Chino Leyco

EDITORS DESK Intramuros was like a piece of heavy antique furniture—respected for its age, but largely left to gather dust in the corner of Manila. After witnessing centuries of Philippine history, the Walled City had become a sleepy relic of the Spanish colonial era, a place where foreign and local tourists simply checked a box on their bucket lists then dodged its chaotic streets.

For generations, economic survival in the Philippines required a ticket to Manila. The national capital region (NCR), a dense megacity of over 14 million people, held the monopoly on high-paying jobs, top-tier talent, and corporate investment. To build a career, millions of Filipinos needed to leave their hometowns behind, accepting grueling commutes and high costs as the price of admission. But today, this reality is changing.

(Manila Bulletin file photo I John Louie Abrina) The Philippines has finally moved up to upper-middle-income status, breaking out of a lower-middle-income classification it held for nearly 40 years. According to new data from the World Bank, the country joined the upper-middle-income bracket, which requires a gross national income (GNI) per capita between $4,636 and $14,375. The Philippines reached a record GNI per capita of $4,850 in 2025, an increase from $4,470 the previous year.