Apec united on AI, split on trading system By Samuel P. Medenilla
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ALLIES IN ARMS Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. sign a key defense agreement in Manila on Sunday, November 2, 2025. The pact aims to expand joint military drills and strengthen security cooperation amid growing tensions with China in the disputed South China Sea. Canada and other Western nations have been deepening their IndoPacific engagement to promote the rule of law and bolster regional stability. AP/JIM GOMEZ
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YEONGJU, South Korea—While the push for artificial intelligence (AI) mainstreaming and addressing demographic shifts united Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member-countries, the goal of upholding a “multilateral trade system” has split the regional economic bloc in their recent joint declaration. On the last day of the 32nd Apec Summit in South Korea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. together with other state leaders and participants of the regional economic bloc approved and issued the Gyeongju Declaration.
The new document, which was approved by consensus, highlighted the potential role of AI for enhancing industrial competitiveness and strengthening economic growth across sectors as well as other pressing matters in the Asia Pacific. Marcos said the declaration was the result of a “very productive meeting” at the 32nd Apec summit. To help in the wide-scale adoption of the new technology, Apec called for active coordination between the public and the private sectors to make sure its regulatory regimes are conducive to its development and deployment. “We recognize the potential of AI to fundamentally reshape economies worldwide by unlocking new
frontiers for innovation, enhanced productivity, improved competitiveness, economic prosperity and resilience,” the declaration read. “We hereby endorse the Apec AI Initiative as a joint step toward advancing successful AI transformation within Apec, building AI capacities at all levels, including through regional cooperation, and cultivating an investment ecosystem for resilient AI infrastructure,” it added.
Sweeping changes
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he backed the Apec position on AI since it provides guidance to other countries on what possible policies to adopt for the new technology.
He likened AI to a wave that will sweep away countries that fail to adopt it. “And if you don’t learn how to swim, i.e. if you do not learn how to use AI in the best way, and in a secure way, and in a benevolent way, you will be left behind,” he said in Filipino in a press conference in South Korea on Saturday. When asked about the extent of AI adoption he would allow in the government, Marcos said it was still not “clear yet” since the matter is still under study. “We have to talk to the experts. We have not only Filipinos, we have to talk to everybody, the whole world. And try and find out, again, See “Apec,” A2
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HE national government’s debt payments spiked by more than two and a half times in September, bringing the total debt service for the first nine months to P1.868 trillion. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed the government’s debt payments rose by 250.27 percent to P327.892 billion in September 2025, from P93.610 billion during the same month last year. About three-fourths of the debt service in September was used to pay amortization, while the remaining quarter of the amount went to interest payments.
Amortization, or principal payments, for September jumped more than twelvefold to P246.188 billion from P19.758 billion a year ago. Payments to domestic creditors soared to P237.925 billion, skyrocketing by 273,377 percent year-on-year. In contrast, amortization for foreign debt dropped by 57.99 See “Payments,” A2
CORRUPTION ISSUE CAN’T DENT ENERGY INVESTORS’ APPETITE By Lenie Lectura
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NVESTOR appetite remains intact in the energy sector amid corruption issues, energy officials said over the weekend. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin said she is “very bullish” on energy investments as the administration demands transparency, fairness, and accountability. “That’s shown by our GEA [green energy auction] over-subscription. It’s also shown during these past two days, the many meetings we’ve had of many investors from all over the world wanting to invest in the Philippines. So I think it’s still a very posi-
tive, and I don’t think it’s anything to worry about as far as energy is concerned,” Garin, who attended the Singapore International Energy Week last week, said. In fact, Garin said Abu Dhabi has expressed keen interest to invest in the country’s energy sector. “We were talking to Abu Dhabi, a Middle Eastern country, and they wanted to check if they can also invest in upstream in the Philippines. So I think they are aware it’s private-driven, and it’s not about corruption per se. So it’s more like we’re just establishing ourselves as a good policy makers as far as energy is concerned,” said the energy chief. DOE Undersecretary Felix William See “Corruption,” A2
STRENGTHENING ASEAN’S VOICE Front row from left to right, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Chile’s
President Gabriel Boric, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and back row from left to right, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, Papua New Guinea Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Peru’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Teresa Mera, Mexico’s Economy Yonhap Marcelo Ebrard, Taiwan’s envoy to the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting Lin Hsin-i pose for a group photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, Saturday, November 1, 2025. President Marcos Jr. wrapped up the summit by calling for stronger strategic alliances and resilient supply chains amid concerns that APEC’s founding principles of free trade are no longer being upheld. YONHAP VIA AP
Biz confidence in PHL restored: PBBM By Samuel P. Medenilla
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YEONGJU, South Korea— Business confidence in the Philippines has “returned” as the government intensifies its campaign against anomalies in public works and other corrupt practices, according to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Government data, however, showed mixed results in terms of the entry of investments in the country, after the crackdown on corrupt practices in the infrastruc-
ture sector started in the second half of the year. In an interview with reporters after the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in South Korea, Marcos said his initiative to expose corruption in flood control projects and other public works has improved the country’s reputation abroad as a credible investment destination. “The level of confidence in the Philippine economy and in the Philippine government as the leader and the guider of the economy is
restored,” Marcos said. He made the statement when asked for a reaction to the remarks of American businessmen, who said they will still invest in the country despite corruption issues in the Philippines. The President earlier created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate public works irregularities. “If the government were doing nothing about it, I would guess he wouldn’t say the same thing,” Marcos said. Data from the Philippine Eco-
nomic Zone Authority (Peza) showed that in the first 10 months this year, the projects it approved rose 41.72 percent to P175.37 billion. Data from the Bureau of Investments (BOI), however, showed it approved investments amounting to P398.94 billion from January to July, lower than the P1.16-trillion investments cleared in the same period last year. Investment figures from Peza only cover economic zones, while the BOI data includes domestic and mixed market business.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 59.0030 n JAPAN 0.3866 n UK 77.8722 n HK 7.5932 n CHINA 8.3115 n SINGAPORE 45.4884 n AUSTRALIA 38.7591 n EU 68.4612 n KOREA 0.0414 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.7337 Source: BSP (October 30, 2025)