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Friday, September 4, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 325
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
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(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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A DREAM, IN FULL FRAME Alexandra “Alex” Eala reacts with delighted surprise as a fan presents an oversized cutout of her childhood self for an autograph following her 6-1, 6-2 first-round victory over American Mary Stoiana at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York. Surrounded by supporters holding keepsakes—including oversized tennis balls and a rubber duck—the 21-year-old Filipina’s reaction captured more than the joy of victory. It reflected the remarkable journey of a young player followed since childhood who has grown into a major presence on the Grand Slam stage, with Filipino fans filling the stands, waving flags and cheering “Laban Alex.” For a moment, the child Eala and the history-making player she has become seemed to meet in the same frame, capturing the personal and communal significance of her rise. TROI SANTOS
N.G. DEBT AS OF END-JULY SOARS TO RECORD ₱19.39T
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By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
HE national government’s outstanding debt surged by nearly a third of a trillion pesos in just a month. Data released by the Bureau of the Treasury on Thursday revealed that the outstanding debt climbed to a new record of P19.39 trillion as of end-July 2026. This amount grew by 1.70 percent, or P323.53 billion, from P19.07 trillion at end-June 2026. The Treasury said the increase was “primarily driven by the net availment of domestic and external debt, as well as the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated obligations following movements
in the peso relative to the US dollar and other foreign currencies.” The peso weakened against the dollar from P61.290 as of end-June 2026 to P61.327 as of end-July. The outstanding debt rose by 10.39 percent, or P1.826 trillion, year-on-year from P17.563 trillion. Domestic debt accounted for the bulk, or 67.61 percent, of the total debt stock while external obligations comprised the remaining 32.39 percent. See “Debt,” A2
‘GOVT MUST SEPARATE CHRONIC FROM SHOCK-INDUCED POVERTY’ By Justine Xyrah Garcia
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@jxrgarcia
HE government needs to distinguish between chronic poverty and poverty caused by temporary shocks to better target social protection programs, according to a former Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) president. Former PIDS President Celia M. Reyes said poor households should not be treated as a single group because their circumstances and the interventions they need can differ significantly. “You need to be able to iden-
tify who are the chronic poor and transient poor to be able to deliver the most effective intervention,” Reyes said in a recent hybrid webinar conducted by the De La Salle University-Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies. The chronic poor, she said, are those who remain poor over a long period, while the transient poor are households that move in and out of poverty because of shocks. These could include natural disasters such as typhoons, as well as economic shocks such as increases in fuel prices. See “Poverty,” A2
Farm-to-market roads to start only in Q4 By Ada Pelonia
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@adapelonia
HE construction of the P33-billion farm-to-market road (FMR) projects for 2026 is expected to begin in the fourth quarter following previous delays, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA only received the special allotment release order (Saro) for the FMR projects in end-August, with bid-
ding slated to start this month. Government agencies should secure a Saro from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for funds to be disbursed. “The [probable construction] is in October, November, December [then these will be completed] by the end of 2027,” Tiu Laurel recently told reporters. He said the DA decided to retain the P15 million per-kilometer cost due to the surge in materials and pump prices wrought by the Middle East war.
Prior to the war that triggered the global oil crisis, Tiu Laurel expressed confidence that the agency can lower the standard perkilometer cost to as low as P13.5 million depending on the terrain. “Then the crisis came and [the prices of] everything went up, so we only reverted it back to P15 million,” he said. For 2027, the DA earmarked P16 billion for the construction and rehabilitation of FMR projects under its National Expenditures Program (NEP).
Tiu Laurel, however, said the proposed funding is not enough to slash the 55,000 kilometers FMR requirement deficit nationwide. “It will be better if it’s P60 billion to P66 billion annually to finish that in 12 years or P125 billion a year to complete this in six years. But of course, we’re limited by the fiscal space,” he said. Despite this, Tiu Laurel said he remains hopeful that Congress and Senate will increase the budget allocation for FMRs next year. See “FMR,” A2
Palace: MVUC rate hike still for review By Samuel P. Medenilla
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@sam_medenilla
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will consider the delicate balance of generating government revenue and public interests before deciding on the Department of Finance (DOF) proposal updating the Motor Vehicle Users Charge (MVUC), which will drive up the cost for motorists, according to Malacañang. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro made the assurance after DOF announced it wants to raise the taxes for all types of motor vehicles, which it said remained stagnant for over two decades as part of the “Promoting Growth, Revenue, and Equity towards Socio-Economic Sustainability [Progress] Bill.” The adjustment will cover different vehicles including cars and trucks. The measure is expected to help to provide additional revenue to the government so it can afford the higher tax exemptions and exempting micro and small enterprises from the minimum corporate income tax, which was announced by Marcos in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July. Castro said the chief executive has yet to approve the proposed MVUC proposal of DOF. “Right now, this is merely a proposal, so it is still under review. Our
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
President has not yet taken a final position on it,” she said in Filipino in a press briefing last Thursday. She assured Marcos will consider the position of both the government and motorists on the matter. “All tax measures are definitely a heavy burden on the pocket [taxpayers], so we need to carefully study whether this would truly be beneficial for the government by increasing its revenue. Nevertheless, we will examine what would be the best approach for both the government and motorists,” Castro said. Last Wednesday, DOF launched its nationwide stakeholder consultations for the Progress Bill, which aims to “provide meaningful tax relief, while strengthening the government’s revenue capacity to support essential public services.” Aside from the MVUC, other tax See “MVUC,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 62.6140 n JAPAN 0.3947 n UK 84.4600 n HK 7.9847 n CHINA 9.3185 n SINGAPORE 49.2869 n AUSTRALIA 44.8942 n EU 72.5634 n KOREA 0.0461 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.6753 Source: BSP (September 3, 2026)