Economy

From 1.4% one year ago to a likely 6.4% in April, 2026 — that’s a full 5-percent increase, and that’s the estimate of many officials, including those from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The official inflation rate for last month is scheduled to be announced tomorrow, May 5. The BSP said the higher expectations for inflation are driven by …

The state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines has extended a ₱2-billion loan to PH1 World Landscapes, Inc. to finance the construction of 8,360 housing units under the government’s flagship shelter program. The financing supports the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which aims to expand access to affordable housing for Filipino families. DBP …

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN TWO business-related developments coming from the United States government dominated the headlines in local media over the weekend—the first about the US Department of War’s plan to develop an oil storage facility in the Davao Region and second, the construction of a sprawling industrial hub in Central Luzon to secure Artificial Intelligence (AI) and semiconductor supply …

“Go easy on helping the poor.  Make your ayuda program only temporary, you do not have much money.” This was— in layman’s language— what Krishna Srinivasan, director for the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), advised the Philippine government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other similarly situated states in Southeast Asia, in the face of …

Users of electricity within the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) franchise will face higher electricity rates starting in September after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved the recovery of more than P4 billion in costs tied to a major gas plant owned by its affiliate. In an order promulgated on April 14, the ERC gave Meralco the go signal to recover …

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to apply space technology in improving irrigation systems and water resource management across the Philippines. The agreement, signed by PhilSA Ad Interim Director General Gay Jane P. Perez and NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen, sets the stage for using satellite data …

The Philippines is a finalist for International Mollusc of the Year, and representing our country is one of the strangest and rarest species in the world. The antingaw is the first known shipworm that lives within and eats through rock. Closely related to the tamilok and ugaong, it is unique in the shipworm family because it bores through limestone rather …

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN The reprieve currently in effect the West Asia hostilities due to the two-week ceasefire forged by Iran and the United States and Israel has little effect on Philippine business, as evidenced by the latest projections from local and international economic authorities. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pruned its growth forecast for the country, as this …

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. …