BusinessMirror March 25, 2026

CITING

the imminent threat of the armed conflict in the Middle East to the country’s oil supply, President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of national energy emergency on Tuesday.

Marcos issued Executive Order (EO) 110 which will allow the Department of Energy (DOE) and other government agencies to implement the necessary measures to mitigate the economic impact of the global energy supply disruption caused by the war in the Middle East, which has entered its third week.

The state of national emergency will remain in force and in effect for one year from the effectivity of EO 110 unless otherwise extended or lifted by the President.

The President said in the EO that he made the declaration upon the recommendation of the Energy Secretary who called for urgent measures to ensure the stability and adequacy of the country’s energy supply to prevent a “critical low energy supply.”

It also created the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) Committee to “ensure the stability of domestic energy supply, the uninterrupted delivery of essential services, the continuity of economic activity, and the welfare of the citizens” amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.

By Justine Xyrah Garcia

GLOBAL oil prices are expected to remain elevated in the second quarter, with Brent crude projected to average around $113 per barrel amid prolonged tensions in the Middle East, according to Oxford Economics.

The economic advisory firm said the revised outlook reflects expectations of a more prolonged conflict that could delay the normalization of energy production and shipping flows in the region.

“Our revised oil price forecasts now assume that the oil price averages around $113 [per barrel] in [the second quarter] – with an even higher overall peak before gradually falling back. In addition to a

AS the armed conflict in the Middle East takes its toll on the country’s fuel supply and exchange rate, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Tuesday the government must review its gross domestic product (GDP) targets.

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Television released on Tuesday, the chief executive admitted the country’s vulnerabilities to the said regional conflict and its possible long-term impact on the economy.

“With the war in the Middle East, those [targets] have to be redrawn—everything has to be

redrawn,” Marcos said when asked if he was still confident if the Philippines can still achieve an 8 percent growth rate by the end of his administration.

Prior to the tensions in the Middle East, the Marcos administration has already lowered its projected GDP target to 5 to 6 percent this year from 6 to 7 percent.

He hopes the country can still reach the higher of its GDP target this year due to the increasing value of its semiconductor exports.

The Marcos administration is now forming a crisis committee to mitigate the long-term effects of the Middle East tension particularly

when it comes to oil prices. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced a five-day pause on strikes on Iran’s power plants due to alleged breakthrough in his negotiations with Tehran.

Iran denied there were such talks. However, Trump’s announcement has resulted in a decrease in oil prices.

Marcos said even if the conflict in the Middle East is settled this week, its impact will persist in the coming weeks.

The conflict in the Middle East, which started after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, has disrupted oil supply chains re -

sulting in a surge in global pump prices to over US$110.

Economic impact MARCOS said the disruption is now affecting the operation of local airlines.

“When our airlines fly out, several countries have said we cannot refuel your aircraft so you would have to carry fuel there and back. And that is around here. And on the long haul that is going to be a serious problem,” he said. If the country’s supply of jet fuel will be depleted from a prolonged conflict in the Middle East, the

higher spike, prolonged disruption widens the gap between our new oil price forecast and the February forecast, which preceded the conflict,” the report stated. In an earlier brief this month, Oxford Economics projected Brent to average $79 per barrel in Q2, about $15 above its February baseline, “before easing as supply resumes toward the end of the quarter.”

It said its earlier assumptions were “too sanguine,” as the conflict is now seen causing a more drawnout disruption to energy production and shipping traffic through key routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil trade, re -

mains largely shut, constraining supply flows across key markets, including Southeast Asia.

A significant share of the world’s oil passes through the waterway, and the disruption has tightened availability as shipments from major producers in the Gulf are delayed or rerouted.

US President Donald Trump earlier issued an ultimatum to Iran to reopen the strait, initially set at 48 hours and later extended to five days.

However, Oxford Economics said disruptions may persist longer, noting that the strait could remain effectively closed until the end of April.

It added that shipping activity may only partially recover to

around 50 percent in May and June before gradually returning to normal levels over the following six months.

Amid higher energy costs, Oxford Economics said it has raised its global inflation forecast for 2026 to 4 percent from 3.3 percent previously, reflecting the impact of higher oil, gas, and food prices. Despite the upward revision, the projected inflation rate remains significantly lower than the 8.1 percent recorded in 2022, when global prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Oxford Economics said it also now expects world GDP growth to settle at 2.6 percent this year, down from its previous forecast of 3 percent.

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is targeting more than P200 million in revenues from the disposal of the remaining seized luxury vehicles linked to contractors Sarah

C. Discaya and Pacifico “Curlee”

F. Discaya, through two separate modes this week as it steps up efforts to generate income from non-traditional sources.

BOC Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Noel Bendijo said the bulk of the expected revenues will come from the public auction of

The

as one that has grown more sophisticated at the network level.

“They can no longer be as bold and confident,” Castelo said.

Globe Chief AI Officer Anton Bonifacio said the donated devices are mobile units connected to wireless internet, capable of mapping suspicious mobile network activity within a roughly 50-meter perimeter.

This, he explained, will allow law enforcement personnel to potentially eyeball suspected operators far more effectively than before.

NTC Commissioner Ella Lopez said the commission has received thousands of scam complaints and described the human toll in personal terms.

“These scams do more than drain wallets—they break trust in the digital world.” Lopez added that the NTC has already filed criminal cases against individuals and seized more than 60 prohibited devices.

While noting that the detectors are “not a complete solution, she said they provide “valuable support in identifying suspicious mobile network activity.”

CICC Undersecretary Renato Paraiso said the detectors will initially be deployed in high-density areas where IMSI catcher activity has been identified.

“It gives us another layer of capability to address that particular problem,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that data gaps remain a challenge, as many victims do not file formal complaints, leaving authorities with a fragmented picture of the actual scale of the problem.

Peso strengthens as Middle East tensions ease–experts

By Andrea E. San Juan

THEPhilippine peso recovered on Tuesday, swinging back to the 59-level a day after hitting an alltime low, as geopolitical tensions eased following US President Donald Trump’s order to postpone military strikes against Iranian power plants.

Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) showed the peso closed at P59.95 per $1 on Tuesday, 35 centavos stronger than its previous finish of P60.3 on Monday.

Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), noted the local currency strengthened after “escalation (was) avoided on the war in Iran.”

Emergency…

The committee will be chaired by the President and includes the Execu-

The peso traded at the weakest intraday level of P60.15 against the greenback while its strongest intraday level was at P59.68 against the dollar, data from the BAP showed. Ricafort said this was after “US President Trump ordered the Pentagon to postpone military strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days; the two sides had pro -

tive Secretary as well as the secretaries of the energy; transportation; social welfare and development; agriculture; finance; economic, planning and development; and budget as members. EO 110 also authorized the DOE to implement energy optimization plans,

ductive discussions on a total resolution of hostilities.”

Meanwhile, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (Pids)

Senior Research Fellow John Paolo Rivera told the BusinessMirror that the strengthening of the local currency on Tuesday was likely driven by “technical factors particularly profit-taking after several days depreciation.”

“Some easing in global risk sentiment and possible dollar inflows (e.g., remittances or corporate conversions) may have also supported the currency,” Rivera also told this newspaper.

However, he said this appears to be a temporary correction than a shift in the trend with movements “still largely driven” by external factors like oil prices and dollar strength.

Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. said “Trump’s rhetoric” caused

enforce energy conservation measures and take action against hoarding, profiteering, and supply manipulation related to petroleum products among others.

The DOE together with the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and the PNOC Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) were also authorized to undertake the procurement of required fuel and petroleum products.

To mitigate the impact of the looming energy crisis, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) was tasked to continue providing support to the public transport sector, such as fuel subsidies, and commuter fare subsidies.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will also expedite the release of its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) to its intended beneficiaries including transport workers, farmers, fisherfolks, displaced workers, and repatriated overseas Filipino workers.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry will conduct market monitoring to prevent profiteering on basic necessities and prime commodities and provide support to micro, small, and medium enterprises.

the peso to appreciate against the dollar. He sees the local currency trading at 59.90-60.30 levels against the dollar.

The peso bounced back to the 59-level after breaching the 60-per-dollar level and slumping to record lows for two straight trading days.

On Monday, the local currency closed at P60.30 against the greenback as the war rhetoric by the United States and Iran intensified.

Last Thursday, the local currency moved past the 60-per-dollar level, closing at P60.10 against the dollar, after global crude oil prices went up following Iran’s retaliatory attacks on some energy facilities across the Middle East, including Qatar.

For Wednesday, Ricafort expects the peso to trade at the 59.85-60.10 levels against the dollar.

The Department of Agriculture was also allowed to procure fertilizer and other agricultural inputs as well as provide support for farmers and fisherfolks to ensure the country’s adequate food supply during the Middle East crisis.

The President directed the Department of Migrant Workers to regularly check the status of Filipinos in the Middle East and evacuate and repatriate them if necessary.

Members of the economic team were tasked to closely monitor the impact of the crisis on the Philippine peso, overseas Filipino workers remittances, and overall economy.

The Department of Budget and Management will provide the necessary funding for all of the said government response to the Middle East crisis.

EO 110 also encouraged local government units and the private sector to support the said initiatives as well as implement energy-saving measures.

Marcos issued EO 110 a day after Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that the country was still not under a state of crisis due to limited fuel supply.

The DOE earlier said the country’s petroleum products will be sufficient for 50 to 60 days.

regulations and when banks see these regulations, we all understand that compliance is not the end,” she said. “It is to really fully integrate this—that ESG is sound for their business.”

Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Senior Vice President (SVP) Roel Refran said getting employees to genuinely embrace sustainability goals is what separates companies that succeed from those that merely comply.

“Sustainability is not just about compliance or cost of capital. Sustainability must be embedded into decision-making, not treated as an afterthought. In the end, this is about more than technical standards. It’s about ensuring longterm resilience-for businesses, for markets, and for society. And while we don’t have all the answers yet, we are learning as we go,” he said. At the PSE, sustainability performance has been built into employee key performance indicators.

“This is us making sure by 2100, at the turn of the century, we created an impact—that’s what this story is about,” he said.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) Chief Finance Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer June Cheryl Cabal-Revilla said the group transitioned from focusing solely on risk management to emphasizing overall resilience.

Cabal-Revilla cited how MPIC’s sustainability efforts and quality reporting resulted in real-world gains—Manila Electric Co. seeing a 35 percent increase in share price over the past 12 months and Maynilad Water Services Inc. recording a 30 percent increase in share price since its initial public offering in the fourth quarter last year.

“We operate as an open book, which is why we attract and work with newer groups of investors. Overall, our improved performance has been very positive. We are living proof that sustainability works,” she said.

Lim, for his part, emphasized the need for transparency, accountability, and quality in sustainability reporting.

“Trust depends on what can be verified. Sustainability claims must not run ahead of facts. They must be grounded, measured, and governed with discipline. Everything less does not just weaken disclosure, it weakens the markets,” he said.

The forum was supported by MPIC as the Gold sponsor, with SM Investments Corp. and San Miguel Corp. serving as Silver sponsors.

GCash, Globe Telecom, Inc., Ayala Corp., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Development Bank of the Philippines, Maynilad, and GT Capital Holdings, Inc. were Bronze sponsors.

EJAP is the country’s premier organization of business and economic reporters, dedicated to promoting excellence in economic journalism and fostering professional development among its members.

2-2024 (P9.86 million), BMW X6 2023 (P8.81 million), Jeep Wrangler 2021 (P2.76 million), Lexus ES 2019 (P2.70 million), and Lexus LX570 2018 (P3.46 million).

A separate negotiated sale will be held on March 26 for two Bugatti units, where offers are directly submitted and evaluated by the commission.

Bendijo said the negotiated sale follows a different process from the competitive sealed bidding used in the March 27 auction.

For the March 27 auction, interested bidders are required to register, submit documentary requirements, and post a security bond before participating in the sealed bidding process.

Under BOC rules, all units are sold on an “as is, where is” basis,

requiring bidders to inspect the vehicles during a three-day public viewing prior to the auction.

“In simple terms, whatever the condition of the vehicles during the public viewing is what the winning bidders will receive. That is why it is important for bidders to participate in pre-bid activities such as the public viewing,” Bendijo said, mostly in Filipino.

The agency said bids will be submitted simultaneously in sealed form and opened in a transparent manner, with proceedings livestreamed and recorded to ensure public visibility.

Bendijo said there has already been strong interest from prospective buyers ahead of the scheduled sale. Proceeds from both the auction and negotiated sale will be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury, contributing to government revenues. Previous disposals of so-called “Discaya cars” have generated P102.5 million in revenues, all of which were remitted to the national government.

Justine Xyrah Garcia

President said there is a possibility local carriers will be forced to ground their aircraft.

The Department of Energy (DOE) earlier said the country has sufficient fuel supply in the next 50 to 60 days.

The President said the government is now in talks with India, China, Japan, Thailand, Brunei, and South Korea for a possible oil supply arrangement due to prevailing supply issues from its traditional suppliers in the Middle East.

The instability in the Middle East has also contributed to the weakening of the peso against the US dollar. Last Monday, the peso dropped to a record low of P60.30 against the greenback. Marcos said the government is ready to allow the value of peso to remain at over P60 against the dollar rather than exhausting foreign reserves to defend it.

“I think it would be even futile to try to spend all our foreign reserves defending the peso,” he said.

To note, it is the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which operates independently from the government, which decides to defend the country’s currency. Samuel P. Medenilla

Where to Save Your Money

Economist: Lack of emergency funds leaves families vulnerable

By John Eiron R. Francisco

WITH low formal savings and  heavy reliance on borrowing or remittances, many Filipino households are vulnerable to crises, making emergency funds critical, according to an economist.

“Kapag mababa o wala ka kasing emergency fund at dumating ‘yung panahon na meron kang matinding pangangailangan, mapipilitan ka kasing umutang,” Dr. John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, told BusinessMirror in an exclusive interview.

[“If your emergency fund is low or nonexistent and a major need arises, you will be forced to borrow.”]

Rivera explained that in such situations, households may have to either turn to lenders, sell essential items or assets, or cut back on basic needs such as food, medicine, household goods, and rent.

However, he warned that borrowing, especially through micro-lending, can worsen their financial situation due to high interest rates, which increase expenses and put further pressure on household budgets.

He noted that this vulnerability is compounded by historically low formal savings and limited emergency buffers among Filipinos. Still, he emphasized that low savings do not necessarily mean a lack of intent to save. Many households prioritize daily expenses to meet immediate needs, leaving little room to set aside funds despite the desire to do so.

While some suggest setting aside 30 percent to 60 percent of income, Rivera said this is not always realistic, as financial capacity varies.

He added that there is no one-size-fits-all rule on how much people should save.

“Yung situation ng mga household na may kakayahan, mas malaki ‘yung kanilang savings relative sa kanilang kinikita,” he said. “Meron din naman tayong mga kababayan na maraming pinagkakagastusan upang maibigay ang pangangailangan ng kanilang mga anak at pamilya, kaya hindi rin natin sila masisisi kung limitado o mababa ang kanilang savings.”

[“Households with greater financial capacity tend to save more relative to their income. But many Filipinos also face heavy expenses to meet the needs of their children and families, so it is understandable if their savings remain limited or low.”]

Ultimately, Rivera said, saving depends on lifestyle and financial needs, and there is no exact proportion of income that fits every household.

Generational Differences

Meanwhile, Rivera observed generational differences in saving behavior among Filipinos. Younger adults, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, are more receptive to digital saving tools and mobile applications that can help them manage their funds.

At the same time, however, they tend to be more consumption-driven, often prioritizing lifestyle spending, experiences, and discretionary purchases alongside their savings goals.

Older generations, in contrast, generally take a more conservative approach to finances, focusing on saving and financial security.

Yet, Rivera noted, they often face competing obligations, such as supporting extended family, covering healthcare costs, and providing

for dependents, which can limit their ability to save despite their cautious approach.

‘Accessibility Is Key’

Asked about the ideal platform for an emergency fund, Rivera emphasized accessibility.

“Kung emergency fund ang pinag-

uusapan, isa sa mga criteria dito ay kung kailan madali mo siyang makuha kapag kinakailangan, ” he added.

[“When we talk about an emergency fund, one of the key criteria is how easily you can access it when you need it.”]

He explained that it should be easy to

withdraw when needed, pointing to banks, savings accounts, and digital banks as practical options.

“Rather than volatile instruments, like real assets or properties, which are illiquid and not easily converted into cash,” he said.

An emergency fund, Rivera defined as a precautionary form of savings, or liquid assets, that can serve as a buffer against sudden income changes, unexpected expenses, such as the recent oil price hikes caused by the war in the Middle East, which have disrupted global supplies.

“It [emergency fund] actually smooths your consumption or prepares for a sudden change that will allow you to continue your consumption, continue your operations because you have something in stock that will allow you to extend your normal course of activities for a definite period of time,” he explained.

For households starting from scratch, Rivera suggested a practical approach. While financial experts often recommend setting aside three to six months’ worth of essential expenses, he noted that even saving enough for one to three months can be a meaningful starting point.

This, he said, can be done gradually by forecasting income and expenses and setting aside what is manageable.

“Start with one to three months if possible, and if additional income comes in, you can gradually increase your savings,” he noted.

The key, Rivera emphasized, is ensuring that households have enough to survive unexpected challenges, balancing daily spending with the discipline to save.

FIRST TIME SINCE WWII

Japan to deploy combat troops to PHL

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome

IN a move that signals a profound shift in regional security dynamics, the Armed Forces (AFP) confirmed on Tuesday that Japan will deploy combat troops to the country for the first time since the end of World War II.

The historic deployment is scheduled for this year’s iteration of “Balikatan,” the flagship annual military exercises between the Philippines and the United States.

Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Armed Forces chief of staff, announced the development during a forum hosted by the Stratbase ADR Institute in Makati. It marks a significant escalation in defense cooperation between Manila and Tokyo.

‘China’s scanning of PH warship not enough to trigger hostile reax’

ARANKING naval official said on Tuesday that the Philippines does not have to respond violently to a Chinese warship’s fire control radar (FCR) scanning of a Navy (PN) guided missile frigate at the Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) on March 7.

“The Rules of Engagement [ROE] are very clear to our commanding officers. Use of force for mission accomplishment is not allowed without infringing on the universal right of self-defense, defense of your men or of others,” the Navy spokesperson for the WPS, Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, said at a press briefing in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, when asked on what action the BRP Miguel Malvar can undertake following the incident.

Asked what Navy commanders would do should a more “hostile intent” be demonstrated against them by their Chinese counterparts, Trinidad said the ROE has “sufficient details for every possible scenario.”

“Details of which I cannot divulge,” he said.

Likewise, Trinidad said all actions of the PN, and the Armed Forces (AFP) in general, must be within the bounds of international law.

He added that the Philippines will not fall into the trap of firing the proverbial “first shot,” regardless of any harassment or illegal actions the Chinese might take.

“We have to understand Chinese war-fighting thought, which is to force us to fire the first shot, to force us to escalate the situation,” Trinidad said.

He said he cannot divulge the particular details of the fire control system used by the Chinese warship against the BRP Miguel Malvar or the weapon it was guiding.

He, however, stressed that such actions were “uncalled for and unprofessional.”

“Again, the weapon system is immaterial. What is highlighted here is the unprofessional conduct of the People’s Liberation Army Navy [PLAN],” he said.

See “Warship,” A5

While the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) have participated in previous “Balikatan” exercises, their involvement was strictly limited to humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations. This year, however, Japanese soldiers will join the combat maneuvers.

The deployment marks a watershed moment for Japan’s post-war military posture.

For decades, Japan’s pacifist Constitution, specifically Article 9, effectively banned the deployment of troops for combat operations overseas.

However, a series of landmark security laws passed in 2015 under the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reinterpreted those restrictions, allowing the JSDF to engage in “collective self-defense” and provide

support to allies if Japan’s own security is deemed at stake.

The legal pathway for this specific deployment was further cleared by the Japanese Diet’s ratification of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA).

This pact provides a framework for the exchange of troops between the two nations, granting limited diplomatic immunity for Japanese soldiers during port calls and joint exercises in the Philippines, while providing similar protections for Filipino troops stationed in Japan.

“For the very first time, combat troops from the Japan Self-Defense Forces will be coming to the Philippines for the Balikatan exercises,” Brawner told the forum.

While Brawner confirmed their presence, he declined to reveal

whether the Japanese contingent would participate in live-fire drills, which are often the most sensitive and high-profile components of the wargames.

Brawner emphasized that the month-long Balikatan exercises, set to begin in April, will be the most expansive in the history of the alliance.

He dismissed concerns that ongoing US military operations in the Middle East would lead to a reduction in the scale or intensity of the joint wargames, asserting that the commitment to regional defense remains absolute.

A primary focus for this year’s drills will be cyber-defense, an area Brawner identified as a critical vulnerability in modern warfare.

Citing recent global conflicts,

the AFP chief noted that the neutralization of an adversary’s network is now a standard precursor to kinetic military action.

“In Ukraine and Iran, we saw the importance of cyber defense,” Brawner said.

“Before the US attacked Venezuela and Iran, the first thing they did was hit the network of their enemy through cyber warfare. So it’s important to develop capability to protect our networks.”

The inclusion of Japanese combat units in Philippine-based maneuvers is expected to draw scrutiny from regional neighbors, particularly Beijing, as Manila continues to bolster its network of security alliances in the face of escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

Sara’s best opportunity to defend

is during impeach

VICE President Sara Z. Duterte has the “best opportunity” to defend and answer the allegations against her, the chairperson of the House or Representatives Committee on Justice said on Tuesday, as impeachment proceedings move forward amid growing public interest.

Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, the panel chairman, said “the hearings provide a crucial platform for anyone asserting innocence to contest accusations.”

The committee is set to convene on Wednesday where it is expected to establish ground rules, address key motions, and begin hearings on the complaints in preparation for the evidentiary phase.

“Because, hypothetically, if you are claiming innocence, you should take every opportunity to prove it. And this formal hearing is the best chance for her to defend herself against the allegations in the complaint,” Luistro said.

“I think it’s about time that the public hears the response of our Vice President,” Luistro added, highlighting the increasing public interest in the matter.

While attending the hearings

TBy Rizal Raoul Reyes @brownindio

HE Philippines has emerged as a primary target for “China-nexus” cyber adversaries, driven largely by intensifying regional territorial disputes,

is ultimately Duterte’s choice, Luistro pointed out that the seriousness and duration of the allegations make a response important.

“Well, it’s actually her choice whether to come or not, but from the perspective of an ordinary Filipino citizen, these questions have been raised since the 19th Congress, I think 2024. Now it is 2026 already, and I believe that a huge number of Filipinos wanted to hear the answer of the vice president, and it is from this light that I am hopeful that the vice president will be availing of this opportunity to answer all the allegations,” Luistro said.

The accusations include alleged misuse of confidential funds, bribery, threats, and unexplained wealth. Luistro said such serious allegations warrant a defense, particularly for the country’s secondhighest official.

“These are serious allegations, and under normal circumstances, you would take every opportunity to defend yourself – especially since this involves the vice president, the second-highest official in the country. In this light, I am

particularly in the West Philippine Sea.

According to the CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report, the country is now positioned as a high-risk zone within Southeast Asia, caught in a dual-threat landscape of state-sponsored espio -

self

hearings–legislator

hoping that she will be able to attend,” Luistro added.

She also noted that the hearings could benefit the vice president if she successfully refutes the claims.

“Now, to your question, if the vice president, our respondent, does not appear, they will not be able to present their evidence or witnesses to counter the alleged offenses and grounds. That is why I have been saying that this is a significant opportunity for her to challenge the complaint,” Luistro said.

Luistro pointed out that the hearings could even work in the vice president’s favor if she is able to refute the claims.

Impeach hearing proper starts THE House Committee on Justice will open the hearing proper on the impeachment complaints against Sara Z. Duterte on Wednesday, March 25, marking a critical turning point as proceedings formally move toward the presentation of evidence and witnesses while continuing to send her invitations throughout the duration of the hearings.

nage and sophisticated financial raids.

CrowdStrike, a leading global provider of cloud-native cybersecurity, warns that the “cloud is the new battleground.” This shift reflects a global trend where adversaries are moving away from traditional malware in favor of exploiting cloud infrastructure and trusted identities.

The most alarming revelation in the 2026 report is the sheer speed of modern attacks. The “breakout time,” defined as the interval it takes for an attacker to move laterally from an initial breach to other parts of a network, has plummeted.

“The average eCrime breakout time fell to just 29 minutes in 2025, a 65 percent increase in speed from the previous year,” said Adam Meyers, head of counter adversary operations at CrowdStrike. “The fastest observed breakout occurred in only 27 seconds. In one specific intrusion, data exfiltration began

The panel will convene at 10 a.m. at the People’s Center, where it is expected to lay down ground rules, resolve key motions, and initiate hearings on the complaints ahead of the evidentiary phase. Under the agenda, the committee will proceed with the initial hearing on the two remaining complaints – the third and fourth impeachment complaints against Duterte.

The third complaint was filed by Joel Saballa and endorsed by Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima of Mamamayang Liberal, while the fourth complaint was filed by Nathaniel Cabrera and endorsed by Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V. The panel will also act on pending motions, including requests for the issuance of subpoenas for documents, as well as a petition to place under its custody key witness Ramil Madriaga, who claims to have served as a “bagman” for the vice president. Also up for resolution is the issue of alleged conflict of interest involving two members of Duterte’s legal team.

within just four minutes of the initial access.” Meyers described the environment as an “AI arms race,” noting that AI-enabled adversaries increased their operations by 89 percent year-over-year. These actors are weaponizing artificial intelligence to accelerate reconnaissance, credential theft, and evasion tactics.

For the Philippines, the threat is deeply geopolitical. CrowdStrike’s frontline intelligence, which tracks over 280 named adversaries, indicates that the country was the sixth most targeted nation globally by Chinese-linked actors in 2025.

The surge in activity is heavily concentrated on government and military agencies, telecommunications and internet service providers and the information and communications technology sector. While China-linked groups focus on intelligence collection re -

BOC-DTI raiders seize ₧1.4B illegal vapes in Navotas

By Bless Aubrey Ogerio

AUTHORITIES seized an estimated P1 billion to P1.4 billion worth of illicit vaporized nicotine products in a warehouse in San Rafael Village, Navotas City, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced.

The joint operation uncovered approximately 3,174,000 vape devices and pods, along with illegal promotional items such as t-shirts, jackets, caps and lanyards featuring brands that had already been suspended from trading.

The raid, carried out by the BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, followed the issuance of a Letter of Authority (LOA) on March 21.

Several of the brands targeted in the operation

had previously faced regulatory sanctions in 2024 for packaging violations, including the improper placement of tax stamps and graphic health warnings.

DTI said the confiscated products will undergo condemnation proceedings once formally turned over, ensuring they are permanently removed from circulation and cannot reenter the market.

The agency also assisted in identifying the brands and determining the valuation of the seized items.

Both DTI and BOC reaffirmed their commitment to intensify efforts against the entry, distribution, and sale of illicit goods in the Philippines.

They also reminded the public to remain vigilant and regularly consult the trade department for updates on suspended and noncompliant vape brands.

Palace vows to implement semicon industry roadmap

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

DESPITE

geopolitical challenges, including the additional tariffs from the United States (US) and the ongoing Middle East crisis, Malacañang has committed to implement the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Industry (PSEI) Roadmap to boost the country’s electronics exports.

Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto made the commitment during his meeting with the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Advisory Council (Seiac) at the Palace on Monday.

“Let us identify which reforms require legislation, which need executive action, which need budget support, and which can be done immediately,“ he said.

He recognized the significant contribution of the semiconductor and electronics industry, ac -

counting for almost three-fifth of export receipts and directly and indirectly employing three million workers.

Among the highlights of the PSEI roadmap was the establishing wafer fabrication or the process of creating integrated circuits. It also contained provisions in creating laboratories, which will function as central hubs for research collaboration expanding existing infrastructures “to capture growth in the advanced packaging market

and in attracting investments in next-generation technologies.”

The plan also includes the creation of up to three national laboratories, “each designed with a distinct area of specialization, its own fabrication capability, a dedicated research and development roadmap, and a talent development framework.”

Recto said he hopes the plan will help convince more companies to invest in the country when deciding on their next expansion.

“Our task is simple to describe, though difficult to execute: when those decisions are made, the Philippines must be on top of the shortlist – and, whenever possible, be the first choice,” he said.

The Palace executive has committed to collaborate with the private sector to “sustain the growth of a P3-trillion annual industry income” of semiconductor and electronics industry by creating policies, which are beneficial for it such as the CREATE MORE Law or Republic Act 12066, which provide them with tax holidays.

“But many problems do not need a new law. They need clear instruction, better coordination, and

shorter processing time,” Recto said.

“The green lanes must work. Incentives must be predictable. Customs processes must be efficient. Skills development must anticipate the needs of the industry, and not trail behind them,” he added.

Last January, SEIPI said it said the country is on track to reach nearly US$50 billion in electronic exports this year.

However, this was before President Donald Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff after the United States Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional his far-reaching taxes on imports and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which raised the global price of oil.

Both are expected to hamper the growth of the global economy this year.

Recto said they plan to take advantage of the country’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit this year to promote the country as a “not just as a participant in regional supply chains, but as a serious, dependable, and scalable semiconductor and electronics hub.

“We should use that platform well and use it boldly,” Recto said.

According to Luistro, the committee is prepared to move swiftly into the evidentiary phase once these matters are resolved, stressing that only panel members will be allowed to conduct cross-examination of witnesses as part of a strictly rules-based process.

“If the complainants are ready, we can actually proceed to presentation of evidence and witnesses,” Luistro said.

“We are the prosecutors here. So, the members of the Committee on Justice will study all the evidence that will be presented by both the complainant and the respondent,” she added.

The hearing proper follows the panel’s finding of sufficient grounds to proceed on the two remaining complaints, effectively closing the determination stage and advancing the case to full hearings.

The complaints include allegations of misuse of confidential and intelligence funds, unexplained wealth, violations of Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) requirements, bribery, and an alleged threat against President Marcos, First Lady Liza AranetaMarcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

The committee has been authorized by the House plenary to continue proceedings even during the congressional recess, with subsequent hearings scheduled on April 14, April 22, and April 29. Meanwhile, Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro, a member of the Justice panel, underscored

lated to the West Philippine Sea, the report also noted sophisticated financial “raids” conducted by North Korean actors, creating a pincer movement of digital threats against Philippine intelligence.

The CrowdStrike report highlights a significant shift toward

that the proceedings are anchored on evidence and official findings, citing reports from the Commission on Audit and prior congressional inquiries.

The Vice President has received the invitation to attend the hearing, but her camp has yet to confirm whether she will appear, maintaining that there is no requirement for her personal attendance under existing rules.

However, lawyer Dino de Leon, counsel for the movants of the second impeachment complaint, said Duterte is duty-bound to face the proceedings, emphasizing that impeachment is a constitutional process requiring accountability.

Luistro, for her part, said the panel will continue extending invitations to Duterte throughout the duration of the hearing proper to ensure she is given every opportunity to respond to the allegations.

Despite the lack of confirmation from her camp, she stressed that the committee will keep its doors open and allow the vice president to participate at any stage of the proceedings.

She added that the hearing proper is a crucial stage where both parties are expected to present their evidence and where Duterte can directly address the accusations against her, underscoring that the process is anchored on fairness and due process.

Luistro also emphasized that the invitation is meant to give Duterte the chance to defend herself, especially in light of the seriousness of the allegations, noting that public expectation for answers remains high as the impeachment proceedings enter a critical phase.

“malware-free” attacks. Instead of installing detectable viruses, attackers are increasingly using legitimate stolen credentials to blend into normal network activity. “Adversaries are moving from initial access to lateral movement in minutes,” Meyers warned. “AI is compressing the time between intent and execution while turning enterprise AI systems into targets. Security

Lawmaker calls for network of pedestrian, bike pathways

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

AMID rising and volatile global oil prices, a lawmaker has urged Congress to pass a measure that seeks to institutionalize active transport by establishing a nationwide network of safe, pedestrian-friendly, and bikeable pathways.

Parañaque Rep. Brian Yamsuan emphasized the urgency of the proposal, noting that walking, cycling, and other forms of non-motorized transport have become practical options for many Filipinos, especially as a way to cushion the impact of current and future oil price increases.

House Bill 7863, or the proposed Safe Pathways Network Act authored by Yamsuan, aims to provide viable transport alternatives by requiring cities and municipalities, in coordination with national government agencies, to identify and develop walkable and bike-friendly lanes in their respective areas.

“The disruption in global oil prices that we are experiencing likely won’t be the last. Many of our kababayans prefer to commute, bike, or walk in order to save money. But our roads have been built mainly to favor cars, with sidewalks either too narrow or blocked and bike lanes missing, disconnected, and unsafe,” said Yamsuan, a vice chairperson of the House Committee on Transportation.

“Our proposed Safe Pathways Act responds to this reality. It recognizes the fact that most trips

teams must operate faster than the adversary to win.”

CrowdStrike also observed a 266 percent increase in statenexus threat actors targeting cloud environments specifically for intelligence collection. As Philippine organizations continue their digital transformation, the vulnerability of Software-asa-Service (SaaS) applications and cloud infrastructure has become

are not made by private vehicles. Millions of Filipinos commute and complete their journey on foot when they travel, while others prefer to use bikes. The problem is that our roads and sidewalks are not safe for them. This is what we want to change,” Yamsuan added.

Yamsuan also noted that under the administration of President Marcos, the government has been prioritizing commuter welfare in infrastructure projects, citing the ongoing commuter-focused phase of the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue rehabilitation, which includes improvements of sidewalks and the development of bike lanes.

“This is an opportune time to enact the Safe Pathways Act considering that our ever-reliable Public Works Secretary, Vince Dizon, has been at the forefront of advocating for, and building, safe and more inclusive public spaces for pedestrians and commuters. Let’s start with Edsa and keep on going with these initiatives,” Yamsuan said.

Beyond mitigating the effects of oil price volatility, Yamsuan said the proposed network of walkable and bike-friendly pathways would help ease traffic congestion, promote healthier lifestyles, and reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

He also pointed out that active transport is globally recognized as a key component in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

a critical concern for national security and economic stability.

With the Philippines now ranked among the top 20 most affected countries by cyber threats overall, the 2026 Global Threat Report indicates that speed is the essence in defending the digital frontier in the era of AI-accelerated warfare. “It is no longer about days or hours but a matter of seconds.”

Under the measure, local governments (LGUs), in consultation with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), are tasked to identify and establish temporary or permanent bicycle lane networks.

Along national roads in Metro Manila, the DOTr, in coordination with the DPWH and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), will oversee the establishment of bike lanes.

LGUs will also be responsible for designating or constructing walkways that may be shared with non-motorized vehicles or personal mobility devices, with pedestrian safety as a priority.

To complement these pathways, the bill mandates LGUs to designate “slow streets,” where motorized vehicle access or speed limits will be restricted during certain days or hours.

The measure also requires public places, government offices, schools, workplaces, and commercial establishments—such as malls, banks, and hospitals—to provide adequate bicycle parking and other end-oftrip facilities.

Funding for the implementation of the measure will come from LGU infrastructure allocations, as well as appropriations for the DOTr and DPWH under the General Appropriations Act and the Special Road Fund sourced from the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge.

See “Bike,” A17

He highlighted that the BRP Miguel Malvar, which was com

missioned only last year, was able to detect FCR emissions as it is capable of engaging in warfare in four dimensions—surface, subsurface, air, and cyber. As this developed, Trinidad

PNP eyes better protection for TNVS drivers

THE National Police (PNP) is crafting measures to further strengthen requests for assistance and other crime-related concerns of the ridehailing services community.

In a statement on Tuesday, Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., National Police chief, acknowledged the need to strengthen the protection of the Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) partners due to the risk they face every day that comes with the nature of their job.

“We have to maintain a strong partnership and ensure a reliable communication line for the safety and peace and order-related concerns of those in the TNVS community,” he said.

Nartatez issued the statement following the March 11 robbery and fatal stabbing of a TNVS driver in Taguig City, video of which has gone viral on social media.

Investigators tagged the person who booked the driver as the mastermind who allegedly connived with three accomplices to carry out the crime.

Two of the alleged accomplices were arrested a few hours after the crime and are now facing robbery with homicide charges and are detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. A minor linked to the primary suspect was turned over to police by the parents. In a telephone interview with reporters, Taguig City police chief Col. Julius Añonuevo said the minor was identified through CCTV footage.

Marcos leads nationwide fuel subsidy rollout to stabilize PUV fares amid rising oil prices

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

TO help keep fares of public utility vehicles (PUV) stable amid rising fuel prices due to the ongoing Middle East armed conflict, President Ferdinand Marcos led the nationwide distribution of fuel subsidies to over a million beneficiaries last Tuesday.

During the rollout subsidies at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), the Chief Executive met with representative of bus operators, which benefitted from the fuel subsidies, and urged them to help the government in mitigating the impact of the Middle East crisis.

DSWD warns TNVS drivers: Don’t confront payout staff, check with TNCs over cash relief exclusion

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday urged transport network vehicle service (TNVS) drivers who were not included in the current list of beneficiaries for the government’s cash relief assistance (CRA) to coordinate directly with their respective transport network companies (TNCs), appealing to them not to confront agency personnel at payout centers.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said that the list of beneficiaries released by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) was based on submissions made by TNCs, which identified qualified drivers and forwarded the list for validation before it was transmitted to the DSWD for payout.

He urged drivers to verify with their companies the reason for their exclusion, emphasizing that the DSWD only facilitates the distribution of assistance and does not prepare or modify the beneficiary list. The DSWD chief also appealed to drivers not to confront agency personnel at payout centers, reiterating that any concerns regarding inclusion should be raised with their respective TNCs.

Gatchalian further pointed out that some drivers classified as “temporary” may not have been included, noting that only those with valid licenses to operate were part of the submitted lists.

He cited his interaction with TNVS drivers in Valenzuela who questioned their absence from the list, explaining that some companies maintain a pool of drivers without official slots, which may affect their eligibility under the current allocation.

According to Gatchalian, issues concerning quotas and driver classification should be addressed by the TNCs, as they are responsible for determining the final list submitted to the government.

He also dismissed reports of insufficient funds for transport workers, assuring that the budget for financial assistance to public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, including TNVS operators, has been secured and is ready for distribution once validated lists are received.

Payout operations for beneficiaries outside Metro Manila will begin after the Holy Week break.

For this week, the DSWD has set a payout schedule by sector: Wednesday for jeepney drivers, Thursday and Friday for delivery riders, and Saturday for motorcycle taxi operators.

Global pump prices soared after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. The Department of Energy (DOE) said diesel prices could rise to P134.30 per liter, while gasoline to P112.40 per liter this week.

“So, please help us so that our riding public is not too hard hit and too

burdened with fares because we know what the situation is – oil prices are changing all over the world,” Marcos said in Filipino when he addressed the bus operators.

“We are always in need of assistance and support and cooperation with the operators, with the drivers, the entire system,” he added.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said 27 bus operators with 1,096 bus units benefited from the fuel subsidy distribution at the PITX.

Under the program, bus operators were provided P10,000 for each bus unit, while their drivers were provided with P5,000 each.

The subsidies were transmitted to their intended beneficiaries through different payment methods, including digital payment and cheques.

“If we think we can do something to improve the system, please tell us. Because what we want is very

– as convenient as possible, as easy as possible, and as quick – as fast as possible,” Marcos said.

DOTr said it will use its P2.5billion fuel subsidy budget to assist 245,066 drivers and 1,180,783 PUV units of operators nationwide.

It will cover jeepneys, buses, taxis, UV Express units, Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS), tricycles, and delivery services.

“Distribution for major PUVs begins today, while assistance for tricycle and delivery-service drivers is scheduled after Holy Week,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.

Marcos said the subsidies are expected to help PUVs to continue their operations without raising their fares to cope with high pump prices.

He said the government is ready to provide additional support to PUVs if the Middle East crisis persists in the coming weeks.

RCEF seed distribution reaches 4.42 million

By Bless Aubrey Ogerio

THE Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) expanded access to high-yielding and climateresilient rice varieties through a large-scale seed distribution program covering two cropping seasons.

In its 2025 annual review, the RCEF Seed Program reported that 4.42 million bags of certified inbred seeds were distributed during the 2025 wet season and the 2026 dry season, enough to plant hundreds of thousands of hectares nationwide.

The program’s Binhi e-Padala system also widened its reach, serving about 74,000 farmers in the 2025 wet season and 45,000 farmers in the 2026 dry season by streamlining distribution and reducing bottlenecks for smallholders.

Alongside seed rollout, efforts to promote modern farming practices were scaled up through 25 PalaySikatan demonstration

sites covering 1,250 hectares and involving 1,132 farmer-cooperators.

These sites served as learning hubs where farmers could observe and adopt updated rice production techniques.

Fertilizer management was also strengthened, with around 2,500 sites across 129 local government units in 22 provinces implementing site-specific nutrient recommendations. The approach is aimed at helping farmers manage input costs while sustaining yields.

To accelerate the adoption of improved varieties, the program established 173 trial sites showcasing newly released, high-performing rice seeds.

Digital engagement also expanded, with the RCEF Seed Program’s Facebook page reaching over 5 million users, extending information and updates to farmers across the country.

Capacity-building initiatives continued in partnership with the Agricultural Training In -

stitute and the Bureau of Plant Industry-National Seed Quality Control Services.

Four retooling and organizational management training sessions were conducted for 120 partner seed growers to strengthen local seed production.

Even with the non-release of funds for fiscal year 2025, the RCEF Extension Program utilized P4.1 million in continuing funds to sustain farmer education efforts.

This supported a revised training module, three batches of advanced courses, one specialized training, and 241 knowledgesharing activities.

Training efforts were further expanded through partnerships, with 197 participants trained across seven batches of PalayCheck farmer field school and advanced courses for facilitators.

Three of the five PalayCheck batches were aligned with the RISE Visayas Project, integrating RCEF initiatives at the field level.

Fuel tankers, basic goods vehicles now free from Metro truck ban and coding scheme

FUEL tankers and those carrying basic commodities can now freely traverse on major roads in the Metropolis without fear of being apprehended.

MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III said that the Metro Manila Council (MMC) has approved an ordinance, exempting fuel tankers and those transporting basic goods from the truck ban and the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program or “number coding scheme” amid the tension in the Middle East.

Aprub na ‘yung MMC resolution so lahat ng mga fuel trucks ay hindi na kasama sa number coding. Pati ang mga nagdadala ng basic commodities natin kasi we recognize ang pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan na it is beyond normal ang sitwasyon natin ,” Torre said

right after the MMC meeting on Tuesday. Torre also said that the move will allow delivery of fuels to gasoline stations, which are considered essential to maintaining economic activities in the metropolis. Previously, fuel trucks, as well as those carrying basic goods, were covered by the truck ban during peak hours and the number coding scheme which limited the movement of vehicles based on their plate numbers.

The MMC, whose members are the 17 Metro mayors, is the policy-making body of the MMDA.

‘Metro Alalay Semana Santa 2026’ MEANWHILE , Torre said that provincial buses will be temporarily allowed on Edsa

during the Holy Week to be able to accommodate more passengers going to their respective provinces, starting April 1 to 6.

Torre said this is part of the agency’s overall preparation for the Holy Week influx of passengers going to the provinces under the Metro Alalay Semana Santa 2026.

Torre said buses coming from south Luzon will be allowed up to the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange in Paranaque while those from the north will be allowed up to their terminals in Cubao, Quezon City.

Likewise, number coding scheme will be lifted in the same period.

“Starting Wednesday, bale April 1 yun, suspended na rin ang ating number coding,” he said. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

MMDA reports 5% to 7% drop in EDSA traffic volume as ME tensions spur oil prices

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has reported a five to seven percent reduction in the volume of vehicles traveling along the 23.8-kilometer stretch of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), citing higher oil prices driven by ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III said, “This is around 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles.” Torre said that the traffic count started on Monday to Wednesday

last week. “ Sa ngayon, nakita talaga natin ang pagbaba ng numbers. May mga tumigil sa pagdala ng sasakay, ang iba nagka -carpooling at sa mass transport system,” Torre told reporters after the meeting of the Metro Manila Council in the MMDA main office in Pasig City. Torre said the MMDA will continue to monitor the traffic volume in Edsa and other roadways in Metro Manila.

The MMDA previously said around 400,000 public and private vehicles plied Edsa on a daily basis, with the numbers increasing during the Christmas season.

Farm credit goes digital under new DA system

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has introduced a digital lending system aimed at speeding up access to financing for farmers, fisherfolk and small rural enterprises, addressing long-standing delays that often leave producers without capital at critical stages of production.

The Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) led the overhaul of two systems, which include the Credit Fund Line facility and the Agri-Credit E-Portal 2.0.

In the Credit Fund Line program, loan funds will be released more quickly to partner lending conduits such as rural banks, cooperative banks and non-government organizations that serve as frontline lenders in farming and fishing communities.

The mechanism is designed to ensure that financing reaches borrowers faster by streamlining the flow of funds from the government to lenders.

Complementing this is the Agri-Credit E-Portal 2.0, a digital platform that integrates the entire lending process, from application and approval to fund release and monitoring, into a single system.

Launched in November last year, the portal connects borrowers, lenders, and government agencies, allowing faster verification and improving oversight of how funds are used.

The system is linked to the government’s Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture and the DA’s intervention monitoring database, enabling quicker validation of applicants while supporting more datadriven credit delivery.

Per the agriculture agency, the reform targets a persistent gap in rural finance: the mismatch between when farmers need funds and when loans are actually released.

In many cases, delays in processing mean capital arrives too late in the production cycle to be fully utilized, they added.

Given such, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the agency is simplifying procedures in response to complaints from farmers, including producers of high-value crops such as onions, about burdensome documentary requirements that slow approvals.

“Our goal is to remove the bottlenecks that slow down farm financing,” Tiu Laurel said.

“By simplifying loan requirements and expanding access to affordable financing, we enable farmers and fishers to invest in production, raise their incomes, and help stabilize the country’s food supply,” he added.

The platform is also designed to work in areas with limited connectivity, as applications can be submitted through laptops, tablets, or kiosks, even without internet access, with data automatically syncing once a connection becomes available.

For her part, ACPC executive director Rallen Verdadero said the reforms are meant to ensure that credit reaches farmers and fishers when it is most needed.

“Timely and accessible credit is vital to sustaining agricultural productivity and strengthening rural livelihoods,” she said.

The council has allocated P3 billion this 2026 in loanable funds to support farmers, fisherfolk, and agriculturebased micro and small enterprises nationwide. Moreover, available programs include the AgriNegosyo facility, which offers loans of up to P25 million at 2 percent annual interest; the Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs program, which provides interest-free loans of up to P500,000; and the Survival and Recovery program, which extends zerointerest loans of up to P25,000 to producers affected by disasters. Other lending programs include Agrisenso Plus and Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid. Bless

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Iran targets Israel and Gulf Arab states even as Trump says US is in talks to end the war

By Jon Gambrell, David Rising & Samy Magdy The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Smoke rose from central Tel Aviv as Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and Gulf Arab states Tuesday, even as US President Donald Trump said the US was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.

Trump also delayed a deadline for Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz for shipping or see its power stations targeted by airstrikes, briefly driving down oil prices and boosting stocks.

The delay offered a reprieve after the US and Iran traded threats over the weekend of strikes that could have cut electricity to millions in Iran and around the Gulf and knocked out desalination plants that provide many desert nations with drinking water, while raising fears of possible catastrophe if nuclear plants were hit.

But any information on the talks described by Trump remains in dispute with Iran, which denied any talks had been held.

“No negotiations have been held with the US,” Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that “fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon even as the US considers a ceasefire.

“There’s more to come,” he said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been talking about the war this week to his counterparts in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Turkmenistan, his office said.

Iran hits Israel and Gulf neighbors while Israel attacks Beirut IRAN fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel early on Tuesday, with reports of an impact in the country’s north.

In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100-kilogram (220-pound) warhead slammed into a street in the center of the city, blowing out windows of a neighboring apartment building and sending smoke billowing.

“We saw destruction, smoke, and chaos,” rescue service worker Yoel Moshe told reporters of his arrival at the scene minutes after the missile struck. Four people suffered minor wounds, he said.

Earlier in the day, Israel pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least two people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defense shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages in several hours.

Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Oil prices briefly fell below $100 a barrel after Trump claimed his government was in talks to end the war. But that respite was short lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, back to $104 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 40% since Israel and the US started the war on Feb. 28.

Iran skeptical of Trump’s motives in deadline extension

Trump initially set a deadline of late Monday, Washington time, for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants, but on Monday he gave Tehran five more days to comply.

Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the strait, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, but has said it will continue to target vessels linked to the US, Israel or its allies.

Its leaders are wary of Washington’s motives, in part because Tehran was in negotiations with the US before the surprise attack that started the war. Iran were also in talks last year when the US and Israel attacked its nuclear facilities, starting a 12-day war.

“Trump, Netanyahu and the like are inherently liars and their nature is to create division,” Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars news agency.

“We must think wisely. Their nature is to sow discord so that they can make people distrust officials and believe that such actions have taken

place, whereas no such action has occurred.”

Trump’s extension of the deadline comes as a contingent of thousands of Marines is on the way to the area, raising speculation that the US may try to seize Kharg Island, which is off of Iran’s coast and vital to the country’s oil network.

The US bombed the island in the Persian Gulf more than a week ago, hitting its defenses but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

Iran has threatened if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops it could mine the Persian Gulf, which would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area.

The delay could be timed to coincide with the arrival of US Marines in the region, expected Friday, wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Center in an analysis.

“As Trump has in the past, he could be moving military assets into place, in this case to prepare for an invasion and seizure of Kharg Island, while using negotiations as a cover until those assets are fully combat-ready.”

However, the center also noted that “Trump could be actively seeking an offramp. Whether Iran reciprocates is yet to be seen.”

Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.

Iran’s death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states. Rising

Asia boosts coal use as Iran war squeezes global LNG supplies

By Anton L. Delgado & Aniruddha Ghosal

The Associated Press

ANGKOK—Asian countries

Bare turning to coal as the Iran war disrupts oil and gas shipments.

The continent is exposed because it relies on imported fuel, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for about a fifth of global oil and natural gas trade.

LNG is a natural gas cooled to liquid form for easy storage and transport. It has been promoted as a bridge fuel in the shift from oil and coal to cleaner energy sources. The US has sought to expand exports of LNG across Asia. It burns cleaner than coal, but still emits climate change -causing gases, especially methane.

The war has countries shifting back to coal to cover LNG shortfalls. India is burning more coal to meet higher summer demand. South Korea has lifted caps on electricity from coal. Indonesia is prioritizing using its domestic supply. Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam are boosting coalfired power.

Burning more coal risks worsening smog in major cities, slowing the transition to renewable energy and increasing the region’s planet-warming emissions.

Coal is a short-term fix, experts say, while renewables are the longterm solution. Continued reliance on coal exposes Asia to future shocks, said Julia Skorupska of the global coalition Powering Past Coal Alliance.

“This kind of crisis is a real sort of warning,” she said.

Rising demand drives Asia back to coal COAL is integral to Asia’s emergency energy plans. Its wide availability in Asia makes it the default backup when renewables or gas fall short, said Sandeep Pai, an energy expert at Duke University.

China, the top coal consumer and producer, has built record coal power generating capacity since 2021 to improve its energy security. Its national policy calls for continued use of coal, even as its vast clean energy capacity offers some relief.

India, the second-largest coal consumer and producer, is bracing for a scorching summer and will rely more on coal to meet peak demand of 270 gigawatts — nearly twice the electricity Spain can produce. It has enough coal for about three months, with some stockpiles earmarked for small businesses.

Two Indian liquefied petroleum gas shipments totaling more

than 92,700 tons recently made it through the Strait of Hormuz. Such imports will likely be directed to industries such as fertilizer production rather than power generation, Pai said.

Coal advocates such as Michelle Manook of FutureCoal say the shortfall would be worse without coal and future use should be strategic. “The lesson has to be diversity,” she said.

Pauline Heinrichs, who studies climate and energy at King’s College London, points to China’s boosting use of coal to offset hydropower shortfalls due to droughts, worsening emissions that contribute to climate change.

“You learn to respond to shocks generated by certain insecurities by reproducing the insecurity,” she said.

Indonesia keeps coal for its own use

ADDING to the vulnerability for import-dependent countries,

Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter, is prioritizing domestic use over exports. That could tighten regional supplies and push global prices higher, said Putra Adhiguna of the Energy Shift Institute.

Coal prices are set globally, leaving importers exposed to swings and disruptions. More coal does not guarantee cheap or reliable power, said Russell Marsh of E3G. Vietnam is already facing that volatility. It increased imports after weather-related shortages, but supplies from Indonesia are now uncertain so it’s considering importing coal from the US and Laos, according to energy market tracker Argus Media.

The main price for coal used in Asia, called Newcastle coal from Australia, has risen 13% since the war began.

Higher prices will also hurt Southeast Asia, the world’s third largest coal-consuming region, including Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand, which are boosting coal power.

Relying on coal now could backfire

MORE coal use now will slow and possibly undermine long-term efforts to phase out coal-fired power.

Indonesia was already struggling to meet targets to retire coal plants early, with financing delays even before the Iran war.

Coal power in Indonesia was 48% more expensive in 2024 than in 2020 due to aging plants and higher costs, according to the USbased Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis or IEEFA. Subsidies to the national

Pakistan seeks to mediate talks with US and Iran in Islamabad

By Faseeh Mangi & Donato Paolo Mancini

PAKISTAN is making a push to mediate talks to end the US-Israeli war against Iran, with its powerful army chief holding calls with President Donald Trump to find a resolution to the fighting, people familiar with the matter said.

Field Marshal Asim Munir spoke with Trump on Monday, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Pakistan is positioning Islamabad as a location for the talks, one of the people said.

It ’s possible that Trump’s special envoys

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and US Vice President JD Vance, could travel to Islamabad if an agreement was likely to be reached, said one senior Western diplomat. The US had also considered locations such as Muscat, Doha and Cairo for peace talks, but fraying relations due to the war or mistrust from either Washington or Tehran toward those governments made those options less viable, the person added.

Trump said Monday he’d postpone strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure following “productive conversations” with the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials have so far denied any negotiations are taking place. CBS News reported, citing a senior unnamed Iranian foreign ministry official, that Iranian officials were reviewing US messages sent through mediators.

Tahir Andrabi, spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Office, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“Pakistan mediating and hosting talks wouldn’t be that surprising,” said Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. “It’s one of the few countries with warm ties with both Washington and Tehran, and it has engaged closely and continuously with senior officials in both capitals over the last year.”

Pakistan is leveraging close ties fostered with Trump together with its longstanding bonds with neighbor Iran and other key players such as Saudi Arabia. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday, pledging solidarity with Iran and calling for de-escalation in the fighting.

“While sharing with the Iranian President the diplomatic outreach efforts of Pakistan’s leadership, the Prime Minister assured the Iranian leadership that Pakistan would continue to play

a constructive role in facilitating peace in the region,” Sharif said in a post on X. The Financial Times reported that Munir spoke with Trump on Sunday. Axios had earlier reported that Islamabad was being considered as a likely location for talks.

Analysts are cautious about the outlook for talks and whether it could lead to a ceasefire.

“If the two sides meet, and presumably that’s going be indirect talks, not direct talk at this point, that’s a positive development,”said James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “But first of all, you’ve seen two rounds of negotiations in the last year that ended up in war. The Iranians are very distrustful. The gap of distrust is humongous between the United States and Iran. And that complicates discussions.”

Pakistan has stepped up its diplomatic engagement in the Gulf region as fighting escalated, triggering an energy crisis that’s causing major gas shortages in South Asia. The Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, has been virtually shut since the fighting began. Pakistan imports almost all of its crude oil, refined petroleum products and LNG from Gulf nations. P akistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar attended a joint meeting with counterparts from Arab and Muslim countries in Riyadh last week to discuss the ongoing conflict. Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia foreign ministers had a separate meeting as well.

Pakistan tried hard to ensure the joint statement didn’t contribute to an escalation in the rhetoric between Iran and its Gulf neighbors, a person familiar with the matter said, following the Islamic Republic’s retaliatory airstrikes against countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Witkoff is playing a key role in the current talks, one of the people familiar with the matter said. His son Zachary, chief executive officer of World Liberty Financial Inc., visited Islamabad twice in the past year to hold talks with Pakistani officials regarding cryptocurrency trading. In January, he signed a deal for the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial to explore launching stablecoins in Pakistan. At a signing ceremony in Islamabad, he was pictured with Munir and Sharif in the background. With assistance from Josh Wingrove, Bilal Hussain and Tooba Khan/ Bloomberg

Hardliner parliament speaker floated as possible US contact in talks amid Iran’s leadership vacuum

By Jon Gambrell The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—

Long before he became Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf went on a charm offensive for almost two decades, portraying himself as a hardliner the West could do business with in the Islamic Republic.

“I would like the West to change its attitude to Iran and trust Iran, and rest assured that there’s an attitude in Iran to advance issues through dialogue,” he told The Times newspaper of London in 2008.

With the US and Israel’s war with Iran in its fourth week, the 64-year-old pilot and former Revolutionary Guard commander has denied there have been talks with the United States amid reports that he was floated as Washington’s negotiating partner in talks. Questions also remain as to what power Qalibaf has within Iran’s theocracy, shattered after the Feb. 28 Israeli airstrike that killed 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

pragmatism with opportunism. Ghalibaf is a survivor. He sees in Trump someone who can help him achieve what late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denied him: the presidency or some equivalent interim leadership role.”

Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed close to the Guard, on Tuesday described reports in Western media as a “political bomb” meant to put the country’s leaders in disarray.

Tehran over the government closing a reformist newspaper and a subsequent security force crackdown. The letter warned Khatami the Guard would take action unilaterally unless he agreed to putting down the demonstrations.

Violence around the protests, the first in a string of widening demonstrations over the last decades, saw several people killed, hundreds wounded and thousands arrested.

New York City in an interview with The Financial Times, undoubtedly raising eyebrows among other hard-liners. His opponents claimed Qalibaf was like Reza Pahlavi, a hard-charging soldier who became shah in 1925 and rapidly pushed to Westernize Persia and rename it Iran before handing power to his son Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Qalibaf didn’t outright reject the comparison.

support. His support for and closeness to Qalibaf reportedly remains undiminished.”

With Khamenei now Iran’s new supreme leader, Qalibaf’s position may be significantly boosted.

US President Donald Trump may just be looking for an Iranian version of Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who took over as the US military seized former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January.

“Many Iranians despise Ghalibaf; diplomats see him as pragmatic,” wrote analyst Michael Rubin, using a different transliteration for the politician’s last name. “Those diplomats confuse

Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, now Iran’s new supreme leader, has backed Qalibaf through his repeated and failed presidential campaigns. Still, multiple centers of power within Iran’s theocracy now likely vie for control of the Islamic Republic—and uncertainties remain over Mojtaba Khamenei’s status as he has yet to be seen after reportedly being wounded. Meanwhile, Qalibaf has been tied to the crackdown against protesters calling for change within Iran’s government and has seen corruption allegations swirl around him during his time in office.

“Qalibaf was introduced as a negotiating party in order to present a contradictory and non-unified image of Iran,” Tasnim said. “The mention of Qalibaf’s name was clearly intended to create internal divisions within Iran and to provoke conflict among political forces.”

Qalibaf’s rise within Iran’s theocracy QALIBAF was born in the city of Torqabeh in Iran’s northeastern Razavi Khorasan province to a father who was a shopkeeper — not a member of the Shiite clergy that seized power in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Like many young men of his generation, he joined the paramilitary Guard during the country’s bloody 1980s war with Iraq, quickly rising through the ranks. After the conflict, he served as the head of the Guard’s construction arm, Khatam al-Anbia, for several years leading efforts to rebuild.

Trained as a pilot, he then served as the head of the Guard’s air force.

In 1999, he co-signed a letter to reformist President Mohammad Khatami amid student protests in

Qalibaf then became the head of Iran’s police, modernizing the force and implementing the country’s 110 emergency phone number. However, a leaked recording of a later meeting between Qalibaf and members of the Guard’s volunteer Basij force, had him claiming that he ordered gunfire be used against demonstrators in 2003 and praising the violence used in Iran’s 2009 Green Movement protests.

Iran’s then-President Hassan Rouhani hinted at the 2003 incident when the two sparred in a 2017 presidential election debate.

“There was an argument that you were saying that the students should come then we can pincer attack to them and finish the job,” Rouhani said at the time.

Qalibaf offered himself as alternative to Ahmadinejad AS Tehran’s mayor from 2005 to 2017, Qalibaf faced corruption allegations, including over some $3.5 million being donated to a foundation run by his wife.

However, he also used his prominence to travel to the World Economic Forum and even praised

“If authoritarianism means when collective sense reaches a plan and decision, I’m very determined and firm in carrying it out,” Qalibaf told The Financial Times in 2008, casting himself as an alternative to the hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “When the expediency of the society is in carrying a project, then I’m very firm and show little flexibility and don’t let that collective sense be marred or disarrayed.”

Qalibaf ran in presidential elections in 2005, 2013, 2017 and 2024 but despite the failures of those campaigns, US diplomats suggested he enjoyed the support of Mojtaba Khamenei, according to diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks.

“Mojtaba reportedly has long maintained a very close relationship with Tehran Mayor and presidential hopeful Mohammad Baqr Qalibaf; Mojtaba was reportedly the ‘backbone’ of Qalibaf’s past and continuing election campaigns,” an August 2008 cable read. “Mojtaba is said to help Qalibaf as an advisor, financier, and provider of senior-level political

Qalibaf’s name floated as a possible negotiator TRUMP pulled back from a 48hour deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, media reports suggested Qalibaf may be a possible Iranian contact for the US government. Qalibaf himself has denied any talks are ongoing.

“No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,” he wrote Monday on X.

Surprisingly, unlike many officials within Iran’s government, Qalibaf’s name is not on any US bounty. It remains unclear whether the Israelis view Qalibaf as a target. As parliament speaker, Qalibaf praised the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, saying that it showed the “Zionist regime will never have peace until the day it is annihilated.”

Trump as well apparently appeared concerned Monday that his unnamed negotiating partner could jeopardize the safety of any talks.

Asked why he wouldn’t name the Iranian negotiator, Trump told journalists: “Because I don’t want them to be killed, OK? I don’t want them to be killed.”

A 1,000-year-old temple lies battered after Cambodia-Thailand border clashes

PBy Sopheng Cheang

The Associated Press

REAH VIHEAR, Cambodia—It’s been three months since a ceasefire ended bitter border fighting between Cambodia and Thailand, but signs of combat are cut deep in this 11th-century temple atop a 525-meter (1,722-foot) cliff in the Dangrek Mountain range.

Built by the same Khmer Empire that constructed Angkor Wat 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest, the temple was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008 and are held as an important cultural relic by Cambodians.

But after two rounds of major combat last year, much of the structure is damaged and Cambodian officials say that parts of it

The neighboring Southeast Asian countries have been fighting over Preah Vihear temple on and off for decades, and that’s putting the ancient holy site in danger.

may be in danger of collapse.

There’s lots of wreckage, but no tourists

WHERE tourists once admired the weatherbeaten structure’s elaborate carvings and a magnificent view over the Cambodian plains, there is now stone debris, artillery craters, and the ashes of burnt vegetation.

“The temple has turned quiet, and its beauty looks so sorrowful because of the tragedy,” Hem Sinath, archeologist and

Continued from A10

utility rose 24% to $11 billion, about 5% of the national budget.

deputy director-general of the National Authority for Preah Vihear, told Associated Press journalists visiting earlier this month.

The site is closed to tourism due to unstable walls and concern about the presence of unexploded ordnance. Areas are roped off and dotted with signs warning of land mines, a hazard Cambodians know well after decades of civil war that ended in the late 1990. Conservation staff, groundskeepers and troops remain stationed in and around the temple, from

Jakarta has promoted use of LNG to ease a shift from coal. But the renewed coal use “sends a signal” that switching to gas “is not as easy as it sounds,” Adhiguna said.

South Korea has pledged to

which Thai soldiers can be seen just across the border.

All five of the temple’s notable gateway pavilions were damaged, three almost beyond recognition, according to a damage assessment issued in January by Cambodia’s Culture Ministry. An ancient northern staircase previously restored by a US-funded conservation project sustained severe hits from repeated bombardment.

retire most coal plants by 2040 and halve its emissions by 2035. But it is allowing more use of coal when air pollution is low and LNG is in short supply.

In 2023, South Korea needed a major renewable expansion— about 8 gigawatts of new wind annually—to meet net-zero goals, Agora Energiewende said. Growth has been slow, with renewables supplying just 10% of electricity in 2024, versus a global average of 32%, according to IEEFA.

Over the past 11 years, South Korea has committed $127 billion to fossil fuels. That’s 13 times more than it spent on renewables, with 60% of export finance going to LNG and $120.1 billion spent on fuel imports in 2024 alone, said Joojin Kim of Solutions for Our Climate.

South Korea still plans to phase out use of coal, but the recent moves could outlast the crisis, Kim said. “The concern is not just the decision itself. It is the precedent it sets.”

For countries with limited coal, like Thailand, the impact on electricity prices would be minimal, as coal accounts for too small a share of capacity, said Jitsai Santaputra of The Lantau Group. Domestic coal makes up less than 10% of the Thai energy mix.

“Experts have predicted that during the upcoming rainy season, some structures on the verge of collapsing could finally fall,” Hem Sinath said.

No independent outside evaluations of the damage are available.

A statement issued last week by Cambodia’s Culture Ministry said the temple had suffered damage in 142 locations during the fighting in July, and at 420 more during heavier and more sustained combat in December.

See “Temple,” A13

Coal brings dirtier air BURNING coal produces fine particles that lodge deep in the lungs and bloodstream, raising the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic respiratory disease, according to the World Health Organization, or WHO. It’s a problem across Asia, especially during seasons when farmers are burning their fields. All 1.4 billion Indians breathe air with concentrations of these particles the WHO considers unsafe, according to a report by the Energy Policy Institute of Chicago. The government has now paused air-quality rules, allowing restaurants to burn coal to ease a gas shortage. Vietnam also faces severe air pollution, with PM2.5 far above WHO limits. It is promoting electric bikes and has targets to cut coal use.

Lan Nguyen, a shop owner in Hanoi, said she knows coal is essential for electricity right now, but worries for her asthmatic son’s health. “I worry for my son’s lungs every day,” she said.

The World

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 A13

Jury begins deliberations in New Mexico trial over children’s safety risks on Meta

By Morgan Lee The Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M.—A jury began deliberations Monday in a landmark trial in New Mexico where social media conglomerate Meta is accused of misleading its users about how safe its platforms are for children.

Meta’s attorneys dispute the claims and say the company provides built-in protections for teenagers and weeds out harmful content but that some potentially harmful gets past its safety nets for some users.

Jurors heard closing arguments after six weeks of testimony from scores of witnesses that included local teachers, psychiatric experts, state investigators, top Meta officials and whistleblowers who left the company.

The case in New Mexico state court is among the first to reach trial in a wave of litigation involving social media platforms and their impacts on children.

New Mexico prosecutors have accused Meta—which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp—of prioritizing profits over safety in violation of state consumer protection laws. They have raised concerns about the safety of complex algorithms, and a variety of messaging features and settings.

“It’s clear that young people are spending too much time on Meta’s products, they’ve lost control,” prosecution attorney Linda Singer told the jury in closing statements. “Meta knew that and it didn’t disclose it.”

Prosecutor says trial evidence shows Meta failed to enforce its minimum user age

SINGER said testimony and evidence at trial showed Meta’s algorithms had been recommending sensational and harmful content to teenagers, while alleging that the company failed to truly enforce its minimum user age of 13.

“The safety issues that you’ve heard about in this case, weren’t mistakes..... They were a product of a corporate philosophy that chose growth and engagement over children’s safety,” Singer said. “And young people in this state and around the country have borne the cost.”

Meta attorney Kevin Huff on Monday highlighted witness testimony about Meta’s investments in the safety on its platforms, describing automated features and roles dedicated to safety.

“Meta has built innovative, automated tools to protect people,” he said. “Meta has 40,000 people working to make its apps as safe as possible.”

But he added that Meta’s systems aren’t perfect: “No one can, with billions of pieces of content every day, even the best system, cannot catch all of it.”

He said the company’s enforcement of minimum age limits are

Cambodia charges temple was deliberately attacked

INFORMATION Minister Neth Pheaktra accused the Thai military of relying on false information to justify incursions and of deliberately damaging the temple.

“Preah Vihear temple belongs to all humankind. It is not an enemy of Thailand,” he wrote.

International law forbids attacks on important historical sites like the temple, but Thailand has argued that Cambodia militarized the temple by installing weapons systems, storing ammunition, and using the site as a base for surveillance equipment, voiding its wartime protection. This included a tall construction crane at the site, which the Thai army attacked after claiming it served as part of a military command and control system.

Thai Army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Winthai Suvaree has insisted that Thai forces directed their fire strictly at military targets.

hamstrung by US government restrictions on collecting young children’s data.

Meta attorney insists the company has disclosed risks of its platforms

Huff told the jury that the company “disclosed to the world that its safeguards are not perfect, and that some bad content and bad actors get onto its service.”

“Common sense also says that parents and teens know that there is bad content on the internet, and on Facebook and Instagram specifically,” he added. But Huff noted the social media company has disclosed risks of its platforms in its user agreements, website, ads and on television.

“Wherever it could get its message out, Meta was disclosing risk to the public,” Huff said.

Singer urged jurors to impose a civil penalty that could exceed $2 billion against Meta, based on the maximum $5,000 penalty per violation on two counts of consumer protection violations, and an estimated 208,700 monthly users of Meta platforms under the age of 18 in New Mexico. The violations include “unconscionable” trade practices.

“Over the course of a decade Meta has failed over and over again to act honestly and transparently, failed to act to protect young people in this state,” Singer said. “It is up to you to finish this job.”

Huff called the state’s request for penalties “a shocking number” and said prosecutors failed to provide any examples of teenagers who chose to use Instagram because of a false understanding of its risks.

“Even though teens are aware of the risks, they continue to use Instagram because they enjoy Instagram,” Huff said.

A second phase of the trial will follow with a judge deciding whether Meta created a public nuisance and should be on the hook financially to fund programs to address alleged harms to children.

Company’s attorneys say the state has cherry-picked evidence to support its case

ATTORNEY General Raúl Torrez filed suit in 2023, accusing Meta of creating a marketplace and “breeding ground” for predators who target children for sexual exploitation and failing to disclose what it knew

See “Meta,” A15

salt into Thai wounds, and heightened nationalism stoked by domestic politics in Thailand contributed to sporadic armed conflict at the temple in 2008 and 2011.

The temple has been contested for decades THE temple, known as Phra Viharn to Thais, has been at the center of a longstanding boundary dispute since the 1950s. In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that the temple and surrounding area of less than five square kilometers (two square miles) belong to Cambodia. The Court reaffirmed this ruling in 2013. For years, it drew visitors from both sides of the border, with many foreign tourists arriving via Thailand before the border was closed. Its designation by UNESCO as a Cambodian heritage site in 2008 rubbed

Cambodia denies that its military ever used the temple, with its Ministry of Culture writing in a statement that the temple is under civilian control and that any security forces present were there only to protect the cultural heritage site. Each nation blames the other for starting the fighting that flared in July and December. Cambodia has reported that more than 640,000 people were displaced from border regions during the fighting, and almost 37,000 have yet to return to their homes.

Restoration will be a challenge RESTORING the temple will be a major challenge. Hem Sinath fears that weakened structures could collapse during the rainy season, which normally begins in late May or early June and continues through October. India, China and the United States have been involved in previous renovation efforts, but funding has been on hold since fighting broke out.

Hem Sinath said that new and urgent projects needed to keep the temple from deteriorating further are being hindered by concerns for safety and security while the ceasefire remains fragile.

“We have a plan; we want to do a repair—the sooner the better, but as you see, it depends on the situation along the border,” he said.

The Associated Press writer Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.

A14 Wednesday, March 25, 2026

LaGuardia crash underscores pressures on strained air traffic control workforce

By Rio Yamat AP Airlines And Travel Writer

JUSTbefore an Air Canada jet collided with an airport fire truck, air traffic controllers at New York’s LaGuardia Airport were juggling a developing late-night emergency on the runway.

A United Airlines flight had twice aborted takeoff and reported an odor coming from the back of the plane. But with no gate immediately available, the pilot and controllers went back and forth over the radio as controllers tried to reach the airline and find a safe spot to put the plane. Audio recordings captured the chaotic conversation as the cockpit conveyed growing urgency.

“Flight attendants in the back are feeling ill because of the odor,” the pilot can be heard saying. “We will need to go into any available gate at this time.”

With no place to park the aircraft, air traffic control dispatched fire trucks to go to the plane instead and offered stairs to evacuate passengers, all while continuing to manage other traffic. Then a frantic warning cut across the radio: “Stop, stop, stop, Truck 1. Stop, stop, stop.”

Moments later, the Air Canada flight landed and crashed into one of the fire trucks as it crossed the runway. The pilot and copilot of the regional jet flying from Montreal were killed, while dozens of passengers and crew members on the flight and the two police officers in the fire truck were taken to hospitals, some with serious injuries.

The collision late Sunday is putting a renewed focus on the pressures facing air traffic controllers in the United States, a workforce that has long grappled with staffing shortages, demanding schedules, outdated equipment and the effects of repeated government shutdowns.

While investigators work to determine what led to the runway crash, aviation experts say the collision highlights the demanding environment controllers navigate every day— managing planes landing and taking off, aircraft moving between gates and runways, and service vehicles ranging from emergency responders to maintenance trucks.

“In the best of times, air traffic controls and air traffic controllers are under a great deal of stress,” said Alan Diehl, a former federal crash investigator. “These are people with very

high cognitive levels. They’re carefully selected, extensively trained. And one of the problems is there is a shortage of 3,000 of them in this country right now.”

A system under stress

THE Federal Aviation Administration has for years had a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers, who routinely put in overtime and work six-day weeks, while dealing with radar and communication systems that can briefly put them out of touch with incoming and departing aircraft.

In a statement Monday, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association emphasized the heavy demands and weight of the job.

“Air traffic controllers work every day to keep passengers and cargo moving safely and efficiently,” the statement said. “We serve quietly, but moments like this remind us of the responsibility we carry—and how deeply it stays with us when tragedy occurs.”

Roughly 20 minutes after the crash, a controller appeared to blame himself: “We were dealing with an emergency,” he said in a radio transmission, “and I messed up.”

Officials have not yet disclosed how many controllers were on duty at LaGuardia when the Canadian plane and the fire truck carrying Port Authority of New York and New Jersey firefighters crossed paths.

But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, whose department oversees the FAA, described the airport’s tower as generally “well-staffed” and just short of its target of 37 controllers, with 33 controllers currently assigned to it and seven more who are in training.

Duffy was confirmed as President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary the day before an Army helicopter and a passenger plane collided over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people. Since taking office, he has pledged to improve air controller staffing and to upgrade traffic control equipment.

Former FAA air traffic control chief Mike McCormick said

the overnight shift—when the crash occurred—would typically be staffed more lightly. He said investigators are likely to examine how much overtime local controllers were working and how many consecutive days they had been on duty.

Those questions are standard after crashes. John Cox, CEO of aviation consulting firm Safety Operating Systems, said National Transportation Safety Board investigators would closely examine the human factors surrounding the tower’s operations.

“The staffing issue and the controller’s work schedule will certainly be something that they look at and only then can we determine if it’s a staffing or fatigue issue,” Cox said.

Modernizing the FAA THE strain on the workforce has been building for years. During a record US government shutdown last fall that lasted 43 days, and a 35-day shutdown that spanned December 2018 and January 2019, controllers were required to continue working without pay, pushing some to quit or retire early. At the same time, training and hiring for new recruits was halted or slowed.

Because certification can take years, experts, union leaders and agency officials have warned that the effects would linger long after funding resumed, compounding attrition and making recruitment more difficult.

Still, industry leaders and officials emphasize that moves to modernize the technology and equipment air traffic controllers use underway. Chris Sununu, CEO of airline trade group Airlines for America, said Congress has invested billions of dollars to upgrade aging technology and improve the system.

“I think the air traffic control system has been under a lot of strain for 30 years,” Sununu said.

“And that’s why Congress has put billions of dollars behind rebuilding the entire system. And we’ve already seen some pretty good successes.”

He pointed to the transition away from paper flight progress strips to digital tools at many airports, along with the purchase of hundreds of new radar systems nationwide. A new traffic flow system with upgraded back-end technology is expected to roll out later this year, he said.

“By and large, the air traffic controllers work really, really well with a very antiquated system and every day that goes by the system is now getting upgraded,” Sununu said.

The Associated Press reporters Mae Anderson in New York, Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

Trump administration to pay French company $1B to walk away from US offshore wind leases

By Jennifer Mcdermott & Matthew Daly The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE,

R.I.—The Trump administration will pay $1 billion to a French company to walk away from two US offshore wind leases as the administration ramps up its campaign against offshore wind and other renewable energy.

TotalEnergies has agreed to what’s essentially a refund of its leases for projects off the coasts of North Carolina and New York, and will invest the money in fossil fuel projects instead, the Department of Interior announced Monday.

President Donald Trump’s administration has tried to halt offshore wind construction, but federal judges repeatedly overturned those orders.

The Interior Department hailed the “innovative agreement” with the French energy giant and said, “the American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry.”

Environmental groups denounced the deal as an alternate way to block wind projects, with one group calling it a “billiondollar bribe” to kill clean energy.

“After losing again and again in court on his illegal stop-work orders, Trump has found another way to strangle offshore wind: pay them to walk away,” said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action.

In his second term, Trump has gone all in on fossil fuels, which he says will lower costs for families, increase reliability and help the US maintain global leadership in artificial intelligence.

TotalEnergies had already paused its two projects after Trump was elected.

The company pledged to not develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States.

CEO Patrick Pouyanné said in a statement that TotalEnegeries renounced offshore wind development in the United States in

Meta. . .

Continued from A13

about those harmful effects. State investigators created social media accounts posing as children to document online sexual solicitations and the response from Meta. Meta attorneys accuse prosecutors of cherry-picking evidence and conducting a shoddy investigation.

Meta executives emphasized at trial that the company continuously improves safety and addresses compulsive social media use without infringing on free speech or censoring users.

But the prosecution on Monday said that public assurances about safety disclosures from Meta ex-

exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees, “considering that the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country’s interest.”

Pouyanné said the refunded lease fees will finance the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in Texas and the development of its oil and gas activities, calling it a “more efficient use of capital” in the US.

After it makes those investments, TotalEnergies will be reimbursed, up to the amount paid in lease purchases for offshore wind, according to the DOI.

“We welcome TotalEnergies’ commitment to developing projects that produce dependable, affordable power to lower Americans’ monthly bills,’’ Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said Trump was “using a pay-not-to-play scheme” to pressure the French company not to build offshore wind, calling it “an outrageous abuse of taxpayer dollars.” Hochul said she remains committed to moving forward with an “all-of-theabove approach” that includes renewables, nuclear power and other energy sources.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said this is “a terrible deal for the people of North Carolina and our country.”

“Our state has the offshore wind potential to power millions of homes with renewable American-made energy. It’s ludicrous and wasteful that the Trump administration is spending $1 billion in taxpayer money to pay off a company to stop it from investing private

ecutives including founder Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri often didn’t square with internal studies and communications at the company.

“It was included in Meta’s internal research—again this was research that didn’t get disclosed by Meta—one-in-three teens experienced problematic use,” Singer said. “They knew these kids were struggling with problematic use—again, addiction.”

The jury is assembled from residents of Santa Fe County, including the politically progressive state capital city.

Limits on liability for tech companies TECH companies have been protected from liability for mate -

dollars to create the clean energy we need,” Stein said in a statement.

The Biden administration sought to ramp up offshore wind as a climate change solution. Trump began reversing US energy policies his first day in office with executive orders aimed at boosting oil, gas and coal. Globally the offshore wind market is growing, with China leading the world in new installations.

The Interior Department halted construction on five major East Coast offshore wind projects days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five projects to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government did not show the risk was so imminent that construction must halt.

On Monday, one of the wind farms targeted by the administration, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, started delivering power to the grid for Virginia. The developer, Richmond-based Dominion Energy, announced the milestone.

Ted Kelly, clean energy director at the Environmental Defense Fund, called the proposed deal “an outrageous misuse of taxpayer dollars to prevent Americans from having clean, affordable power exactly when they need it most.”

East Coast states are building offshore wind because it boosts affordable electricity supply on the grid, even as natural gas prices are rising, Kelly said.

TotalEnergies purchased a lease for its Carolina Long Bay project in 2022 for about $133 million. It aimed to generate more than 1 gigawatt there, enough to power about 300,000 homes. It purchased the lease off New York and New Jersey, also in 2022, for $795 million. This was planned as a larger project, with the potential to generate 3 gigawatts of clean energy to power nearly one million homes. TotalEnergies is involved in major offshore wind projects in Europe and Asia.

Daly reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York and Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina contributed to this report.

rial posted on their social media platforms under Section 230, a 30-year-old provision of the US Communications Decency Act, as well as a First Amendment shield.

Prosecutors say New Mexico is not seeking to hold Meta accountable for content on its platforms, but rather its role in pushing out that content through complex algorithms that proliferate material that can be addictive and harmful to children.

In California, a jury already is sequestered in deliberations on whether Meta and YouTube should be liable for harms caused to children using their platforms. The bellwether case could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies are likely to play out.

A16

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Pentagon will remove media offices after judge reinstates New York Times press credentials

TBy Jonathan J. Cooper The Associated Press

HE US Defense Department will remove media offices from the Pentagon after a federal judge sided with The New York Times in a lawsuit challenging limits on reporters’ access to the building, a department official announced Monday.

An area of the Pentagon known as “Correspondents’ Corridor” that reporters have used for decades to cover the US military will close immediately, department spokesperson Sean Parnell said. Journalists will eventually be able to work from an “annex” outside the building, which he said “will be available when ready.” He offered no detail about how long that will take.

The Pentagon Press Association said the announcement “is a clear violation of the letter and spirit of last week’s ruling.”

“At such a critical time, we ask why the Pentagon is choosing to restrict vital press freedoms that help inform all Americans,” the association said.

The new policy is the latest dispute over press access to President Donald Trump’s administration, which has limited legacy media while boosting conservative and pro-Trump outlets.

The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December, claiming the agency’s new credentialing policy violated journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process. Dozens of reporters had walked out of the building rather than agree to government-imposed restrictions on their work.

US District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., last week sided with the newspaper. He ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the press credentials of seven Times journalists and struck down some of the agency’s restrictions on news reporting.

Friedman said the “undisputed evidence” shows that the policy is designed to weed out “disfavored journalists” and replace them with those who are “on board and willing to serve” the government, a clear instance of illegal viewpoint discrimination.

Parnell said the Defense Department disagrees with the ruling and is pursuing an appeal. He said security concerns prompted restrictions on press access, a claim that journalists have rejected. Under the latest Pentagon rules announced Monday, journalists will still have access to the Pentagon for press conferences and interviews arranged through the department’s public affairs team, but they will have to be escorted, Parnell wrote on social media.

The current Pentagon press corps is comprised mostly of conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Reporters from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including from The Associated Press, have continued reporting on the military.

The AP, meanwhile, is awaiting a decision by a three-judge panel of the US District Court of Appeals on its separate lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration. The AP contends that Trump’s White House team punished it by reducing its access to presidential events because the outlet hasn’t followed his lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

‘Tiangco peddling fake news’

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

THE Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) made no finding of liability and did not recommend filing plunder charges against a former Speaker, the House of Reporesentatives Committee on Higher and Technical Education chairman, Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre of Tingog said on Tuesday, disputing claims by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco.

Citing the ICI’s referral, Acidre stressed that the document itself clearly states it was issued “without any finding or conclusion of guilt or liability” on the part of former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“The Independent Commission on Infrastructure has now affirmed what I stated from the outset: Representative Toby Tiangco was misleading the public when he claimed that the ICI recommended the filing of plunder charges against former Speaker Martin Romualdez. There is no such recommendation,” Acidre said. He noted that the referral

contains no mention of any plunder case, contradicting earlier assertions linking Romualdez to alleged irregularities in flood control projects.

Acidre explained that the ICI, created under Executive Order 94, serves as a fact-finding body tasked with recommending appropriate cases to proper authorities—but emphasized that no such recommendation was made in this instance.

Instead, he said, the referral was issued to allow the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct its own independent investigation, since the commission itself made no determination of liability.

“There is no recommendation to file plunder charges against Speaker Romualdez, contrary to what Representative Toby Tiangco is claiming,” Acidre said.

He also warned that misrepresenting official documents could erode public trust in institutions tasked with independent review, noting that in other cases, the ICI had explicitly recommended charges—something absent in the Romualdez referral.

Residents seek Meralco service in Batangas

ALMOST two thousand residents of the tourist spot of Laiya in San Juan, Batangas, have called on Batangas II Electric Cooperative (Batelec II) to allow Meralco to service their area.

Residents cited ongoing reliability issues, lamenting that frequent power outages are affecting their businesses and livelihoods, especially since the locality depends heavily on tourism. The recurring issue, residents said, has plagued the area for several years already and stunted improvement in their overall quality of life.

The call was formalized through a petition filed with Batelec II, which was signed by nearly two thousand residents and business owners. The concerns raised are echoed in a recent survey conducted by Capstone Intel, which found that a staggering 93 percent of Batelec II consumers experience multiple power interruptions. These outages typically last one to two hours and, in some cases, extend to as long as three hours.

According to the petition, the community has endured prolonged and increasingly difficult conditions that have severely affected residents’ daily livesparticularly students, workers, small business owners- and have even compromised public safety.

The petition outlines five key issues, foremost of which is the frequent and prolonged power outages, many of them unplanned and without prior notice. These disruptions have hampered work, online classes and livelihoods, causing widespread inconvenience and financial loss.

Petitioners also cited unstable and unreliable power voltage, which has

Cebu hotel occupancy levels steady despite oil price surge

By Carmel Loise Pedroza

CEBU CITY—Hotels and resorts in Cebu are maintaining steady occupancy levels despite rising fuel prices, but industry leaders warn that mounting operational costs could challenge the sector in the coming months.

Mia Singson-Leon, president of the Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association in Cebu (HRRAC), said demand in the hospitality sector remains “normal and healthy,” even as global developments continue to push fuel prices upward.

“But costs are expected to rise sharply in the next few weeks, including fuel, electricity, and retail goods, especially the cost of food and beverage items,” she said.

resulted in damage to household and business appliances such as refrigerators, electric fans, televisions and other essential equipment.

In addition, memberconsumer owners lamented poor customer service and inadequate maintenance of facilities, which they say have contributed to more frequent and longer power interruptions.

Likewise, the petition questioned Batelec II’s capacity to meet the area’s growing electricity demand, citing population growth and the lack of clear measures to upgrade infrastructure. Residents warned that this situation is stunting economic growth and development in an area that is poised for- and ready to sustain- a tourism boom.

The petition, signed by residents of Laiya, concluded with a heartfelt appeal for Meralco to serve the area, “Ang petisyong ito ay nagmumula sa aming komunidad, bilang patunay ng aming pagkakaisa at kolektibong panawagan para sa mas maayos na serbisyo ng kuryente [The petition is a community driven effort, underscoring the residents’ unified and urgent demand for reliable and improved electricity service],” it said.

Kami ay naniniwala na ang pagpasok ng Meralco sa aming barangay ay makatutulong upang magkaroon ng mas maaasahan, matatag, at de kalidad na serbisyong kuryente na mahalga sa kaunlaran, kaligtasan, at pang araw araw na pamumuhay ng aming komunidad , [We believe that Meralco’s entry into our barangay will provide reliable, stable, and high quality electricity service- critical to sustained growth, safety and improved daily life in our community],” the petition added.

Fuel prices in Cebu have surged following tensions in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, with diesel and kerosene in some areas exceeding P120 per liter.

The Department of Energy has also warned of further increases as the conflict stretches on.

For hotel operators, the concern now shifts from occupancy to sustaining operations.

Shannen Keisha Tan, president of Mezzo Hotel, told the BusinessMirror in an interview that the industry is already feeling indirect effects, including the loss of some

from A5

A 2020 survey by Social Weather Stations found that 87 percent of Filipinos want the government to prioritize the development of infrastructure for bicycles, pedestrians, and public transportation over private vehicles.

Meanwhile, a Japan International Cooperation Agency-funded study on Metro Manila’s transport system showed that 30.7 percent of trips—or about 10.9 million—are made on foot, while public transportation accounts for 48.8 percent or 17.2 million trips. Private vehicles account for only 20.4 percent, or 7.2 million trips.

Continued from A5

“The last one, which we arrested, was a minor. He was surrendered by the parents to us following our backtracking of CCTVs in the area,” Añonuevo said, adding the two other arrested suspects were identified also through CCTV footage.

Follow-up operations are ongoing to locate the primary suspect, reportedly a leader of a group whose modus is to steal motorcycles.

“Based on our investigation, we found that the main suspect, who was still subject of our manhunt operation, is the one who booked the rider,” Añonuevo said.

“We can also consider this as case solved as we arrested three suspects already.”

Nartatez said the TNVS community is a partner in peace and order by serving as eyes and ears on the streets on criminal incidents and against criminal elements.

He said the PNP has been intensifying patrols and presence in high-risk areas as part of the security measures. PNA

education and governmentrelated bookings due to travel restrictions.

“Of course, it also arises from the government-mandated stops in terms of travel. We lost accounts from the education sector and also some from the government,” she said.

Despite this, Tan, who also sits as board secretary of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), remains cautiously optimistic, citing opportunities such as the Philippines’ 14-day visa-free entry for Chinese tourists.

“We’re actually a little bit worried, at the same time we’re still optimistic…we are hoping that by the third quarter, makapick-up siya,” she said, adding that the current situation is a “temporary setback” and that the sector is confident it can recover.

Tan expects only a modest impact on occupancy during the peak summer season.

“I’m quite optimistic that it will slightly affect, but it will not affect the margins in so much that we are losing a significant amount of occupancy,” she said, estimating a possible 10 to 15 percent impact.

Unlike resort destinations, which typically reach full capacity during summer, city hotels like Mezzo generally operate below full occupancy.

“Usually, we experience high occupancy but not necessarily full—around 60 to 70 percent, and during peak, about 90 percent,” Tan explained.

To cope with rising costs, hotels are implementing stricter operational controls.

These include energy

conservation measures such as limiting electricity use in offices, enforcing stricter event schedules, and encouraging guests to participate in energysaving practices.

“We remind guests to remove the key card when they leave the room so power is automatically turned off. This plays an important part in energy conservation,” Tan said. Electricity accounts for roughly 7 to 8 percent of monthly expenses for Mezzo Hotel, making conservation efforts crucial.

Operators are also reassessing pricing and service strategies to balance rising overhead costs, particularly in food and beverage, which are heavily affected by fueldriven supply chain increases.

“Our concern really is the overhead and food cost. Once fuel prices go up, all of these increase,” Tan said. Industry players have begun tightening operations, improving supply chain efficiency, and reviewing contingency plans to cushion the impact of volatile fuel prices.

Crops to cash: Why farm tourism could revitalize the country’s agriculture industry

AMERICAN farmers are no longer just relying on crops as their source of income, based on data cited by the North Carolina State University in a recent article on a book about agritourism. Citing data from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture, farms and ranches in the US generated about $1.26 billion (around P52 billion) in agritourism income in 2022. More than half of US counties reported agritourism revenue, with a median of roughly $161,000 per county, highlighting its growing presence in rural economies.

These figures show the potential of farms as tourist destinations to generate additional income for Filipino planters, who are part of the poorest sectors in the Philippines, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). With the current spikes in the prices of inputs and their continued inability to access cheap credit for their production, tilling the land is no longer an attractive proposition particularly to young people. Planting crops to feed a growing population in these uncertain times could make it more difficult to entice the youth to go back to the land of their parents or grandparents.

The government’s bid to market the Philippines as a farm tourism destination could help make the agricultural sector enticing again, especially to young Pinoys. (See, “New farm tourism plan targets higher incomes for farmers,” BusinessMirror , March 23, 2026). Three agencies—Departments of Tourism, Agriculture and Trade and Industry—have drawn up a Farm Tourism Strategic Action Plan for 2026-2031. The goal is that in five years, the Philippines will have a “sustainable and resilient” farm tourism industry that also champions Filipino identity.

There are already existing farm tourism sites, but the plan noted that this has declined by more than a third to 153 last year from 219 in 2023 due to “challenges in maintaining accreditation requirements, limited access to capacity-building and technical support for farm operators, and the adverse effects of climate-related events on agricultural areas.” The new blueprint intends to address this and encourage other farmers to go into agritourism via a number of initiatives including the streamlining of the accreditation mechanism as well as building linkages across the tourism value chain like partnering with accredited hotels.

Local government units must throw their support behind this endeavor by creating the necessary conditions that will allow these farm tourism sites to flourish. For one, these farm tourism sites will need infrastructure such as paved roads that will make it easier for guests to access the venue. These roads will not only bring in tourists, but also more money as farmers will be able to deliver their produce to markets. The national government must provide the necessary funds to bankroll the initiatives indicated in the plan and the construction of the public facilities that will encourage guests to visit these farm tourism sites again and again. These venues will be hard pressed to entice even the locals to drop by their farms if it is inaccessible due to unpaved roads and the lack of viable transportation. The US and Japan have shown the world that it is possible to profit from these farms, but these are countries that have reliable public transportation and well-maintained roads.

Renewables and fossil fuel

TTHE BUILDER

HE conflict in the Middle East and the disruption it caused on global oil supplies are the latest validation that renewable energy sources are the wave of the future.

Practically every country today is suffering from the petroleum supply shock, with local pump prices topping the P100-per-liter mark last week.

We can learn lessons from this geopolitical conflict, and as soon as we adapt to the realities of war and reduce our dependence on imported petroleum, we as a nation will overcome the challenge and make the Philippine economy stronger and more resilient.

Increasing our renewable energy base and cutting down on imported fuel consumption will leave us out from the vagaries of global oil pricing that, in turn, lead to increased transportation cost and higher prices of goods and services.

The head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) summed up the strategic value of renewable energy. “Renewables turn the tables,” said UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell at the 2026 Green Growth Summit in Brussels last week.

“Sunlight doesn’t depend on narrow and vulnerable shipping straits, wind blows without massive taxpayer-funded naval escorts [and] renewable energy allows countries to insulate themselves from global turmoil and to side-step might-isright politics,” he added.

Renewable energy provides supply security, well-paid jobs, better health and relief from rising living costs. The advantages of renewable energy are clear and evident.

Foremost is the foreign exchange the Philippines will save from imported fossil fuels, especially coal and oil.

The Philippines in 2024 imported US$2.01-billion worth of petroleum gas. It is the 30th largest importer (out of 223) in the world, mainly sourced from China, Australia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Brunei Darussalam.

The high prices of imported energy is reflected on electricity prices.

The Philippines’s energy demand is projected to rise further, driven by economic growth, population expan-

Increasing our renewable energy base and cutting down on imported fuel consumption will leave us out from the vagaries of global oil pricing that, in turn, lead to increased transportation cost and higher prices of goods and services.

sion and rapid urbanization.

But energy inflation can be offset.

Recent projections indicate that expanding the renewable energy base in the country could pull down electricity prices.

An Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) study in 2018 showed that greater adoption of renewable energy sources in the Philippines could translate into a 30-percent discount in electricity prices. The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) in 2025, meanwhile, projected that increased adoption of renewable energy in the Philippines could cut the average annual spot power prices by as much as 24 percent by 2029.

The Philippines, fortunately, is pushing ahead with its renewable energy transition targets as outlined in the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2023–2050.

The PEP seeks to increase the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040, and exceed those levels through 2050.

The plan supports energy secu-

rity, market reforms, grid modernization and the incorporation of emerging technologies, such as offshore wind and, if possible, nuclear energy, to complement renewables and conventional capacity.

The energy transition goal, of course, will need investments. The Department of Energy, so far, has successfully secured P1.46 trillion in renewable energy investments through the Board of Investments (BOI) and strategic private sector participation.

Per the DOE, the investments are projected to generate more than 119,000 jobs, reinforcing the role of renewable energy as an environmental solution and a driver of employment and regional development as well.

The DOE’s Green Energy Auction Plan (GEAP) expansion, which seeks to add an additional 25 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2035, is also luring more investments. The Philippine economy, thus, should insulate itself from supply disruptions that drive prices higher. Renewable energy is our best option. It will secure our supply and lead to predictable electricity pricing. More importantly, renewable energy will serve as a major driver to achieve our economic development goals. Like infrastructure, it is not expendable in charting an inclusive economy.

For feedback e-mail to senatormarkvillar@ gmail.com or visit our web site: https://markvillar. com.ph

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Lourdes M. Fernandez

Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos

Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso, Dionisio L. Pelayo

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

Eduardo A. Davad

Nonilon G. Reyes

D. Edgard A. Cabangon Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025. (Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news.businessmirror@gmail.com www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Asan ang salva vida ng bayan’?

TLABOREM EXERCENS

HE Philippine economy was in dire straits even before the US-Israel declared war on Iran end of February. T he economy crashed in 2020-2021 due to Duterte’s Covid lockdown, Asia’s most stringent. Recovery in the first half of PBBM’s term was weak and halting.

As a backgrounder, the Duterte administration used the pandemic as an excuse in engaging in profligate borrowing and reckless spending. In 2020, the economy registered a minus 9.5 GDP growth rate while the debt-to-GDP ratio of 39.6 percent in 2019 rose to 54.5 percent. In 2021, the ratio reached the alarming level of 60.5 percent.

Thus, upon his assumption of the Presidency, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved bolder NEDA debt and growth targets: debt-to-GDP ratio to go down below 60 percent and the economy to grow at 6-8 percent annually. Neither had been achieved in 2022-2025. The economy grew 5.6 percent in 2023, 5.7 percent in 2024 and 4.4 percent in

The impact of the US/IsraelIran war on the Philippines is immediate. The oil market disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the ensuing increases in global oil prices automatically triggered increases in the cost of fuel, electricity, transport, food and other requirements of daily life.

2025. On the other hand, debt simply zoomed upward, with the Marcos administration adding over P5 trillion in over three years. The total national debt stock reached P17.7 trillion in 2025, while the debt-to-GDP ratio of 2025 climbed to 63.2 percent. The foregoing debt statistics reflect a deeper malaise: a weak economy just plodding along. There was a continuous hollowing out of the productive sectors of the economy, as reflected in the stagnant growth of the industrial sector and the continuous decline of the agricultural sector. The latter now accounts for a measly 8 percent of the GDP. This means the country is overwhelmingly dependent on services, which account for 63 percent of the GDP. But even this sector is hollowing out. A study by an economist shows that half a million micro and small enterprises dropped out of the PSA data in 2025. The poverty consequence of weak and unequal growth process is clear. The last quarterly survey by the Social Weather Station shows that 51 percent of Filipino families rate themselves poor. This is consistent with the studies of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines showing that three-fourth of the labor force are in the non-regular and precarious See “Ofreneo,” A19

An appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.: Make ‘Buy Pinoy, Buy Local’ the non-negotiable foundation of government procurement

MMAKE SENSE

R. President, the Philippine government is the single largest consumer in the country. Yet, for too long, our hard-earned taxpayer pesos have been leaked abroad to support foreign factories and foreign workers through imported public procurement. This column is submitted as an urgent appeal, on behalf of the entire membership of the Federation of Philippine Industries—whose members are all manufacturers—to make “Buy Pinoy, Buy Local” the mandatory cornerstone, indeed the non-negotiable foundation, of your administration’s economic strategy.

By issuing a new Executive Order or Administrative Order that makes the procurement of locally manufactured goods across all government agencies and GOCCs mandatory, you can spark an industrial revolution that accelerates the growth of domestic industries and creates millions of jobs—an approach aligned with the advocacy of the FPI and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The FPI and FFCCCI jointly launched the “Buy Pinoy, Buy Local” campaign in 2008 to strengthen Philippine industries and protect local jobs.

By redirecting the government’s substantial purchasing power toward domestic enterprises, the Philippines can shield its industrial base from the harmful effects of the war in Iran, supply chain disruptions, and global volatility.

My consistent argument is that local procurement primarily benefits us by creating a resilient industrial base, one that can endure global shocks. When the government commits to buying locally produced steel, cement, and other construction materials, it incentivizes manufacturers to maintain or even expand operations. Instead of shutting down production lines during a global downturn, local factories retain the capability to operate because they have a huge guaranteed buyer: the State.

Strengthening supply chain autonomy THE fragility of global supply chains

informal segments of the economy, if you add up the data on the unemployed, the underemployed and the unpaid family workers. This is also validated by the World Bank findings that the Philippines has one of the highest levels of inequality in the Asia-Pacific, with the top one percent of the population accounting for nearly one-fifth of the national income.

Thus, in January 2026 or on the eve of the US/Israel-Iran war, the Philippine economic scenario was grim. Celebrations of Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 were somber for the numerous poor and the shrinking middle class. The country is wallowing in debt, poverty and inequality. The situation is compounded by the big unsettled corruption scandals that broke out in the open in 2024-2025—trillions, not billions, lost to ghost infra projects controlled by corrupt legislators and government bureaucrats. Which is the reason why Central Bank Governor Eli Remolina, in a surprising outburst of candor, told the mass media that the Bank’s tool kit of monetary policy measures cannot cover problems associated with “governance failures.”

And then a week after Remolina’s outburst, on February 28, the United States and Israel bombed critical government and military installations of Iran. All of a sudden, the problems hounding a faltering Philippine economy have multiplied.

The impact of the US/IsraelIran war on the Philippines is im -

largest single buyer in the country— buys local, it is assured of quality products because our manufacturers have been strictly following the standards set by the Bureau of Philippine Standards ever since. For so long, FPI has been helping government in running after substandard products entering the country that can cause serious harm to our consumers.

was exposed brutally during the 2020–2021 pandemic and further exacerbated by the ongoing conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Shipping costs skyrocketed, container shortages became the norm, and lead times for imports stretched from weeks to months.

Government procurement that favors local products acts as a catalyst for supply chain localization. When government agencies—including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of National Defense (DND), and the Department of Health (DOH)—mandate local sourcing, they force the development of local supplier ecosystems. This is a win-win policy: For example, if the DPWH prioritizes locally manufactured steel, it not only benefits the steel mill but also encourages the growth of local logistics providers, scrap metal recyclers, and fabrication shops. This creates a self-sustaining cycle where the supply chain is shorter, more visible, and more controllable. In times of crisis, a localized supply chain can be rerouted, secured, and mobilized far faster than one dependent on international shipping lanes.

A common argument against local procurement is the perception that local products are more expensive than imported ones.

However, prioritizing local procurement acts as a catalyst for industrial expansion.

When the government—the

mediate. The oil market disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the ensuing increases in global oil prices automatically triggered increases in the cost of fuel, electricity, transport, food and other requirements of daily life.

The Philippines is clearly paying a high price on its failure to reduce dependence on fossil fuel, mostly imported. Despite existing environmental laws, the government has been implementing the failed clean energy transition program in a slow-by-slow manner. Ironically, the Philippines is recognized as a major influencer in the adoption by the UN of the 2015 Paris Agreement requiring member countries to submit commitment reports on climate mitigation and adaptation. And yet, the Philippines submitted its “Nationally Determined Contributions” only in late 2021 and a “National Adaptation Plan” in 2023. Both documents have not been subjected to full public scrutiny.

Note also that the country has a decade-long e-jeepney modernization program that remains bogged down over implementation and funding controversies. The country also has a 2010 law promoting organic farming, a program that has managed to influence only three percent or less of total farmlands per estimate by the country’s organic farm practitioners. Now, what is the situation today given an ailing Philippine economy being crushed by a global oil crisis? The following are some of the major policy challenges facing the government:

How to dissipate people’s anger? The oil-driven price spiral

In fact, we are launching STANDARDS PHILIPPINES Magazine in a few days. Our goal is to make this magazine an authoritative resource on standards, which will educate consumers about product quality, collaborate with local government units to familiarize them with mandatory standards, and engage with lawmakers to strengthen legislation surrounding product quality. The commitment to standards is a collective responsibility that concerns all Filipinos.

Furthermore, the certainty of government demand allows local firms to invest in expensive capital equipment and research and development (R&D). Over time, this transforms most industry players into world-class manufacturers capable of exporting goods, reversing the long-standing trend of deindustrialization.

Economic multiplier effect:

Keeping money in the economy THE economic argument for prioritizing local products is grounded in the concept of the multiplier effect. When a government agency buys an imported product, 100 percent of that money leaves the Philippine economy immediately. When it buys a local product, the money circulates.

A peso spent on a locally manufactured product pays for local labor, local raw materials, and local logistics. It generates income tax revenue, supports local communities, and creates employment. According to studies by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), increasing local content in government procurement significantly boosts domestic employment compared to importing finished goods. In times of global economic uncertainty, this internal circulation of capital acts as a stabilizer. It keeps

has generated mass anger among the people, especially wage workers, farmers, vendors, fisherfolks, transport operators and workers, and so on. Families managing micro and small businesses and farms are among the angriest. Efforts of the PBBM administration to remove the excise taxes on oil and provide the usual “ayuda” to transport workers are met with mass derision because the reality is that all, the middle class included, are badly affected by the inflationary impact of the oil crisis.

What to do with the general weakening of the country’s life savers? These are the OFW remittances, CC-BPO earnings and tourism receipts.

On remittances, the OFW workers in the Middle East, numbering around 2.5 million, are among the biggest remitters of migrant savings. Majority are bound to return home with broken income dreams given the widespread destruction inflicted by the war on their host Arab countries. A big number of Filipino seafarers, especially those working on oil tankers as well as those servicing the cruise industry, are also affected. Are we seeing the end of an OFW-dependent consumption-oriented economy?

As to the CC-BPO earnings, these are bound to go down due to the weakening of the global supply chains of the multinationals, the corresponding decline in the global offshoring by these MNCs of their online customer/back office services, and the widespread application of AI technology in office operations.

As to tourism, this is a late -

My consistent argument is that local procurement primarily benefits us by creating a resilient industrial base, one that can endure global shocks. When the government commits to buying locally produced steel, cement, and other construction materials, it incentivizes manufacturers to maintain or even expand operations. Instead of shutting down production lines during a global downturn, local factories retain the capability to operate because they have a huge guaranteed buyer: the State.

Filipinos employed even when foreign direct investment (FDI) fluctuates or global demand for Philippine exports drops. I know that there are laws in place that require government procurement to prioritize local products. The issue is inconsistent compliance. Our procurement officials often opt for imported goods—either to save a few pesos or for reasons of “convenience”—while overlooking the substantial economic harm caused by bypassing our own industries. In fact, even before our independence, Commonwealth Act No. 138 was enacted to give native products and domestic entities preferential treatment in government purchasing.

There are a lot of advantages when the government shifts its procurement policy and prioritize local products over imported ones. First among them is the fact that government is helping create a strong industry, where our manufacturers will be able to compete in the global market because of a bigger base. When the government buys a Filipino-made product, it’s not just a simple purchase—it’s a direct investment in our own people. Every peso spent locally strengthens our industries, secures local jobs, and keeps our economy in Filipino hands. It reduces our dependence on foreign goods, bolsters our supply chains, and ensures that public funds serve the nation first. This is how we build genuine progress—by

comer in the list of Philippine life savers. This sub-sector, weakened during the Covid period, is bound to weaken further due to the negative publicity on the Philippines related to the public works scandals and the disruptive impact of the Middle East conflicts on global travel.

How to deal with the looming food crisis, global and national? As reflected in SWS surveys, more and more Filipinos are experiencing involuntary hunger. Given the inflationary situation and rising unemployment, more and more people will go hungry. Among those likely to go hungry are the farmers because of the rising cost of urea, a petroleum-based fertilizer imported mostly from the Middle East.

In fact, the disruptions in the production and delivery of urea due to the war has already affected the seasonal planting of certain food crops in some countries like India and Thailand. This means the Philippines is facing a major food security crisis due to two developments: the collapse of an oil/urea-driven farming at home and the likely global shortfalls of agricultural production in countries exporting food stuffs to the Philippines.

In sum, the Philippines is in a very precarious and vulnerable situation given the foregoing. Runaway inflation, work and income displacement for the many, return migration, food insecurity, deepening urban and rural poverty, swelling debt, etc., etc. We have an ailing economy being bludgeoned by a global oil-economic crisis with no clear global solutions in sight.

using our resources to uplift our own, proving that a strong economy begins with a government that believes in the capacity of the Filipino.

This policy approach is hardly unprecedented. Around the world, governments are increasingly adopting nationalistic procurement strategies. In the United States, President Donald Trump championed “America First” as a rallying cry for industries, ensuring that public funds bolstered domestic growth. Europe and several Asian economies have likewise implemented policies to protect their local industries from the surge of cheap imports. It is only fitting that the Philippines do the same thing the world’s largest economies are doing.

We are not asking the government to sacrifice quality for patriotism. Our local industries already adhere to the Philippine National Standards (PNS). Take, for example, our automotive battery industry. We have Motolite, a world-class brand manufactured in Bulacan that competes successfully in North America and the Asia-Pacific.

The government operates tens of thousands of vehicles. If every one of those vehicles was required to use locally-made batteries like Motolite, the State would not only be supporting a Filipino giant but also ensuring the government gets superior after-sales service and 24/7 reliability that no importer can match. This logic applies to steel, cement, and other construction materials. If we can make it here, we should buy it here.

Mr. President, the P6.793-trillion budget is a powerful tool. In your hands, it can be more than just a ledger of expenses; it can be the engine of a Filipino Industrial Renaissance. I urge you to give teeth to our procurement laws. I appeal to you to issue the order directing your agencies to make it clear: the “Agenda for Prosperity” begins with hiring Filipino workers and buying Filipino goods. This move will not only save dollars but, more importantly, protect Filipino jobs.

Mr. President, I believe it is essential for the government to fully support our industrial sector at this

What can the government then do?

This is the time for the national leadership to show that it is capable of leading the country in a courageous and forward-looking manner. Given its limited tax revenues and the threat of a debt implosion, the government should look for alternative sources of funds needed to keep the government machinery running and to support the vulnerable sectors—displaced workers, debt-ridden farmers, informal workers, etc. The following are policy challenges we are throwing to Malacanang:

First, Malacañang should transform the crisis into an opportunity to do good and demonstrate leadership in crisis situations. Some doables: 1) an honest-to-goodness cleansing of government by putting in jail the corrupt among the senators, congressmen, cabinet members and Palace officials; 2) abolition of all pork-barrel allocations in the budget; 3) abolition of the so-called confidential funds of the President, Vice President, other officials; 4) compliance by the Marcos family with the court rulings on payment of estate taxes and return of ill-gotten wealth; and 5) reducing salaries and allowances of Cabinet members, legislators and executives of GOCCs.

Second, Malacañang should ask the richest to support a survival tax and the institutionalization of wealth tax. The survival tax can be a one-time-off tax aimed at moderating the painful impact of the crisis on the many. How can this tax be collected? The

crucial time. Even major nations are implementing similar measures. As I mentioned earlier, the Philippines should adopt a more pragmatic approach as well. By requiring all government agencies and GOCCs to procure locally manufactured goods, you will send a powerful message that the national government trusts in the quality of our domestic products. This initiative will bolster local support, potentially lead to factory expansions, create new job opportunities, and ultimately enhance the employment landscape in our country. Additionally, empowering local industries will expand the tax base, reinforcing their vital role as the backbone of the Philippine economy.

By adopting “Buy Pinoy, Buy Local” as a mandatory policy for all government agencies—including government-owned and -controlled corporations—your administration would transform public procurement from a passive process into a proactive pillar of national economic security, fostering inclusive growth, quality jobs, and selfreliance.

On the part of the Federation of Philippine Industries, we will continue working to strengthen Philippine manufacturing by helping coordinate industry priorities and supporting programs that improve productivity—such as skills development, technology adoption, and quality-management systems—so local firms can compete effectively on both cost and value. We are also working to protect consumers from substandard imported products by advocating for strict enforcement of product standards, testing, and labeling requirements, working closely with relevant government agencies to ensure imports comply with safety regulations, and encouraging supply-chain traceability and accountability. By fostering collaboration among member manufacturers, standards bodies, and regulators, the FPI can help raise overall market quality, reduce unfair competition from low-quality goods, and ensure that consumers have access to safe, reliable products sourced through compliant channels.

government can ask the 3,000 or so peso billionaires and the score of dollar billionaires (some are already peso trillionaires) to contribute in the name of national survival as much as five percent or more of their net worth. This survival tax should be followed with the institution of a progressive system of taxation based on income and wealth as provided by the Constitution.

Third, Malacañang should assert leadership in the operation and management of critical facilities such as power, water and so on, as provided by the Constitution (Sections 17-19, Article XII). Under the charter, the government, during national emergencies, may take over the operation or regulate critical facilities providing essential services to the people. Why? The reasons are obvious: to prevent profiteering and to ensure ample and affordable critical services are delivered to the people.

Fourth, Malacañang should not waver in steering the country towards increased reliance on clean or renewable energy. It should not succumb to the pressures of the lobbyists of the coal industry and the fossil fuel importers.

Finally, Malacañang should listen to the people’s demand for a genuine re-balancing of the economy, one in support of inclusive and sustainable development for all. What is the guide for this? All that the Palace consultants can do is read the Constitution, which outlines what a progressive Philippines can be, one that is sustainable environmentally, economically and socially.

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

PHL OPENS GATEWAY FOR SUB CABLE EXPANSION

By Bless Aubrey Ogerio

THE Poro Point Cable Land-

ing Station in La Union

will now host multiple international submarine cables, following a long-term lease agreement between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and InfiniVAN.

The agreement covers Poro Point and related facilities under the Luzon Bypass Infrastructure, an initiative by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), BCDA and Meta to improve the country’s global internet connectivity.

The fiber corridor links Baler, Aurora on the eastern coast to San Fernando, La Union on the western coast, spanning 240 kilometers and supported by two cable landing stations, four repeater stations and other terrestrial infrastructure built by BCDA.

Under the partnership, the Poro Point facility will operate as an Open Cable Landing Station, capable of hosting multiple submarine cable systems while allowing domestic network providers to colocate equipment.

The development also supports InfiniVAN’s ongoing construction of a Baler Cable Landing Station, which will serve as a landing point for the CANDLE

submarine cable system.

The latter is a 24-fiber-pair intra-Asia cable with 570 terabitsper-second capacity, expected to become operational in 2028.

“This partnership with InfiniVAN’s nationwide fiber-optic network will expand access and service coverage, help lower the cost of internet services for enterprises and households, and accelerate the country’s digital transformation as it keeps pace with its Asean neighbors and the broader global digital economy,”

BCDA president and chief executive Joshua Bingcang said.

Meanwhile, InfiniVAN chairman Koji Miyashita added that integrating Poro Point into the company’s backbone network will allow submarine cable capacities landing on Luzon’s northwest coast to be efficiently distributed to optical hubs nationwide.

“This East–West connectivity will play a vital role in ensuring the resiliency and security of the nation’s communications infrastructure,” he said.

The development positions the Philippines to capture a larger share of regional data traffic and strengthens its role in Asia’s expanding digital economy, signaling the country’s commitment to becoming a competitive hub for global internet infrastructure.

BusinessMirror

DOE tweaks generation mix to blunt oil price spikes effect

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

THEDepartment of Energy (DOE) is moving to temporarily ramp up coal generation and fast-track the entry of renewable energy projects, targeting a reduction of P2 per kilowatthour in the expected electricity rate increase driven by the conflict in the gulf region.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said Tuesday the Philippines faces a dual threat from the oil price spike: higher pump prices and rising electricity generation costs, as diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG)—both used in domestic power production—have become significantly more expensive since the conflict erupted.

“Because of this oil price hike, the prices of diesel and LNG all went up. It will increase the generation cost and increase the electricity rates,” she said. “The effect is the

constraints in the budget of each household as well as the constraints in the whole economy. It will affect our trade, our economy, even the basic services of the government.”

Garin explained that simulations conducted within the first week of the conflict showed electricity rates in the Meralco franchise area could climb by roughly 16 percent, largely because LNG supplies a portion of power generation serving Meralco customers. Rather than let market forces run their course, she said the

agency is pursuing a dual strategy of suppressing expensive generation while lifting cheaper sources.

Coal currently accounts for nearly 60 percent of Philippine power generation, most of it imported.

“On simple terms, let’s bring down the ratio for more expensive generation and raise the cheaper one. Diesel and LNG are costly. We try to control that and then increase ang renewable and coal,” Garin said.

To secure stable coal supplies, the DOE met with the Indonesian ambassador and secured assurances that Jakarta would not restrict coal exports to the Philippines.

She said reports of potential Indonesian coal export curbs have surfaced periodically, including as recently as January, prompting the DOE to seek direct confirmation from Manila’s diplomatic posts in Jakarta.

“There are no restrictions yet and there’s no plan to limit our order. It’s more of a question if they will adjust their price, which we are observing,” Garin said.

The DOE also held discussions with coal-fired power plant operators on how much additional gen-

EJAP forum pushes sustainability drives

REGULATORS and business leaders agreed at the inaugural Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) Sustainability Forum on Monday that sustainability must be embedded into corporate operations—and that quality reporting has become a factor that increasingly determines how investors allocate capital and how markets assign value.

The forum, held at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) eCenter in Makati, carried the theme “From Disclosure to Decision: How Sustainability Is Changing the Philippine Capital Market.”

SEC Chairperson Francis E. Lim argued that sustainability disclosure has moved from the margins to the center of investment decisionmaking, with climate risk, transition risk, governance weakness, and social fragility now measurable and material.

“Sustainability claims must not run ahead of fact. They must be grounded, measured, and governed with discipline. Anything less does not just weaken disclosure—it weakens the market,” Lim said.

He added that disclosure can no longer function as an aspirational narrative. It must be evidentiary, comparable, and embedded in governance and strategy.

The SEC issued Memorandum Circular No. 16 in 2025 to raise the quality of sustainability information available to the market, adopting an International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)-aligned framework under Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) S1 and S2. Implementation will be phased across three tiers of companies from 2026 through 2029. Tier 1 covers listed companies with market capitalization exceeding P50 billion, which are required to begin adoption this year, while smaller listed companies and large non-listed entities follow in subsequent years.

Lim said the SEC is pairing the requirements with capacity-building programs to ensure the reform is workable.

“Lasting reform is not issued. It is built,” he said.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Assistant Governor Pia Roman Tayag said the banking sector is moving in the same direction, with 70 percent of banks now integrating sustainability into their strategies and 90 percent expressing inclination to support sustainable financing in areas such as climate-resilient agriculture, renewable energy, and climate-ready infrastructure.

“For us at the BSP, when we issue

eration capacity they can activate, and is simultaneously working with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on how the cost-side measures should be implemented. On the renewables side, Garin said the agency is advancing the commercial entry of projects originally scheduled for later this year. Of 900 megawatts (MW) of RE capacity in the pipeline, the department is targeting to bring approximately 300 MW online within this month or next.

Garin said the blended approach is designed as a temporary measure, undertaken with the voluntary participation of generation companies who retain their contractual rights. The DOE is targeting to roll out the plan by April 1. The agency is also assessing how much local coal domestic power plants can absorb to reduce dependence on any single foreign supplier, part of broader contingency planning now underway.

“If we are successful in implementing this, the increase in electricity rates because of the conflict in the middle east will be lower. We are targeting to reduce that increase by P2,” Garin said.

Detectors can help catch IMSI catcher deployers

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

GLOBE Telecom Inc. donated on Tuesday three international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catcher detectors to government law enforcement agencies on Tuesday, marking what officials described as a major escalation in the joint public-private campaign against mobile network spoofing scams that have cost Filipino consumers millions of pesos in losses.

The devices, turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), can detect the presence of rogue base stations—commonly known as IMSI catchers—within a 50-meter radius, enabling law enforcement to narrow down the physical location of scam operators far more precisely than before.

“Criminal syndicates used IMSI catchers as a ghost in their machine, hijacking the privacy of our citizens,” CIDG Chief of Staff Joselito Esico said at the turnover ceremony. “Today, that ends. We are no longer just acting—we are hunting.”

IMSI catchers work by mimicking legitimate cell towers to intercept mobile signals and send bulk unsolicited text messages that appear to originate from trusted senders such as the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), or official raffle systems.

The technology has fueled a surge in text phishing attacks targeting ordinary Filipinos. Of the 18,636 complaints received by the CICC, Director Alvin Navarro said 75 percent involve scams, with a significant portion traced to IMSI catcher activity.

“In giving us capability through the IMSI catcher detector, our response will be stronger,” he said. “Before, bad actors are having a field day—the industry is now collaborating to straighten these out and arrest that field day.”

Globe General Counsel

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

B1

March 25, 2026

Limited supply of oil due to Mideast crisis worries DMCI

OBy VG Cabuag @villygc

IL supply has become a major concern for DMCI Holdings Inc., which owns Semirara Mining and Power Corp., as many of the conglomerate’s suppliers have backed out while some have indicated that they cannot guarantee delivery starting April.

Isidro A. Consunji, DMCI chairman, said the major threat of the war in Iran is that developing countries such as the Philippines may not be able to secure imported fuel. This, he said, may happen soon.

“It (the situation) could be worse than the pandemic, which is not a supply issue. This is a supply issue.

How can (people) in Metro Manila eat if delivery trucks are not operating?

This is a transport issue and also inflation,” Consunji told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday.

Maria Cristina C. Gotianun, the company’s new vice chairman and Semirara Mining’s president and COO, said they have awarded con-

tracts to oil suppliers, but they cannot guarantee delivery.

“So, we’ll see. The strategy is whatever is available, we get it and we deliver. So, we will just have to do that more often. Some of the suppliers have backed out, so we’re left with a little less than what we used to have,” Gotiuanun said.

She said the company can do nothing if there’s no oil, the single biggest cost of operating a coal mine, mainly for hauling of coal by trucks and to operate hundreds of heavy equipment.

Semirara coal supports 38 percent of the baseload power in the country.

Any production interruption would drastically reduce baseload energy, with coal as the cheapest form of power, and could jack up electricity costs. This in turn could kick up inflation and further penalize the public that is already reeling from high fuel prices.

Gotianun said the company has no contingency plan in place in case

it stops operating operate trucks and excavators.

“I’m hoping the government can aid us also, source some fuel, in case the worst happens.”

DMCI is also reviewing its capital expenditures for this year, as “everything will be reset. You never know what’s going to happen,” Herbert M. Consunji, DMCI’s CFO, said.

“It’s not just a matter of price, it’s a matter of availability. That’s the major factor. You may have money to buy it, but it’s not available because the suppliers downgraded.”

DMCI’s cement arm, Concreat Holdings Philippines Inc., has already raised its prices.

Herbert Consunji, also president and CEO of Concreat, said the company has increased prices starting March 15. Another increase will be implemented this week and by next month.

“So any increases in fuel, we will also increase. (But) this will be done in tranches.”

IC maker starts building Laguna plant

By Bless Aubrey Ogerio @blessogerio

TONG Hsing Electronics Philippines Inc. recently broke ground on a 26,000-squaremeter production facility at Carmelray Industrial Park (CIP) I in Calamba, Laguna.

The facility will manufacture custom hybrid microcircuits and optically isolated solid-state relays, aiming to strengthen the company’s capacity to serve global markets.

“This project further reinforces the Philippines’s role in building resilient and future-ready supply chains, supported by our highly

ABS-CBN bags first syndication deal in India

ABS-CBN Corp. said on Tuesday it has secured its first syndication agreement in India through a multititle streaming deal with Amazon MX Player, bringing seven Filipino drama series to one of the subcontinent’s largest free streaming platforms for the first time. Under the agreement, the titles

“It’s Okay to Not Be Okay,” “2 Good 2 Be True,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Senior High,” “Love in 40 Days,”

“He’s Into Her,” and “He’s Into Her Season 2” will launch on the platform throughout 2026. The series will be dubbed in Hindi and possibly other Indian languages.

Amazon MX Player, a free ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) service, counts over 250 million monthly active users, making it one of India’s largest OTT platforms. The ABS-CBN package marks the first time Filipino drama titles will appear on the platform.

The deal comes as free, ad-supported streaming dominates viewing behavior in India, with industry data showing that 70 percent to 80 percent of OTT viewing hours in the country are driven by AVOD platforms. Lorenz S. Marasigan

skilled workforce, competitive business environment, and strong partnerships with global industry leaders like Tong Hsing,” Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) Acting Deputy Director General Emmanuel Cortero.

Tong Hsing Electronics Philippines is a leading integrated circuit (IC) hybrid assembly provider specializing in advanced chip scale package (CSP) technologies, including land grid array (LGA) and ball grid array (BGA). Its operations cover printed circuit board (PCB) assembly using surface mount technology (SMT) and chip-on-board (COB) process-

es, multi-chip modules for radio frequency (RF) applications, image products, and ceramic assembly, all supported by cleanroom facilities ranging from Class 10 to Class 100,000.

Since registering with Peza in 1994, the company has invested over P3 billion, generated roughly $90 million in exports, and created 3,000 direct jobs for Filipino workers.

Meanwhile, Peza said Tong Hsing Electronics Philippines President Heinz Ru has committed to expanding operations in the country in the long-term.

Peza said businessmen continue to view the Philippines as a strategic

destination for manufacturing and export-oriented operations despite global uncertainties, including rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions.

The investment promotion agency said it remains optimistic about its performance in 2026, targeting P300 billion in new investments.

Last year’s record approvals reached P260.89 billion across 314 projects, a 21.9 percent increase from 2024’s P214.18 billion.

Peza currently contributes around 13 to 15 percent of the Philippines’s GDP and accounts for about half of the country’s exports of goods, commodities, and services.

Estée Lauder in talks to buy Puig

ESTÉE Lauder Cos. said it’s in talks to buy Puig Brands SA in a deal that would create a cosmetics giant with about $20 billion in annual sales.

The companies declined to offer details on the terms. Puig, based in Spain, has a market value of about €9 billion ($10.4 billion).

A takeover of the Spanish company would give Estée Lauder such well-known perfume and fashion brands as Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier and Carolina Herrera, helping it compete better against the world’s largest cosmetics company, L’Oréal SA. For Puig, which generated about €5 billion in sales last year, the move follows slowing growth and downgrades of earnings estimates that have pulled down its stock since an initial public offering in 2024.

Puig shares soared as much as 17 percent on Tuesday in Madrid trading, their biggest jump on record. Estée Lauder’s stock sank 7.7 percent at the close Monday in New York.

“The potential acquisition of Puig would veer Estée Lauder off course,” according to Barclays analysts led by Lauren R. Lieberman, who said the Barcelona-based company didn’t fit with Estée Lauder’s reorganization including its plan to focus on niche, luxury-priced fragrances that only make up about 15 percent of Puig’s portfolio.

Estée Lauder’s shares have risen over the past year on optimism about a turnaround strategy under Chief Executive Officer Stephane de la Faverie. Still, the beauty company’s most recent guidance boost underwhelmed investors. De la Faverie acknowledged that “there is more work to do” during a conference call with analysts.

Puig has also been undergoing big changes, recently announcing a new CEO. Marc Puig, a member of the founding family, gave up that role while remaining executive chairman, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions.

Puig is still controlled by the third genera-

tion of the family that created the company over a century ago.

The company’s stock was 37 percent lower than its IPO price at the close on Monday. Early earnings disappointments and investor concerns around Puig’s exposure to fragrances — more than two thirds of its revenues — have weighed on the shares.

“We are surprised that the Puig family will relinquish independence and majority control,” JPMorgan analyst Céline Pannuti said in a note, adding she believed “potential interest from other industry players could emerge.”

Integration risks

ESTÉE Lauder has a portfolio of roughly two dozen cosmetics brands, including La Mer and The Ordinary. The addition of Puig, which owns labels Byredo and Charlotte Tilbury, would likely draw some questions from investors and analysts about the company’s ability to effectively integrate additional labels as the company is in the midst of a turnaround.

De la Faverie has been focused on shifting the retailing of the company’s brands to fastergrowth online channels such as Amazon.com, which the company had avoided for years because of concerns that it would tarnish its highend cachet. The company has also been selling lower-price items in part to appeal to a younger generation of shoppers.

In a prior role, the CEO oversaw Estée Lauder’s massive fragrance division. The unit’s sales performed well amid a broader post-pandemic surge in demand. The potential deal to buy Puig is likely a bet on the continuing strength of those items. A deal would also enable Estée Lauder take on France’s L’Oréal, which has outperformed Estée Lauder in the US. L’Oreal was quicker to seize on the post-pandemic boom for dermatological beauty products with brands such as CeraVe. Bloomberg News

Cebu Pacific set to trim routes as fuel costs surge

BBy Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

UDGET carrier Cebu Pacific will suspend several international routes and reduce the frequency of others starting next month, as airline moves to limit its exposure to fuel costs that have more than doubled from year-ago levels due to the ongoing crisis in the gulf region.

In an advisory, Cebu Pacific said four routes will be suspended, while five others will see their frequencies trimmed.

The Davao-Bangkok will be pulled from April 13 to October 23. The Iloilo-Bangkok service follows from April 17 to October 24. The carrier will also ground its Iloilo-Singapore roundtrip flights from June 15 to October 24, and suspend the ClarkHanoi service from May 2 to October 25.

Meanwhile, the Cebu-Singapore service will be cut from daily operations to five times weekly starting mid-April. Manila-Jakarta flights will drop from seven to four times

weekly beginning April 14, while Manila-Kuala Lumpur will go from daily to five weekly flights around the same period.

Long-haul routes to Australia are also affected. Manila-Melbourne will be trimmed from five to four weekly flights on select dates in May, while Manila-Sydney will be reduced from seven to five weekly flights across multiple dates in May and June.

Cebu Pacific attributed the adjustments directly to the fuel cost environment, noting that global jet fuel prices have more than doubled compared to 2025 averages.

Global jet fuel prices surged 118.8 percent year-on-year as of the week ending March 20, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (Iata), with the weekly average hitting $197.00 per barrel. The gulf crisis, which has disrupted oil supply chains and sent energy prices sharply higher, has intensified pressure on airline operating margins worldwide—with carriers in Southeast Asia particularly exposed given their heavy dependence on fuel imports.

Entrepreneur

DTI and GDAP strengthen partnership to advance PHL game development sector

Strategic market relevance

TODAY’S customers are more informed than ever. With most buyers doing their own research before engaging with a salesperson, product knowledge is no longer a competitive advantage—it is simply the baseline. The market now expects more. Customers are looking for clarity, guidance, and value that goes beyond information. The question for every sales professional is simple: Are you still relevant?

Relevance today is defined by your ability to move beyond selling and step into the role of a business partner. This requires delivering value in five critical ways.

Be a person with solution CUSTOMERS do not buy products—they buy results and outcomes. Your role, therefore, is not to present features, but to understand and solve real problems. Relevance begins with clarity—knowing what the customer is truly facing, what is at stake, and what success looks like in their specific context. A solution is only effective if it fits the customer’s reality. This requires listening, asking the right questions, and aligning your offering accordingly. It also means translating features into clear business impact—helping customers see exactly how your solution improves their situation.

High-performing sales professionals go a step further by anticipating needs and offering insights that customers may not yet see. This elevates the conversation from transactional to strategic. In the end, solutions build trust. When customers see real results, you move from being a vendor to becoming a valued partner.

Be a person with information INFORMATION is widely available, but insight is rare. Your value is no longer in what you know, but in how well you make sense of what is happening. Customers are already exposed to large volumes of data, but they often struggle to interpret what truly matters and how it impacts their business. Your role is to filter noise, highlight what is relevant, and provide clear context. When you connect market trends, customer behavior, and business implications, you help clients make better decisions with confidence.

When you consistently provide clarity, you move beyond being a source of information and become a trusted advisor.

Be a person with connection

RELEVANCE increases when your value extends beyond your immediate offering. In today’s interconnected business environment, opportunities often come from the right introductions. When you connect customers to people, resources, or opportunities that support their goals, you multiply your value in

ways that go beyond the transaction. This requires intentional network-building and a mindset of collaboration. Over time, your ability to connect becomes a differentiator that positions you as a strategic partner rather than just a provider. Your network, when used effectively, becomes a powerful driver of long-term business growth.

Be a person with compassion IN highly competitive sales environments, it is easy to fall into purely transactional behaviors. However, long-term success is built on trust, consistency, and genuine concern for the customer’s success. When clients feel understood and supported, they are more likely to build lasting relationships and remain loyal over time. Compassion creates psychological safety, allowing for more open communication and stronger collaboration. However, it must be paired with competence. Without delivering real value, good intentions alone will not sustain the relationship.

True relevance comes from combining empathy with execution.

Be a person with contribution MARKET relevance is ultimately measured by impact. Customers will evaluate your value based on the results you help them achieve— whether in terms of growth, efficiency, or new opportunities. What matters most is not what you promise, but what you consistently deliver. When your contribution is clear and measurable, you shift from being seen as a cost to being recognized as an investment. This is where long-term partnerships are built and sustained. Your goal is to ensure that every engagement leaves the customer in a better position than before.

Key takeaway

THE modern sales landscape demands more than product expertise. To remain relevant, sales professionals must deliver solutions, insight, connection, compassion, and measurable contribution. Those who consistently provide these will not only meet expectations—they will lead in an increasingly competitive market.

You got this. God bless!

Alexey “Coach Lex” Rola Cajilig is the President and CEO of ARCWAY Consultancy Inc., a recognized Sales Leadership Coach, Strategic Sales Operations Consultant, Christian Motivational Speaker, and Human Ecologist. As the author of The Effective Seller and Solving the Sales Puzzle, Coach Lex empowers leaders and sales professionals to turn knowledge into action, and action into measurable results. He is also the creator of ARCH Styles, a cutting-edge behavioral discovery framework that helps individuals and teams unlock their true potential and perform at their peak. Connect and collaborate with Coach Lex at arcway.ph.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Philippine Creative Industries Development Council Secretariat (PCIDCS) under the  Competitiveness and Innovation Group (CIG), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) to strengthen collaboration in advancing the country’s game development sector. The ceremony was held on March 9, 2026, at the DTI Head Office in Makati City.

The partnership reinforces both parties’ shared commitment to bolstering the Philippine game development ecosystem through industry promotion, talent development, and innovation initiatives. These efforts align with the objectives of the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act and the DTI’s flagship Malikhaing Pinoy Program.

Through the MOU, the DTI and GDAP will work together to develop initiatives that support Filipino

DTI Assistant Secretary and Supervising Head Nylah Rizza D. Bautista.

game developers, studios, and creative entrepreneurs. These include industry events, capacity-building programs, international market access opportunities, and platforms that highlight the creativity and competitiveness of Philippine-made games.

“By strengthening collaboration between government and industry, we create more opportunities for studios to grow, for creators to innovate, and for new talent to emerge,” said

For its part, GDAP emphasized the importance of sustained collaboration between government and industry stakeholders in building a globally competitive ecosystem for game development.

According to GDAP president James Ronald Lo, the organization sees the Department of Trade and Industry as a true partner in the arts and creative industries, sharing the goal of pushing the Philippine game development sector forward and creating more opportunities for Filipino developers.

The partnership also seeks to

promote knowledge exchange, support emerging developers, encourage collaboration between studios and educational institutions, and enhance the global visibility of Filipino game developers.

Aside from Assistant Secretary Bautista and GDAP president Lo, the ceremony was attended by PCIDCS Deputy Executive Director Paolo Federico A. Ramos, GDAP Executive Director Amierose Ramos and Secretariat Daphne Leigh Talusik, along with Board Members Ria A. Lu and Lord Christian Gosingtian. This collaboration forms part of the broader efforts under the Malikhaing Pinoy Program.

Big Apple Express Spa at 20: Bringing accessible and high-quality wellness to Filipinos nationwide

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

WHEN Big Apple Express Spa opened in 2005, the idea was pretty simple: give Filipinos access to a real, quality massage without making them feel like they need to book a fancy hotel or spend half their salary.

“We called it the Manhattan-style express model because we wanted to bring that same accessible, no-frillsbut-high-quality approach that you see in New York. Fast, professional, honest value,” Roselin Gaw-Pagunsan, marketing director tells the BusinessMirror in an email interview.

Twenty years later, she says the spirit has not changed at all. The change was seen in how they delivered it. Big Apple Express Spa is now expanding into locations like Makati’s CBD and Marikina’s growing residential community, places where people actually live and work, so wellness is always within reach. Through franchising, Gaw-Pagunsan says they are able to grow that footprint while keeping service quality consistent across every branch.

“We are also investing in technology. We are rolling out modern operational systems that make things more efficient for our staff and more convenient for our customers. It is about removing friction so that the experience from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave is as smooth as possible,” says Gaw-Pagunsan.

Karlo Benjamin Nisce, president and CEO says the company is bullish in 2026. As Big Apple Express  celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, the team wants to make it meaningful not only for the company  but for every Filipino who has ever walked into one of their  branches looking for some relief after a long day. “We already kicked off the year with two simultaneous openings: Century Mall in Makati and Marikina Riverbanks Mall. Both are now open and serving customers, and the response has been wonderful,” says Nisce.

“But we are not stopping there. The bigger plan for 2026 is to grow our franchise network across the country. We are in active conversations

with qualified franchise applicants, and we are making it easier than ever to get started by offering access to pre-selected prime mall locations. We want to bring Big Apple Express Spa to more cities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The goal is simple: wherever Filipinos are, we want to be there too,” Nisce points out.

Building the franchise

VICTOR FERNANDO, franchise director of Big Apple Express, says the brand was built around one mission: to make quality wellness accessible to everyone. It does not only cater to expatriates, but also to the family in the suburbs, the nurse after a double shift, the college student who just needs an hour to decompress. Opening in both Makati and Marikina at the same time was a way of saying that out loud.

He says their Century Mall branch in Makati sits right in the heart of the CBD, where professionals and executives are looking for a real break from their demanding schedules. “They appreciate speed, quality, and a clean environment. Our model was built for exactly that,” says Fernando.

For Marikina City, it is an interesting story. It is a community-driven city with a strong sense of local pride and a growing demand for wellness services that are close to home. “Marikina Riverbanks Mall gives us a chance to serve that community and to be part of people’s everyday lives, not just a destination they travel to,” says Fernando.

Fernando points out that the two branches show the robustness of the brand by serving a wide range of customers and supporting their franchisees in the same way regardless of where they are located.

“That is how we continue to grow in a way that is both strategic and genuinely meaningful to the communities we enter,” says Fernando.

Coming together

NISCE describes 2025 as the fruition of their efforts as they could feel the energy across the whole organization when they celebrated their 20th year.

“Our branches stayed busy, our franchisees were performing well, and the interest from new investors wanting

to join the Big Apple family was higher than it had been in years,” says Nisce. He says Big Apple Express Spa was not only proud of the numbers but the loyalty of the customers who kept coming back, and many of them brought friends and family for the first time.

“That kind of organic growth tells you something real about how people feel about your brand,” he points out.

“We also spent a good part of 2025 preparing for what comes next. We were finalizing locations, refining our training programs, and beginning the work of modernizing our operational systems with better technology. It was a year of building, and now in 2026, we are ready to grow. Building the brand through franchising is one of the perks of the job,” according to Fernando.

“Because when we bring on a new franchisee, we are not just selling a business opportunity. We are saying to another Filipino: we believe in you, and we are going to walk this with you,” says Fernando.

The Big Apple Express Spa franchise package is designed to be truly turnkey. Everything is included: the training for staff and management, the initial supplies and equipment, the store construction, the marketing support, and ongoing guidance from our team.

The franchisee does not need to have a background in wellness or in running a spa. “We have built the systems so that even someone who has never run a business before can come in, follow the model, and build something they are proud of,” says Fernando.

The company also helps with site selection. For qualified applicants, it offers access to pre-selected prime mall locations. Finding the right spot is one of the hardest parts of starting a retail business, and Big Apple Express Spa takes that burden off our franchisees’ shoulders so they can focus on what matters most: serving their customers well.

“As we expand nationwide, we are looking for people who genuinely care about their communities and want to build something lasting. The wellness industry in the Philippines is growing, and it holds up even when the economy gets tough. Big Apple Express Spa gives aspiring entrepreneurs a real, proven,

20-year-tested platform to be part of that,” says Fernando. “Our franchisees’ success is our success. That is not just something we say. It is how we run the business every single day,” adds Fernando.

Health awareness

GAW-PAGUNSAN says  Filipinos are genuinely more health conscious now and wellness is no longer something people think about only when they are already sick or burned out. “More and more, people are coming to us as part of how they stay well, not just as a reaction to stress,” she says.

Big Apple Express continues to implement strict health measures: health declaration forms, brief client interviews before sessions, UV sterilization, air purifiers, and sanitation of their facilities every two hours. These practices started during the pandemic, but retained them because they reflect brand, not just what the situation required.

Gaw-Pagunsan says the customers give positive remarks on how the company seriously takes cleanliness before and after every session. “That kind of feedback means a lot to us. It tells us that Filipinos are paying attention and that they are choosing to spend their time and money in places that respect their health. We are proud to be one of those places,” she says.

Gaw-Pagunsan says the wellness consumer in 2026 is more discerning than ever. “They want quality, cleanliness, convenience, and fair pricing. That is exactly who we have always built this for. These enhancements just make sure we keep delivering on that promise as we grow.”

Twenty years in, the Big Apple is ready for more growth. The foundation is solid, the systems are in place, and the demand is real. This is  the  time for the company  to expand with purpose, according to Fernando.

“What touched us most was the trust. People were not just coming for the massage. They were coming back for us, for the consistency, the cleanliness, the familiar faces. After 20 years, that kind of loyalty from our customers is something we never take for granted,” says Nisce.

SEC to clamp down on online lenders mining personal data

By VG Cabuag @villygc

THE Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday announced it will double-down in its campaign against abusive lending and financing practices with the assistance of the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Privacy Commission.

In a joint advisory, the agencies reminded lending and financing companies about the existing rules on the processing of borrowers’ personal data for loan-related transactions.

“The government recently received numerous reports of (online lenders) engaging in harassment, intimidation, public shaming and unlawful use of personal data in their collection practices,” the advisory said.

Bold reforms needed in turbulent times

THE Philippine economy is currently navigating a perfect storm.

As geopolitical volatility in the Middle East continues to exert upward pressure on global crude benchmarks, the domestic impact has been nothing short of staggering. With diesel and gasoline prices witnessing double-digit hikes, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has stepped into the breach with a suite of logistics-based interventions aimed at tempering the inflationary surge.

Trade and Industry Secretary Maria Cristina A. Roque has proposed a moratorium on the government share from port fees at our major gateways. This is complemented by a voluntary two-month toll discount program for Class 3 vehicles and the expanding logistics guild of 30 firms committed to rate stability. On paper, these represent a commendable effort to manage the triple bottom line by protecting the supply chain of basic necessities.

However, for our micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the stakes are far higher. MSMEs lack the economies of scale to absorb fuel surcharges, often operating on razorthin margins where the movement of goods is sometimes more expensive than the product itself. While the DTI’s Supply Chain and Logistics Center offers a buffer through pro bono advisory and pledged shipping discounts, many local traders remain vulnerable to hidden costs that threaten their very survival.

Netizens have raised valid concerns regarding the mathematical efficacy of these measures, pointing out that port fees represent a mere 3% of the retail price of essential goods. When compared to a P20 per liter jump in fuel costs, the relief offered feels like a drop in the bucket. There is also the matter of long-term sustainability; the Philippine Ports Authority has rightly noted that a total revenue freeze could jeopardize the livelihoods of over 8,000 workers and stall critical port modernization.

Beyond immediate relief, the DTI is looking toward the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (Evida) to erase range anxiety and offer a future-proof alternative to fossil fuels. But this pivot feels more like a press release than a tangible shift. Despite the promise of the evida, the rollout of charging infrastructure remains agonizingly slow and largely confined to urban enclaves.

It seems the DTI has yet to walk the talk, lacking a clear strategy to localize manufacturing or provide meaningful incentives for MSMEs to modernize their fleets.

“Digital transformation must protect—not prey upon—the Filipino people. The national government stands firm in enforcing the law and safeguarding the rights, privacy, and dignity of every Filipino in the digital economy,” it said.

The agencies underscored that online lenders are prohibited from accessing borrowers’ contact lists and reaching out to those that are not named as guarantors, as unconstrained and disproportionate processing of personal data may lead to harassment, collection of debt outside guarantors, and unfair debt collection.

In addition, the joint advisory emphasized the responsibility of online lenders to ensure secure and proper disposal and destruction of personal data that would render further processing impossible, and allow data subjects to turn off, disallow, or revoke permission when the purpose for an application permission has

Ultimately, the DTI must pivot from these micro-interventions toward macro-level structural reforms.

Roque should not resort to insensitive, knee-jerk measures like her statement last Christmas that Filipino families can have a noche buena meal for only P500. The country’s impending fuel shortage is worsened by the DTI’s failure to prevent hoarding and profiteering by unscrupulous gas station owners.

We need the kind of regulatory boldness recently displayed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). By enforcing strict nineyear caps on independent directors and proposing a 10-year cumulative limit for overstaying broker directors on the Philippine Stock Exchange board, the SEC has signaled that entrenched interests must give way to fresh perspectives.

This move has gained significant momentum, with the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) joining other major business groups in a collective statement of support.

The Finex emphasized that such reforms are constructive steps toward reinforcing independence and enhancing the credibility of our securities system. This spirit of structural renewal must be applied to our logistics sector–moving away from temporary fee waivers and toward dismantling the systemic inefficiencies that keep transport costs among the highest in the Southeast Asian region.

Resilience depends on more than just these micro-solutions. The real elephant in the room remains the fixed excise taxes under the TRAIN Law. Logistics cost-control is a necessary pillar, but without an aggressive roadmap for electrification and systemic tax flexibility, the transition to a sustainable economy risks leaving our small-scale providers stranded. We must ensure the wheels of commerce keep turning without crushing the very people they are meant to serve.

Joseph

been achieved, among other rules. The joint advisory also asked individuals availing of loans through online lenders to remain vigilant in protecting their personal data.

Borrowers must also read privacy notices and consent forms carefully, as some online applications use deceptive design patterns or techniques to deceive borrowers into performing acts relating to the processing of their personal data, the government agencies added.

They were also advised to review the permissions required by online lenders to ensure that they do not request unnecessary permissions unless needed for specified and legitimate purposes before transacting with them.

Borrowers must also inform and secure the express consent of their guarantors, it said.

The SEC neither named nor identify the number of online lenders practicing “abusive lending.”

Investors dug heel on yields ask amid global uncertainty

By Andrea Louise San Juan

THE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) failed to raise its target borrowing as it fully rejected bids for three-year bonds while partially awarding bids for 25-year Treasuries.

On Tuesday, the auction committee fully rejected the re-issued 3-year tenors while it partially awarded 25-year tenors after total tenders reached P27.118 billion.

For the 3-year tenor, the Treasury accepted P5.565 billion out of the P13.760 billion in bids, resulting in a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.5 times.

The average rate for the 3-year tenor settled at 6.819 percent, up by 152.3 basis points from 5.296 percent recorded last month.

Awarded rates ranged from a low of 6.650 percent to as high as 6.895 percent.

Compared to the secondary benchmark rate for the same tenor, the debt papers’ average yield is higher than the 6.446 percent for the same tenor.

Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said

the increase in rates “isn’t surprising” as investors remain cautious. Global uncertainty and sticky inflation risks, he added, prompt investors to demand higher yields.

“If rates stay elevated and volatility persists, we may continue to see partial awards in the coming weeks. What matters is that the government is not forced to borrow at unfavorable rates—better to be disciplined now than lock in expensive debt,” Ravelas noted.

Meanwhile, the 25-year T-bonds fetched an average rate of 7.4 percent, up by 82.3 basis points from the 6.577 percent posted last February 24,2026.

Investors’ asking yields were averaged at 7.4 percent.

The average yield of the 25-year tenor was slightly above the secondary market rate at 7.247 percent.

A total of P2.682 trillion will be raised by the Treasury this year as part of its financing program to fund the government’s projects and priorities.

Outstanding debt of the national government reached P18.133 trillion as of end-January, up by 11.16 percent year-on-year.

Palawan, RCBC launch app’s account-saving feature

THE operator of the PalawanPay settlement system launched last Tuesday the account-savings feature of the app in partnership with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).

The feature called “PalaSave,” doesn’t require initial deposit and maintaining balance, PPS-PEPP Financial Services Corp. (Palawan Pawnshop) President and CEO Karlo M. Castro said during the launch.

“Traditional savings products often require maintaining balances or initial deposits that can feel out of reach for everyday earners. For many, opening a savings account can still seem intimidating or inaccessible. At Palawanpay, we believe saving should be simple and, more importantly, inclusive,” Castro said.

According to him, users of the

new feature can build their saving with as little as P200 for succeeding deposits while earning “competitive” interests on their funds.

Castro said RCBC’s digital app (DiskarTech) provides backbone of “PalaSave.”

He didn’t disclose the worth of this partnership between his company and the country’s sixth-largest lender in terms of asset.

Castro told reporters they target “PalaSave” to have a million accounts by the end of the year. He added these accounts could be drivers, house helpers, fishermen, market vendors and members of the so-called Generation Z.

He, however, said the target accounts have not yet factored in the ongoing Middle East conflict.

“Nobody really knows up to when [this will end]. It’s really very fluid.

Asia avoids US-style crowding in private credit—Lighthouse

THE rush of capital into US private credit may end up producing more “losers” than investors anticipated, but current stresses aren’t endemic to the asset class or shared in Asia, according to Singapore-based Lighthouse Canton that manages its own debt funds.

“The US market has become extremely crowded,” according to Sanket Sinha, a managing director at the money manager in a statement.

“You inevitably end up picking more losers than you can afford when too much capital is chasing the same opportunities.”

By contrast, funds deployed to private credit in the Asia Pacific are a small fraction compared with those allocated in the US, despite the region being the engine of global growth.

Lighthouse Canton’s views echo other voices that Asia private credit funds are emerging as an alternative in the turmoil gripping the $1.8 trillion industry.

While Asia isn’t totally insulated from the broader stresses, it may be better positioned to withstand the turbulence building elsewhere, due to lower exposure to the software sector that is under pressure from AI and having mostly closed-ended funds, according to regional private credit executives.

Private credit in Asia is moving from being a niche alternative to an essential component of corporate financing as commercial banks pivot increasingly to only the largest borrowers, and offers investors an opportunity to benefit from “pricing inefficiencies,” according to the firm.

Spreads for private credit in Asia remain approximately 200 to 300 basis points higher than on equivalent Western debt, it said.

Lighthouse Canton has said it aims to double its assets under management to $10 billion by 2027. Bloomberg

So we’ll be adjusting not just targets, not just numbers but the goals also depending on what happens in the future,” Castro told reporters.

RCBC President and CEO Reginald Anthony B. Cariaso said Palawan’s use of its digital app is a “fundamental shift” in how the bank delivers services.

By embedding the DiskarTech savings app directly into the PalawanPay app, we are “opening doors” for all 23 million PalawanPay users, added Cariaso.

“Think about that scale. We are enabling millions of Filipinos, many who have traditionally been underbanked, to open a formal savings account without having to download a new app or visit a physical bank branch,” he said.

Cariaso said RCBC brings the “regulated infrastructure and security of

a leading bank” while PalawanPay brings an “unparalleled grassroots reach and a deep bond of trust with the communities they serve.” According to Palawan executives, PalaSave was able to onboard 60,000 accounts before it was formally launched on March 24. Castro said there used to be a “small percentage” of Filipinos saving. Because of the availability of technology and the reach of not just banks but also e-wallets and other fintechs, “we can see more and more people including what we target now—the masa like the drivers and kasambahays—you can actually see people are starting to save.” Castro said that the 60,000 accounts of PalaSave is already equivalent to P50 million in savings.

Malayan eases payment for car, home

THE Malayan Insurance Co. Inc. announced recently that it has introduced a zero-interest installment payment scheme for selected policies, allowing customers to spread premium payments over short-term periods.

A statement issued by the non-life insurer last Tuesday read the option applies to its car (“AutoMaster”) and home (“Home Protect” insurance products, where policyholders may pay premiums in installments—such as three or six months—without incurring interest or additional charges.

The company said the option is intended to make insurance coverage more accessible by reducing the need for lump-sum payments, particularly as households manage competing financial priorities. Under the scheme, policyholders are granted full coverage upon approval of the installment arrangement, even if payments are staggered.

insurance

Malayan Insurance said the facility is available through select participating credit card partners,

Finding silver linings on cloudy days

THERE are seasons in life when gratitude feels easy. You receive good news, plans go smoothly, and the people you love are close by. Then there are seasons when everything feels heavy. Work becomes overwhelming, personal challenges appear all at once, or the world around you seems uncertain. During moments like these, gratitude may feel distant or even unrealistic. Yet it is often during difficult periods that gratitude becomes most valuable. Gratitude does not deny hardship. Instead, it helps you see that even in challenging moments, there are still parts of your life that deserve recognition and appreciation.

Cultivating gratitude during difficult times begins with adjusting what you expect gratitude to look like. Many people imagine gratitude as something reserved for big blessings or major achievements. In reality, gratitude often lives in small details that are easy to overlook. It can be the quiet comfort of your morning coffee, the relief of finishing a long task, or a message from a friend who simply asks how you are doing. When life feels difficult, shifting your attention toward these small moments creates space for steadiness and perspective.

One practical way to cultivate gratitude is by intentionally noticing three things each day that went well. These moments do not need to be dramatic or life-changing. Perhaps a stranger held the door for you while you were carrying something heavy. Perhaps you solved a problem at work that had been bothering you for days. Perhaps you had a few minutes of quiet before the day began. Writing these down in a notebook can help you see patterns that your mind would normally ignore. Over time, this habit gently trains your attention to recognize positive moments even when circumstances feel stressful.

Another helpful practice is reframing difficult experiences. This does not mean pretending that problems are pleasant. Instead, it involves asking yourself what the experience might be teaching you or strengthening within you. For example, a challenging project at work may be exhausting, yet it may also be sharpening your problem-solving skills or teaching you to become more patient. A disagreement with someone you care about may feel uncomfortable, yet it may encourage deeper communication and understanding. When you begin to view hardship as a source of growth, gratitude becomes easier to access because you recognize that even difficult moments carry value.

Connection with other people also plays a powerful role in gratitude. When you express appreciation to someone, you strengthen both the relationship and your own sense of perspective. A simple message that thanks a colleague for their support or a quick call to tell a family member that you appreciate their presence can shift the tone of an entire day. Gratitude grows when it is shared. When you acknowledge the people who contribute to your

By Lauran Neergaard

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—Being a night owl can be bad for your heart. That may sound surprising but a large study found people who are more active late at night—when most of the population is winding down or already asleep—have poorer overall heart health than the average person.

“It is not like, that night owls are doomed,” said research fellow Sina Kianersi of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, who led the study. “The challenge is the mismatch between your internal clock and typical daily schedules” that makes it harder to follow heart-healthy behaviors.

And that’s fixable, added Kianersi, who describes himself as “sort of a night owl” who feels a boost in “my analytical thinking” after about 7 or 8 at night.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US.

The American Heart Association has a list of eight key factors that everyone should heed for better heart health: being more physically active; avoiding tobacco; getting enough sleep and a healthy diet; and controlling blood pressure,

life, you remind yourself that you are not navigating challenges alone.

It can also help to practice gratitude through comparison with your past self rather than with other people. Looking at others may lead to frustration because it highlights what you believe you lack. Looking at your past self highlights how far you have come. You might remember a time when a current responsibility felt impossible, yet now you handle it with more confidence. You might notice that you have developed resilience through experiences that once seemed overwhelming. Recognizing your own progress allows gratitude to emerge from personal growth rather than external comparison.

Another practical strategy involves creating small pauses during your day. When life feels overwhelming, your mind tends to move quickly from one problem to another without stopping to recognize

cholesterol, blood sugar and weight.

Where does being a night owl come in?

That has to do with the body’s circadian rhythm, our master biological clock. It follows a roughly 24-hour schedule that regulates not just when we become sleepy and when we’re more awake but also keeps organ systems in sync, influencing things like heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and metabolism.

Everybody’s circadian rhythm is a little different. Prior research had suggested night owls might have more health problems, as well as risk factors like higher rates of smoking and less physical activity, than people with more typical bedtimes, Kianersi said.

To learn more, Kianersi’s team tracked more than 300,000 middle-age and older adults in the UK Biobank, a huge health database that includes information about people’s sleep-wake preferences. About 8 percent of those people classified themselves as night owls, more active physically and mentally in the late afternoon or evening and up past most people’s bedtime. About a quarter were early-birds, most productive in the daylight hours and likewise early to bed. The rest were average, somewhere in the middle.

anything positive. Taking a brief moment to breathe and ask yourself what is working right now can interrupt that pattern. Perhaps your body is healthy enough to carry you through the day. Perhaps you have access to resources that support your goals. Even the simple act of having a quiet place to rest at night can become a source of gratitude when you pause long enough to notice it. It is also important to remember that gratitude and difficulty can exist at the same time. Feeling grateful does not mean that your struggles are insignificant. You can acknowledge stress, disappointment, or uncertainty while still appreciating the people, opportunities, and lessons that remain present in your life. Gratitude is not about forcing positivity. It is about widening your perspective so that hardship does not become the only story your mind tells. Challenging seasons often test your patience

and emotional endurance. Yet they also provide an opportunity to practice gratitude in its most meaningful form. When you learn to appreciate what remains steady even during uncertainty, you create a foundation that supports both calm and clarity. Gratitude then becomes more than a fleeting feeling. It becomes a steady companion that reminds you that even in difficult times, there is still something worth noticing, valuing, and carrying forward.

STUDENTS SPOTLIGHT RAW VULNERABILITY, CREATIVE COMPASSION IN DANCE

A 90-MINUTE performance which highlighted art as a vessel for healing, resilience, and growth, BPAD in Motion: Resonance was recently staged by student artists from the Dance Program of the School of Arts, Culture and Performance of the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB). Directed by former Ballet Philippines (BP) soloist and erstwhile Benilde Bachelor of Performing Arts in Dance (BPAD) program chairman Nina Anonas, the inclusive production was a living dialogue among body, sound, silence and space.

In addition to Anonas, current BPAD Program chairman and Benilde Experimental Dance artistic director Mycs Villoso choreographed a piece together with former BP principal dancer Christine Crame.

A special number was carried out by Expanded Tertiary Education, Equivalency and Accreditation Program candidate Arjay Madrid as his final validation.

With dance as a form of storytelling and emotional release, Resonance stated healing begins with awareness, resilience is born from connection, and growth happens when movement becomes a language of compassion.

In the first act, the stage was transformed into a visual landscape with a medley of movements of form, light and texture. It symbolized healing, emergence, and the growth which follows connection. This was in partnership with Production Design major students. Performers teamed up with Deaf learners and partners from the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies in the second act to embody communication beyond words. They celebrated empathy, accessibility, and shared understanding by means of gesture, vibration, and collective tempo. Resonance aimed to foster cooperation across creative disciplines to unify the world of dance, production design, and inclusive arts. This shared space likewise sought to advocate social inclusion and accessibility by engaging Deaf students and their community.

Over 14 years, the night owls had a 16 percent higher risk of a first heart attack or stroke compared to the average population, the researchers found. The night owls, especially women, also had overall worse cardiovascular health based on meeting the heart association’s

eight key factors, the researchers reported Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Unhealthy behaviors—smoking, insufficient sleep and poor diet—appear to be the main reasons. “It comes down to the problem of a

night owl trying to live in a morning person’s world. They’re getting up early for work because that’s when their job starts but it may not align with their internal rhythm,” said Kristen Knutson of Northwestern University, who led recent heart association guidance on circadian rhythms but wasn’t involved in the new study. That affects more than sleep. For example, metabolism fluctuates throughout the day as the body produces insulin to turn food into energy. That means it might be harder for a night owl to handle a high-calorie breakfast eaten very early in the day, during what normally would still be their biological night, Knutson said. And if they’re out late at night, it can be harder to find healthy food choices.

As for sleep, even if you can’t meet the ideal of at least seven hours, sticking to a regular bedtime and wake time also may help, she and Kianersi said.

The study couldn’t examine what night owls do when the rest of the world is asleep. But Kianersi said one of the best steps to protect heart health—for night owls and anyone—is to quit smoking.

“Focus on the basics, not perfection,” he said, again, advice that’s good for everyone.

Servant leadership as keystone of Maxwell Leadership Philippines Summit 2026

World’s premier leadership, coaching, and corporate training brand Maxwell Leadership recently concluded its inaugural Maxwell Leadership Philippines Summit 2026.

Held last February 18, 2026 at Marquis Events Place in BGC Taguig, the conference shared insights and transformative strategies to expand influence, lead with conviction, and create lasting impact in different areas of leadership with servant leadership as its core. Moreover, it framed the conference with a call to action of “Transforming the Nation” backgrounded by the seven spheres of influence such as the government, businesses, family, media, faith, and both the private and public sectors.

It started with a proactive call to each participant to be initiators of change towards leadership made better; as motivated by lead speaker and fellow transformational leader Chris Robinson, EVP for Entrepreneurial SolutionsMaxwell Leadership Global. Opening with the insight of “ME Leadership,” Robinson highlighted an important aspect to jumpstart your leadership drive, by realizing and accepting wholeheartedly that “Leadership starts with Me”. Taking ownership of this ideology sets one’s readiness in the right direction.

“Leadership starts with you. The first question you must ask is: ‘Would I follow me?’ If you don’t answer ‘yes’ quickly, we have work to do.” shares Chirs Robinson

to

Robinson further emphasised that we need to “add value to people so they can multiply by themselves”.

This was subsequently complemented by Maxwell Leadership Global EVP for Global Expansion Craig Ratliff, through the “Me to You Leadership,” giving importance to “adding value to others” and mentoring the next generation of influencers, as the core essences of YOU Leadership; and augmented by fellow speakers Edric Mendoza, President of Maxwell Leadership Philippines, and Blue Avelino, CEO of Maxwell Leadership Philippines.

“When families, faith, education, media, business, health, and yes, the government come together and decide that evil must stop and only good must be done. And all this starts with me as it does with you,” shares MLPH CEO Blue Avelino

And finally, “We Leadership” solidified the concepts together, encouraging the audience towards joining the advocacy of transforming the nation as a community. This was highlighted

strengthen

family

spent almost three decades forming culinary professionals who go beyond the kitchen to build and manage enterprises. Many of its students and alumni operate family-owned restaurants, bakeries, catering companies, and food brands across the country. UA&P, through its Center for Family Business, has long championed research and education focused on sustaining family enterprises as engines of economic growth and community development.

through the panel discussions through various industry lenses as echoed by panelists Pasig Rep Roman Romulo, Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto, media icon Karen Davila, and health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon, among others.

Altogether, the series emphasized investing in yourself so you can eventually “lead others better,” decisively “leading with others in mind,” and ultimately “winning and leading together,” integrating the transformation.

As a foundational principle, Maxwell Leadership strongly believes that values-based leadership can provide powerful and positive change for any organization. As a team of internationally recognized thought-leaders led by the world’s most influential leadership expert John C. Maxwell himself, they share timetested proprietary leadership principles, which the 700-strong participants of the conference benefitted from.

The Maxwell Leadership Philippines Summit also brought together Philippine leaders from the sectors of education, family, health, business, faith, government, and media. Aside from those mentioned above, these include Cecilio Pedro, Ardy Roberto, Joy Mendoza, Bishop Noel Pantoja, and Maxwell Certified Team Members Minette Carag, Jonathan Engalla,and Ritessh Bhattia, united by the common mission of championing valuesbased leadership for national transformation.

The summit was also presented by IAM Worldwide and co-presented by United Asia Automotive Group Inc. (UAAGI); with major sponsor Seaoil; official advocacy partner World Vision Philippines; official gourmet partner Luka’s Butter Steaks, official media partners Manila Standard and BusinessMirror; official marketing partners GIPDEX, ITD Worldwide, and DigitalCircles; official digital media partner NegoSentro; and official merchandise partner Worship Generation.

business succession in food, hospitality industry The country’s top culinary school, the Center for Culinary Arts Manila (CCA Manila) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) recently concluded a two-day “Family Business Succession” seminar aimed at equipping Filipino food and hospitality enterprises with the tools to navigate one of their most critical transitions: passing leadership from one generation to the next. Held for executives, next-generation leaders, culinary entrepreneurs, and students, the program marked a strategic collaboration between two institutions committed to building businesses that endure.

Facilitated by UA&P’s Dr. Robert Miguel Roque, Executive Director of the Center for Family Business, and Dr. Winston Conrad B. Padojinog, former UA&P president and entrepreneurship faculty member, the seminar drew participants from across CCA Manila’s network—seasoned restaurateurs to young culinary students already embedded in family enterprises. Together, they examined not only succession frameworks and governance structures, but also the deeper realities that define family-run businesses: shared values, unspoken expectations, and the delicate intersection of business and blood.

The initiative reflects a natural partnership. CCA Manila has

‘Alon

ng Pamana’:

Bert Lozada Swim School (BLSS), the biggest swim school in the Philippines, celebrated 70 years of aquatic education and water safety advocacy with “Alon ng Pamana,” gathering instructors and staff from as far as Bacolod for an evening of heritage, gratitude and legacy held recently at La Castellana in Intramuros.

“Tonight, we give tribute to the people who made these 70 years possible—our brave founder, the steadfast teachers, coaches and staff who believed in every child and the families who trusted us with their most precious asset, their loved ones. Your passion, determination, and professionalism keep the flame alive, and ensure every student is safer and more confident in the water,” said Anthony Lozada, Chief Executive Officer of BLSS. Founded in 1956 by Remberto “Tito Bert” Lozada at the YMCA of Manila, the startup began with a simple

“UA&P seeks to partner with institutions like CCA Manila that value preparing next-generation leaders to lead their enterprises,” Dr. Roque and Dr. Padojinog shared.

“Together, we promote among family businesses in the hospitality and food industry the tools, perspectives, and experiences that can help them navigate the dynamics of family business succession.”

While the seminar began with macro insights, underscoring that family businesses form a backbone of the Philippine economy, its most powerful moments unfolded on a personal level.

Among the participants was 19-year-old CCA Manila student Jamile Carl Fernandez, whose family operates Tamilawan, a South Cotabato-based restaurant that began as a small bakery in 2008. Built around heritage and halal

Bert Lozada

principles, the business expanded to six branches before the pandemic forced two closures. Today, four remain, with one undergoing renovation.

Jamile grew up immersed in operations—grocery runs, supply lists, inventory checks—long before he formally studied culinary arts. Yet the seminar reframed his role. Instead of seeing himself merely as the next in line, he began to understand stewardship as an active responsibility. “This program helped me realize that succession is about protecting the integrity of the company,” he said. “It’s about ensuring what was built survives, with honor, into the next generation.”

His experience echoed across the room. Ma. Colleen Lopez, also 19, admitted that she had never been involved in decisionmaking discussions within her family’s enterprise. “The seminar made me understand how much smoother transitions can be when families openly discuss succession early on,” she shared.

For Rob Serrano, the shift was about identity: moving from being “a mere observer and heir” to becoming “an engaged future leader.”

At the heart of the discussions was a powerful idea: strategy cannot precede values. According to the facilitators, families must first define what they stand for before charting expansion plans or assigning roles. Business strategy, they emphasized, is about making specific choices with limited resources. Those choices must be anchored in shared principles if they are to endure across generations.

The diversity of the room was itself a strength. Executives with decades of experience exchanged insights with students at the beginning of their journey. Culinary expertise met business acumen. Personal stories met structured frameworks. In that convergence, a new conversation began—one that positioned succession not as a looming crisis, but as a deliberate process.

For CCA Manila, the seminar represents a strategic expansion of its educational mandate. As the Philippine food and hospitality industry grows more sophisticated and competitive, technical excellence must be matched by governance, financial literacy, and leadership preparedness. By collaborating with UA&P, CCA Manila ensures that its community gains access to both culinary mastery and enterprise sustainability.

Swim School celebrates 70

mission: help Filipinos overcome their fear of water and learn how to swim. Today, with the late founder’s family continuing his legacy, BLSS operates in more than 56 venues nationwide and has taught over a million students thus far. They have also produced seven Olympians, including Filipino swimmers Eric Buhain and Ryan Papa. Along with the special awards given to select teachers, staff and mentors, a highlight of the evening was when BLSS co-founder, concert pianist and wife of the late Bert Lozada, Zenas Lozada, performed four special piano pieces. With the entire school together in one room for the first time, BLSS’ plans for the next five years were also shared. These included digital enhancements, strengthened global partnerships and the expansion of BLSS’ drown free advocacy. Bert Lozada Foundation,

Spring and summer arrive with new experiences at Okada Manila, the Philippines’ largest Forbes 5-star integrated resort for seven consecutive years. Guests can look forward to exciting Vespa and BYD giveaways, a festive Easter celebration for families, refreshing dining experiences, relaxing spa treatments, and elegant stays overlooking Manila Bay.

Let Fortune Flourish REWARD Circle members can enjoy two exciting seasonal promotions.

Until May 3, 2026, Ride the Bike, Win the Drive gives guests weekly chances to win either a brand-new Vespa Scooter or a BYD Seagull, tax free. Reward Circle members receive one complimentary raffle voucher daily, adding another opportunity to take home the grand prize. Meanwhile, Reward Circle Collections x Alfredulla, running until April 5, lets members redeem Alfredulla products at Reward Circle Collections and receive a 30 percent privilege voucher for the Alfredulla Okada Manila outlet.

A Playful Easter at the Crystal Pavilion FAMILIES can celebrate the season at Playful Easter, happening on April 5, 2026 at the Crystal Pavilion. From 3 pm to 7 pm, children can join an Easter egg

that are perfect for cooling down during the warmer months.

Where the Season Blossoms Brightest THIS spring and summer, Okada Manila offers something for everyone, from exciting prizes and festive family events to relaxing spa treatments and refreshing dining experiences.

Discover more and plan your visit at www. okadamanila.com.

Bosch Lubricants launch in PHL: A quality that drives performance

Bosch Mobility Aftermarket officially launches Bosch Lubricants in the Philippines, introducing a new range of high-performance engine oils designed to meet the evolving needs of modern vehicles. Engineered with precision technology, high-quality base oils, and advanced additives, Bosch Lubricants deliver superior engine protection, reliable performance, and enhanced efficiency across a wide range of applications.

Built on Bosch’s global reputation for quality and innovation, the new lubricant portfolio supports gasoline, diesel, hybrid, motorcycle, and commercial vehicle engines. Each formulation is engineered to withstand the high demands of different types of engines. All products have undergone rigorous certification processes and obtained the highest current global rating of API SQ for gasoline engine, ACEA C3 and API CK-4 for diesel engines, and JASOMA2 and MB, API SP for motorcycles.

“Our commitment to quality is at the core of every Bosch product,” said Paulo Duarte, Country Head of Bosch Mobility Aftermarket. “Bosch Lubricants are engineered for superior protection and long-lasting performance. As we celebrate 100 years in the Philippines, we will continue introducing innovations that will enhance the driving experience for Filipinos.”

years of

established in honor of the legacy of its founder, has been transformed to become Drown Free Philippines Foundation, Inc. (DFPF), advocating for a nationwide, multi-sectoral collaboration to expand access to swimming education, particularly in communities near bodies of water where water safety skills are critical.

“BLSS philosophy remains constant: swimming is not just a sport—it is a non-negotiable life skill,” says Angelo Lozada, COO of BLSS. “With Drown Free Philippines, we are widening the circle of our impact, working harder with like-minded people and organizations to save more lives, especially that of young children, from unnecessary drowning.”

For more information about BLSS, visit www. bertlozadaswimschool.com. To know more about Drown Free Philippines, go to www.drownfreephilippinesfoundation.org.

Product Portfolio Highlights Bosch Lubricants for Gasoline Engines THE lineup includes the Premium X7 Fully Synthetic Gasoline Engine Oil, available in 5W-30 and 5W-40 viscosities, as well as a 0W-20 variant specially formulated for hybrid vehicles and start-stop

against wear and friction while maintaining engine cleanliness and efficient performance during everyday driving conditions.

Bosch Lubricants for Diesel Engines FOR diesel vehicles, Bosch introduces the Premium X7 SUV Fully Synthetic Diesel Engine Oil, available in 5W-30 and 5W-40 viscosities and certified to

making waves in the water

Editor: Tet Andolong

BPI, ALI modernize real estate collections with new auto-debit system

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

THE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) recently announced they are among the early adopters of the Direct Debit facility in the Philippines, an interoperable and multilateral auto-debit system that allows property buyers and tenants to settle recurring payments from any account from participating banks— seamlessly, securely, and on schedule.

Louie Cruz, head of BPI institutional banking tells the BusinessMirror i n an email interview that the Direct Debit facility is a product of strategic collaboration between two leading Ayala companies, combining BPI’s digital banking infrastructure and Ayala Land’s extensive property ecosystem to modernize payment processes and elevate the overall customer experience. Through the integration, ALI property buyers and tenants can authorize automatic debits from any participating banks for re curring obligations such as property amortizations, rentals, association dues, and other scheduled payments, with full rollout targeted within the first quarter of the year following the pilot phase.

“The Ayala Land-BPI Direct Debit facility represents a major step forward in fixing the long - s tanding fragmentation of auto - d ebit arrangements in the country. We are proud to b e among the early adopters of this system. For years, customers could only automate payments if they and their biller were in the same bank,” Cruz explains.

property owners who can now enjoy seamless, on - t ime payments without the stress of monthly reminders or manual transactions.

With the support of the Philippine Clearing House Corporation (PCHC), Philippine Payments Management, Inc. (PPMI), and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Cruz says that BPI and ALI are removing the barrier through an interoperable system enabled by the BSP and backed by secure clearing processes, giving homebuyers the f reedom to automate their amortizations using any participating bank. C ruz considers a game changer for

The ALI-BPI Direct Debit facility represents a major step forward in fixing the long - s tanding fragmentation of auto - d ebit arrangements in the country. We are proud to be among the early adopters of this system. For years, customers could only automate payments if they and their biller were in the same bank.

“With the support of the Philippine Clearing House Corporation

[PCHC], Philippine Payments Management, Inc. [PPMI], and the Bangko S entral ng Pilipinas [BSP], we are removing this barrier through an interoperable system enabled by the BSP and backed by secure clearing processes, giving homebuyers the freedom to automate their amortizations using any participating bank.

T his shift is actually a game changer for property owners who can now enjoy seamless, on - t ime payments without the stress of monthly reminders or manual transactions,” C ruz explains.

From roof to floor: SHERA showcase resilient home materials at Worldbex 2026

HOUSANDS of homeown -

Ters, architects, and builders searching for resilient building materials that combine refined aesthetics with protection from harsh environmental elements experienced a glimpse of their dream home at the spacious SHERA booth during the recently concluded Worldbex 2026, one of the country’s most influential building and design trade shows held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

During the four-day event, SHERA, a global leader in fiber cement home materials, showcased its complete range of fiber cement solutions— from roof to ceiling—designed to deliver strength, durability, and design versatility for modern homes. With products engineered for long-lasting performance, SHERA enables homeowners and designers to create spaces that are both visually striking and built to withstand the test of time.

According to Mr. Isabelo Dingal, VP commercial sales who led the the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the exhibit, “today’s homeowners and designers are seeking building materials that go beyond basic function, with home solutions not only providing durability and refined aesthetics but also protect homes from harmful elements of nature and environment, including termites and pests.”

Among the highlights of the display was the Zedar Shake Roof, a wood-like roofing material produced through high-quality manufacturing processes to ensure durability. It also features termite-resistant properties and an interlocking system designed to prevent leaks while maintaining a natural wood aesthetic. Complementing this robust roofing system, the booth also showcased a variety of wall solutions that combine functionality and design appeal.

Visitors explored the brand’s selection of wall materials, including SHERA Bricko, Deline, Two Tone, Deco Board, and Plank, each offering unique textures and styles suitable for different architectural concepts. For flooring applications, SHERA highlighted the SHERA Floor Plank Maestro, designed to deliver durability and structural strength and SHERA SPC which focused more on indoor aesthetics, and comfort. For decorative architectural elements, SHERA offers the SHERA Door and Door Jamb, which add finishing touches to modern living spaces. Completing the lineup of products were SHERA Putty–a high-quality, acrylic-based, moisture-resistant filler designed for wood, concrete, gypsum, and fiber cement boards, and the SHERA Paint, a quick-drying and ready-to-use primer and topcoat in one, specially formulated for fiber cement boards for walls and ceilings.

The showcase became even more exciting with the presence of notable guests. Adding more buzz to the brand were special guests who came to visit SHERA’s station, including Jugs Jugueta of the Itchyworms, Home Buddies’ Mayora Frances, and Engineer Yuri Pascual, construction influencers from Convengers Squad: Ms. Ina of GLI Construction, Architect Dax, Batangineer, Ms. Gila of Madhouse Design, Conrad Roofing, and Architect Sean (RK Thicc). Building a dream home starts with selecting materials that combine durability, resilience, and timeless design.

With its complete portfolio of fiber cement home solutions, SHERA offers homeowners and builders materials designed to elevate modern living spaces and stand strong for generations. To learn more, visit https://www.shera.com/en-ph and follow SHERA Philippines on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

For ALI, Cruz says the move from traditional collection facilities to an electronic collection facility that enables same - d ay settlement and standardized reporting significantly strengthens the operational efficiency. It provides real-time cash visibility, simplifies the reconciliation p rocess and allows to automate its processes, which minimizes manual processing errors. With this setup, this enables the team to focus on delivering greater value to communities.

For BPI, Cruz it reaffirms the bank’s commitment to building secure, in -

teroperable, and future - r eady digital payment rails.

As one of the early adopters of the interoperable direct debit in the Philippine property sector, the BPIALI collaboration brings to life the very vision the BSP has set for the country—a payments ecosystem where convenience, interoperability, and efficiency are the norm.

By operationalizing BSP’s first multilateral auto - d ebit scheme in a long - t enor, high - v alue industry like real estate, we are showing how regulated interoperability can meaningfully transform how Filipinos meet t heir financial obligations. Cruz describes the partnership as setting a new standard for cross - i ndustry collaboration by demonstrating what becomes possible when p rivate institutions align with BSP’s roadmap for a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy.

Through this first-in-the-country platform, Cruz says BPI and ALI are setting a new benchmark for digital payments in the Philippine property sector, demonstrating how cross-industry collaboration can modernize f inancial infrastructure while creating tangible value for customers and b usinesses nationwide.

“We believe this will encourage more property developers, banks, and billers to adopt interoperable payment streams, accelerating the shift t oward a nationwide digital payments infrastructure that is faster, more secure, and centered on the needs of the Filipinos,” Cruz says.

HAUS Talk Inc. (“HTI”), a listed developer of affordable housing in the Philippines, marked a milestone with the successful listing and start of trading of its fixed-rate bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx). The Company raised P1.8 billion in fixed-rate peso retail bonds with three-year and five-year tenors priced at 7.0896 percent and 7.5924 percent, respectively. Originally offered at a base amount of P1 Billion, the issuance was upsized following strong investor demand. To commemorate the listing, PDEx hosted a bell-ringing ceremony attended by representatives from Haus Talk, PDEx, and the transaction’s partner institutions. PDEx President Stephanie Marie Zulueta welcomed HTI’s participation in the Philippine bond mar -

ket, noting that the issuance marks another step in HTI’s continued engagement with the capital markets following its 2022 listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange’s SME Board. She said the proceeds will support land banking activities and project development as it continues to

Quiban sets scorching pace with record 62

JUSTIN QUIBAN unleashed a course record 10-under 62, riding a fiery start and an explosive closing stretch to wrest control of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. Lakewood Championship by four on Tuesday in Cabanatuan City. Twenty-three of the 72-player field scored under par as Lakewood Golf and Country Club proved vulnerable to aggressive play.

Q uiban torched the back nine, nailing four birdies in the last five holes to peel away from the tight leaderboard. I consider myself more of a ball striker, and on a course like this, everything just clicked,” said Quiban, who is chasing his fourth Philippine Golf Tour title while balancing his schedule between the Asian Tour and the local circuit.

“ With the course being relatively wide, I was able to trust my ball striking all day, which really helped me go low,” he added.

Q uiban surpassed Reymon Jaraula’s 65 from the tournament’s inaugural staging in 2024, though he remained grounded about the achievement. Did I expect to break it? Yes and

no. I’ve been working on the right things leading up to this week. I stayed focused on the process and didn’t dwell on expectations for today’s round—and I ended up shooting this low.”

M iki Ryoma turned in a 66, highlighted by a frontside 33. T he Japanese shotmaker, who tied for 11th at last week’s PGT qualifying tournament at Splendido Taal, recovered from a one-over start through three holes on the back nine by birdieing four of the next six. He carried that momentum to the front, adding three more birdies while keeping it bogey-free to secure solo second.

It was a good round. I focused on hitting the green rather than attacking the pin, and that worked well,” Ryoma said. “It’s hot, but it’s similar in Japan, so I’m comfortable.”

R yan Monsalve eagled both par5s on the front nine to move into early contention in the P3 million championship—the opening leg of the 10-event circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.— finishing at 68 alongside Russel Bautista and defending champion Sean Ramos.

Bisera sizzles with hot putter in windless Lakewood heat

YMy driving and irons were good, but I really banked on my putting,” said Bisera. “Finishing with only 27 putts is an achievement.”

Unfazed by the heat, the Davao native noted the conditions were nothing new.

“ We’re pretty used to these conditions. It’s this hot in Davao,” she said. Bisera also drew confidence from the course setup, which she said mirrors her home track. “The layout is similar to the South Pacific, so it’s also quite familiar,” she added.

She aims to capitalize on the par-5s to widen her advantage in the tournament put up by International Container Terminal Services Inc. I need to birdie the par-5s kasi malalapit sila for me,” said Bisera. A baba, top earner on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour last season, kept within striking distance with a 71. She highlighted her round with an eagle on the par-5 eighth, then rebounded from back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12

B autista mixed six birdies with two bogeys, while Ramos birdied four of his first 14 holes to position himself for a run at Quiban. A bogey on the par-3 17th briefly stalled his charge, but he bounced back with a closing birdie to stay in the hunt.

A group at 69 included Taewon Ha, Junichi Katayama, Brycen Ko, Lee Song and Jeffren Lumbo, while Keanu Jahns eagled the eighth on his way to a 70, joining Lloyd Go and Charles Lee at 11th.

Ten players, led by Order of Merit champion Angelo Que, Aidric Chan and Jaraula, carded 71s, while nine others—bannered by multi-titled veterans Tony Lascuña and Clyde Mondillas—settled for even-par 72.

Quiban was in complete control throughout, repeatedly setting up birdie chances within eight to 10 feet and converting efficiently, including several tap-ins. “I hit it pretty close for birdies. The greens are tricky to

read, so it’s not easy to make 20-footers,” he noted. Taking advantage of calm conditions and a course ripe for scoring, Quiban came out blazing with birdies on the first two holes, adding three more over the next six. A bogey on the ninth briefly slowed his momentum, but he quickly regained form, opening his back nine with consecutive birdies and adding three more from No. 14 onward. He capped his round with another birdie on the par-5 18th, finishing with nines of 32-30.

Terrafirma stakes unbeaten run against Phoenix

By Josef Ramos

CYnares Sports Center in Antipolo City. The Dyip, the surprise solo leader at 3-0, take on the Fuel Masters at 5:30 p.m., aiming for their fourth straight win and a chance to match their franchise-best 4-0 start from the 2016 Governors’ Cup, which led to their first quarterfinal appearance.

Tubid stressed that every PBA team has a unique approach, especially in matchups and offensive schemes, and the Fuel Masters will be a formidable opponent.

Lady Falcons rip Tigresses to gain finals

AHighrisers eliminate Belen-led Solar Spikers

GALERIES TOWER pulled off the biggest reversal of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, stunning the Capital1 Solar Spikers, 25-16, 25-20, 30-28, to survive the play-in stage on Tuesday at the FilOil Centre in San Juan. The Highrisers overcame an explosive performance from Bella Belen, who nearly willed the Solar Spikers back into the match, avoiding a collapse

and pulling off a defining triumph.

It was a huge result for the Highrisers, who entered the PlayIn stage with just two wins in nine matches.

T hey advance against No. 5 Nxled in the step-ladder showdown on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

B elen unleashed 10 of her 21 points in the third set, towing Capital1 back into contention after dropping the first two frames. But her brilliance wasn’t enough as Galeries Tower countered with collective grit.

M iddle blocker Jean Asis led the charge with 17 points, including three blocks and two aces, while Gayle Pascual delivered 14 points for Galeries Tower.

Veteran Aiza Pontillas added 12 markers, while Roselle Baliton reinforced the middle with 11 points, including a crucial stretch highlighted by back-to-back blocks on Belen.

DAMSON University again reached the University Athletic Association of the Philippines softball finals, shutting out University of Santo Tomas (UST), 3-0, on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium in Malate, Manila. University of the Philippines (5-2) set up a clash for a spot in the finals against UST (5-2)after dismantling Ateneo (0-8), in just four innings, 16-1, on the penultimate day of eliminations. The Lady Falcons improved their win-loss record to 6-1 and inched closer to a 13th straight league title— the longest streak in the collegiate division—by making he most of their limited scoring opportunities against aliant stand by the Tiger Softbelles. Adamson needed just four hits to score their three runs in the first, second, and sixth innings. Captain Mae Langga got things

“Aside from their hardworking import, Phoenix is a defensive matchup nightmare with taller players who can guard multiple positions,” Tubid told the BusinessMirror on Tuesday, referring to 6-foot-7 Kenneth Tuffin, 6-foot-7 Kai Ballungay, and 6-foot-4 Jason Perkins, all capable of defending the backcourt and creating mismatches. We must always be prepared. They also have explosive players like Ricci Rivero to contend with.” Terrafirma’s main man is sevenfooter Mubashar Ali, who has produced the highest scoring output so far this conference with 50 points in a 111-100 overtime win against Converge. He is averaging 33 points and 19.7 rebounds across three games. Guards Jerrick Ahanmisi and Paolo Hernandez, who scored 20 points in a 99-88 win over Blackwater, are expected to provide additional firepower. For Phoenix, Dickey has been consistent, averaging 21 points and 21.3 rebounds in the past three games, while the flamboyant Rivero averages 16 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6 assists under coach Charles Tiu’s new system. Tiu opened with back-to-back wins over Magnolia (101-98) and Titan Ultra (109-76) before losing 93-86 to Meralco last Saturday. Meanwhile, Converge will try to snap a two-game losing streak when it faces San Miguel Beer in the 7:30 p.m. game. The FiberXers (1-2) lost to Terrafirma and Meralco (88-109) last week and hope to bounce back against nine-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and the Beermen, who suffered a 112-119 loss to Titan Ultra Giant Risers. SMB import Marcus struggled, scoring only four points on 1-of-4 shooting, adding five rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes.