The Philippine economy grew 5.9% in 2019 from 6.2% in 2018. This broke the record seven-year growth streak of over 6.0% in gross domestic product (GDP). This is also lower than the government’s revised growth target of 6.0-6.5%. A number of analysts have raised concerns on whether this growth marks the return to a boombust cycle which mainly characterized the economic performance of the country in the past decades. This paper seeks to provide an assessment of the Philippine economy in 2019 highlighting key factors that affected performance. It also discusses key issues and recent and prospective developments that would impact on economic outlook and thus the achievement of the country’s development objectives. The paper will conclude with a brief discussion of key reform imperatives that seek to address development challenges and hopefully help strengthen the economy to be able to sidestep a boom-bust cycle.