US flags PHL as a China transshipment ‘enabler’ By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
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SUBIC PORT RIDES RICE IMPORT BOOM A vessel unloads cargo at the Subic Bay seaport, where port operations generated P874 million in consolidated gross income in the first half of 2026, up 8 percent from the same period last year. Bulk and break-bulk cargo volume surged 24 percent, while rice imports handled at Subic jumped 88 percent. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority said the growth came despite P81 million in discounted fees and shares extended to help cushion trade disruptions arising from the Middle East conflict. Story on B1. PHOTO COURTESY OF SBMA
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HE Philippines has been tagged by the Trump administration as a potential weak link in the rerouting of China-linked goods into the United States, putting the country under greater scrutiny as Washington ramps up its crackdown on tariff evasion. In a report released last week, the White House placed the Philippines among more than 40 countries and economies it identified as potential links in what it called the “Great Transshipment Scam,” a system allegedly allow-
ing Chinese goods to slip into the US market through third countries under different national identities. The Philippines was included in the report’s third tier, or the group of “Small, Opportunistic Chinese Targets,” which the White House said have lower absolute volumes of potentially illegal transshipment but possess characteristics that could make them attractive rerouting points. These include low-cost labor, free zones, port access, bonded warehousing, assembly capabilities, preferential US market access or limited customs enforce-
ment, according to the report. The report also specifically grouped the Philippines with Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka as Southeast Asian “micro hubs” for light assembly, export processing, relabeling and re-export of China-linked goods. The White House’s classification does not by itself establish that Philippine companies are illegally transshipping Chinese goods. Rather, it identifies the Philippines as a potential node based on its trade and logistics characteristics. For the US, the concern is that Chinese-origin inputs could un-
dergo limited processing, assembly, testing, packaging or relabeling in a third country before being exported to the US, without undergoing the substantial transformation generally required to change their country of origin for customs purposes. The report estimates that potential transshipment or related trade-transfer activity could involve between $40 billion and $303 billion worth of goods globally each year, potentially costing the US between $19 billion and $26 billion in tariff revenue annually.
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See “‘Enabler,’” A2
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Monday, August 17, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 307
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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NFRASTRUCTURE spending is seen to rebound and post double-digit growth in the second half of 2026, while the government increasingly turns to public-private partnerships to sustain infrastructure investment. The government could finally snap its streak of declines in infrastructure spending in the second half, with growth partly driven by a low base in the same period last year, according to Budget Undersecretary Romeo Matthew T. Balanquit. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’s forum on Friday. When the flood control corruption scandal leaked, infrastructure spending had been down since the second half of 2025 due to stricter billing validation of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects.
“We definitely see an increase in the third and fourth quarters this year,” Balanquit said, noting that growth will also be supported by the utilization of funds that the Department of Budget and Management released to DPWH in the previous months. This year, infrastructure spending was cut to P1.272 trillion from P1.558 trillion, equivalent to 4.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Last year, the Marcos Jr. administration was aiming for infrastructure spending as a share of GDP to be around 5 percent in See “Growth,” A2
BUDGET WOES PUSH PINOYS TO CHEAPER RETAIL CHANNELS By Mary Jade Jadormio
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ILIPINO households are cutting back on purchases and increasingly turning to cheaper retail channels as financial pressure begins to weigh on consumption, with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) spending contracting in the second quarter of 2026. FMCG spending fell by 0.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, reversing the 1.6-percent growth recorded on a moving annual basis, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. The slowdown comes as con-
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sumers buy smaller baskets, seek cheaper products and become more dependent on promotions and discounts to stretch household budgets. Laurice Obana, shopper insights director of Worldpanel by Numerator, said Filipino households are again facing financial constraints after signs of improvement last year as global and economic pressures intensify. Worldpanel data showed 81 percent of households that were previously breaking even or already short on money responded to tighter budgets by cutting See “Budget,” A2
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VEGGIES FEEL THE WEATHER Vegetables are on display at Balintawak Market as consumers brace for possible price increases following recent bad weather that has disrupted agricultural production and supply in several areas. The Department of Agriculture has reported at least P197 million in agricultural damage from recent weather disturbances, raising concerns over tighter supplies and higher prices for some farm commodities. NONIE REYES
DA eyes 2027 launch of ₧4-B Clark mega food hub
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By Ada Pelonia
HE Department of Agriculture (DA) is targeting to launch the P4-billion mega food hub in Clark, Pampanga, before end-2027 to bridge “inefficient” logistics gaps between farm production and markets. The bid to expedite the Clark National Food Hub was formalized through the separate signing of agreements, including between the DA and the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), covering funding, development, and operations. The FTI also partnered with Clark International Airport Corp. to erect the food hub at the Clark Aviation Capital, spanning around 40 hectares, with provisions for future expansion. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has directed FTI President Joseph Lo and Agriculture Undersecretary Arrey Perez to have the mega food hub partially operational before the end of 2027. He said the project aims to close a critical gap between farm production and markets, where inefficient logistics erode farmers’ earnings, discourage private investment, and increase consumer cost. “We cannot build a modern agriculture sector if our farmers can produce more but cannot get their products to markets efficiently and profitably,” Tiu
Laurel said. “Today, we give this project the foundation to move from paper to pavement.” The food hub will bring together food aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and marketing into a single integrated system. Planned facilities include food and cold storage, processing areas, food safety laboratories, export processing, and wholesale and retail spaces. Lo said preparations have been under way since last year, including recruiting a dedicated team focused exclusively on designing the facility’s operations. He added that the team has studied food hub models and logistics practices abroad, traveling to Thailand, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan to examine best practices that could be adapted to the Philippine setting. FTI will operate, manage, and maintain the facility to make it efficient and sustainable, while the DA will oversee project implementation and construction monitoring. Once fully scaled up, the DA said the hub could generate about 2,500 jobs and create opportunities across the agriculture and fisheries value chains. Meanwhile, Agriculture Undersecretary Arrey Perez said the hub would raise incomes at the farm level. See “Food hub,” A2
MINDANAO’S STORY, WOVEN INTO EVERY LOOK Southern Weave 2026 brought the creativity, culture, and fashion of Mindanao to the spotlight this Kadayawan at SM City Davao on August 14. In partnership with the Davao Junior Fashion Designers, the runway came alive with the fresh perspectives of 10 emerging designers—Arthur Andrade, Milpe Blass Palmares, Jane Christin Ponggo, Jena May Quitoga, Bien Cedric Catubig, Jason Bon Gilles, Sittie Anwar, Roland Boyles, Assi Castanaga, and Alfredo Antipolo. Each piece celebrated the heritage, local fabric, identity, and creative spirit of Mindanao. SM SUPERMALLS
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.2890 n JAPAN 0.3842 n UK 82.6850 n HK 7.8107 n CHINA 9.0866 n SINGAPORE 47.8820 n AUSTRALIA 43.2394 n EU 70.6662 n KOREA 0.0432 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.3263 Source: BSP (August 14, 2026)