‘Mid-income households deserve govt aid, too’ By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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DAVAO COASTAL MONITORING UPDATE: Rising sea waters reached 1.37 meters Monday evening as heavy rains triggered by the intertropical convergence zone inundated parts of Davao City and Kiblawan, Davao del Sur. Authorities said at least one person died while nearly 1,500 residents were affected by flooding in several barangays, including Matina Pangi, Matina Crossing, Buhangin, and Talomo. Most floodwaters had subsided by Tuesday dawn. Story in Nation A6. DAVAO CITY DRRMO
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MID concerns that current government subsidies remain heavily concentrated on lower-income groups, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said relief measures should also be extended to middle-income households grappling with rising costs of basic goods and services. In a new policy note, the state think tank said salaried workers and regular commuters belonging to the middle-income sector are also suffering “significant welfare losses” from elevated transport and food costs triggered by the global oil shock. While low-income households remain the most vulnerable because of limited income buffers and higher sensitivity to increases in essential
goods, PIDS noted that middle-income Filipinos are also increasingly exposed to inflation despite receiving less direct government support. “To address this gap, complementary measures such as fare subsidies, tax relief on essential goods, and temporary adjustments to personal income tax brackets help preserve real purchasing power,” PIDS said. “Complementary measures on social welfare should uplift not only the marginal group but also the expected price hike absorbers like the middleincome groups,” it also said. The recommendations come as the Philippines continues to grapple with the economic fallout from the conflict between the United States-Israel tandem and Iran, which disrupted global oil markets and drove up fuel prices worldwide.
As a net oil-importing economy that sources around 98 percent of its fuel requirements overseas, the country remains highly vulnerable to global supply disruptions and price volatility, according to the report. PIDS said higher oil prices ripple through the economy through rising transportation, logistics, electricity and production costs, eventually pushing up the prices of essential goods and services. The report added that higher global oil prices also tend to weaken the peso, making imports more expensive and further eroding household purchasing power. Latest government data showed inflation has already accelerated to 7.2 percent in April, the fastest pace in three years, while economic growth slowed to 2.8 percent in the first quarter.
PIDS warned that these conditions could generate “stagflationary pressures” marked by persistently high inflation alongside weaker economic activity, complicating macroeconomic management. While the report acknowledged calls to suspend fuel excise taxes, it cautioned that blanket relief measures could weaken fiscal buffers and disproportionately benefit higher-income households that consume more fuel. Instead, PIDS said government intervention should remain targeted, temporary, and fiscally sustainable in the near term. “Fiscal measures should remain well-calibrated and temporary, consistent with the need to protect vulnerable groups without undermining See “Mid-income,” A2
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JAN-APRIL BOP DEFICIT EXCEEDS GAP IN 2025 www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Wednesday, May 20, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 218
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Andrea E. San Juan
HE surge in import bill and soft demand for Philippine exports widened the country’s balance of payments (BOP) 4-month deficit to a level that exceeded the $5.66-billion gap for all of 2025. Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the BOP deficit in January to April reached $7.4 billion. For April alone, the Philippines recorded a BOP deficit of $2.1 billion. The overall BOP position, the central bank said, denotes the transactions of the country with the rest of the world. While the $2.124-billion deficit in April is 16.97 percent narrower than the previous year’s $2.558 billion, and 19.45 percent leaner than the $2.637-billion gap registered in March, the $7.41-billion BOP shortfall in January to April is the largest-ever on record. The $7.41-billion BOP deficit in the four-month period also exceeded the $7.26 billion recorded
in 2022. The latest figure is now within striking distance of the central bank’s $7.8-billion deficit forecast for 2026. In a statement in March, the central bank said the Philippine balance of payments is projected to remain “under pressure over 2026– 2027 amid a challenging global environment and structural constraints.” (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2026/04/02/ bsp-resets-bop-projection-seeswider-gap-in-2026-2027/).
Structural pressures
ANALYSTS indicated that structural pressures are hounding import-driven Philippines, adding that the economy will remain See “Gap,” A2
PLAY TODAY, WORRY TOMORROW After months of blistering summer heat, children in Dreamland—an urban poor community in Barangay Tubigan, Biñan—joyfully welcome the early rains. But while they play, their parents are bracing for the impending floods, a seasonal crisis that has worsened since neighboring agricultural lands were converted into industrial complexes. JOEL C. PAREDES
REPORT: GREEN INVESTMENTS FACING DEPLOYMENT RISKS By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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CLOUD NINE AT SUNRISE Hikers stand in silhouette against the breaking dawn atop Marlboro Hills in Sagada, Mountain Province, their fatigue from the early morning trek dissolved by the spectacle above the clouds. Here comes the sun, indeed. TRIXZY LEIGH BONOTAN
ORE than one-third of Southeast Asia’s announced green investments face deployment risk as weak power grids, permitting delays and policy bottlenecks slow the region’s energy transition, according to a report released by Bain & Company and Standard Chartered. The report, titled “Southeast Asia’s Green Economy 2026: The New Calculus,” said only around $315 billion of the approximately $540 billion in green capital expenditure announced across Southeast Asia’s power, grid, and electric vehicle (EV) value chains through 2030 is currently on a credible path to deployment. This means more than 35 percent of announced investments—or roughly $225 bil-
lion—remain at risk of being delayed, canceled, or failing to materialize under current conditions. Despite this, the report said Southeast Asia’s green economy has expanded to around $290 billion and remains on track to reach $430 billion by 2030, growing by 8 percent to 9 percent annually. According to Bain and Standard Chartered, the problem is not a lack of investor appetite but the region’s inability to convert investment announcements into operational projects. “The green economy has a conversion problem, not a capital shortage,” the report said, noting that investor appetite remains strong but projects continue to face difficulties moving from announcement to execution. See “Deployment,” A2
Record-high vacancy in NCR condos seen
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ECORD-HIGH vacancy in Metro Manila’s condominium market is expected this year as thousands of new units enter the market while unsold inventory remains elevated, according to property consultancy firm Colliers Philippines. In its first quarter residential report, Colliers projected condominium vacancy in Metro Manila to reach 25.6 percent by end-2026, up from 24.7 percent in the first quarter. The Bay Area is expected to post the highest vacancy level, nearing 60 percent, due to the “sizable turnover of new supply” scheduled for completion by the fourth quarter. The consultancy said nearly 13,000 condominium units are expected to be completed in 2026, almost double the 7,400 units delivered in 2025, further adding to supply pressures in the market. The C5 Corridor is projected to account for about a third of the new supply, while substantial completions are also expected in the Bay Area.
“Lease rates will likely remain flat in 2026. The still-elevated vacancy and substantial delivery of new units in some submarkets will likely hamper condominium rental recovery,” the firm stated. Colliers also noted that still-elevated mortgage rates, rising inflation— which already soared to 7.2 percent in April—and possible interest rate hikes may also delay purchases of bigticket items like property, as buyers prioritize essential spending. As such, the consultancy said the current market conditions may push developers to remain cautious in launching new projects. “In our view, developers remain cautious in launching new projects especially with the sizable unsold inventory,” it added. Despite the supply glut, the market showed early signs of recovery in the first quarter as pre-selling condominium take-up surged 765 percent yearon-year, driven largely by economic and See “Vacancy,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.7300 n JAPAN 0.3888 n UK 82.9157 n HK 7.8840 n CHINA 9.0786 n SINGAPORE 48.3021 n AUSTRALIA 44.2542 n EU 71.9895 n KOREA 0.0415 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.4499 Source: BSP (May 19, 2026)