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‘RATE HIKE PHL SHIELD VS. EL NIÑO, INFLATION’ www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Friday, August 28, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 318
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 28 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
PHL seen missing growth targets
By Andrea E. San Juan
HE Monetary Board raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points for the third time in a row, this time as a “preemptive move” against the threat of El Niño which could worsen in the fourth quarter and drive up food prices. Aside from the El Niño event, the Monetary Board, the highest policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), said it also took into account the risk
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of further wage increases in its policy action. The policy move of the MB on Thursday brought the BSP’s Target See “Inflation,” A2
NEW PSA INDEX GOES BEYOND INCOME IN MEASURING POVERTY By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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NEW measure from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that a substantial number of Filipinos remained “multidimensionally poor” in 2024. The agency’s newly released Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) showed that 12.8 percent of Filipinos were multidimensionally poor, equivalent to roughly 14.4 million people based on the country’s 2024 population. The MPI measures poverty through deprivations in education, health and nutrition, housing, water and sanitation, and employment. Education accounted for the largest share of multidimensional poverty at 40.7 percent,
followed by housing, water and sanitation at 31.3 percent, health and nutrition at 18.5 percent, and employment at 9.5 percent. Among the 17 indicators, educational attainment and housing materials each had a 10.7 percent censored headcount ratio, the highest among the indicators. The PSA also found that some forms of deprivation were widespread across the population, including among people who were not classified as multidimensionally poor. Housing-material deprivation affected 38.7 percent of Filipinos, the highest among the indicators. This was followed by lack of internet access at 26.4 percent, sanitation or toilet facility deprivation at 24.1 percent, ownership of assets at 21.8 percent, and See “Poverty,” A2
A SONG FOR MARRA, A LIFE IN WORDS 2024 Gawad CCP Para sa Sining awardee Jose “Pete” F. Lacaba sings the final part of Kulay Rosas, his Filipino translation of La Vie en Rose, during a tribute for his wife, acclaimed poet, essayist and journalist Marra PL. Lanot, on Wednesday night, August 26, 2026, at St. Peter Chapels in Commonwealth, Quezon City. Marra, who passed away on August 16 at 82, spent a lifetime in poetry and letters. She was among those present when the Philippines Graphic was revived in June 1990, with National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin as its first editor-in-chief. She and Lacaba were among Joaquin’s protégés during the publication’s early years. She later became Literary Editor of the Philippines Graphic Reader, the literary companion of the Philippines Graphic, and authored 16 books. A Palanca awardee, Catholic Mass Media Awardee and Balagtas awardee, Marra represented the Philippines at major international literary festivals, and her poetry was translated into several languages. BERNARD TESTA
GLACIER COLLAPSE UNLEASHES CATASTROPHIC FLOODS IN NEPAL, TIBET Rescue teams searched Thursday, August 27,
for hundreds of people missing after a catastrophic torrent of floodwater and mud swept through communities along the Nepal-China border a day earlier. The disaster left at least 168 people dead and more than 1,300 missing in Nepal and Tibet, including foreigners and pilgrims, while displacing hundreds across the Himalayan region. The flash floods destroyed homes and bridges, buried vehicles and damaged dozens of bridges and nearly 40 kilometers of roads, hampering rescue operations. Nepal’s army rescued more than 100 people by helicopter Thursday, while relief operations expanded in flood-hit communities. The US Geological Survey determined that the seismic event initially reported as an earthquake was instead a magnitude 5.2 glacier collapse. Climate experts said an avalanche from a glacier likely triggered the exceptionally fast and powerful flood wave, with water levels in the Trishuli River rising as much as 9 meters 30 minutes. The Associated Press photographs show the devastation in Nuwakot district, where residents search for missing relatives, survivors are brought to safety and rescuers clear mud and debris from affected communities. NIRANJAN SHRESTHA / AP
HE Philippine government is expected to miss its growth targets anew, with the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) further cutting its outlook for the country for 2026 and 2027. Amro on Thursday lowered its growth forecast for the Philippines to 3.4 percent in 2026 from 4.1 percent previously, and to 4.8 percent in 2027 from 5.5 percent. If realized, both forecasts would fall short of the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) recalibrated growth targets of 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent for 2026 and 5 percent to 6 percent for 2027. The DBCC has yet to hit any of its annual growth targets since the start of the Marcos administration. Amro Mission Chief Jinho Choi said the Philippines is facing two shocks: an external, supply-driven shock and a domestic demand shock. These have contributed to the economy’s slowdown for four consecutive quarters through the second quarter of 2026. “This year’s growth will be mainly made by weaker private consumption amid higher inflation and sharp contraction in public investment,” Choi said during a media briefing. Official data showed that GDP growth slowed for four consecutive quarters, from 3.9 percent in the third quarter of 2025 to 3 percent in the fourth quarter. Growth eased further to 2.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and 2.3 percent in the second quarter. Choi said the economy could still draw support from a gradual recovery in public construction and strong exports, which is expected to grow by around 10 percent this year, in the second half. Amro Chief Economist Dong He, meanwhile, said the recovery in public investment will be critical to strengthening domestic demand and supporting growth. “Public construction has to accelerate in order for domestic demand to be stronger to even achieve the 3.4 percent forecast we have,” He said. In the medium-term, He said the Philippines needs to build more resilient infrastructure, improve the affordability and reliability of electricity, and strengthen its capacity to withstand See “Growth,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.5820 n JAPAN 0.3867 n UK 83.7515 n HK 7.8566 n CHINA 9.1595 n SINGAPORE 48.4516 n AUSTRALIA 44.1912 n EU 71.7800 n KOREA 0.0445 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.4022 Source: BSP (August 27, 2026)