This came up on my Asean Now feed today - which is now run by The Thaiger.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1396562-thailand-ranks-second-in-2026-retirement-abroad-index/

Also the Daily Mail in the UK is reporting this as well at:

https://www.dailymail.com/travel/article-15889337/best-countries-retire-abroad.html

It says that this survey ranking is new - but when I searched for the source reference - it seems to have been published in February 2026 - before the Strait of Hormuz crisis.  So, the situation in the Philippines has degraded somewhat after the President declared a National Energy Emergency.

Anyway, it is still an interesting read.

Here is the source document from the Expatriate Group 

https://www.expatriatehealthcare.com/best-countries-to-retire/

 

 

The Reddit expat page for the Philippines would give a somewhat different perspective. 

Just remember folks that not only is the Philippines subject to several typhoons a year - most of them major and with devastating effects in some areas - it has just yesterday reported a 7.8 earthquake. That really is a big one. The country is on the so-called Ring of Fire, the 25,000 mile undersea fault that rings the Pacific from the east of Australia to the centre of Chile. Roughly 90% of the world's worst earthquakes occur in this region.

Each year The Philippines experiences around 7,000 earthquakes. Most are too deep or too small to be felt at ground level. This is at least better than Tokyo where when living there I felt minor quakes every six weeks or so. According to various sources, the safest place from earthquakes in The Philippines is Davao City, but Siargao is also mentioned.

Volcanic activity is also present with the 1991 Mt. Pinatuba volcanic eruption being the second largest in the 20th century.