The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
As Metro Manila continues to grapple with one of the world’s worst traffic problems—ranked among the top globally by the 2025 TomTom Traffic Index—the ₱229-billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project emerges as a game-changing step in modernizing the country’s transport system. Transportation Secretary Giovanni “Banoy” Lopez said the massive railway modernization project is poised to bring major economic gains to …
Read More »TimeLine Layout
November, 2025
-
4 November
Gatchalian bats for realignment of ₱49-B fund to fortify ZBB program
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is pushing to realign the government’s ₱49-billion medical assistance fund for indigent patients to bolster the zero-balance billing (ZBB) program, a key initiative aimed at ensuring equitable hospital care for all Filipinos. Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, said health care access should not depend on politicians’ discretion. He urged that part of the Medical …
Read More » -
4 November
Isko pushes ‘Halal Town’ in Quiapo, Golden Mosque rehab
Determined to spur trade and inclusive growth in Manila, Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso visited Quiapo to inspect the proposed site of the city’s first-ever “Halal Town” and to oversee plans for the rehabilitation of the iconic Golden Mosque Complex. Joining him during the site visit were Vice Mayor Angela Lei “Chi” Atienza, Budget Secretary Amenah “Mina” Pangandaman, and other …
Read More » -
4 November
PNP honors slain CIDG officer
Police Captain Joel Deiparine was remembered as a brave and selfless officer who embodied courage, integrity, and an unwavering sense of duty—virtues that define the men and women of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Acting PNP Chief Lieutenant General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. led the nation in paying tribute to the fallen member of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group …
Read More » -
4 November
CBCP President and Caloocan Bishop Pablo David endorses biopic of Gregoria de Jesus
by Boy Villasanta Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President and Bishop of the Diocese of Caloocan Pablo Virgilio David has bravely endorsed a film based on the life and times of an underrated Filipino heroine. It’s not only because the often ignored Gregoria de Jesus in history was born and raised in David’s religious district but she is …
Read More » -
4 November
Benilde earns international, local accreditations anew
The ASEAN University Network-Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) and the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU) have both granted new certifications to several degree programs of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB). Established in 1998, the AUN-QA is an international certification system that assesses the presence and effective implementation of quality assurance mechanisms which lead to desired …
Read More » -
4 November
Establishing a sustainable palay support price
BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz Now that the government is finally resolute in aiding farmers via a support price mechanism for palay (unhusked rice), establishing a sustainable– not a band-aid type support price– is necessary to ensure continued support to our beleaguered farmers. Most global rice producers have been supporting, through subsidies, their rice farmers. Not only that, …
Read More » -
4 November
Joint audit by DA, DPWH of farm-to-market roads to begin
The Departments of Agriculture and Public Works and Highways are starting this week their joint audit of farm-to-market roads by summoning three contractors involved in the unfinished FMRs in Davao. The DA regional field office flagged these projects that were supposed to be completed in 2021. “One road was really nowhere to be found, while the other still had freshly …
Read More » -
4 November
Bacolod communities diversify to other crops
From just producing sugarcane before, 60 farmers in Bacolod, Negros Occidental have diversified with the help of a water project of the Coca Cola Foundation and AIDFI, a non profit social enterprise. These farmers now plant vegetables and other crops also. Danilo Medina, a Bacolod farmer who used to depend solely on sugarcane, hasbenefitted from the water project of the …
Read More » -
4 November
EV’s exponential growth, 2.5-M units by 2040
The electric vehicle (EV) industry in the Philippines is projected to experience“exponential growth,” according to the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), with total EVs expected to reach at least 2.5 million units by 2040. During the recent 13th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit held in Pasay City, EVAP president Edmund Araga said the target is “within reach” as sales continue to break records. EV registrations “skyrocketed to 29,715 from January to July this …
Read More »