New natural gas field found in Malampaya By Lenie Lectura & Samuel P. Medenilla
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AP OBTAINS DOCUMENTS SHOWING VENEZUELAN LEADER DELCY RODRÍGUEZ HAS BEEN ON DEA’S RADAR FOR YEARS
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AZON-LED Prime Energy Resources Development B.V., operator of Service Contract (SC) 38, has delivered on its commitment to the government to find new natural gas reservoir at Malampaya East 1 (MAE1), located about 5 kilometers east of the existing Malampaya gas field, boosting the existing field’s remaining recoverable volumes by an estimated 30 percent. Prime Energy on Monday hailed the discovery of MAE-1 as a breakthrough for Philippine energy in-
dependence. The find, announced by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is the first natural gas discovery in Philippine territory in over a decade. “This gas discovery is a victory for the Filipino people,” the company said. “When we assumed operatorship, we committed to the President and the nation to breathe new life into Malampaya and revitalize the indigenous natural gas sector. Today, we are delivering on that commitment,” the company said in a statement. SC 38 is composed of Prime Energy, UC38 LLC, PNOC Exploration Corporation, and Prime Oil and
Gas Inc. The contract was extended by the Marcos administration in 2023 for a final 15 years or until 22 February 2039. This will allow for the continued production of the Malampaya gas field, ensuring that the remaining gas reserves are further explored and utilized.
Commitments
ASIDE from continuing the production operations, the SC 38 consortium is required to conduct a minimum work program consisting of geological and geophysical studies and the drilling of at least two deep water wells during the subphase 1 from 2024 to 2029.
This firm work program is geared towards unlocking the potential both in the existing gas field and nearby prospect areas to provide incremental production. In addition, the conduct of exploratory drilling further away from the Malampaya production area within the service contract is a requirement for the consortium to retain the exploration areas. If it fails to comply, the SC 38 consortium must relinquish a portion of the exploration areas. Also, the SC 38 consortium is required to submit a decommissioning plan and budget covering the See “Malampaya,” A2
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Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 100
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SENATE FLOOD INQUIRY RESUMES The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee resumed its inquiry into alleged anomalies in flood control projects on Monday, January 19, 2026, chaired by Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. The hearing was attended by former Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan, former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste, among others. Outside the chamber, members of Sanlakas and the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates staged a protest, criticizing the failure of existing mechanisms to hold “big fish” accountable and denouncing what they called the institutionalization of corruption through the proposed 2026 national budget. Story in A16, “Wrong coordinates in flood-control works to force re-validation.” ROY DOMINGO
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees the “slower pace” of capital accumulation to drag Philippine economic growth until 2027, according to IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update. Based on the report, IMF slashed its growth projections for the Philippine economy from 2025 until 2027, but it expects the economy to grow by 6 percent in 2028. “The downward revision in GDP growth projections for 2026 and 2027 reflects the carryover impact from a downward revision in the IMF’s growth forecast for 2025— from 5.4 to 5.1 percent—and a slower pace of capital accumula-
tion,” IMF said. For 2025, IMF said its downward revision reflects a “sharper-thanexpected” slowdown in the third quarter last year amid recent corruption allegations and climate shocks impacting economic activity in the second half of the year. “The latest IMF projections show growth reaching 6 percent in 2028,” it added. See “Growth,” A2
PESO COULD SWING TO P60 TO A DOLLAR IF ‘BIG REFORMS’ FAIL By Andrea E. San Juan
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@andreasanjuan
F the “Big, Bold Reforms” of the government do not produce the “kind of fruits” that would restore public confidence in the country, the Philippine peso could swing to P60 to a dollar, a former Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) warned. “Well if nothing happens as far as governance and corruption is concerned, probably the peso can swing significantly or violently to the other side,” Former BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a televised
interview on Monday. He pointed out further: “If those big, bold, reforms do not produce the kind of fruits, the kind of results that people are expecting in terms of restoring public confidence and nurturing partnership with business, then we are looking at the more significant swing of the peso.” On Friday, the national government unveiled a slate of its “big, bold reforms” to address investor concerns and renew its push for investments amid last year’s economic growth slowdown. Should these government reforms fail to materialize, the See “‘Big reforms’,” A13
10-mo external debt service load dips 10% By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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@reine_alberto
HE Philippine external debt service burden (DSB) dipped by nearly 23 percent to $11.02 billion in the first 10 months of 2025, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Latest data from the BSP showed the DSB declined by 22.9 percent to $11.02 billion in the January to October 2025 period, from $14.3 billion in the same period in 2024. DSB is the total principal and interest payments the country has to pay after the debt has been rescheduled. The bulk of the DSB during the
10-month period consisted of interest payments amounting to $6.507 billion, a 2.09 percent year-on-year decline from $6.646 billion. On the other hand, principal payments went down by 41.04 percent year-on-year to $4.513 billion from $7.654 billion in the same 10-month period of 2024. In terms of ratios, DSB to export shipments ratio declined to 20.7 percent in January to October 2025 from the 30.6 percent posted in the same period in 2024. The BSP also said the DSB to Exports of Goods, and Receipts from Services & Primary Income ratio declined to 8.4 percent in the first See “Debt,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 59.3860 n JAPAN 0.3764 n UK 79.3219 n HK 7.6176 n CHINA 8.5178 n SINGAPORE 46.0785 n AUSTRALIA 39.6223 n EU 68.7987 n KOREA 0.0403 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.8409 Source: BSP (January 19, 2026)