changer. And it is going to be opening up huge investment opportunities for, you know, in these corridors,” she said. (PNA)