The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Education Secretary Sonny Angara emphasized the importance of existing tax incentives in helping schools and private education partners cope with rising operational expenses driven by global economic pressures and instability in the Middle East. Angara said these fiscal measures act as a buffer that allows the education sector to continue investing in quality learning despite increases in fuel, transport, and …

Text and photo by Tracy Cabrera  RIZAL PARK, Manila — Mindful of the prevailing energy crisis and the government’s need to stabilize the country’s economy, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) has accelerated its push for a fully digital, data-driven customs administration that would significantly lessen if not eliminate smuggling and corruption within the agency.  Speaking before a media forum at …

The last-minute two-week ceasefire in the Middle East may have spared the region from plunging into a catastrophic escalation, even as it offered a convenient off-ramp for the very forces that pushed it to the brink. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most critical sea lane corridors—immediately triggered a sharp drop in global oil prices, underscoring just how …

The Holy Week just passed relived for us the last days of our Lord, Jesus, the Christ.  It was a week of betrayal, of the kiss that identified the Victim for purposes of the arresting officers, of the Last Supper. Judas, one of the brightest and most intelligent of the Victim’s cabinet, must have been driven by financial need to …

Opposition to the new public safety rules being implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government is being framed as a defense of the marginalized. Much of the backlash appears misplaced, if not self-serving. The regulations in question are hardly novel impositions; they are reiterations of long-standing local ordinances—prohibitions on public drinking, restrictions on noise such as late-night karaoke, curfews for minors, and …

The March 2026 inflation of 4.1 percent settled higher than the BSP’s announced forecast range of 3.1 to 3.9 percent, highlighting the upside inflation risks emanating from the global oil price shock. This was largely driven by higher transport-related costs following the sharp increase in domestic fuel prices, alongside higher prices of key food items, particularly rice. The inflation risk …

REALPOLITIKBy Benjie Alejandro In recent weeks, the government has repeatedly called for energy conservation. From the highest officials down to ordinary citizens, the appeal has been consistent: cut back on fuel consumption, reduce reliance on petroleum products, and make sacrifices for the greater good. The message is clear—everyone must contribute, everyone must pitch in.   But it seems one sector …

LOVE FOR ALL​By: Virginia Rodriguez The ongoing reforms at the Bureau of Customs under Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno signal a serious attempt to shed the agency’s long-standing reputation as one of the country’s most corruption-prone institutions. For decades, the BOC has been associated with smuggling, revenue leakages, and weak enforcement. Today, however, early indicators suggest that a shift may be underway. …

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 …

Unilever Philippines, together with the City Government of General Trias and its City Social Welfare Development Office (CSWD), has officially launched a livelihood partnership, named GentriAsenso, a community-based skills and livelihood program aimed at creating additional income opportunities for General Trias residents. The collaboration was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which was attended by 121 …