Economy

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN Two days before the United States and Israel released the first missiles that assassinated Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini, his top generals and family members, along with some 170 schoolgirls in an elementary school in Tehran, Filipino businessman Manny V. Pangilinan gave an interview with Bloomberg about oil and gas exploration in the disputed South …

The Philippines reported a wider trade deficit in February from a year ago as the growth of imports outpaced exports. The gap eased to its lowest level in nine months. Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s trade-in-goods deficit widened by 23.1 percent to $3.68 billion year-on-year. This reversed the decreases recorded in previous months. …

Inventories of oil and refined petroleum products which are categorized as “reserves” have never been given priority by the government, as the private sector takes care of oil reserves to last from 15 to 30 days as demanded by the law. That was the case in the local oil industry, with Petron, Caltex, Shell and other oil companies only reporting …

The Philippines received a business delegation from Northern Poland to explore possible collaboration in maritime investments, including shipbuilding, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said. “The participation of the West Pomeranian delegation — representing shipbuilding, maritime logistics, industrial engineering, and construction — underscores Poland’s growing interest in the Philippines as a strategic investment hub in the region,” PEZA Director General …

With the Philippine rainy season already in the offing and farmers are readying to plant their crops, particularly rice which is the principal agricultural produce for Filipinos, the problem of fertilizer supply has once again surfaced. This developed as the three-week war between Israel and the United States on one side and Iran on the other showed no signs of …

The war in West Asia has just entered its 3rd week with no signs of abatement. The conflict has been punishing all Filipinos—rich, poor and the middle class—from the wealthy government officials, businessmen, traders, professionals, to the masses of farmers, fisherfolk and ordinary workers. Nothing has prepared the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government and the local business community for this economic …

ONGOING REFORMS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday (March 12, 2026). During the meeting, Marcos and Georgieva discussed reforms aimed at sustaining the Philippines’ economic growth trajectory. (Photo from PBBM Facebook) The Philippines remains committed to pursuing reforms and sound economic policies to ensure stability …

More Filipinos of working age were jobless last January, authorities have confirmed. In a press conference Friday, Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia del Prado said the unemployment rate stood at 5.8 percent in January, up from 4.4 percent in December 2025 and 4.3 percent in January last year. In numerical terms, this means  the number of jobless Filipinos increased to …

Inflation accelerated to 2.4% in February, the fastest in 13 months, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) this week. The latest figure is 0.4 percentage points higher than January’s 2.0% and slightly above the 2.1% recorded in February 2025. The PSA attributed the uptick mainly to faster price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, where inflation …

As the Iran war rages, authorities have projected that diesel oil is estimated to rise by P19.62 per liter, while gasoline may see an increase of P10.43 per liter, with the announcement of final price movements expected today, March 9. Based on the full five days of trading for the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the industry’s regional gauge for …