The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Police forces across Metro Manila will be placed on the highest security alert status as the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) stages a massive three-day protest rally at Rizal Park in Manila starting November 16, the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced Wednesday. Nearly 10,000 personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will be deployed to secure the area. The …

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the release of ₱760 million in financial assistance to local government units (LGUs) severely affected by Typhoon Tino (international name *Kalmaegi*), Malacañang announced Thursday. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the funds, sourced from the Office of the President, aim to help LGUs speed up recovery efforts and provide immediate relief to families …

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is optimistic that labor participation will improve in the last quarter of 2025, buoyed by the seasonal increase in demand during the holidays. National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said in a briefing Thursday that the number of employed Filipinos is projected to reach around 50 million by December 2025, higher than the monthly average recorded …

The traditional exodus of Filipinos during All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days — a time for reflection, reunion and remembrance — was abruptly interrupted this year by the wrath of two powerful typhoons that battered large parts of the country. The nation, still counting the dead and displaced, once again found itself in a familiar cycle: calamity, sympathy, and a scramble …

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 …