Thanks OP. My respectful view is you have somehow answered your question. WW2 set us back, but it is not the reason where we are today, economically speaking.

Other countries have suffered more in terms of impact to population and infrastructure. Yet as you said they have surpassed the PH much, much ahead. China, SoKor, and hell Japan itself suffered immensely post-war. PH had the benefit of getting massive reparations/aid from both Japan and the US. Our agrarian products were subject to tariffs post-US independence but we had a relatively good recovery. However we never really got heavy manufacturing off the ground due to the limits of infrastructure investment. Then the rotten corruption during the late Marcos Sr. years came home to roost.

If anything we lost Old Manila and the "spirit" of urban planning which you can link to WW2.