Asean Plus 3 tourism officials gather in Cebu By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
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UNITY IN DIVERSITY Senior tourism officials from Asean, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea hold hands during a traditional family portrait at the 48th Meeting of the Asean Plus Three National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) in Cebu City on Tuesday, January 27. The gathering underscores efforts to strengthen regional cooperation under the Asean Plus Three framework, even as member economies compete for overlapping tourism markets amid a strong post-pandemic recovery in visitor arrivals. MALOU TALOSIG-BARTOLOME
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EBU CITY—Senior tourism officials from Southeast and Northeast Asia gathered in Cebu City Tuesday to reinforce regional cooperation, even as they continue to vie for overlapping source markets. The meeting comes on the heels of strong post-pandemic rebounds, with both regions recording significant gains in tourist arrivals. The Philippines’s Tourism Undersecretary Verena Buensuceso, speaking at the 48th Meeting of the Asean Plus Three National Tourism Organizations (NTOs), credited the Asean Plus Three
(APT) framework—comprising Asean, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea—for helping the industry weather recent challenges. She urged the bloc to remain “competitive, resilient, and inclusive” as it charts the future of regional tourism. “Our partnership between and among Asean, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea is not just a collaboration, it is a vital alliance that highlights the profound role of tourism as a catalyst for unity and mutual prosperity,” Asean Plus Three NTOs cochair Buensuceso said. She noted that visitor arrivals from the Plus Three countries have
been a major driver of Asean’s recovery: more than 20 million arrivals from China, over 3 million from Japan, and 9 million from Korea in 2024. These numbers are expected to grow further in 2025, underscoring the dynamism of the sector.
What the NTOs do
THE Asean Plus Three NTOs serve as the technical and operational arm of regional tourism cooperation. While the annual ministerial meetings set broad policy directions, the NTOs are tasked with implementing the Tourism Cooperation Work Plan, See “Asean Plus,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
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BSP SEEN TO DELIVER 2 MORE RATE CUTS IN ’26 www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Wednesday, January 28, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 108
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Andrea E. San Juan
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@andreasanjuan
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may deliver two more rate cuts this year before capping off the easing cycle as the economy may bear the brunt of imported inflation amid the weakening peso, according to economists. “BSP still has some room to cut but it is now more limited and data dependent because the PHP weakness and potential imported inflation are key constraints,” Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow John Paolo R. Rivera told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message on Tuesday. Rivera explained further that when the Philippine peso continues to weaken, because the country is an “importsensitive” economy, “We will pay higher prices because our currency is weaker.” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael L. Ricafort told this newspaper that the BSP could possibly go beyond one more rate cut this year, but underscored that it would also be “limited.” “Delicate balancing act to stabilize the See “BSP,” A2
FROM ASH TO ASSET A trekker takes a selfie at the foothills leading to Mount Pinatubo in Botolan, Zambales, one of the country’s most visited ecotourism sites and a major source of livelihood for nearby Ayta ancestral communities. In
2025, the Botolan local government earned more than P24 million from Pinatubo trekking tours, with nearly 74 percent of the proceeds distributed to upland barangays in recognition of indigenous communities’ role in protecting the landscape and supporting the town’s eco-tourism industry. Story in A3 Economy. HENRY EMPEÑO
COCO EXPORT REVENUES RISE TO $3.5B, HIGHEST IN 19 YEARS By Ada Pelonia
FIT FOR TRIAL In this October 28, 2024, file
photo, former President Rodrigo Duterte takes an oath during a Senate inquiry on the so-called war on drugs during his administration. Judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague have ruled that Duterte is fit to stand trial over charges of crimes against humanity related to killings during his anti-drug campaign, rejecting defense claims that the 80-year-old former leader is too frail to participate in proceedings. Duterte, who was arrested last March, is now scheduled to appear before the court on February 23. AP/AARON FAVILA
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XPORT revenues from coconut-based products surged to over $3.5 billion in 2025, the highest level in nearly two decades, as supply constraints jacked up prices. Preliminary figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the value of coconut-based exports last year jumped by over a third to $3.57 billion from $2.66 billion in 2024. Historical data from the PSA
indicated that the export earnings from coconut-based goods posted in 2025 was the all-time high since the time series started in 2006. Shipments of coconut oil held the lion’s share of the product group last year, as it surged by 29.4 percent to $2.87 billion, a new record-high from the $2.22 billion recorded in the previous year. In 2025, the average price of coconut oil, the country’s leading farm export, skyrocketed by 63.27 percent to $2,480 per See “Coco,” A2
Record exports, high import bill By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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ESPITE ending 2025 with record-high export earnings, the country’s import bill refused to take a back seat. Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday showed the total value of imported goods reached $133.57 billion in 2025, the second-highest level on record, next only to the $137.22 billion posted in 2022. The rise in imports came even as the Philippines posted its highest export earnings on record, with total exports reaching $84.41 billion last year. The country’s cumulative trade deficit, meanwhile, stood at
$49.17 billion in 2025, narrower than the $54.33 billion recorded in 2024. On a monthly basis, the trade gap in December narrowed by 15 percent year-on-year. Imports have remained persistently high in recent years, with annual import payments staying above the $100-billion mark since 202. Imports peaked at $137.22 billion in 2022, before easing to $126.21 billion in 2023 and rising again to $127.60 billion in 2024. For Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow John Paolo R. Rivera, the figures reflect the Philippines’ import-dependent growth model, where strong economic activity is closely linked to foreign purchases.
“It reflects the Philippines’ import-dependent growth model over the past five years—characterized by strong demand for fuel, food, capital goods, and intermediate inputs needed for manufacturing, infrastructure, and consumption, even as global commodity prices were elevated in parts of the period,” Rivera told the BusinessMirror. Rivera added that while recordhigh exports are “encouraging,” much of the country’s export sector remains “highly import-intensive,” meaning, rising exports are often accompanied by higher import demand. PSA data for 2025 support this pattern. Imports were dominated See “Bill,” A11
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.9820 n JAPAN 0.3826 n UK 80.7051 n HK 7.5641 n CHINA 8.4817 n SINGAPORE 46.4499 n AUSTRALIA 40.7861 n EU 70.0824 n KOREA 0.0408 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.7294 Source: BSP (January 27, 2026)