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Saturday, February 14, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 125
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SM City Fairview goes all out this Valentine’s Day to give the local community a space to celebrate love, delivering a maxed out experience with curated date spots, dining offers, and special Hearts’ Day activities for couples, families, friends, and solo mall goers. SM SUPERMALLS
BIR BENT ON MEETING ₱3.58-T REVENUE GOAL
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is banking on sustained economic growth, expanded digitalization and taxes on digital services to meet its ambitious P3.579-trillion collection target this year. “We will do our best. It’s very challenging, but we will do our best,” Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza told reporters on the sidelines of the 2026 National Tax Campaign Kickoff on Friday. The BIR’s revenue target for this year is 11.18 percent higher than last year’s P3.219-trillion goal. To help meet this target, Men-
doza said that this year’s projected economic growth will boost collections on income, value-added and excise taxes. Real-time monitoring to prevent tax leakages, acceleration of the government’s infrastructure projects and VAT on digital services will also lift BIR’s collections, Mendoza added. Continued on A2
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), headed by Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza, formally kicked off its 2026 National Tax Campaign at the Philippine International Convention Center on Friday, February 13, 2026. Mendoza is seen giving Finance Secretary Frederick Go, guest of honor and keynote speaker, an update on the highlights of the campaign. This year’s campaign carries the theme, “Mahusay na Serbisyo, Katumbas ng Buwis Mo,” underscoring the Bureau’s firm commitment to deliver efficient, transparent, and responsive public service commensurate to every peso of taxes paid. ROY DOMINGO
BSP TO END EASING IN ’26 AS INFLATION BREACHES 3% OVER NEXT 2 YRS–BMI By Andrea E. San Juan
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HE Central Bank will end its easing cycle this year as inflation is expected to breach the 3-percent mark over the next two years, which is deemed higher than usual inflation that consumers were used to pre-pandemic, according to BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions. “Our Country Risk team forecasts that inflation will increase again, averaging 3.1 percent y-o-y across 2026. This is higher than the usual inflation that consumers were used to pre-Covid (2015-2019, when inflation averaged 2.8 percent),” BMI said in its 2026 Consumer Outlook. BMI said nominal income growth will keep pace with inflation, and consumers’ purchasing power will improve, providing a “boost” to their spending. “However, prolonged inflation, particularly in relation to food, will mean that consumers will have to increasingly allocate more of their disposable income towards meeting neces-
sities,” it explained. In line with this, BMI’s economic overview showed that it expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to shave off 50 basis points from the current 4.50 percent benchmark policy rate to 4 percent before this year ends. It is also worth noting that the BMI forecasts the 4-percent interest rate will be kept unchanged until 2027. This, as BMI expects consumer price index (CPI) to average at 3.1 percent in 2026 and 3.3 percent next year. Meanwhile, it sees the economy growing at 5.2 percent this year and expects the Philippines to expand at a faster pace of 6.1 percent next year. BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said on Wednesday that the Central Bank projects inflation will hover around 3 percent over the next two years. Remolona said he would worry more when inflation goes up beyond 3 percent. Explaining the inflation See “Inflation,” A2
PIHABF seeks stronger Asian cooperation in aviation sports By John Eiron R. Francisco
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APAS, TARLAC—Organizers of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) are pushing to strengthen regional cooperation in aviation sports across Asia, with efforts focused on expanding collaboration and promoting greater participation in the sector. “We’re trying to get Asia to
work together for aviation sports development,” PIHABF lead organizer Captain Joy Roa told BusinessMirror in a sideline interview during the festival’s opening at New Clark City on Friday. Roa said the initiative aims to strengthen Asia’s presence in global aviation sports, noting that the sector has long been dominated by Europe and the United States. See “Hot Air,” A2
TRAIN TO TOMORROW President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. inspected the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) Shaw Boulevard Station at Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, on Friday,
February 13, 2026. The project is implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under a loan agreement. The Shaw Boulevard Station forms part of Contract Package 104, which includes the Ortigas Avenue and Shaw Boulevard underground stations and their connecting tunnels. The 33.1-kilometer subway will run from Valenzuela City to Bicutan in Taguig City, with a link to Naia Terminal 3, and is expected to reduce end-to-end travel time to about 46 minutes. Once completed, the MMSP is projected to serve up to 500,000 passengers daily. Story on A3. PHOTOS BY YUMMIE DINGDING / PPA POOL
Moody’s: Governance, reform issues, debt and deficits may merit downgrade By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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HOT air balloons lift off at the opening of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in New Clark City, Capas, Tarlac. The three-day event features 27 balloons—including 22 specialshaped designs—with pilots from the United States, Brazil, North Macedonia, Belgium, and Switzerland, alongside Asian participants competing in aviation sports such as FPV drone racing and paragliding. Organizers aim to strengthen regional cooperation in aviation sports and develop more Filipino athletes for international competitions. The festival runs until February 15 and is expected to draw over 20,000 attendees. EIRON FRANCISCO
OVERNANCE deterioration, reversal of reforms and worsening debt and deficits would warrant a credit rating downgrade for the Philippines, according to Moody’s Ratings. In its periodic review, Moody’s Ratings said signs of a material erosion in the quality of legislative and executive institutions would be credit negative. Still, Moody’s maintained that the sovereign’s “baa1” institutions and governance strength balances governance challenges against comparatively strong macroeconomic and fiscal policy effectiveness.
GROWTH SNAPSHOT
4.4% Philippines’ GDP growth in 2025
Below government target of 5.5%-6.5% Slower than 5.7% in 2024
Growth supported by: • Household consumption • Remittances • Public investment
A deterioration in fiscal and government debt metrics relative to peers or an erosion of the country’s external position, as well as a reversal of reforms that have supported prior gains in economic and fiscal strength, would lead to a possible downgrade, Moody’s added. The credit rater clarified that its review does not announce a credit rating action and does not indicate whether a credit rating action is likely to occur soon. The Philippines holds a Baa2 investment-grade credit rating with a stable outlook from Moody’s. The economy is expected to remain resilient compared with regional and rating peers, despite
growing by 4.4 percent in 2025, below the government’s target range of 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent and slower than the 5.7 percent expansion in the previous year. “Although export growth has been strong so far, trends are likely to normalize in the wake of higher tariff rates and lingering uncertainty over US trade policy,” Moody’s Ratings said. “We expect growth will be underpinned by robust household consumption, steady remittance inflows from overseas workers, a recovery in public investment, and continued progress on structural reforms,” it added. See “Moody’s,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.1800 n JAPAN 0.3810 n UK 79.2819 n HK 7.4437 n CHINA 8.4278 n SINGAPORE 46.1088 n AUSTRALIA 41.2380 n EU 69.0713 n KOREA 0.0404 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.5138 Source: BSP (February 13, 2026)