Business

An international group of audit practitioners has named a senior executive of state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as “Chief Audit Executive of the Year”, citing his contributions in elevating the internal audit function in the government service. Senior Vice President Ryan R. Gabinete, head of DBP’s internal audit group, was recently conferred the honor by the Institute of …

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has signed a memorandum of agreement with the provincial government of Laguna to expand its ongoing river cleanup and restoration to reduce flooding across the province. The agreement, signed by SMC Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang and Laguna Governor Marisol “Sol” Aragones, integrates SMC’s five-year-old Better Rivers PH initiative into Laguna’s flood-mitigation plan. Under the …

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is now accepting applications for its emergency loan from active members and old-age and disability pensioners all over the country. This comes on the heels of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s declaration of a nationwide state of calamity due to Typhoon Tino and in anticipation of Typhoon Uwan. “As our kababayans reel from the wide …

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed tax evasion charges before the Department of Justice against three former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office. Named respondents were former District Engineer Henry Alcantara, former Assistant District Engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez, and former Construction Section Chief Jaypee Mendoza. “We conducted a …

An official of publicly-listed D&L Industries Inc. expressed confidence that the company will achieve its 10 percent income growth target this year after posting an 8 percent increase in the first nine months, driven by strong volume expansion. In a media briefing last week, D&L Industries president and chief executive officer Alvin Lao said the company’s volume grew by 11 …

The country’s inflation rate remained unchanged at 1.7 percent in October 2025, as slower increases in food and beverage prices offset higher costs in utilities and services, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Wednesday. The latest figure was lower than the 2.3 percent recorded in the same month last year and brought the 10-month average inflation to 1.7 percent — …

The Economy and Development (ED) Council has approved the recommendation of the Tariff and Related Matters Committee (TRMC) to maintain the current 15 percent Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate on rice imports until the end of 2025. The decision, which covers both in-quota and out-quota imports, was announced by the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) after Tuesday’s …

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the amended rules on the implementation of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) by distribution utilities (DUs), in a move seen to accelerate the digital transformation of the country’s power distribution sector. AMI integrates smart meters, communication platforms, and data management systems that allow both consumers and DUs to access real-time data on power consumption, …

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) posted a record net income of ₱37.3 billion in the first nine months of 2025, up 4 percent year-on-year, driven by strong loan expansion and higher trading income. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) last week, the bank reported a 12.1 percent annual increase in pre-provision operating profit to ₱59.2 billion. …

Most Philippine banks are expected to maintain their credit standards for both businesses and households in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Results of the BSP’s latest Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey (SLOS) released last week showed that a larger percentage of banks anticipate keeping their lending rules—covering interest rates, collateral requirements, loan …