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Tuesday, June 9, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 238
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
FLOODING IN PAMPANGA, EARTHQUAKE IN THE SOUTH MAR SCHOOL OPENING Students in Barangay Saplad David, Macabebe, Pampanga, wade through murky floodwaters on the opening day of classes on Monday, June 8, 2026, turning what should have been a routine school commute into a daily struggle, as roads, homes and school grounds remain submerged for nearly three years, worsening during high tide, according to local officials. In a separate set of images, parts of Mindanao and nearby areas are shown reeling from a magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake that struck on the same day, killing dozens and injuring over a hundred, while triggering a tsunami and landslides in Sarangani province. A video frame provided by DepEd Mahayahay Elementary School shows pupils reacting as a canopy roof collapsed during the quake in Malita, Davao Occidental. The contrasting images mark an opening of classes overshadowed by two separate disasters, highlighting the country’s continuing exposure to both slow-onset and sudden natural hazards. NONOY LACZA IN PAMPANGA AND AP IN DAVAO OCCIDENTAL & GENERAL SANTOS CITY
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By Andrea E. San Juan
XPERTS view the recent spike in core inflation, which has breached the upper end of the central bank’s target band for the first time in over two years, as a sign of second-round effects requiring vigilance. Data from the Philippine Statis‑ tics Authority (PSA) revealed that while headline inflation eased to 6.8 percent in May, core inflation accelerated to 4.1 percent, the fast‑ est in 2 years and 4 months. Core inflation, as defined by PSA, is an indicator of the un‑ derlying movement in consumer prices since it takes out the effect of temporary disturbances and shocks that cause prices to surge
or decline. “Measuring core inflation helps policymakers determine whether current movements in consumer prices represent short-lived distur‑ bances or are part of a permanent trend,” the data arm of the govern‑ ment said, adding that such knowl‑ edge is important to the formula‑ tion of economic policy, particularly monetary policy. See “Inflation,” A2
KOREA’S STOCK MARKET BOOM SHOWS POWER OF RETAIL By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
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(First of two parts)
EOUL—From K‑pop to K‑beauty, South Korea’s newest cultural wave is stock investing. The Korea Ex‑ change (KRX) is dismantling decades of red tape to attract foreign inflows, including from the Philippines, as its bench‑ mark index surges past historic milestones. “These days, it’s hard to go through a day without hearing people talking about stock in‑ vesting,” KRX Senior PR Man‑
ager Junhyun Park said during a briefing for visiting foreign journalists including from the BusinessMirror. Park noted that equity trading has permeated daily life in South Korea. Conversations about stocks, he said, are no longer confined to trading floors or analyst reports. “You hear it in coffee shops, on YouTube, on television, and even at family gatherings,” he added, underscoring how investing has be‑ come one of the most popular top‑ ics in the country’s social fabric. This enthusiasm coincides with a record rally. See “Korea,” A2
Inflation relief masks underlying pressures By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
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HE recent slowdown in inflation offers temporary relief, but underlying price pressures continue to spread across the economy, according to the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI). Recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that inflation eased to 6.8 percent in May, supported by a sharp deceleration in transport costs, which slowed to 16.2 percent. However, core inflation rose to 4.1 percent. For FPI, the mixed data points to a fragile easing rather than a broad-based improvement. “The easing is welcome but limited. Core inflation reflects price pressures are still spreading across the economy,” FPI chairperson Elizabeth
Lee said in a statement on Monday afternoon. “We should use this window to push reforms in power, logistics, and food systems so future relief is driven by stronger fundamentals, not temporary factors,” she added. Lee said manufacturers continue to operate under elevated costs, driven by expensive energy, logistics bottlenecks, imported input inflation and wage pressures. At the same time, households remain squeezed by persistent food price increases. She added that demand conditions are also softening for non-essential manufactured goods, while higher interest rates have raised the cost of borrowing for both working capital and expansion plans. See “Pressures,” A2
Magnitude 7.8 quake rocks Mindanao By Jonathan L. Mayuga
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TOTAL of 19 people were killed while 134 others were injured as a magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake near Maasim, Sarangani Province, rocked Mindanao Monday morning, the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) reported. According to the OCD, which acts as Secretariat of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the figures from local disaster councils as of 3:51 p.m. are still being validated on the ground. The NDRRMC has been on full red alert following the destructive earthquake. Some of the NDDRMC quick response teams arrived in Davao City around 4 p.m. while an operation center in General Santos was set up. The OCD reported that the General Santos International Airport was also damaged, along with several buildings and bridges, including
schools. The devastation in schools was telling, as June 8 was the first day of classes for the 2026-2027 calendar. The NDRRMC’s quick response teams have been deployed for search and rescue, especially in damaged schools. Around 3 million students are in the affected areas. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. immediately suspended all classes in the affected areas. Reports said that at least 5 regions in Mindanao were devastated by the offshore earthquake, the strongest since the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunamis. OCD Spokesman Junie Castillo said critical facilities in Regions 9, 10, 11, and 12, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, were damaged. The earthquake also triggered tsunami waves in several coastal areas. According to Castillo, the strongest inten-
sity felt in Sarangani peaked at Intensity VIII. Phivolcs said the earthquake, initially reported as a magnitude 7 earthquake, was strongly felt in at least five regions. The quake epicenter was traced approximately 32 kilometers south-southwest of the town of Maasim in Sarangani Province and about 13 kilometers southwest of General Santos City. It has a depth of 10 km. Movements in the Cotabato Trench triggered the earthquake, said Winchelle Ian G. Sevilla, chief of the Seismological Observation and Earthquake Prediction Division at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). Sevilla said the Cotabato Trench can generate a strong earthquake that could trigger tsunami waves as high as 9 meters. The Tsunami Alert was raised in 9 provinces—Sarangani, Davao Oriental, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga
Sibugay, Sultan Kudarat, and South Cotabato. As of 11 a.m., Sevilla said Phivolcs recorded a total of 138 aftershocks. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami had largely passed about five hours after the quake struck the southern region of Mindanao. There have been no reports of damage or casualties from the tsunami, Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said. “It’s a major earthquake and we’re expecting damage and we’ve already some damaged buildings based on videos we’ve seen,” Bacolcol told The Associated Press. The strongest quake to strike the Philippines this year was centered at sea at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province, according to the Philippine institute. See “Quake,” A2
PUTO LATIK FESTIVAL 2026
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CELEBRATING BIÑAN’S HERITAGE, CREATIVITY, AND COMMUNITY SPIRIT
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.5070 n JAPAN 0.3839 n UK 82.0134 n HK 7.8510 n CHINA 9.0614 n SINGAPORE 47.7058 n AUSTRALIA 43.1964 n EU 70.8069 n KOREA 0.0394 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.3822 Source: BSP (June 8, 2026)