House elects Isabela scion as Speaker By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz
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HE House of Representatives on Wednesday elected a scion of the powerful Isabela political clan, 6th District Rep. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, as the new Speaker of the 20th Congress, succeeding Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, who stepped down from the post. Dy, the lone candidate for the chamber’s highest post, was elected with 253 votes, while 28 lawmakers abstained. No one voted against, and four did not cast their votes. Related story in A3 Nation. Dy was nominated by Quezon
LEYTE Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. JOVEE MARIE N. DELA CRUZ
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City Rep. Ralph Tulfo and seconded by Isabela Rep. Tonypet Albano. “Our duty is not to protect each other—our duty is to protect the Filipino people,” said Dy. The newly elected House speaker pledged to restore public trust in the House of Representatives by pushing budget reforms, ensuring transparency, and addressing corruption in questionable flood control projects. Dy acknowledged the public’s frustration over recent controversies involving government funds and appealed for a chance to set things right. “Let me be the first to tell our fellow citizens: we have shortcom-
ings. We humbly admit this. We ask that you give us the chance to correct the wrong practices and to clean up our ranks. We ask that you give us the opportunity to regain your trust,” he said. The Speaker vowed that under his leadership, the House would not tolerate corruption or impunity, would cooperate fully with the Independent Commission of Infrastructure, and would ensure that all investigations are open and impartial. Dy stressed that “this House will change. I will not defend the guilty. I will not shield the corrupt. Gaya ng paninindigan ng ating Pangulo [like our President’s stand]—
no rank, no ally, no office will be spared from accountability. We must strengthen the Oversight Committee and fully cooperate with the Independent Commission of Infrastructure. Our duty is not to protect each other—our duty is to protect the Filipino people.” On budget reforms, Dy said Congress would work together to align the national budget with the people’s needs. He vowed to make the budget process more open and inclusive.
Romualdez’s resignation
ROMUALDEZ announced his resignation as leader of the House of See “House,” A14
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PHL BREAKS INTO TOP 50 OF INNOVATION INDEX www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Thursday, September 18, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 340
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 26 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
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@blessogerio
HE Philippines has entered the world’s 50 most innovative economies, landing exactly at 50th place out of 139 economies in the 2025 Global Innovation Index (GII). It marked an improvement from 53rd out of 133 economies in 2024 and a recovery from its slide to 59th in 2022. The country last reached the 50th spot in 2020, after which it fluctuated before gradually climbing back. The ranking, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), exceeded the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) target of 52nd place for the year. The Philippines also remained third among lower middle-income economies and 11th among 17 economies in Southeast Asia, East Asia, See “PHL,” A2
AI CAN BOOST EXPORTS BY 40%, BUT DIGITAL INFRA VITAL: WTO By Andrea E. San Juan
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@andreasanjuan
RTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) can increase exports of goods and services by nearly 40 percent by 2040, but this depends on an economy’s improvements in digital infrastructure, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In her speech at the launch of the 2025 World Trade Report, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said this was what the WTO simulations suggested. However, the WTO report stressed that access to artificial intelligence (AI) is “highly unequal” and limits the ability of many economies, including
lower middle-income countries, to participate in AI-driven trade. “Rapid advances in artificial intelligence [AI] are transforming the world economy, reshaping how work is defined, how value is created and how opportunities are distributed across societies,” the WTO chief said. Given these “far-reaching” effects, Okonjo-Iweala said AI is also transforming world trade. In this report, Okonjo-Iweala raised the question of how AI “can serve as a catalyst for inclusive trade-led growth, or whether it could end up widening divides between and within economies.” The report explained that AI presents new opportunities to reduce trade costs and expand See “AI,” A2
WALL OF SHAME A controversial flood control project is seen in Purok 7, Palapat, Hagonoy, Bulacan, on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. Originally planned to cover both Purok 6 and 7, the project was finished only in Purok 7—leaving residents questioning its purpose. Kagawad Danny Guttierez of Purok 7 criticized the design, noting that the wall’s height is ineffective since floodwaters can still seep through nearby alleys. The project adds to mounting concerns over incomplete or ill-conceived “flood control” efforts in Bulacan. NONOY LACZA
DBM: ₧255.5-B flood funds to go to ‘menu’ By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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@reine_alberto
ONGRESS could reallocate next year’s P255.5-billion budget for locally-funded flood control projects to other priority sectors and projects, using the “menu” provided by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. On the sidelines of the Government Experience Exchange Forum between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 will be at the same level. But with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) requesting to remove next year’s P255.5-billion allocation for flood control projects, Pangandaman said
the funding could be reallocated to other projects. See related story in A4 Economy, “DPWH recommends reduction of budget.” “We’re hopeful that they will use the menu that our President presented,” Pangandaman said. The “menu” contains valuable projects in other priority sectors. Among these are in the education sector, such as the construction of laboratory buildings, student dormitories, academic buildings, as well as basic education facilities, textbooks and laptops. Farm-to-market roads, postharvest facilities, cold storage expansion projects, fish ports and irrigation dams could also be funded under the agriculture sector. Health programs, such as the Health Facilities Enhancement Program, Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated
Patients (MAIP), as well as the provision of medicines, could also be allotted some budget. There are also programs and projects under housing; information, communications and technology; labor; social; and energy, in the menu. As to the implication of the reduction of DPWH’s budget to the country’s economic growth, Pangandaman said the impact is “small. Not that big.” For 2026, the government plans to spend P1.558 trillion for infrastructure, which will account for 5.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). “So, if that is reduced in the DPWH, we still have other infrastructure projects that are still moving. As long as other projects are done, like our school buildings, hospitals, the infrastructure projects to
support our agri sector, among others, I hope that will continue,” Pangandaman said. Infrastructure spending in the second quarter was weighed down by the contraction in April and May, even as the spending momentum recovered in June. Infrastructure spending remained nearly the same in the first half of the year at P720.3 billion from P718 billion in the same period a year ago. Public construction also declined by 8.2 percent year-on-year, attributed mainly to the unintended effects of the election ban. “Maybe, let’s first look at what will happen to the budget deliberations. Once the GAA [General Appropriations Act] is passed, we’ll know what the effect will be,” she See “DBM,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.0560 n JAPAN 0.3896 n UK 77.8929 n HK 7.3335 n CHINA 8.0200 n SINGAPORE 44.7147 n AUSTRALIA 38.1305 n EU 67.7026 n KOREA 0.0414 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2121 Source: BSP (September 17, 2025)