Cabinet ICC clears 4 public investment projects
A DELIVERY man drives past the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Nov. 24, 2025. AP/NG HAN GUAN
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HE interagency Investment Coordination Committee (ICC)-Cabinet Committee green-lighted four major public investment projects spanning railway transportation, skills training, renewable energy and disaster resilience. A statement issued by the Department of Finance (DOF) on Monday read that the projects—the LRT 1 South Extension Common Station, the Boosting Employability in Strategic TVET Sectors (BEST) project, the Philippine Geothermal Resource Derisking Facility (PGRDF), and the Philippine Seismic Risk Reduction and
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Resilience Project (PSRRRP) have been approved. These projects will soon be up for approval by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who chairs the Economy and Development (ED) Council, before implementation. “The approval of these projects reflects the government’s continued commitment to investing in infrastructure and human capital that deliver tangible benefits and generate long-term economic growth,” the statement read. Following the approval of the LRT 1 South Extension—Common Station, the Unified Grand Central Station (UGCS) will be
built along North Avenue, Quezon City, connecting LRT-1, MRT-3, the upcoming MRT-7 and the Metro Manila Subway under one roof. The ICC also cleared the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s BEST project, which seeks to expand access to high-quality, industry-aligned technical and vocational education and training in sectors, including manufacturing, construction, information and communication technology, and agri-fishery. Meanwhile, the PGRDF, a financing mechanism backed by a sovereign loan from the Asian Development Bank and to be imple-
mented through the Land Bank of the Philippines, was approved. The facility is designed to reduce financial risks of earlystage geothermal exploration, with the government hoping it will attract more private investment into geothermal resources and strengthen the country’s energy security. Lastly, the ICC endorsed the PSRRRP, which targets the seismic retrofitting of public school buildings in Metro Manila while enhancing the capacity of the Department of Public Works and Highways in disaster response. See “Investment,” A7
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Tuesday, June 30, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 259
P25.00 nationwide | 5 sections 36 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
IGHER US interest rates could further weaken the Philippine peso, but tighter monetary policy at home and anticipated foreign capital inflows could help limit the currency’s losses through the rest of the year. The peso has been among Asia’s weak currencies since the US Federal Reserve’s meeting last June 18, said Mitsubishi UFG (MUFG) Research FX Strategist Lloyd Chan in a commentary. Since the Fed’s meeting, markets have shifted in favor of a
“high-for-longer” US rates environment, which has weighed on most Asian currencies due to higher interest-rate differentials. “The Philippine peso, despite offering relatively higher yields, has not been sufficiently insulated from See “Peso,” A7
PHILIPPINES–CANADA FTA TALKS TO TOP MARCOS VISIT By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
C
ANADIAN Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Philip‑ pine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will undertake an Official Visit to Canada from July 1 to 4, 2026, with negotiations on a Canada‑Philippines free trade agreement (FTA) set to headline the agenda. The trip marks the first by a Philippine head of state to Canada in more than a decade. The visit underscores the growing part‑ nership between Ottawa and Manila, with nearly one million Canadians of Filipino de‑ scent forming 1 of Canada’s most dynamic diasporas. Both leaders are expected to “identify fur‑
ther opportunities to deepen our economic and security partnership,” the office of the Canadian premier said in a statement. These include pushing forward both the bilateral FTA and a Canada‑Asean free trade pact, targeted for conclusion this year during the Philippines’s Asean chairmanship. Talks will also cover expanded coop‑ eration in defense and maritime security, energy and critical minerals, food security, tourism, and culture. Canada has already boosted its presence in the Philippines through new offices for Export Development Canada and Indo‑Pa‑ cific agriculture, while bilateral merchan‑ dise trade reached $3.4 billion in 2025.
SCHOOL CHOICE Students of Parañaque National High School make their way to class.
A proposed measure expanding access to private basic education has moved a step closer to becoming law after House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III announced that the Private Basic Education Voucher Program cleared the bicameral conference committee. The LegislativeExecutive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC)-priority bill aims to give parents greater school choice through government-funded vouchers while strengthening the role of private schools in helping address classroom congestion and improve access to quality education. NONIE REYES
Last 2 yrs an acid test for Marcos Jr.
See “Canada,” A7
By Samuel P. Medenilla
F E-WASTE ISSUE A drone photo provided by the End E-Waste Imports task force shows
electronic waste outside a factory in the Subic Bay Freeport. The Bureau of Customs will lead an inter-agency meeting on July 6 to discuss the alleged e-waste shipments, which remain under judicial review, while the SBMA disputes claims that hazardous waste is being dumped in Subic. Story in A4 Economy. PHOTO FROM END E-WASTE IMPORTS
OUR years after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s inauguration at the National Museum in Manila, the sun has started to set on his administration, which has made its mark by restoring “normalcy” in the government from his predecessor, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, and steering the country towards eco‑ nomic stability as it is faced with crisis after crisis. And yet, try as he may to distance himself from the Dutertes, his administration’s fate may be en‑ twined with the political family that once became his ally but has now become estranged from him
THE FOUR-YEAR MARK President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. attends the Russia-ASEAN Summit
in Kazan, Russia, on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Four years into his presidency, Marcos is navigating the final two years of his term amid slowing economic growth, governance challenges, and shifting political alliances, while analysts say he still has time to pursue structural reforms and define his legacy. KRISTINA SOLOVYOVA/SPUTNIK, KREMLIN POOL PHOTO VIA AP
after the sundering of the once-formidable “UniTe‑ am” that brought him to power in 2022.
Systemic issues
DE LA SALLE University Department of Politi‑
cal Science and Development Studies Associate Professor Joseph C. Velasco attributed the country’s post-novel coronavirus disease (Co‑ vid-19) pandemic recovery to Marcos. Marcos removed the mandatory wearing of
face masks and physical distancing in work‑ places, which helped pave the way towards the country’s economic recovery. The recovery faced a bumpy start when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined to 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2023 due to low government spending and high inflation, which averaged 8.3 percent in the previous quarter of the year. The succeeding quarters were followed by over 5 percent economic growth and manage‑ able inflation, which reached its slowest rate at 0.9 percent in July 2025, making it among Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies. However, after Marcos exposed billions of pesos of anomalies in flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last year, which led to a series of inves‑ tigations and low public spending, GDP slowed down to 4 percent by the third quarter of 2025. This was worsened by the onset of the Mid‑ dle East conflict last February, when the United States (US) and Israel attacked Iran, resulting in disruptions in the global supply chain and high pump prices. GDP during the first quarter of the year crawled to 2.8 percent, while inflation soared to See “Test,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.2880 n JAPAN 0.3787 n UK 80.9308 n HK 7.8156 n CHINA 9.0158 n SINGAPORE 47.3925 n AUSTRALIA 42.2274 n EU 69.7886 n KOREA 0.0399 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.3208 Source: BSP (June 29, 2026)