The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) wants to expedite the long-delayed Mindanao Railway Project (MRP) Phase 1 through immediate payment of settlement to landowners affected by Right-of-Way (ROW) issues of the P81.6-billion rail line in southern Mindanao. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier directed the DOTr to accelerate land acquisition for the railway. Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez said they are in the …

Approximately 64% of Filipinos cannot afford to pay a P10,000 medical bill without resorting to borrowing or using a health maintenance organization (HMO), according to a new study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm. BCG’s Filipino Family Study involved 1,515 families surveyed nationwide. The report revealed that 20% of respondents would likely borrow for a medical …

The public is being warned against consuming unregistered alcoholic drinks that are being sold in the market during the holiday season. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged vigilance and caution when purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages. The FDA said, “As the holiday season approaches, social gatherings and celebrations are expected to increase. The FDA’s Center for Food Regulation and …

Packworks, a tech startup, reported that sari-sari stores using Artificial Intelligence (AI) registered a 46% increase in sales volume. A Packworks study showed that AI is no longer a “distant concept” for micro enterprises. but becoming a tool that directly supports day-to-day store management and sales performance for neighborhood stores. It analyzed more than 300 stores over a two-week period …

The torrent of evidence delivered to the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) should have been the turning point—finally, a chance for accountability in a country long accustomed to seeing corruption scandals swell and recede like seasonal floods. With boxes of documents arriving from the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Justice, Philippine Competition Commission, National Bureau of Investigation, …

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN WHO says that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.  is all parties, parries, and politics?   The President finds time to do real work, such as when he met with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona last Wednesday to review the October 2025 monetary policy decision in the light of recent financial and social indicators, and …

THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Wednesday elected Cecile L. Ang as its nonbroker director representing investors, and Jaime J. Bautista as an independent director following recent resignations from both posts. Ms. Ang, daughter of San Miguel Corp. Chairman Ramon S. Ang, was nominated by the San Miguel Corp. Retirement Plan. She will fill the vacancy left by Ferdinand K. …

Consumer loan growth is expected to lose some momentum next year as softer economic activity, global uncertainties and shifting borrower sentiment weigh on demand, Bank of the Philippine Islands executives said. BPI head of consumer banking Maria Cristina Go said weaker consumer confidence could temper loan expansion in 2026 even as interest rates continue to ease. “We will be cautiously …

Two finance officials, speaking at different venues, expressed hope this week that the current political and social turmoil over corruption scandals in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) do not affect the nation’s economic performance. Finance Secretary Frederick Go plans to meet with his counterparts in the various departments such as tourism, agriculture, transportation, energy and public works …

By DAISY C. ILAGAN Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, who made a name in business selling T-shirts and other garment lines, created quite a ruckus recently when she claimed that for 500 pesos, a regular Filipino family can partake of decent food during the coming Noche Buena. Noche Buena, that long-running tradition of Filipino families sharing the Christmas eve meal together, …