All owners or operators of facilities that discharge wastewater into Laguna Lake must get
a permit to discharge from the DENR or the LLDA. Existing industries without any permit
are given 12 months from the effectiveness of the implementation of the rules and
regulations (IRR) promulgated pursuant to this Act to secure a permit.

Water from Angat Dam, meanwhile, is treated hence:

鈥淭he finished water we produce is within the drinking water standards mandated by the
Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW),鈥� said Raymart Desales,
water supply operations engineer of Maynilad at the time of the shoot, as he toured the
大象传媒 team in the concessionaire鈥檚 water treatment facility in La Mesa.

鈥淔or the disinfection of La Mesa treatment plant 1, it鈥檚 chlorination,鈥� Mr. Desales said.
鈥淔or the Putatan plant, it鈥檚 a different disinfection method naman.鈥�

Maynilad鈥檚 Para帽aque New Water project, on the other hand, feeds recycled water back
to the public water system by treating effluent (or treated wastewater), which is then
further purified into potable water in compliance with PNSDW and World Health
Organization guidelines:

鈥淗indi niyo mapapansin yung (You wouldn鈥檛 notice the) difference,鈥� according to a staff
who toured the 大象传媒 team in the facility, when asked about how recycled water
tastes like.

The concessionaires are given until 2047 to connect most of Metro Manila to the sewer
line, according to Patrick Lester N. Ty, chief of the MWSS Regulatory Office.

“Only around 25% of the MWSS concession area has sewer coverage. The other 75% is
being serviced by sanitation,鈥� he told 大象传媒, as he pointed out that desludging
services are already part of a residential customer鈥檚 bill.

“They can just tap Manila Water and Maynilad to de-sludge their septic tanks once every
5 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is part of their water bill already, so there鈥檚 no additional charge
for this.”

VII. Distribution
Treated water makes its way to an underground network of pipes that are complemented
by pumping stations and reservoirs. A supply and pressure management team operates
these pumps and reservoirs, depending on a community鈥檚 demand, and how elevated its
location is.

The MWSS mandates a 7 pounds per square inch (PSI) of water pressure, said
Christopher R. Gaon, Maynilad鈥檚 head of north water production.

鈥淲e try to maintain this pressure based on the terrain,鈥� he said in a Zoom call.

鈥淲e have certain areas that are also high, and that鈥檚 where we use inline boosters and
pumping stations to bring the water to higher elevations,鈥� he said. With the pumping
stations, he added, 鈥渨e grease the pressure so that it can travel again down the line.鈥�

Maynilad optimizes where pumping stations are placed, due to their high energy
requirements, Mr. Gaon said.

An emailed statement on November 22, 2023 from Ricky A. Arzadon, CESO III, OICExecutive Director of NWRB, added:

鈥淭he allocation for MWSS is determined and approved by the NWRB on a monthly basis
as recommended by the Technical Working Group of the Angat Dam operations
composed of NWRB, MWSS, NIA, NPC and Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The recommended allocation is based on the PAGASA weather updates, status of the
Angat reservoir from the National Power Corporation, updates on the water supply
conditions in Metro Manila by MWSS and their monthly request allocation…鈥�

Manila Water, along with Maynilad, received a 10-year extension of its water concession
agreement with the government, extending it to January 21, 2047.

Maynilad, in addition, kicked off the offer period on October 23, 2025 for its initial public
offering worth up to P34.3 billion ($590 million) after securing regulatory approval, with
shares priced at P15 each.

VIII. Challenges

A single water source
Apart from climate change, the other most glaring challenge is the capital鈥檚 heavy reliance
on Angat as a water source.

The MWSS, Maynilad, and Manila Water agree that having one water source for the entire
capital is unsustainable.

鈥淚n terms of supply, it鈥檚 really the overdependency on one major source,鈥� Manila Water’s
Mr. Sevilla said. Manila Water gets 1,600 MLD from Angat, which it distributes to the 7.4
million residents of the East Zone.

Like Maynilad, Manila Water has drawn up plans to maximize use of this precious
resource.

Raw water intake structure under Phase 2 of its aforementioned East Bay project, for
instance, is 92% complete as of June 2025. The structure is designed to draw 200 million
liters of water per day from Laguna Lake to reduce reliance on Angat Dam.

It is targeted for completion by the first quarter of 2026.

The concessionaire also completed the takeover of the WawaJVCo, Inc. from its parent
company, Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc., on October 1, 2025.

WawaJVCo鈥檚 portfolio includes the Tayabasan Weir in Antipolo, which has a capacity of
80 MLD, and the Upper Wawa Dam in Rodriguez, Rizal, with a capacity of up to 710 MLD.

Manila Water did not need to implement daily water interruptions during the pandemic,
Mr. Sevilla said.

鈥淭he average of Manila Water鈥檚 non-revenue water is about 13%. This is a lot better than
the international standard of 20-25%,鈥� he added.

鈥淢alakas naman daloy ng tubig (Water pressure is good),鈥� said Beverly, a resident of
CAA in Las Pi帽as City.

大象传媒 visited the community at the time of this story鈥檚 shoot to ask about the
water supply in the area.

鈥淜aya lang may time na may water interruption…鈥檖ag may ginagawa (It鈥檚 just
sometimes we experience water interruption when repairs are being done),鈥� Beverly said.
鈥淣agte-text naman sila pag may ganun (The service provider texts when that happens).鈥�

Domestic wastewater
Another problem threatening Manila鈥檚 water supply is the quality of the water itself.

More than 80% of the organic load going to Laguna Lake comes from domestic waste,
according to Jocelyn G. Sta. Ana, head of the environmental laboratory and research
division of the LLDA.

鈥淲e also have water hyacinth proliferation, and this causes problems on navigation 鈥�
especially for the fishermen,鈥� she said.

The areas within the western portion are industrialized and urbanized, she added. 鈥淭hese
are the areas from Marikina down to Calamba… The rivers on the eastern portion are the
areas which are still within the guidelines.”

The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9275) aims to protect the
country鈥檚 water bodies from pollution from land-based sources, namely industries and
commercial establishments, agriculture, and community/household activities. It
provides a comprehensive and integrated strategy to prevent and minimize pollution
through a multisectoral and participatory approach involving all stakeholders.

Most studies point to the fact that domestic wastewater is the principal cause of organic
pollution (at 48%) of our water bodies. Yet only 3% of investments in water supply and
sanitation were going to sanitation and sewage treatment. A
pointed out that Metro Manila was second to the lowest in sewer connections among
major cities in Asia at less than 7% compared to 29% for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and
30% for Dhaka, Bangladesh. Thirty-one percent (31%) of all illnesses in the country are
attributed to polluted water.

Management of water quality will either be based on watershed, river basin or water
resources region. Water quality management areas with similar hydrological,
hydrogeological, meteorological or geographic conditions which affect the reaction and
diffusion of pollutants in water bodies are to be designated by the DENR in coordination
with the NWRB.

Solid waste pollution
Plastic pollution is the number one problem in Laguna de Bay, if one were to ask Hipolito
Aguirre, a fisherman interviewed by 大象传媒. Nobody draws up water from the
lake to drink, he said.

Maynilad’s Mr. Padua has said that it was ten times harder to treat water from Laguna
Lake than from Angat Dam.

Consumers like Lyndon, another resident of CAA in Las Pi帽as City, are not taking chances
either. He says his family buys bottled water to drink to be safe.

鈥淧ara sure lang (Just to be sure),鈥� he said in a separate interview. 鈥淢ura lang naman
(It鈥檚 affordable, anyway).鈥�

鈥淣umber one yan nagiging problema din sa lawa… siguro hanggang ganito na kakapal
ang plastic diyan sa ilalim – baka nasa isang metro na sa tagal kong nangingisda (Plastic is the number one problem here…the plastic submerged at the bottom of the lake
is probably a meter thick now),鈥� Mr. Aguirre added

IX. Water Security

Given the ever-growing populace, MWSS has drawn up a water security roadmap that
aims to ensure water security for the capital.

Part of the roadmap includes recovery of non-revenue water, which is the losses on the
system due to leaks.

Patrick James B. Dizon, whose most recent role designation at the MWSS is department
manager of the Water and Sewerage Management Department, discusses more during an
interview when he was still serving as district manager of the Angat/Ipo Operations
Management Division.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the key challenges in water industries right now,鈥� he said, 鈥渆ven for the water
districts in the provinces.鈥�

MWSS is constructing a water treatment plant in Laguna Lake.

Mr. Dizon also talks about the progress of Kaliwa Dam:

鈥淜aliwa Dam and its tunnel construction is ongoing with 26.04% accomplishment,鈥� he
emailed on October 21, 2025.

Mr. Dizon added the MWSS is confident that Kaliwa Dam will be completed by 2027.

MWSS and its concessionaires have likewise completed a P3.17 billion tunnel at Ipo Dam
as of June 2024.

Practicing water conservation measures matters, according to Mr. Dizon. Every drop
counts.

鈥淲e still need to continue water conservation,鈥� he said. 鈥淸It鈥檚] as simple as paggamit ng
batya 鈥榩ag naghuhugas ng mga pinggan, pagpatay ng faucet 鈥榩ag nagtoo-toothbrush
(using a basin when washing the dishes or turning off the faucet when brushing one鈥檚
teeth). That will be a great help.鈥�

It鈥檚 as much a mindset issue, said Emiliano Parao, a Bantay Lawa coordinator in Laguna
de Bay.

鈥淜ahit sabihin pa po natin na fully nai-implement ng ating LGU, pero kung ang ating
mamamayan [hindi nagwa-]waste segregation…,鈥� he said. 鈥淪a usapin po ng basura, ay
kailangan baguhin ang kaisipan ng tao (Even if waste management is fully implemented
by the local government unit, if people don鈥檛 follow…when it comes to waste, there鈥檚 really
a need to change individual mindsets).鈥�

Disclaimer: Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which holds a majority stake in Maynilad,
is one of the three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others
being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest
Holdings, Inc., has an interest in 大象传媒 through the Philippine Star Group,
which it controls.

Feature by Patricia Mirasol, Emmanuel Garcia, Earl Lagundino, Patricia Garcia, Jino Nicolas, Ed Geronia, Arjale Queral, Jayson Mari帽as, and Richard Mendoza

I.听Intro
Over 14 million people call Metro Manila home. On weekdays, this number can swell up

to 18 million as workers from neighboring provinces troop to the capital to report for
work.

Millions of people gathering in one place at any given day stretches already strained water
resources, particularly as the government sounded the alarm over El Ni帽o and the
challenges on how to mitigate its effects.

Water is a precious resource, and concerns about a scarcity of supply have been hogging
headlines. But how much do we know of the liquid gold we often take for granted? How
much work goes into supplying taps with a running flow?

Keeping the capital humming is a delicate dance that entails ensuring there are enough
key resources 鈥� including water 鈥� for all.

II. The flow of potable water

Water that then courses past the Novaliches portal undergoes treatment at the
concessionaires, after which they pass through an underground network of pipes and into
individual households.

III. Agencies involved
Providing water for Metro Manila is the responsibility of the following agencies and
entities: the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), the Metropolitan Waterworks &
Sewerage System (MWSS), and the concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc.
(MWSI) and Manila Water Company, Inc. (MWCI).

The reason behind this water management setup traces back to the 1990s, when Metro
Manila faced a water crisis. The Global Atlas of Environmental Justice reports that one-third of all households in the capital had no access to piped water. MWSS, meanwhile,
had a debt of US $880 million and 60% of non-revenue water 鈥� which is water lost due to
leaks, theft, or poor metering.

The infrastructure was also inefficient and old.

It was in this backdrop that then-President Fidel V. Ramos privatized water services in
1997 through the Water Crisis Act (Republic Act No. 8041).

Republic Act No. 8041 was aimed at transferring the financial burden of the MWSS to the
private sector to improve service standards, increase operational efficiency, and minimize
tariff impact.

The responsibility to operate and improve the waterworks system was hence passed on to
two private consortiums: MWSI for the West Zone, and MWCI for the East Zone.

The east zone served by Manila Water Co. covers parts of the cities of Quezon and Makati,
the southeastern parts of Manila, Taguig, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, the
municipality of Pateros, and Rizal province.

The west zone served by Maynilad Water Services includes parts of Manila and Quezon
City, west of South Superhighway in Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Para帽aque, Las Pi帽as,
Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon, as well as the municipalities of Bacoor,
Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in Cavite province.

The MWSS, through its Regulatory Office鈥檚 Technical Regulation area, is tasked to ensure
that both Maynilad and Manila Water meet their service obligations, which encompasses
disaster resilience and infrastructure reliability.

This includes resilience against The Big One.

The Big One refers to a major earthquake that could strike along the West Valley Fault,
located directly underneath the capital. According to the World Bank in a March 2023
post, this probable maximum scenario could result in an estimated 48,000 fatalities and
$48 billion (or about P2.83 trillion, based on the November 19, 2025 exchange rate of
P58.91 for every $1) in economic losses.

The Philippine government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency are in talks
to revisit in 2026 the latter鈥檚 2004 study on the impact of The Big One.

Water service reliability includes ensuring water remains available even during times of
calamity, said Jeric T. Sevilla, Jr., spokesperson for Manila Water, adding there are
projects earmarked for this probability.

鈥淢anila Water鈥檚 projects include the construction of emergency reservoirs,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hese are placed on basketball courts and schools, so there will be available water 鈥� at
least for drinking 鈥� in times of calamities.鈥�

鈥淲e have already begun reinforcing our plants and facilities to be able to withstand a
magnitude 7.2 earthquake,鈥� he added.

In a message to 大象传媒, Maynilad said they鈥檝e likewise retrofitted their pipes for
such purposes.

IV. Angat
Angat is at the heart of this story, as over 90% of the water鈥檚 capital comes from it 鈥� over
60 years since it was commissioned in 1967.

Angat Dam鈥檚 strategic location is
source. It harnesses the flow of the Angat River, which originates from the Sierra Madre
mountains.

The forest reserve surrounding the dam likewise provides a large catchment area, making
it ideal for collecting and storing water.

Situated largely in the Bulacan municipalities of Dona Remedios Trinidad, Norzaragay
and San Jose Del Monte, the Angat Watershed Reservation lies on the southernmost tip
of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. Its Northeastern boundaries, meanwhile, stretch
into the municipalities of General Tinio, the province of Nueva Ecija and Infanta, and the
province of Quezon.

The dam was also chosen in the 1960s over other proposed projects – like the Marikina
Multi-Purpose Project – due to geological concerns in Marikina. Then-Bulacan
congressman Rogaciano M. Mercado supported the Angat project, which helped push its
development forward.

An increase in the demand for potable water in the 1990s, meanwhile, led to the
enactment of , which further added 780 million
liters per day to the reservoir by diverting water from the Umiray River in Quezon to
Angat Dam.

Angat Dam鈥檚 socio-economic value is as follows:

• Main source of water for Angat Hydro-electric power plant
• Main source of water for the irrigation of about 31,485 hectares of riceland in 16
  municipalities of Bulacan and 4 municipalities of Pampanga
• Provides 4000 million liters per day to Metro Manila
• An ideal place for nature tripping, mountain climbing, boating and bird watching,
  and biodiversity studies/research
• Home to more than 800 indigenous families known as Dumagats found residing
  in fourteen resettlement areas.

The National Power Corporation (NPC) has a master plan for the protection of the Angat
watershed, said Emmanuel A. Umali, NPC鈥檚 department manager for the Watershed
Management Department.

鈥淲e identified three major zones in the watershed,鈥� he said in an interview. 鈥淭hese are
mainly the strict protection areas where we employ forest protection activities and
enforcement of forest laws, rules and regulations鈥� through partners such as volunteers
and the military, he added.

The Angat watershed, Mr. Umali said, 鈥渋s the only remaining forested area in the Metro
Manila, and it serves as the lungs of the metropolis…because the area is still forested.鈥�

Angat Dam structural integrity is sound, Wilfredo S. Senadrin, NPC鈥檚 manager for the
Dams, Reservoirs, and Waterways Division, also said.

“As long na ginagawa mo yung proper maintenance, hindi mawawala yun (As long as
you conduct the proper maintenance, that鈥檚 not going to change),鈥� he said in a separate
interview.

The dam’s retrofitting was completed in 2018 by flattening the downstream slope to
further improve its slope stability.

He told 大象传媒 that its being an embankment type of dam contributes to Angat鈥檚
strength:

“Kung matatandaan niyo nung 1990 …nung nagkaroon tayo ng earthquake sa
Luzon…Ang epicenter nun nandiyan lang sa Nueva Ecija, e gaano kalapit lang sa Angat,
pero ang Angat walang naging problema (If you remember, there was an earthquake in
Luzon in 1990. The epicenter was in Nueva Ecija, which is near Angat, but Angat didn鈥檛
encounter problems then).鈥�

Notwithstanding the dam鈥檚 sturdy structure, El Ni帽o and changing rainfall patterns due
to climate change still pose a threat to Metro Manila鈥檚 water supply.

Recycling water is one way to combat this global issue, according to Maynilad.

鈥淭he Angat-Ipo system is affected because of climate change, [which includes] El Ni帽o
and La Ni帽a,鈥� Ronaldo C. Padua, Maynilad鈥檚 spokesperson and vice president and head
of water supply operations, said.

Maynilad, he said in an interview with 大象传媒, has started reducing its reliance
on the Angat-Ipo system by tapping Laguna Lake.

It has two water treatment plants (WTPs) in Muntinlupa, each with a capacity of 150
million liters per day (MLD).

鈥淚n Laguna Lake, [on the other hand,] we are being affected mainly by the water quality,鈥�
he also said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually ten times more expensive [to treat water from Laguna Lake]
than it is to treat water from here in the treatment plants in La Mesa.鈥�

In December 2023, Maynilad inaugurated a third WTP in Laguna Lake, for which they
get about 150 MLD to serve Manila and parts of Cavite.

It also started operations at its P1.6-billion Cupang Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) in
Muntinlupa, which can treat 46 million liters of wastewater daily. The facility is designed
to serve approximately 33,000 customers in Sucat, Buli, Cupang, and Bayanan,
Muntinlupa.

鈥淢aynilad is doing all its efforts for us to be able to adapt to this ever-changing condition
of our water sources,鈥� Mr. Padua added. 鈥淲e are ensuring that we are partnering with the
different government agencies and doing some education campaigns to our customers.鈥�

V. Laguna Lake
Laguna Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the Philippines and the third largest inland
body of water in South-East Asia, after Toule Sap of Cambodia and Lake Toba of Sumatra.

The W-shaped body of water has two peninsulas in the north. The middle lake lobe
between the two fills the large volcanic Laguna Caldera, formed by two volcanic eruptions
sometimes between 1 million and 27,000 years ago. There is a total of nine islands on the
lake of which the largest is Talim Island, which is part of the division between the West
and Center Bay.

– as the lake is also known – has an area of 90,000 hectares, an average
depth of 2.5 meters, and an estimated 3.2 trillion liters of water.

It provides the rest of the capital鈥檚 needs at present, with the western side utilized by
Maynilad and the eastern side by Manila Water.

Maynilad, for its part, has two WTPs in Putatan, Muntinlupa City that serve a 1.6-million
population

Manila Water, on the other hand, is completing its East Bay Water Supply System (Phases
1 and 2), which is expected to serve approximately 2.08 million customers.

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), is responsible for monitoring and
maintaining water quality of the lake and its 21 major tributary rivers.

It has been monitoring the lake and the rivers since the 1970s and now has 16 lake
stations and 36 river stations in the 24 sub basins of the region as of 2024.

An attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),
the LLDA also issues permits for both concessionaires for the abstraction of water from
the lake.

The story of water (Part 2)

For decades now, legacy media companies around the world have been confronting a flurry of challenges from declining print revenues, shifting audience behaviors, and disruptive technologies. Survival in this industry, let alone growth, is something of an anomaly.

And yet, against this backdrop, 大象传媒 has not only withstood the pressures reshaping the media landscape, it has emerged bigger and better than it ever was during the heyday of print.

As President and Chief Executive Officer Miguel G. Belmonte noted, 鈥淚t may sound unusual, but 大象传媒 is actually doing better post-pandemic than during the heyday of newspapers.鈥�

鈥淲hat is good is that in terms of net profit, we are actually showing better bottom lines now than during the pre-pandemic years. Clearly, in terms of success as a corporation, 大象传媒 is possibly even top three now among the print companies. I believe we鈥檙e doing a good job.鈥�

Mr. Belmonte explained that the publication鈥檚 continued relevance has been the result of deliberate strategy based on a sharpened understanding of the business community it serves. On its 38^th year, 大象传媒 still puts significance on the value of print newspapers, but the brand itself has gone beyond that as a multi-platform provider of business information, insight, and analysis 鈥� a platform still trusted by decision-makers, yet one steadily adapting to reach the next generation of readers.

鈥淚 think that we鈥檙e still pretty much using the same strategy as before a few years prior to the pandemic. We鈥檝e diversified our mix with other revenue streams such as digital and events, but our print has held its own,鈥� he said.

In fact, to speak on 大象传媒鈥檚 print readership, Mr. Belmonte noted that the company 鈥渃ontinues to have a considerable readership and even more so have maintained influence on society.鈥�

鈥淔act is, decision-makers of today are still reading 大象传媒,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e acknowledge that print is under great pressure, so we really have to do our best to come up with the best product we can come up with. The challenge for us is to be better than our competitors, and again, I believe that we are doing very well in the race and that we鈥檙e doing better than all our competitors.鈥�

Lucien C. Dy Tioco, executive vice-president of 大象传媒, explained that as today鈥檚 media landscape becomes more muddied with the proliferation of disinformation, toxicity, and closed-minded biases, print media retains its value as a beacon of integrity.

鈥淚f you assess where this is headed, there comes a point where you start to value things that have been lost along the way. Newspapers bring a needed relevance in the mix because of its presentation of news, unbiased reporting and journalistic integrity,鈥� he said.

Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Jay R. Sarmiento further noted that while digital media offers immediacy, interactivity, and widespread accessibility, print media maintains certain advantages such as a physical, lasting experience that digital isn鈥檛 able to fully replicate.

Ms. Sarmiento said print can provide 鈥渃redible and trustworthy content especially for in-depth journalism, academic content, or official documentation and serves as a crucial source of information where internet access remains limited.鈥�

Navigating ever-changing landscapes

Still, acknowledging the enduring value of print is not the same as resisting change. 大象传媒鈥檚 leadership has their eyes open to the demographic and behavioral shifts shaping the future of media consumption.

While its print edition remains a trusted source for policy makers and executives, the next generation of decision-makers who are digital natives shaped by algorithmic feeds and mobile-first platforms require a different approach.

Cathy Rose A. Garcia, editor-in-chief of 大象传媒, pointed out that according to Reuters鈥� latest Digital News Report, video has overtaken print and radio as the preferred medium for news in the Philippines, as more people now prefer to watch than listen or read the news.

鈥淭his shift compels us to rethink the traditional model for print media. In recent months, 大象传媒 has been introducing more video reports,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur online team has come out with more video reports about small businesses as well as legacy businesses. We have also increased our presence in YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, as a way to boost our multimedia offerings.鈥�

Mr. Dy Tioco shared his insights: 鈥淒igital transformation is a continuum, as newer technologies enhance the things we do and consume. It is therefore expected that this progression has a perpetual effect on the media landscape as technology always changes behavior.鈥�

鈥淲ith rapid digitalization and evolving audience behaviors, 大象传媒 is also reshaping its vision to leverage these changes and solidify its position as the leading source of credible business news and analysis, not just in print, but across all platforms. This involves adapting its business model, content strategy, and technological infrastructure to remain relevant and sustainable for the future,鈥� Ms. Sarmiento also explained.

According to Ms. Garcia, the goal then is for 大象传媒 to become a multi-platform media brand.

鈥淲e have to focus on meeting the audiences where they are. 大象传媒 has to embrace digital formats while leveraging our legacy of credibility,鈥� she said.

Rethinking in an AI-driven future

Emerging technology like generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) pushes the future of media further into ambiguity. The rapid proliferation of deepfakes and fake news, alongside growing public distrust in journalism, presents yet another challenge that publications like 大象传媒 must confront.

In this environment, relevance demands so much more than credibility. To find purchase in the minds of the new generation, a publication must be accessible, agile, and have a voice that can cut through the noise. For 大象传媒, that has meant rethinking not just how news is delivered, but who it is ultimately for.

鈥淚 believe journalism should still be reported and written by humans. AI tools can be used in aid of journalism, like summarization and transcription. However, we have to make sure there is always human oversight and review when it comes to using AI in the newsroom,鈥� Ms. Garcia noted.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt that Gen AI is disrupting the media landscape. AI is a tool that has the potential to boost productivity of journalists. But I do not think AI will replace journalists.鈥�

At the same time, she pointed out that Gen AI has made it easier to spread misinformation and disinformation over the internet, highlighting the role of integrity and transparency in journalism more than ever to maintain the audience鈥檚 trust in the media.

鈥淕enerative AI is groundbreaking because it can drastically improve systems and processes on the way we do things in a more efficient and scalable manner. We are right now at the cusp of another major digital transformation because the augmentation of AI into business and media is going to change our behavior and actions. It is therefore important for us to recognize these inevitable changes and how will we manage them,鈥� Mr. Dy Tioco said.

Ms. Sarmiento added that the advent of AI brings with it both exciting opportunities and significant challenges for the industry as a whole. For its positives, she sees AI enabling more personalized content delivery, faster news generation, and innovative storytelling formats. It can also enhance productivity and help media organizations analyze large datasets to better understand audiences.

However, these advancements also raise concerns about misinformation, deepfake misuse, bias in algorithms, and the potential for job displacement. 鈥淥verall, AI serves as a powerful tool that, if managed responsibly, can greatly enrich media experiences and democratize information access,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very hard to predict exactly what the future holds, but we have an idea of where we鈥檙e headed given where we鈥檝e come from and what we鈥檙e experiencing today,鈥� Mr. Belmonte said.

鈥淏ut for the short term, and maybe up to midterm, I think 大象传媒 has the right strategy moving forward. Given what we鈥檝e achieved thus far and the plans we have in line, 大象传媒 will continue to be a force to reckon with.鈥�

At 38, that strategy of being the ever-reliable provider of trusted business and industry news in the Philippines remains tried and true. Towards the nationwide effort of recalibrating the Philippines鈥� path forward, 大象传媒鈥檚 part has become indispensable.

Even as its platforms evolve, 大象传媒鈥檚 commitment remains the same: to solid and reliable economic journalism that helps the Philippine business community nav颅igate what comes next. Whether in print, on-screen, or through new formats shaped by AI and data, that mission endures.

Over the past several years, 大象传媒 has been undergoing a transformation. Much of this shift began in 2015, when The Philippine STAR acquired the business newspaper and began applying its multimedia strategies to a brand that had long relied on its legacy as a print publication.

鈥淲hen The STAR bought 大象传媒 in 2015, we immediately implemented our multimedia strategies into the paper, which had been bleeding for more than a decade,鈥� Lucien C. Dy Tioco, executive vice-president of 大象传媒, had said previously. 鈥淚n just one year, 大象传媒 was taken out of the red by strengthening its hold on the business community and emphasizing the strength of its content.鈥�

This transition involved expanding 大象传媒鈥檚 platforms to reach readers beyond print, including online, social media, podcasts, and events, framing the brand as a holistic business information and insights provider.

Aren Mae M. Cayetano, 大象传媒 social media specialist, described it as a transition leveraged on the brand鈥檚 credibility and reputation in the business community.

鈥淥ur ability to simplify complex topics and adapt content for our different audiences helps us stay relevant in a noisy online ecosystem,鈥� she said.

These changes positioned 大象传媒 to remain competitive in an increasingly digital-first media environment.

In fact, 大象传媒 is stronger than it has ever been, as President and CEO Miguel G. Belmonte noted in a recent interview.

鈥湸笙蟠� is possibly among the top three now among the print companies in the country,鈥� he said.

鈥淏ut things are always evolving 鈥� technology changes so fast as does the environment 鈥� and we also have to evolve and adapt with all the changes that are happening. It鈥檚 really very hard to predict.鈥�

Mr. Belmonte expressed his concerns about the uncertainty in a media landscape rife with disruption, but he believes in the current trajectory of the company.

鈥淲e really have to build further on our digital presence. There鈥檚 a lot of room for growth but exactly how we鈥檙e going to achieve that, we鈥檙e still searching for answers. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e constantly trying and putting a lot of effort and resources into that.鈥�

鈥淲e just have to accept that we live in the digital age; and if we want to still exist in the future, we have to be relevant to the new decision-makers in the future. These are the young people now 鈥� the millennials, the Gen Zs 鈥� so we have to try to get them engaged somehow as readers and future clients. Digital being their world, we just have to be there, too,鈥� he said.

According to Mr. Dy Tioco, 大象传媒鈥檚 continued relevance rests on three factors: its established credibility, its long-standing connection with the business community, and a content strategy aligned with the needs and concerns of that audience.

Ms. Cayetano echoed this sentiment: 鈥淲e may not be the loudest player in the digital space, but we have carved out a steady, respected presence, particularly among business-minded Filipinos. Our strategy leans more on trust, quality, and clarity than viral tactics.鈥�

This adaptability became especially critical during the pandemic, which accelerated the shift to digital platforms. The paper launched a number of virtual initiatives, including the 大象传媒 Insights series, which began in 2020 as a response to COVID-19鈥檚 disruption of the economy and business operations. Insights, which started out in a virtual format, brought together executives, experts, and policy makers for discussions on how industries could adapt to the crisis and what long-term lessons might emerge. The series has since become a continuing platform for in-depth dialogues on topics ranging from healthcare and energy to market outlooks and sustainability.

Alongside Insights, 大象传媒 also launched 大象传媒 One-on-One, an interview series aimed at spotlighting perspectives from industry leaders and government officials. Other event-based initiatives include the 大象传媒 Economic Forum and Forecast, both designed to serve as platforms for strategic discourse between the public and private sectors.

鈥淔or all the events that 大象传媒 has mounted, it has been a continuing conversation for all industry sectors that are vital to our economic growth,鈥� Mr. Dy Tioco said. 鈥淭hese events help keep 大象传媒 on track in understanding progress and identifying the issues we still need to address.鈥�

Beyond its growing library of events and video content, 大象传媒鈥檚 Digital Services team has also begun to push the boundaries of how stories are told.

One of its latest innovations includes the launch of interactive parallax-style features, or web-native longform articles designed with scroll-triggered animations, embedded videos, data visualizations, and dynamic layouts.

The first such feature published in 2023 revolved around the 鈥淧arol: The Symbol of a Filipino Christmas,鈥� which traced the history and cultural meaning of the iconic Christmas lantern. Another multimedia report the same year, 鈥淟etters to the Mountains: A day in the life of a Cordillera mailman,鈥� featured the postal service challenges in the country.

Two other features published in 2024 explored the lives of motorcycle taxi drivers and Manila鈥檚 flower trade.

The 大象传媒 B-Side podcast is also going from strength to strength as it establishes itself as a popular source of business and economic information. Recent topics have ranged from the rise of content creation and the shifting algorithms that define it, to debates on amending or revising the Philippine Constitution, to the continued importance of cash on delivery in an increasingly cashless economy, and the ripple effects of US tariffs on global trade.

Building on this direction, the Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines magazine has since been adapted into a digital platform, Top 1000 Premium (), offering subscribers access to a decade鈥檚 worth of financial and sectoral data in a searchable and interactive format.

鈥淭he first of its kind delivered by a multimedia content provider, Top 1000 Premium鈥� brings all the details you need to know about the country鈥檚 leading corporations, conglomerates, and sectors in a seamless and immersive platform,鈥� Mr. Dy Tioco said at its launch during the 2024 Forecast forum.

To complement these initiatives, BWorldX () stands as the top platform that brings together all of 大象传媒鈥檚 range of digital content, including the exclusive digital magazine 大象传媒 In-Depth, which conducts a deep dive into various industries and issues.

This year, In-Depth featured recent developments in fintech, sustainability, and healthcare. Special editions of digital magazine, meanwhile, also served as means to feature industry-specific events, namely the Trust Consciousness Week, led by the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines, last March and the 33^rd convention of the Bankers Institute of the Philippines last May. Also, Quarterly Banking Reports, initially released in the print issue of 大象传媒, are also available on BWorldX as special In-Depth issues.

The website also collates all of 大象传媒鈥檚 e-paper editions, Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines magazine issues, the B-Side podcast, and various event recordings, among others. The platform is designed to provide users with a more organized and accessible experience across 大象传媒鈥檚 offerings.

鈥淏WorldX intends to be a comprehensive and accessible space that allows you to consume 大象传媒鈥檚 content based on your preferences or interest,鈥� Mr. Dy Tioco had said at the platform鈥檚 launch in 2022.

Across these efforts, the emphasis has been on expanding 大象传媒鈥檚 utility beyond daily reporting, toward becoming a long-term resource for analysis, insight, and strategic reference.

大象传媒 Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Jay R. Sarmiento said she envisions 大象传媒 moving beyond just reporting the news in the future, from a traditional publisher to a multifaceted business information and insights platform.

鈥淟everaging its historical data and industry reputation, I see 大象传媒 deepening its analytics and research capabilities offering more sophisticated and premium reports and data-driven insights. Instead of being just a media company, it can offer consultative services or bespoke reports to help companies navigate complex market challenges,鈥� she said.

Mr. Dy Tioco echoed her vision. As digital technologies move ever forward enhancing everyday living and behavior, so too must media adapt.

鈥淎s we approach to 40^th year, we are already working for 大象传媒鈥檚 future by reinventing and redefining its role in the business community, a future where it will be a reference for economic progress and international recognition. Imagine the innovation of its content that will go along with it,鈥� Mr. Dy Tioco said.

For almost four decades, 大象传媒 has earned the trust of corporate executives, policy makers, and entrepreneurs through accurate reporting and detailed analysis. Now, the business newspaper and multimedia content provider goes beyond the daily broadsheet to bring to the Philippine business community not just timely information but also much-needed inspiration.

大象传媒 has started doing this with the launch of BizLife, a new publication catering to modern business leaders and entrepreneurs. It aims to provide stories and features that go beyond traditional business news, focusing instead on leadership styles, workplace culture, and the ideas shaping the future.

鈥�BizLife is a magazine that showcases the next-generation management and how their mindset will influence the future of business. It is poised to be the 大象传媒 of millennials and Gen Z,鈥� 大象传媒 Executive Vice-President Lucien C. Dy Tioco shared in an email to 大象传媒.

According to BizLife Editor-in-Chief Katherine L. Magsanoc, the magazine鈥檚 concept started from the aspiration of the company鈥檚 leadership to revive High Life 鈥� a former 大象传媒 title catered to fine living 鈥� but turning it into a format that speaks to today鈥檚 generation of executives and entrepreneurs.

鈥淭he pandemic gave rise to more self-made and brave entrepreneurs across different age groups, and not all have a Business degree,鈥� Ms. Magsanoc observed. 鈥淭heir stories are also worth telling.鈥�

BizLife intends to highlight a wider view of leadership through stories that combine business and lifestyle, showing both the professional and personal lives of leaders.

鈥淭he name itself combines 鈥楤usiness鈥� and 鈥楲ife,鈥欌�� Ms. Magsanoc said. 鈥淲e know, for them, business is life. But, we are also sure they have a life outside their business. And we want to tell these stories, too.鈥�

Consequently, BizLife is written with a specific readership in mind. The magazine is aimed, first, at executives at the highest level of their organizations, those whom Ms. Magsanoc described as 鈥渢he leader鈥檚 leader.鈥�

Beyond executives, Ms. Magsanoc adds, BizLife also targets 鈥渢he changemakers who challenge the status quo, implementing better ideas and processes that drive progress; the visionaries who chart a course for the future, inspiring others to join them on the journey; and the catalysts who push for progress, driving change and inspiring action within their spheres of influence.鈥�

The editor also explained that the goal of BizLife is to let readers see business leaders in a new way. The stories show different sides of executives, beyond what is seen inside offices and boardrooms.

鈥淲e hope our readers can get inspired by ideas that can make money but also help others or make the lives of people better. We hope our readers who dream of starting or having their own business find the courage through the stories of success in every page,鈥� Ms. Magsanoc added.

The launch of BizLife is part of 大象传媒鈥檚 effort to connect with audiences who are looking for stories about leadership, innovation, and lifestyle.

Bannering the inaugural issue of BizLife, themed 鈥淭he Changemakers,鈥� is the next-generation leadership at the Filinvest Group, namely Isabelle Therese Gotianun Yap, vice-president and chief strategy and transformation officer of EastWest and director of Filinvest Development Corp.; and Francis Nathaniel Consunji Gotianun, first senior vice-president of Filinvest Hospitality, who shared how the companies they lead are building a better future for their respective industries and the nation overall.

In the cover story, Mr. Gotianun shared that the most fulfilling aspect of his work at Filinvest Hospitality extends beyond financial success 鈥� knowing that the company is helping to make dreams come true.

鈥淭here鈥檚 something special about creating moments that delight our customers while also supporting communities and jobs around the country,鈥� he said.

Ms. Yap, meanwhile, expressed her passion to create a more inclusive and equitable environment at EastWest and Filinvest where women are not limited by societal expectations.

鈥淚 hope that my work inspires more women to feel empowered 鈥� we are a meritocratic and resilient organization. We recognize performance and reward for everyone,鈥� she said.

Also featured in the first issue are key people within the MVP Group, among them Belen M. Al-Humayed of Multisys and Bison Management Corp., Menardo G. 鈥淏utch鈥� Jimenez, Jr. of PLDT, Jovy I. Hernandez of Metro Pacific Agro Ventures, and Erickson Y. Manzano of Landco Pacific Corp.

Leaders and movers in the Philippine startup ecosystem are also profiled in a story about IdeaSpace Ventures, a pioneering firm in the startup space, with stories and recollections from Executive Director Alwyn Joy E. Rosel, Betterteem Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bo Discarga, and Flying Tigers Express CEO Shad Roi de la Cruz.

Another highlight from the issue is a first-person account from Athenna Ordo帽a, the young marketing and corporate communications lead at Multisys, on being a millennial in the boardroom, present at board meetings with PLDT executives, including Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Other executives and entrepreneurs featured in the issue are Eric Puno of Army Navy and Pizza Telefono, Kayla Sayson of mobility business Popcycle Ebike Center, Engr. Marlon Pabustan of Bataan-based Khalimah Handicrafts & Souvenirs, Camille Escudero of femtech company Lily of the Valley, and Kat Erro of homegrown leather brand Katre.

The first issue of BizLife already shows how the magazine intends to move forward, with leaders who are not confined to boardrooms. The magazine highlights that leadership is also about impact, values, and innovation that reach beyond numbers.

Moving forward, Ms. Magsanoc said, the team behind BizLife plans to create multimedia content that will be available on 大象传媒鈥檚 website and other digital platforms. Readers can expect features that connect the magazine to 大象传媒鈥檚 online channels, with the possibility of crossover stories appearing in the main newspaper as well.

Such approach shows how the content provider is responding to the changing habits of its readers, especially as people today look for information in different formats. BizLife offers a bridge between these platforms, allowing the publication to reach more audiences without abandoning its traditional readers.

鈥淲e just started, so we will keep doing what we have done in the first issue: celebrate all kinds of leaders in business, and spread the word about the good they do with their business,鈥� said Ms. Magsanoc.

The first issue of BizLife can be purchased at BWorldX. Visit .

In an increasingly volatile global economy, the Philippines sits at a crossroads. On one hand, it benefits from a young workforce and growing digital adoption. On the other, it faces persistent risks: geopolitical challenges, technical and trade disruptions, and inflationary pressures. Business leaders and policy makers have one question in mind: How do we move forward with confidence?

Information is thus crucial for companies, organizations, and industries, as they make their next decisions in moving forward. This comes with awareness of the benefits and consequences of every decision made in the past, improving operational efficiency, enabling them to move forward through innovation.

For almost 40 years, 大象传媒 has guided business leaders in looking for where growth can be found. The Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines magazine and the Quarterly Banking Reports, published by its Research Department, stand out as essential guides for business firms and banks in the country.

Through providing verified data, executives, investors, and other target readers are equipped with information necessary to glean insights and make decisions.

The annual Top 1000 magazine has long been regarded as a definitive scoreboard for Philippine businesses. It offers more than a ranking of the country鈥檚 most competitive industries; it paints a detailed picture of how Philippine businesses navigate economic headwinds.

大象传媒鈥檚 Deputy Research Head Abigail Marie P. Yraola explains, 鈥淭he magazine gives an overview of how companies in the country thrive amidst trade disruptions and geopolitical tensions, among others. At the same time, it also shows the overall 鈥榝inancial health鈥� of a company.鈥�

In the 2024 edition of Top 1000, the list revealed remarkable resilience throughout 2023. Despite inflation averaging 6% and gross domestic product growth moderating to 5.5%, the Top 1000 companies grew aggregate revenues by 7.2% to P17.8 trillion, while combined net income surged by 13.3% to P2.04 trillion.

Petron Corp. takes the top spot with P440.6 billion in gross revenue; followed by Meralco with P399.36 billion; BDO Unibank, Inc. with P283.75 billion; Shell Pilipinas Corp. with P256.2 billion; Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. with P216.18 billion; TI (Philippines), Inc. with P181.22 billion; Bank of the Philippine Islands with P166.92 billion; and Globe Telecom, Inc. with P157.04 billion.

Sectoral performances also diverged: the services sector continued to power the economy, contributing 55.2% of combined gross revenues; manufacturing retained its role with P5.76 trillion in revenues; while mining and quarrying posted double-digit declines.

Beyond numbers, the magazine also features a competitor table and sectoral ranking that allow businesses to scale their standing against their peers.

鈥淭his part of the publication features how companies dominated their respective sectors based on their gross rankings,鈥� Ms. Yraola explained.

Moreover, the magazine offers detailed insights that can sharpen strategy for companies to reassess their competitive edge through distinguishing between parent-only and consolidated financials.

By showing which sectors thrive and which ones lag, the magazine allows firms to identify new opportunities, benchmark performance against competitors, and help industries and organizations recalibrate their paths with confidence.

Beyond this print publication, the Top 1000 Premium platform () harnesses up to 10 years of Top 1000 data to present how a corporation, a conglomerate, or sector has performed in the previous year, alongside previous years. The content ranges from basic company profiles to comprehensive income statements and balance sheets. Presented in an interactive and user-friendly format, the platform enables subscribers to easily navigate and analyze information according to their needs.

While the Top 1000 highlights corporate performance, the Quarterly Banking Reports (QBR) provide a timely window into the country鈥檚 financial institutions.

According to the most recent QBR, shares of banks showcased strong growth in the second quarter of 2025 with the financial subindex climbing by 18.4% by the end of June. Out of 13 listed universal and commercial banks, 11 recorded higher share prices compared with the same period last year.

Top gainers were Philippine National Bank, which rose 142.3%; Asia United Bank, 75.6%; China Banking Corp., 69.9%; Philippine Bank of Communications, 37.6%; and BDO Unibank, 19.2%.

During the first quarter, the combined assets of 44 universal and commercial banks grew 9.5% year on year in the first quarter of 2025 to P26.84 trillion, while total loan portfolios expanded by 13.5%, supported by easing inflation and policy rate adjustments.

Overall, the sector鈥檚 financial health improved. Combined net income of universal and commercial banks climbed by 3.1% to P184.46 billion, while total loan portfolios expanded by 11% to P14.7 trillion. Nonperforming loans (NPL) dropped to 3.05% from 3.21% last year, reflecting better asset quality. Margins also improved, with net interest margin at 4.13%. Meanwhile, provisions for credit losses jumped to 68%, reaching P71.81 billion, as banks remained cautious of potential risks.

Beyond financial metrics, each QBR focuses on the most pressing or timely developments concerning the financial space. The most recent edition looked into the latest findings on the spending and saving behavior of Filipino consumers, the impact of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas鈥� (BSP) rules on regulations for online gambling payment services, and how the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) is changing the game in the Philippine banking landscape.

The first QBR for this year, meanwhile emphasized the sector鈥檚 digital shift, noting regulatory milestones such as the BSP鈥檚 guidelines for Virtual Asset Service Providers and the pilot Project Agila on wholesale digital currency to improve interbank payments.

Last year, QBRs highlighted the industry鈥檚 investments in cybersecurity, such as BSP鈥檚 Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) Law. Under the law, the industry has been strengthening defenses against scams and building more resilient digital platforms. The adoption of neobank models in rural banks and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in reducing risks and consumer redress mechanisms were also discussed.

By presenting such developments in both numbers and context, the QBRs help businesses anticipate changes in credit conditions, liquidity, and consumer sentiment 鈥� critical factors in mitigating risks.

Credibility measures and AI

大象传媒鈥檚 Research Department upholds strict standards of accuracy, going beyond basic fact-checking. Every dataset is drawn from verified filings, cross-checking against multiple sources through established research protocols.

For Top 1000, stock corporations in the Philippines are ranked and measured based on their gross revenues from the most fiscal year. Metrics include the audited financial statements from the Securities and Exchange Commission for private companies, Commission on Audit for government-owned and -controlled corporations, and the Philippine Stock Exchange for publicly-listed companies.

Meanwhile, through tracking the Statements of Condition (SoCs) from universal and commercial banks, the QBRs track key indicators such as capital adequacy, loan growth, liquidity, and profitability. Discrepancies are clarified together with the banks themselves.

While overreliance on AI raise concerns about information consumption, its true value is shown in its efficiency.

鈥淭he use of generative AI can only be of help when we want to maximize the time and maybe [for tasks] such as quick analysis. But it should not be used when we make or generate tables for the Top 1000 and the banking tables,鈥� Ms. Yraola pointed out.

At their very core, Top 1000 and QBRs are not just mere compilations of numbers; they are decision-making tools. For corporate leaders, they point to opportunities for expansion. For financial institutions, they highlight risks and innovations shaping the industry. For policy makers, they provide a factual basis for crafting responsive strategies.

In a time of uncertainty, these publications reaffirm a simple but powerful truth: reliable data leads to more informed decisions; and informed decisions, in turn, build the foundations of sustainable growth for the Philippine economy.

大象传媒 has been a vanguard of Philippine business journalism since its establishment in 1987. By keeping true to its core values of accuracy and innovation, the oldest business paper in Southeast Asia has grown to become a leading authority in economic and financial reporting as well as a uniting figure for the Philippine business community.

The publication has evolved from a traditional print-based outlet to a trusted multimedia platform accessible through different mediums such as print, online, social media, and podcasts. Beyond these channels, 大象传媒 extends its role into a venue for high-level dialogue that seeps into boardrooms, policy discussions, and strategy sessions across corporations in the Philippines.

Foremost of these community-gathering fora are the Economic Forum and the Forecast conference held every May and November, respectively, coupled with Insights fora held throughout the year.

At 大象传媒鈥檚 Economic and Forecast fora, leaders and decision-makers from both the private and public sectors are brought together to confront economic realities, as well as the gap between the Philippines鈥� long-standing potential and the progress that has yet to materialize.

鈥淭he theme of how to make that promise happen is the common thread of all our 大象传媒 events. Our country has also been tagged internationally as the next big thing, but midway through the 2020s it has never happened. That鈥檚 why our intent to push for economic factors to happen is the conversation of this to take the front seat,鈥� 大象传媒 Executive Vice-President Lucien C. Dy Tioco said.

Vice-President for Sales and Marketing Jay R. Sarmiento added that these fora鈥檚 key themes consistently focus on the most pressing issues for the Philippine economy and the business community.

鈥淲hile specific topics vary from year to year, some standout and recurring themes were: digitalization and technology; sustainability and the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standard; economic resilience and recovery; green economy; and the transition to clean energy,鈥� she explained.

She also emphasized the two fora鈥檚 ability to address the most pressing and relevant issues facing the economy, saying that stakeholders鈥� feedback often points to the discussions being 鈥渋ntelligent and thoughtful鈥� and providing a 鈥渄eeper analysis鈥� of critical issues.

鈥淎 recurring theme in the feedback is the forum鈥檚 role in 鈥榖ridging the gap鈥� between the private and public sectors. The events are valued for providing a venue where policy makers and business leaders can have a direct dialogue, identify pain points, and work together to push for solutions. This collaborative environment is highly appreciated by attendees who are keen on contributing to national development,鈥� she said.

鈥淭he caliber of our high-level and influential speakers is the key differentiator鈥� as they provide a rare opportunity for attendees to hear directly from and engage with the people who are shaping policy and business strategy in the country,鈥� Ms. Sarmiento added.

This year鈥檚 Economic Forum, carrying the theme 鈥淯nlocking Philippines鈥� Potential,鈥� gathered policy makers, economists, top executives and business leaders to discuss how the Philippines moves from potential to performance, and from promise to permanence.

The forum was headlined by Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, who delivered a keynote address regarding 鈥淭he Philippines at An Inflection Point;鈥� ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office Country Economist for the Philippines Dr. Andrew Tsang, who offered an external perspective on this current inflection point; and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick D. Go, who emphasized points for optimism in the Philippine economy despite all the challenges facing the global economy.

Other topics discussed during the event included 鈥淏uilding an Inclusive and Resilient Future for the Philippines,鈥� 鈥淓levating Energy Transition in the Philippines,鈥� and 鈥淭ariffs, Trade, and Trump: How a Second Term Could Hit the Philippines.鈥�

Besides Economic and Forecast fora, 大象传媒 has also captured the attention of the business community, industries in particular, through its regular 大象传媒 Insights events. Recent editions of the series had topics that tackled the country鈥檚 healthcare system, stock market outlook, and energy prospects.

Last January, the Insights forum on healthcare featured Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), as keynote speaker. Executives and health advocates from Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations, The Medical City, mWell, Alaga Health, Romlas Health Group, and UP Manila Standards & Interoperability Laboratory were among the panelists.

In February, the Insights event on the Philippine stock market welcomed Department of Finance Assistant Secretary Neil Adrian S. Cabiles, who delivered a keynote address on 鈥淪trengthening Market Resilience in the Pursuit of Growth in 2025.鈥� Experts from COL Financial Group, Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp., First Metro Securities Brokerage Corp., Unicapital Group, and BDO Securities Corp. shared their outlooks and insights into the local bourse.

Meanwhile, the April installment emphasized that efficiency and conservation are crucial to attaining energy security. National Electrification Administration Administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda and Deputy Administrator for Technical Service Engr. Ernesto O. Silvano, Jr. discussed the challenges and opportunities in the energy supply chain. Chiefs from the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance and Meralco PowerGen Corp. further explored the aforementioned topic.

Last August, 大象传媒 Insights kick-started its three-part Cybersecurity Series with a discussion on how organizations can foster a security-first culture to thrive in today鈥檚 high-risk digital environment. Through this series, which will culminate into a Cybersecurity Summit next year, 大象传媒 underscores that safeguarding information, individuals, and organizations in the digital world is just as critical as securing economic growth.

鈥淚t needs attention because cybercrime has been increasing year on year which can threaten big and small businesses and eventually the economy. 大象传媒 wants to start the conversation in securing a cybersafe environment with the active involvement of private, government, and the consumer,鈥� Mr. Dy Tioco said.

Building on this urgency, the next phases of the series will gather key voices from both the public and private sectors to dive deeper into the nation鈥檚 cybersecurity landscape.

This November, meanwhile, the upcoming Forecast 2026 forum seeks to shed light on the global challenges the Philippine business community should brace for and the prospects to optimize for the year ahead.

The forum intends to help attendees make sense of the shifts that businesses currently undergo 鈥� from digital disruption and green transition to demographic shifts among the workforce and consumers.

Top executives are invited to discuss the future of Philippine industries and new opportunities for growth in the midst of disruptions, while industry experts and thought leaders are expected to take deep dives into the macroeconomic outlook, artificial intelligence, the local legal space, and the country鈥檚 trade landscape, among others.

As the Philippine business community navigates an ever-changing and often-disruptive landscape, 大象传媒 continues to serve as a reliable guide not only in print or online but on ground.

鈥淎lways, 大象传媒 reasserts its mighty clout within the business community, and its unparalleled business intelligence is stronger than ever,鈥� Mr. Dy Tioco said.

By Krystal Anjela H. Gamboa

As digital innovation becomes an imperative in businesses across the Philippines and the risks that accompany have never been more sophisticated, implementation of cybersecurity becomes critical. Whether it may be a multimillion corporation or a small or medium enterprise, businesses have to equip themselves against cyber threats.

Recognizing the need for heightened awareness about cyber threats and wider understanding about cybersecurity, 大象传媒, together with the Cybersecurity Council of the Philippines (CSCP), has spearheaded a series of 大象传媒 Insights fora, kicking off with a discussion on 鈥淔ortifying Cybersecurity Among Organizations鈥� last Aug. 22 at the SEDA Manila Bay Hotel in Pasay City.

The series is part of 大象传媒鈥檚 and PhilSTAR Media Group鈥檚 advocacy campaign that aims to forge partnerships between the government and businesses for better cybersecurity legislation; to educate the public on cybercrime prevention; and to increase awareness among sectors of the importance of cybersecurity.

鈥淲e are raising a call for a nation more empowered to defend itself against cyberthreats and cybercriminals. Cybersecurity is not solely a concern of our IT teams, but rather a foundational business imperative and a shared national responsibility,鈥� 大象传媒鈥檚 Executive Vice-President Lucien C. Dy Tioco said in his welcome address.

CSCP Founding Chairman Donald Patrick L. Lim shared the same sentiments in his keynote, noting that cybersecurity is becoming the backbone of governance and corporate survival as businesses integrate advanced technology into their operations.

鈥淭here is no gray area. It鈥檚 either you鈥檙e secure or not secure,鈥� he said.

The forum gathered business, technology, and cybersecurity experts to identify the top cybersecurity threats businesses face today and to explore the strategies that can be employed in response to these threats.

The rise of cyberthreats

As the workplace is no longer confined to office cubicles and desktop computers, there has been an ever-expanding network growth in today鈥檚 hybrid setups. If not protected, these connections can be exploited by cybercriminals.

鈥淎ttackers are no longer breaking in, they are just logging in,鈥� Alexis Bernardino, Field CISO and Cybersecurity Product Head at ePLDT and PLDT Enterprise, stressed during the first panel discussion.

Such cyberattacks have risen dramatically in recent years. As technology evolves, so does the crimes. What used to be simple viruses have evolved into highly organized and well-funded operations. Hence, companies can no longer afford to treat cybersecurity as an afterthought. One breach can wipe out years of hard work, drain finances, and destroy reputations.

As the Philippines accelerates its digital transformation 鈥� from embracing cloud platforms, e-wallets, to online government services 鈥� the country has also become a growing target. Ransomware has evolved into an industry of its own. Insider threats continue to undermine security from within.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 ask what you will do if you get breached, but what you will do when you get breached,鈥� Chito Jacinto, president of the Information Security Officers Group (ISOG), emphasized.

On public-private collaboration

No one can stand alone against the speed of today鈥檚 cyber threats. Public and private collaboration extends beyond crisis response. It also involves long-term capacity-building such as joint training programs, research funding, and policy development.

While private sectors contribute expertise and resources, the government can craft frameworks that incentivize compliance and penalize negligence.

Police Colonel Jay Guillermo, chief of the Cyber Response Unit of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, heeded the needed teamwork.

鈥淲e need a collaboration between private organizations and law enforcement. Investigations and police work are reactive,鈥� he said. 鈥淐ybersecurity needs to be proactive.鈥�

For workplaces, this will translate into strengthened protections: businesses gain access to more reliable security services and better-prepared employees. The government, then, will benefit from private sectors that are aligned with national cybersecurity goals.

Ultimately, in a digital economy where threats recognize no borders or industries, the only defense that is most effective is one built on trust and cooperation across sectors. This dual approach ensures that efforts are not fragmented, but sustainable.

Integrating AI into defenses

With its continuing relevance, artificial intelligence (AI) is positioned as a powerful defender. Since it can analyze billions of data in real time, it can flag unusual behavior such as suspicious logins or abnormal file transfers. Additionally, with its predictive systems feature, it can anticipate incoming attacks by studying existing patterns, reducing response times.

Yet, AI can also be a weapon for attackers. Cybercriminals have been utilizing it to craft phishing emails, generate deepfake voices, and deploy bots that test passwords or scan systems for vulnerabilities at scale.

鈥淓very access point in your infrastructure is a valid entry point for cyber breaches,鈥� Mr. Bernardino lamented. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 even have to be sophisticated attacks, but simple attacks like email phishing and scams. What more with sophisticated AI?鈥�

There had been calls for the government to pass legislations to protect the digital infrastructure, particularly in the usage of AI. As Mr. Jacinto of ISOG stated, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 see much of an improvement in terms of implementation right now. The capabilities of the Data Privacy Act are not sufficient or clear enough.鈥�

The urgency is clear: as more workplaces adopt AI and expand digital operations, legislations must also evolve just as fast. Without laws, businesses will remain vulnerable, and public trust in digital transformation could be compromised.

Cybersecurity culture

Despite advanced firewalls, AI-driven detection systems, and encryption protocols, the biggest vulnerability remains human error.

To counter this, organizations are now recognizing that cybersecurity is not simply a technical issue, but a cultural one. Assessing a workforce鈥檚 knowledge and capacity with cybersecurity and equipping them with the knowledge will be key, as PwC Philippines Risk Services 鈥� Cybersecurity and Privacy Executive Director Mark Anthony Almodovar noted.

鈥淩ather than saying people are the weakest links, think of people as the most important assets. Test your people. If you don鈥檛 test your people, they will not be able to protect against what is new to them,鈥� he said during the second panel discussion.听

Companies have been investing in cybersecurity training for their employees to equip them with knowledge to identify and respond to such risks, as GCash Chief Information Security Officer Miguel Geronilla shared.

鈥淗aving a security-first mindset means always thinking of security every day,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e must be secure by default, and that means being able to do secure practices on our own. It鈥檚 not about the usual awareness, but embedding it into everyday practices.鈥�

Carmelo Rondain Alcala, a board of trustee of ISACA Manila Chapter, reiterated the four attributes of control, which organizations should couple with their people upskilling efforts.

鈥淧olicies and procedures, configurations, monitoring, reporting 鈥� without these four attributes of control, your cybersecurity is weak,鈥� Mr. Alcala said.

Such actions must involve education and awareness, where said training sessions keep the employees alert. Clear policies should also be held where leaders must be set as an example.

By cultivating a culture of vigilance, alongside investing in advanced technologies and preparations for inevitable threats, organizations can safeguard their digital frontlines and so gain more confidence to thrive in more digital world.

鈥淐ybersecurity is only as tough as the people using them. This is why culture matters, from the CEO down. It鈥檚 not simply a boardroom topic,鈥� CSCP Executive Director and Co-Founder Julian Louie Singson shared in his closing remarks synthesizing the discussions.

As the future brings new technology-driven opportunities, cyber threats will also come along. A secure digital environment has become more vital for organizations to gain trust from stakeholders and to build resiliency within. This calls for enhanced initiatives within organizations for firmer public-private alignment among stakeholders, stronger data protection across departments, and wider cybersecurity culture in the workplace.

Two more fora are under way for 大象传媒 Insight鈥檚 Cybersecurity Series, followed by a culminating Cybersecurity Summit in March next year.

This 大象传媒 Insights forum was presented by 大象传媒 Corp. and GCash, in partnership with the Cybersecurity Council of the Philippines, sponsored by PLDT, and supported by the Asian Consulting Group, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines, CCI France Philippines, the Information Security Officers Group, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Franchise Association, Philippine Retailers Association, with official media partner The Philippine STAR.

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas鈥� (BSP) monetary policy and other tools will be key to supporting the economy and ensuring the stability of the country鈥檚 financial system amid a volatile external environment.

鈥淚n a highly uncertain environment, central banks like the BSP can play a key stabilizing role by striking the right balance between managing inflation and growth risks,鈥� Asian Development Bank (ADB) Macroeconomics Research Division Principal Economist Matteo Lanzafame said in an e-mail.

Moody鈥檚 Analytics economist Sarah Tan said that central banks 鈥減lay a critical role in anchoring stability鈥� amid heightened uncertainty.

鈥淔or the BSP, this involves deploying its policy toolkit to maintain price stability, ensure orderly market functioning, and support sustainable growth,鈥� Ms. Tan said in an e-mail.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in its latest Annual Economic Report said that central banks must deal with the immediate fallout while keeping top of mind the deeper structural weaknesses that threaten the resilience of the global economy.

Markets and economies across the globe have been jolted by the United States鈥� flip-flopping trade policies since early this year.

The US slapped a 19% tariff on Philippine goods in a trade deal secured between President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and US President Donald J. Trump in July. The tariff rate took effect on Aug. 7.

This was the same rate imposed on goods from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. It is slightly higher than the 20% on Vietnam and Taiwan, but lower than the 15% for Japan and South Korea.

鈥淭he BSP can help cushion the economy through continued monetary policy easing, which eases pressure on household budgets and supports spending,鈥� Ms. Tan said.

The Philippine economy grew an annual 5.5% in the second quarter, up from 5.4% in the first quarter.

For the first half, gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 5.4%, slower than the 6.2% a year ago.

Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said GDP must grow by 5.6% for the rest of the year to achieve the low end of the 5.5-6.5% full-year target.

鈥淭o the extent that central banks including the BSP have the monetary space to help stimulate economic growth, they can provide such a support,鈥� GlobalSource Country Analyst for the Philippines and former BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said.

Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief Emerging Asia Economist Miguel Chanco said that monetary policy must continue 鈥渄oing most of the heavy lifting in terms of supporting growth in these uncertain times.鈥�

On the impact on corporates, the BSP can also boost liquidity to the banking system to ensure continuous credit flow.

鈥楥OMMENDABLE JOB鈥�
鈥淥ne of the most important roles of a central bank is to provide price stability, especially during uncertain times,鈥� East West Banking Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jerry G. Ngo said.

He said the BSP has done a 鈥渃ommendable job鈥� keeping a clear forward guidance on the direction of interest rates.

鈥淔urther, the central bank has continued to lower intermediation costs and improve its liquidity facilities to support banks in carrying on with their lending activities. These measures have been crucial in supporting balanced and sustainable economic growth, even through uncertainty.鈥�

Mr. Ngo also noted how the BSP鈥檚 policy direction shapes investor confidence.

鈥淎s we progress in our economic development, being open to foreign capital is crucial. A strong, credible central bank signals long-term stability and helps attract the kind of investments that support capital formation, not just consumption-led momentum,鈥� he said.

HSBC economist for ASEAN Aris D. Dacanay said the next year and a half will likely be challenging across Southeast Asia.

鈥淣avigating tariffs and the risks of more is already a given, not to mention the geopolitical risks looming around the globe.鈥�

鈥淚n fact, the sheer uncertainty in global trade policy should already deter some trade and investments 鈥� enough to take a toll on overall growth.鈥�

As ASEAN economies are small and open, they may have 鈥渘o choice but to ride the turbulent waters of trade,鈥� Mr. Dacanay said.

鈥淏ut as economies face the inevitable, policymakers will likely crank their domestic economies to make up for the slack in trade, setting the stage for monetary easing,鈥� he added.

FURTHER EASING AHEAD
Analysts said the central bank can continue its rate-cutting cycle to stimulate economic growth amid external headwinds.

鈥淭he BSP has space to continue loosening its monetary stance to support domestic demand, cushioning the economy against external shocks,鈥� ADB鈥檚 Mr. Lanzafame said.

鈥淎 cautious approach, however, continues to be warranted, as uncertainty and risks remain high,鈥� he added.

ADB Economic Research and Development Impact Department Principal Economist John Beirne likewise noted the need for vigilance.

鈥淲hile growth risks due to external challenges, along with moderating inflation, support the case for the BSP to lower interest rates, financial stability risks also need to be taken into account,鈥� he said.

Mr. Beirne flagged the possibility of capital outflows and currency depreciation if the US does not cut rates as anticipated by markets.

鈥淪afeguarding investor confidence will be important in the face of these risks, including through well-coordinated monetary and macroprudential policies,鈥� he added.

Mr. Chanco said the BSP can and should lower borrowing costs further as inflation will likely remain below the 2-4% target band for the remainder of this year.

鈥淚nflation in the Philippines has been reined in and remained low and stable in the first half of the year. This creates room for further easing,鈥� Ms. Tan said.

Headline inflation rose 0.9% year on year in July, the slowest pace in nearly six years, or since the 0.6% print posted in October 2019.

For the first seven months of the year, inflation averaged 1.7%. Inflation has so far settled within or below the 2-4% target range for the full year.

The BSP expects inflation to average 1.7% this year as expectations remain well-anchored.

At the Aug. 28 meeting, the Monetary Board cut policy rates by 25 bps, bringing the benchmark rate to 5%, the lowest since November 2022.

The central bank has reduced policy rates by a total of 150 bps since it began its easing cycle in August 2024.

鈥淏ased on the latest data, I think this puts us at our sweet spot for both inflation and output,鈥� BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said during the Aug. 28 briefing.

鈥淭he projected inflation rate over the next year or so is where we want it to be. Output is moving to where we think our capacity is,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he policy rate itself is at our 鈥楪oldilocks鈥� rate 鈥� neither too high nor too low.鈥�

Mr. Remolona said there is room for another rate cut this year.

鈥淭he data can change. The sweet spot can move… I think we have space for one more cut. If the data develops the way we think it will develop, then maybe one more cut this year,鈥� the BSP chief said.

The Monetary Board has two remaining meetings scheduled for October and December.

LENDING DEMAND
As the BSP continues its easing cycle, banks have started to see the effect on demand for loans.

鈥淲e鈥檝e definitely seen increased credit demand since the BSP started cutting rates in August 2024. This has helped push the banking industry鈥檚 loan growth to 12%,鈥� Mr. Ngo said.

鈥淲ith inflation under control at 1.9%, there is room for further rate cuts, barring any global and domestic headwinds. Doing so can spur more demand for credit towards productive uses and ultimately translate to economic growth.鈥�

Bank lending grew by 11.3% year on year to P13.37 trillion as of May, the latest BSP data showed. Consumer loans to residents jumped by 23.7% to P1.699 trillion during the month.

鈥淥ne of the reasons why we continue to see robust growth in our corporate sector and our small and medium (SME) enterprise sector is the fact that interest rates are lower,鈥� Bankers Association of the Philippines President and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) President and Chief Executive Officer Teodoro K. Limcaoco said.

鈥淭herefore, it encourages these companies to borrow to make their investments, so it鈥檚 good for the economy,鈥� he added.

Mr. Limcaoco said the BSP鈥檚 monetary easing has resulted in lower margins but noted that loan demand 鈥渨ould not have been as strong without these cuts.鈥�

鈥淎s access to credit improves, it is essential that we reinforce responsible lending practices. Expanding credit responsibly, not just broadly, will be key to ensuring long-term financial resilience and inclusive growth,鈥� Mr. Ngo added.

However, analysts noted risks that the central bank must keep an eye out for as it continues cutting rates.

鈥淏SP鈥檚 ears should remain firmly on the ground to make sure we don鈥檛 see further capital outflows, reversal in the peso, and intensification of upside risks,鈥� Mr. Guinigundo said.

Mr. Dacanay said that risks such as geopolitics and other domestic policies 鈥渨ill likely keep the BSP on its toes.鈥�

鈥淎ny uptick in global oil prices or any increase in the tariff rates of rice could dim the stage for the BSP to boost consumption and investment,鈥� he added.

Ms. Tan said the BSP will need to monitor several factors closely such as 鈥減otential inflationary pressures stemming from geopolitical tensions and global policy shifts, as well as the impact of previous rate cuts on domestic demand.鈥�

GlobalSource鈥檚 Mr. Guinigundo said that the BSP could resort to using other tools like reserve requirements and macroprudential policy to 鈥渒eep the volume of liquidity consistent with inflation and growth requirements.鈥�

鈥淭he biggest risk for me from the perspective of financial instability is the tight rope the BSP has to walk as it continues to lower interest rates,鈥� Mr. Chanco added.

FINANCIAL STABILITY
Meanwhile, the BSP will also be crucial in maintaining stability in the financial system despite these shocks.

鈥淗igher US tariffs pose a risk to the country鈥檚 economic and financial stability as it dampens global trade and investor confidence,鈥� Ms. Tan said.

Even though the Philippines secured a trade deal with the US, she said it is still too early to assess the impact.

鈥淪lower economic growth and tighter financial conditions may lead to more credit stress in vulnerable sectors, which could affect the quality of bank assets.鈥�

The BSP in its latest financial stability report said that the Philippines鈥� financial system remains resilient but faces moderate risks that warrant close monitoring.

鈥淲hile the Philippine financial health remains sound, these risks highlight the importance of maintaining strong financial safeguards, closely monitoring emerging risks, and being ready to adjust policies quickly, when necessary,鈥� Ms. Tan said.

EastWest Bank鈥檚 Mr. Ngo said the BSP鈥檚 policy guidance will be crucial at this time.

鈥淒uring uncertain times, there is a heightened risk of tightening market liquidity as companies and banks alike increase cash buffers. If left unchecked, this may cause credit tightening,鈥� he said.

鈥淗owever, with the BSP providing clear guidance and ensuring ample system liquidity, banks are empowered to do what they do best 鈥� allocate economic capital efficiently,鈥� he added.

Mr. Guinigundo said that the interconnectedness in bank and corporate loans should always be monitored.

鈥淎ny sustained increase in nonperforming loans and decline in the loan to deposit ratio should always get the attention of our bank regulators.鈥�

The latest central bank data showed that nonperforming loans accounted for 3.38% of the banking sector鈥檚 total loan book in May.

鈥淕ood that our banks鈥� capital base remains solid but other metrics should be carefully monitored and appropriate actions taken when any sign of trouble becomes more apparent,鈥� Mr. Guinigundo said.

Expanding access to credit while upholding strong credit standards helps banks 鈥減rovide a measure of stability not only for the financial system but the economy as a whole,鈥� Mr. Ngo added.

THE PHILIPPINES鈥� ambition to reshape and modernize the long-neglected mass transportation system is still in limbo but analysts say it may still be achievable if the government recalibrates its approach.

鈥淚t is not easy to commute in the country, it鈥檚 a struggle, it is not safe,鈥� former Transportation Secretary Vivencio 鈥淰ince鈥� B. Dizon said, echoing the sentiment of millions of Filipinos who endure long lines at rail stations and hours of traffic in congested streets.

Mr. Dizon, who took the helm of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) in February 2025, said they鈥檙e now focusing on fast-tracking its projects and implementing improvements.

鈥淲e are continuing our efforts to complete projects that will better the commuting experience of the public,鈥� he added.

The government is refining the feasibility studies of its stalled and long-delayed projects to ensure the completion of the DoTr鈥檚 priority projects by 2028.

For instance, the agency is working on a new study for the Mindanao Railway project 鈥� one of the country鈥檚 most awaited rail projects 鈥� to assess the feasibility of the use of more modern and environment-friendly trains.

The original plan for the Mindanao Railway involved diesel-powered trains but projects involving non-electrified railways are having difficulty attracting investors over global warming concerns.

鈥淎lmost the entire Mindanao will benefit when (the Mindanao railway project) is fully completed. Rail is good for such a big island like Mindanao, with huge passenger and cargo demand in many provinces,鈥� Nigel Paul C. Villarete, senior adviser on PPP (public-private partnership) at the technical advisory group Libra Konsult, Inc. told 大象传媒.

The Mindanao railway system is considered a good project for Mindanao as the rail line will cover a sizable demand.

The DoTr has said earlier that it is considering enlisting the private sector for the Mindanao railway project as the government scrambles to put together funding after China bowed out of the project.

The Public-Private Partnership Center said it expects the completion of the feasibility study for the third phase of the Mindanao Railway project within this year.

Only phase three of the Mindanao Railway project is being considered for PPP, the agency said, noting that phases one and two will still be funded through official development assistance.

鈥淎s for the Mindanao railway, I can鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 taking so long to decide. It鈥檚 an easy project, simple and easy to plan and to determine feasibility. I suspect the difficulty is getting consensus and support. It covers the entire Mindanao, with so many provinces, and more governors and mayors,鈥� Mr. Villarete said.

The first phase of the Mindanao Railway project, valued at P83 billion, will run from Tagum, Davao del Norte to Digos City, Davao del Sur. It is expected to carry 122,000 passengers per day and cut travel time between Tagum and Digos to one hour from three hours currently.

Mr. Villarete said it may be difficult to get a consensus on the Mindanao railway project, adding that a comprehensive study should be done by independent parties and experts.

鈥淭he DoTr is wriggling its hands. It鈥檚 not a question of what kind of railway to build (or what fuel). They鈥檙e hesitating because they鈥檙e not sure if this is the right decision,鈥� Mr. Villarete said.

Rene S. Santiago, former president of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines, said that the government should focus on completing projects that are feasible, especially for Mindanao which has yet to see its first rail line.

鈥淢indanao needs real improvement on its overall transport network, not more paper dreams. With less than three years to go, the administration should focus its energies on completing projects already on-stream,鈥� he said.

RAILWAY RENAISSANCE
The current administration had promised a railway renaissance by highlighting projects like the Mindanao Railway, Metro Manila Subway project, the Metro Rail Transit Line (MRT-7), MRT-4, and the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR).

However, none of these projects are expected to be completed soon, as the DoTr鈥檚 rail projects are hounded by many challenges including lack of funding, right-of-way (RoW) issues, and unfinished feasibility studies.

Approved in 2019, MRT-4 has yet to break ground as the agency is still working to secure loans for the project which was then estimated at more than P50 billion. The rail line covers 12.7 kilometers from the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA)-Ortigas Ave. junction to Taytay, Rizal, will have 10 stations and is expected to serve more than 400,000 daily ridership.

The NSCR will likely be delayed by four years, Mr. Dizon said previously, after the project reached a 50% completion rate to date for the Manila-Clark segment. This project may now see partial operations by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

The 147-kilometer NSCR will connect Malolos, Bulacan with Clark International Airport, and Tutuban, Manila with Calamba, Laguna. The P873-billion project is co-financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Asian Development Bank. It will have 35 stations and three depots.

For now, the DoTr said it is hoping to fulfill this administration鈥檚 promise of a modernized transportation system by expanding its focus outside Metro Manila particularly in Cebu and Davao.

BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM
Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems like the EDSA Busway are touted as one of the most important modes of transportation in the country as these are a more reliable and faster means of public transport.

Data provided by the Transportation department showed that the EDSA Busway served more than 63 million passengers alone in 2024, or about 177,000 commuters daily.

The EDSA Busway, a dedicated bus lane along Metro Manila鈥檚 busiest thoroughfare, is seen as a crucial step towards a progressive public transportation system with 23 stations operating round-the-clock.

The DoTr is planning to privatize the operations and maintenance of the EDSA Busway, although the plan is currently on hold for now as the agency plans to focus on rehabilitating the busways鈥� stations first.

The EDSA Busway Project initially involved the financing, design, construction, procurement of low-carbon buses, route planning, and operations and maintenance of the busway, PPP Center said.

For big cities with many commuters, the EDSA BRT project will directly affect commuters and business by 2028, transportation analysts said.

鈥淗opefully the Quezon Avenue BRT and its continuation and connection directly to Manila. For Metro Cebu, it鈥檚 the Cebu BRT, of course,鈥� Mr. Villarete said.

DoTr鈥檚 Mr. Dizon said that the agency is targeting to start the rehabilitation of EDSA Busway stations within this year, spending as much as P253 million for the upgrade of up to four stations.

鈥淚 sincerely believe the BRT projects in Metro Manila and Cebu will make the most difference and benefit the most number of passengers,鈥� Libra Konsult鈥檚 Mr. Villarete said.

Mr. Villarete said the government鈥檚 BRT projects will bring real economic viability while also improving passenger experience.

鈥淧eople will accept with real certainty that the BRT both the EDSA and Cebu exhibited the highest ratings when evaluated and approved by the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) board,鈥� he said.

Mr. Villarete said that despite the existing railway lines passing through EDSA, the passenger share of the regular buses remains very high.

Aside from upgrading EDSA Busway stations, the DoTr is also eyeing its expansion by adding more bus stops in the southern portion of the Metro, according to Mr. Dizon. He said the agency will add two more stations by 2026.

MORE BUSWAYS
The Transportation department is also considering the construction of a busway along Espa帽a Boulevard in Manila and Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. Mr. Dizon said the feasibility study for the project is expected to be completed as early as next year, noting that the Asian Development Bank is helping the DoTr to assess the viability of this plan.

In 2022, the DoTr shelved its planned Metro Manila BRT project due to lack of progress during the pandemic, and after the loan for the project expired that year.

The government had planned to construct a 12.3-kilometer segregated bus lane from Manila City Hall to Philcoa in Quezon City, which can serve up to 290,000 commuters daily.

For urban transport and mobility group AltMobility PH, all projects 鈥� commuter rail, subway, public utility vehicle modernization program, bus rapid transits, bike lanes, sidewalks 鈥� should be integrated as a whole, with the clear objective of prioritizing the public.

鈥淣o single project can solve our transport woes on its own, so it鈥檚 always important to consider a network-wide impact,鈥� AltMobility PH Director Patricia Mariano said in an interview.

Maria Golda Mier Hilario, said director for Urban Development for Institute of Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), the completion of MRT Line 7, the Metro Manila Subway and the Cebu BRT would really advance the country鈥檚 transportation network.

鈥淭he impact will be very tangible 鈥� more people are moved, traveling time will be greatly reduced, less road congestion since it will be faster and more convenient to take public transport than be stuck in traffic and to look for available car parking. This will reduce stress on the road and decongest our streets,鈥� Ms. Hilario said.

However, big-ticket infrastructure projects are only one side of the equation, Ms. Hilario said, adding that public transport terminals and connectivity are the missing puzzle pieces, but the government has yet to address the lack of first-mile, last-mile connectivity solutions.

鈥淎s early as now, if we also fix the system and not just wait for big-ticket transport projects to finish, by improving accessibility of transit stops and terminals, unified ticketing system, better way finding, and integrating feeder routes into these main public transport routes 鈥� the potential benefit of these big-ticket transport projects will be immense,鈥� she said.

AltMobility PH鈥檚 Ms. Mariano said that there is also a need for a whole-of-government approach between agencies, noting that a lot of mobility projects are tied to where and how the Department of Public Works and Highways build roads, how the local government and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority manage and prioritize traffic; and how the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development approves of land use.

Modernizing the transport system is more than just building the infrastructure, ICSC said.

鈥淚mprovements of the busway through the PPP is a good start. The efforts of the DoTr to explore different payment systems like e-wallets are also commendable,鈥� Ms. Hilario said.

鈥淚f we really want to improve and modernize the country鈥檚 transportation system, we also need to fully integrate the jeepneys, UV express as feeders to main public transport modes. Integration is key.鈥�

THE PHILIPPINES is entering a pivotal phase. In 2025, after a strong post-pandemic recovery, the economy is expanding steadily and remains one of the fastest growing countries in Southeast Asia. Over the past two years, gross domestic product (GDP) growth has averaged 5.6%. Inflation is currently easing, and investor confidence remains solid. Upper middle-income status is expected by many soon.

But the path ahead will not be easy. From geopolitical instability and global economic uncertainty to increasingly frequent weather-related disasters, the risks are real 鈥� and growing. The question is not just whether growth will continue, but whether it will be inclusive, sustainable, and resilient.

To achieve that, the Philippines needs to focus its efforts on three interconnected priorities: investing in its people, building infrastructure that connects and empowers, and accelerating resilience to the changing climate.

INVESTING IN PEOPLE: SEIZING THE DIGITAL AND AI MOMENT
Heila Balgos thought her life had no meaning and direction when she couldn鈥檛 find a job two years after graduating from college. But after discovering and completing the technical and life skills training under , a full-service youth employment program run by the Department of Labor and Employment and funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), she found her purpose in life.

After her internship at Astoria Hotel Palawan, Heila rose through the ranks to become a company auditor.听 She is now her family鈥檚 breadwinner, saving enough to fix their house and buy a television for her siblings, who used to watch TV in their neighbor鈥檚 house.

Heila鈥檚 story isn鈥檛 an isolated case. It鈥檚 one of thousands that show how lives can change with the right tools, preparation, and support.

The country has a demographic advantage that many aging economies envy: a young, dynamic, and digitally inclined workforce. But unless this workforce is well nourished and equipped with the right skills, that demographic dividend could turn into a missed opportunity.

While unemployment has dropped to 3.8%, underemployment remains persistently high. Many Filipinos are in low-productivity, informal jobs with little room for advancement. And as digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) transform industries 鈥� from customer service and logistics to design and analytics 鈥� the pressure to adapt to new technologies is intensifying.

The Philippines, long a global leader in business process outsourcing, could either ride this wave or be swept aside by it. Generative AI is already changing what clients expect from service providers. Routine, repetitive tasks are being automated, while demand is growing for roles that combine digital savvy with creativity, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving.

Preparing workers for this shift will require more than updating the computer labs. It calls for a full-scale rethinking of education and training 鈥� from primary school to post-graduate, from online courses to on-the-job apprenticeships.

That means embedding digital and AI-relevant skills into the national curriculum, building industry-led training pathways, and expanding programs that provide real-world experience. Equally important is ensuring workers鈥� health and well-being, especially for young people. A healthy, well-nourished child today is a productive worker tomorrow.

ADB is supporting these efforts across the board 鈥� from basic education to education technology, and universal healthcare, to new partnerships with private employers to align training with real market needs. The private sector is not just a beneficiary here鈥攊t must be a co-designer of solutions.

CONNECTING THE COUNTRY: INFRASTRUCTURE THAT BRIDGES GAPS
The Philippines鈥� geography is both a marvel and a challenge. With over 7,000 islands spread across vast distances, connectivity isn鈥檛 just about convenience 鈥� it鈥檚 about resilience, inclusion, and competitiveness.

Yet infrastructure investment still lags regional peers. Logistics costs remain among the highest in Asia. Power remains expensive, unreliable, and unevenly distributed. Farmers in rural areas are still isolated, losing time and income because they lack reliable roads to transport their goods.

Ruel Tanucan, a farmer from Zamboanga Sibugay province, says that before the new roads built by the Department of Public Works and Highways under the ADB-financed , it was difficult to transport goods to market especially when it rained because the roads would be muddy. But now farmers like him can bring their produce to the city anytime, even in rainy weather, resulting in lower transport costs and higher incomes.

Infrastructure isn鈥檛 just about concrete and steel 鈥� it鈥檚 about connection, opportunity, and dignity.

Building roads and ports isn鈥檛 new, but where and how we build them matters more than ever. Infrastructure must reach beyond Metro Manila, unlocking economic potential in underserved regions 鈥� from the uplands of Bukidnon to coastal towns in Samar.

Digital infrastructure is just as critical. Fast and affordable internet is not a luxury; it鈥檚 a basic requirement for participation in the modern economy. When a fiber-optic line reaches a remote barangay, it opens doors to e-commerce, education, telemedicine, and remote jobs.

The private sector plays a crucial role in closing these gaps. Through smart public-private partnerships (PPPs), private firms bring capital, technology, and operational know-how to infrastructure projects 鈥� from renewable energy and transport logistics to digital connectivity.

The Philippines is now ADB鈥檚 top PPP client, with a growing portfolio of infrastructure initiatives. But unlocking more PPP investments requires reducing red tape, ensuring policy consistency, and strengthening regulatory institutions.

BUILDING RESILIENCE: TURNING RISK INTO LEADERSHIP
The Philippines is on the frontlines of a changing climate. Each year, typhoons, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels threaten lives and livelihoods, with majority of Filipinos living near coastlines.

But the country also has the potential to lead. The government鈥檚 commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 is ambitious, and rightly so. Meeting that target means accelerating the transition to cleaner energy, making agriculture more sustainable, and redesigning cities and transport systems to be low-carbon and climate-resilient.

AI and data are already beginning to make a difference 鈥� enhancing early warning systems, improving disaster recovery, and enabling smarter farming. Startups in Manila, Iloilo, and Cagayan de Oro are using technology to tackle everything from plastic waste to urban flooding.

ADB is investing heavily in resilience 鈥� from flood protection systems in urban areas to reforestation, renewable energy, and climate-resilient infrastructure. These aren鈥檛 just environmental projects 鈥� they鈥檙e economic resilience strategies. They create jobs, protect investments, and reduce long-term fiscal risks. ADB has expanded its support to long-term food and nutrition security, including initiatives to modernize agricultural value chains and improve access to affordable and healthy food, as well as sustainably transforming food systems by protecting ecosystems.

Nature-based solutions like mangrove restoration or watershed management offer multiple co-benefits: they buffer against storms, preserve biodiversity, and support fisheries and tourism. With the right incentives, these solutions can be scaled up.

A CHANCE TO LEAD REGIONALLY
As the Philippines prepares to chair ASEAN in 2026, it has a golden opportunity to shape the region鈥檚 agenda on inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Regional cooperation initiatives 鈥� like the ASEAN Power Grid, which aims to connect electricity markets across Southeast Asia 鈥� can transform energy security. Imagine a system where surplus solar power from Vietnam helps power hospitals in Luzon, or excess hydropower from the Lao People鈥檚 Democratic Republic supports grid stability during peak demand in Visayas.

If the Philippines can align its human capacities, infrastructure priorities, and climate leadership, it will not only secure its own future 鈥� it will inspire and influence its neighbors.

Progress is ultimately about people. It鈥檚 about whether Heila in Palawan or Ruel in Zamboanga see a path to a better life 鈥� not just for themselves, but also for their kababayans, and eventually, their own children.

This is the real test of inclusive growth, and that鈥檚 where national ambition must meet everyday realities.

Pavit Ramachandran is the deputy director general of the Southeast Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank.

FROM market stalls to neighborhood stores in the Philippines, small businesses are doing more than selling goods 鈥� they鈥檙e carrying dreams.

For many Filipino micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), starting their own business is motivated not by the profit alone, but by purpose. The people behind these energized enterprises are driven by goals to build a better future for their families, pursue personal passions, and send their children to school.

Growth is the top priority for many MSMEs, but achieving growth requires more than grit and dreams. It demands an environment made up of digital technologies, new markets, skilled labor, accessible capital, and government programs that work for them. Too often, these systems fall out of step with everyday realities.

The question is, what will it take to help MSMEs not just survive but thrive? Behind every MSME is a parent, a provider, a builder of opportunity. Supporting MSMEs is therefore not only an economic priority, but a commitment to the people behind them, and the dreams they carry.

Boston Consulting Group鈥檚 recent publication, Heart of Hustle: What Fuels the Filipino MSME 鈥� developed in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 鈥� captures insights from over 3,000 MSMEs across five key dimensions of support. It uncovers where the system is falling short and where focused action can unlock the full potential of the country鈥檚 most avid dreamers.

ACCESS TO FINANCING
Most MSMEs know that growth requires capital, yet for many, formal financing still feels out of reach. Today, 83% of MSMEs rely on personal savings to fund their business. And while credit is technically available, it鈥檚 not meaningfully accessible. More than half of MSMEs (55%) have never applied for a loan, with 42% citing fear of debt, 34% pointing to perceived high interest rates, and 16% feeling the application process is too complex.

For business owners who seek stability for their families, borrowing can feel like a gamble, not a growth strategy.

Even among those MSMEs who have successfully borrowed, the majority report accepting small loans, typically as a last choice. This hesitancy stems from distrust and misalignment, not disinterest. MSMEs require financing that is safe, understandable, and tailored to their specific needs, rather than simply being 鈥渙pen鈥� to them.

These findings demonstrate we should rethink how financing is offered, messaged, and supported. Effective solutions must reduce both friction and fear 鈥� embedded lending via supplier networks, micro-loans bundled with training, or community-led onboarding that demystifies debt. Only then can capital become the enabler it鈥檚 meant to be, not another barrier to overcome.

ACCESS TO MARKETS
The ambition to grow is clear 鈥� 88% of MSMEs want to expand, and 72% hope to enter new markets.

However, intent often outpaces readiness, with fewer than half of MSMEs (44%) feeling they have the information they need to support expansion, and only 39% participating in trade fairs for wider visibility.

Going international is even harder. One in three MSMEs aspire to export, but face compounding barriers. These hurdles include limited knowledge of regulatory requirements, lack of access to export financing, and low confidence in navigating unfamiliar buyers or markets.

Many MSMEs are willing to do the work, but don鈥檛 know where to begin. Bridging this gap calls for systems that build knowledge and lower participation costs. This could include pricing guidance, market insights, matchmaking platforms, and export coaching. With the right foundations, today鈥檚 neighborhood vendors could become tomorrow鈥檚 regional exporters.

ACCESS TO TOOLS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Most MSMEs recognize the value of digitalizing portions of their operations, yet for many, digital adoption still feels out of reach.

While 77% of Filipino MSMEs aspire to use more digital solutions, only 20% report increased usage in the past year 鈥� and just 16% use any digital tools at all. This adoption gap isn鈥檛 due to lack of belief. Almost three quarters (72%) of MSME owners say digital tools can improve their business. Rather, this reluctance stems from perceived barriers 鈥� 74% believe their businesses are too small, and 50% believe they lack the technical expertise to implement.

For many MSMEs, digitalization feels complex, costly, and misaligned with how they operate day to day. Even among adopters, usage is concentrated on familiar tools like Microsoft Office (52%) or video conferencing tools (37%), while tools more directly tied to business outcome 鈥� like accounting software, point-of-sale systems, and inventory management 鈥� remain underused. These challenges are especially acute among microenterprises like sari-sari store owners and food service operators, where manual operations dominate and where even modest digital upgrades could unlock meaningful efficiency gains.

Closing this gap demands tools that are simple, affordable, and aligned with how small businesses are actually run. We should rethink how digital solutions are designed, delivered, and supported. This could look like bundled kits with training, mobile-first platforms, or agent-assisted onboarding in local languages.

ACCESS TO GOV鈥橳 SUPPORT
Most MSMEs want to engage with government support, yet access remains confusing and inconsistent. While 77% of MSMEs say they can comply with regulations and 62% report positive experiences with basic permits, satisfaction for financing support (36%) and upskilling of job-seekers (48%) is notably lower.

Awareness of government programs among MSMEs is high, but awareness alone doesn鈥檛 translate into participation. Over 70% recognize initiatives such as Negosyo Centers, Kapatid Mentor ME, Go Lokal, and Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso. Yet actual participation remains below 20% for most initiatives, citing barriers such as unclear eligibility and difficulty understanding which offerings apply to their specific business.

These challenges are particularly pronounced among smaller players. Sari-sari store owners, for example, engage little beyond the most accessible support channels such as the Negosyo Center program. Meanwhile, food service operators struggle with labor law compliance and would deeply benefit from simplified hiring guides and labor law explainers. Across the board, only 21% of MSMEs are registered with Social Security System (SSS) as employers, and even fewer with Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (19%) or the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE)with 14%.

The need is not simply for more programs, but for those that are easier to access, better tailored to business size and sector, and more clearly communicated. For government support to unlock MSME growth, it must shift from being available in principle to being usable in practice.

ACCESS TO LABOR
MSMEs are eager to grow their teams but face persistent gaps in accessing, developing, and retaining the talent they need.

Two-thirds of MSMEs (72%) say they want to expand their workforce, and 82% hope to upskill existing staff, yet only about half feel confident in their current training efforts or in the skills of available talent. Fewer still (48%) feel that the government is doing enough to help jobseekers upskill.

Labor-related compliance adds another layer of complexity. Just 14% are registered with the DoLE, and awareness of key labor laws 鈥� such as overtime and holiday pay rules, employee contracts, occupational safety and health standards, and termination pay鈥� remains low. For many MSMEs, especially smaller enterprises, formal employment processes are unfamiliar, underutilized, or perceived as too complex.

Hiring remains largely informal for MSMEs. The majority of these enterprises still rely on walk-ins, referrals, or social media to fill roles, while structured recruitment channels like school partnerships or job platforms are used far less.

While 26% of MSMEs rely on walk-in applicants for hiring new talents, just 3% rely on university and school partnerships. This results in limited talent reach and poor job fits. For example, in the manufacturing segment, high turnover and skill mismatches remain persistent challenges.

MSMEs express strong intent to improve their labor practices but need talent systems built for their scale. This includes simple hiring templates, accessible upskilling programs tailored to sector and scale, and better access to part-time or seasonal worker networks where relevant. To unlock MSME growth, labor support must move beyond regulation toward enabling practical, responsive solutions that help small businesses build and retain the teams they need to thrive.

Filipino MSMEs are not short on ambition. They are short on fit-for-purpose support. Across all five pillars explored 鈥� financing, market access, tools and infrastructure, government support, and labor 鈥� it鈥檚 clear that the desire to grow is strong, but the systems around MSMEs are not always designed with their realities in mind.

This is a call to treat MSME support as economic infrastructure and not social aid. This means:

Extending metrics of success beyond program enrollment and into outcomes such as asset growth, job creation, and survival rates.

Building progressive pathways for credit access, starting from micro-limits tied to behavior and trust-based models that grow over time.

Designing support based on how MSMEs actually operate 鈥� not by downsizing corporate tools, but by building for workflows shaped by limited capital and daily reinvention 鈥� where time, capital, and capacity are structured differently.

If we can take the steps to build with MSMEs 鈥� like building systems that are simple, responsive, and rooted in real experiences 鈥� we don鈥檛 just unlock income or jobs. By doing so, we catalyze dignity and inclusive progress, by helping Filipinos turn one of their top dreams into reality: building a business of their own.

Read the full report from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) here:

Tiffany Uy is a project leader based in BCG鈥檚 Manila office. She is a core member of BCG鈥檚 Social Impact practice, working a wide variety of economic development topics with public and social sector clients across Southeast Asia.听

Jaymes Nicholas Shrimski is a management consultant at BCG in Manila, with prior experience in venture capital and private banking across Southeast Asia.

IT鈥橲 STILL EARLY DAYS for me in the Philippines as IFC鈥檚 new country manager here, and already I鈥檓 struck by the remarkable journey this country has undergone over the past four decades 鈥� a journey that 大象传媒 has dutifully documented through its 38 years of dedicated reporting.

I鈥檓 often asked what lessons I bring with me, working across such varied and seemingly disparate markets, from Pakistan to Lebanon to Sri Lanka, and then Kenya, where I led our operations across several East African countries. I see some consistent truths that cut across all these markets 鈥� how families, communities and economies change when people have respectable livelihoods. How these livelihoods and sustainable economic development must be deeply rooted in local capacity.

At IFC we are keenly aware that you can鈥檛 just parachute in solutions from the outside and expect them to take hold. Solutions may be seeded by ideas from outside, but they must be grown in and adapted to our market realities. And in the Philippines, there is no shortage of ideas or capacity.

With a young, dynamic population and a steadily growing economy, the country has all the ingredients for sustained prosperity. Yet challenges remain 鈥� how do we ensure that growth translates into meaningful, long-term employment opportunities that can lift millions more Filipinos into the middle class? We believe the answer lies in empowering the private sector to become the primary engine of job creation and growth. And that鈥檚 exactly what IFC is here for.

POWERING GROWTH: THE ROAD TO CLEAN ENERGY AND WATER
Energy is a fundamental input for economic growth, and there is no shortage of interest from the private sector to help the Philippines meet its energy aspirations. From renewable energy developers eager to drive low-carbon solutions across the archipelago to financial institutions leading multibillion-peso sustainable finance issuances, Philippine companies are stepping up with both capital and commitment. And so are we.

Last year, we announced our first Sustainability-Linked Financing deal with Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), for up to $250 million (P14 billion), which aims to strengthen the Philippines鈥� transition to green and resilient buildings while creating quality employment opportunities across the construction and retail sectors. It also enabled the company to issue two additional sustainability-linked bonds under the same framework, demonstrating the market-creation impact of IFC鈥檚 strategic approach.

The framework doesn鈥檛 work for just one company 鈥� we established a replicable model that other developers and companies can adapt for their own sustainability journeys. When respected leaders like the Ayala Group are first to embrace these new financing instruments, it sends a powerful signal to the broader market about their commercial viability and strategic value.

Indeed, the Ayala Group and IFC have championed climate finance in the country for many years. In 2023, we invested $250 million in the Bank of the Philippine Islands鈥� first green bond issuance as part of our 30×30 Zero program. That was the biggest deal IFC has done with a financial institution in this part of the world, and it has gone on to fund crucial projects in renewable energy, green buildings, electric vehicles and climate-smart agriculture.

BDO is another great example of a financial institution leading the way in sustainable finance. The bank鈥檚 maiden blue bond issuance in 2022 encouraged other financial institutions to explore similar instruments, multiplying the impact. When IFC invested $100 million in that offering to tackle marine pollution, we weren鈥檛 just addressing an environmental challenge. We were catalyzing an entire industry around waste management, marine conservation, and sustainable coastal development鈥攕ectors that will employ thousands of Filipinos for decades to come.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: CATALYZING JOB CREATION
Having spent my career in emerging markets, I have seen up close how strategic investments in financial technology can transform entire economic ecosystems.

The challenge is significant. Despite micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) comprising over 99% of all businesses in the Philippines, loans to them persistently fail to meet expectations. Under local law, banks must allocate at least 10% of their total loan portfolio to MSMEs. And yet in the first quarter of 2025, that figure came in at just 4.6%, not much different from last year.

This disparity becomes even more pronounced when we consider geographic distribution. While 75% of MSMEs operate outside Metro Manila, only a fraction of banking system loans serves companies beyond the capital region. This structural imbalance has created a financing desert that traditional banks have struggled to address.

Our fintech investments target this gap directly. We support technology-enabled lenders such as Salmon and First Circle, both of which use artificial intelligence (AI)-driven credit assessment to reach previously unbanked and underserved clients.

First Circle says SMEs partnering with them have achieved an average 80% growth in their first two years as customers, and the startup has now extended P11 billion in total loans. Meanwhile, Salmon鈥檚 acquisition and digital transformation of the 60-year-old Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa resulted in a remarkable 439% increase in deposits, demonstrating how fintech innovation can breathe new life into traditional banks while expanding financial access to underserved communities.

IFC also worked with CARD Bank, one of the largest microfinance institutions in the Philippines, to develop and deploy an automated credit scoring model nationwide across its branches last year. Since then, the bank has disbursed more than 10,000 new loans, of which 93% went to women or women-led businesses, many in remote areas.

Likewise for Esquire Financing 鈥� apart from a digital scorecard, IFC extended them P500 million, which was our first investment in a nonbank financial institution (NBFI) in the country. That was in 2022, just as the Philippines was navigating its way out of the pandemic, so the bulk of the proceeds went to those hardest hit by the lockdowns 鈥� women-owned businesses and informal enterprises.

The success of our investments in the Philippines validates a fundamental principle. When we remove barriers to financial access for large companies or small businesses, we unleash entrepreneurial potential that creates jobs, drives innovation, and builds more inclusive economic growth. We鈥檝e seen time and again that every loan to an MSME can translate into five, ten or twenty new jobs in local communities. When a manufacturing plant in Cebu secures growth financing, it doesn鈥檛 just increase production capacity, it creates skilled employment opportunities and contributes to industrial development outside traditional economic centers.

At the World Bank Group, local job creation sits at the center of everything we do 鈥� whether we鈥檙e financing wind farms that employ local technicians or supporting financial institutions that expand credit to underserved markets. As part of IFC鈥檚 2030 strategy, we鈥檙e aiming to reach over 30 million small businesses worldwide by 2030 through technology and strategic partnerships. But rather than just providing loans, we鈥檙e building complete support systems where small businesses can access markets, adopt new technologies, and find the opportunities they need to succeed and hire more people.

THE PATH FORWARD
Building on the remarkable progress of the past decades, the Philippines is well-positioned for the next phase of growth. The country has strengthened its institutions, developed human capital, and established robust regulatory frameworks. What鈥檚 needed now is a continuance of the patient, strategic deployment of private capital essential for creating quality jobs that will improve lives for millions of people.

Watching businesses create opportunities for young people in Africa, to my new role in Manila, supporting Filipino entrepreneurs as they build the companies of tomorrow, I think about that one principle that holds steady 鈥� when you get the private sector ecosystem right, good growth follows.

The Philippines has all the ingredients for this success. IFC with its patient capital, technical expertise, and, most importantly, a commitment to the Filipino people, can help ensure that private sector growth translates into broad-based, lasting and shared prosperity.

Amena Arif is the country manager for the Philippines at the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

THE Philippines continues to have one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia and is poised to reach upper middle-income status. Yet, for a country approaching this income classification, too many human development outcomes remain lagging, stagnating or even regressing. The aspiration to attain upper middle-income status is increasingly challenged by intersecting global crises such as climate change, rapid technological disruption, and geopolitical instability.

The country is also poised to reap the benefits of a demographic dividend. Over the next two decades, there will be more adults than children in the population, resulting in a larger workforce. Education reforms can lay the groundwork for sustained national growth to reap the rewards of this demographic dividend.

The country could experience significant gains from this if the right policy frameworks are in place and sufficient investments are made now.

International assessments, such as the UNICEF-led 2019 Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics revealed that an alarming 9 out of 10 Grade 5 learners in the Philippines could not read at the required level. The COVID-19 pandemic further delayed learning by an estimated two to three years of schooling. Bangsamoro children are further behind. New learning assessment results will be released by the end of the year.

Children in the Philippines face complex, multifaceted challenges that begin long before they enter a classroom. Many are born into a landscape of social and economic inequality, leading to a host of disadvantages. These include limited access to essential prenatal vitamins, incomplete childhood vaccinations, inadequate nutrition, and early stimulation, which impacts brain development of a child. One in three children in the Philippines is stunted. Stunted children are likely to earn less as adults due to reduced physical and cognitive development.听This diminished earning potential has significant consequences for both the individuals affected and the overall economic prosperity of their communities.

By the time a child reaches kindergarten, they often carry the weight of these early disadvantages. Their school environment presents its own set of obstacles, such as large class sizes, overworked teachers, and a scarcity of learning materials. In many cases, schools lack access to basic utilities like electricity and the internet.

The child鈥檚 journey can also be further complicated by bullying, the risk of child abuse, and the pressure to drop out to support their family financially. Given these circumstances, for a child to succeed academically is truly a remarkable achievement.

The second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), established to recommend targeted reforms to address the learning crisis, has presented a range of analyses and solutions to long-standing issues within the education system. It has also fostered improved coordination between key agencies responsible for early childhood care and development (ECCD Council), basic education (DepEd), technical and vocational education (TESDA), and higher education (CHED). With new leadership and strategic plans, these agencies have a renewed focus on effective program implementation.

As a long-standing partner of the Philippine government, UNICEF Philippines supports these agencies in their roles as duty-bearers for children鈥檚 rights. While monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 has shown significant progress, there is still much work to be done. The new strategic plans put forth by education agencies have correctly identified many priorities for the medium term. Building on this momentum, UNICEF offers these recommendations to further recalibrate the country鈥檚 path toward providing quality education for every child.

1. Support Parents, Not Just School Personnel

Parents are the most influential factor in a child鈥檚 success. They not only contribute genetically but also shape the child鈥檚 home environment. Their understanding of education鈥檚 long-term value, even when faced with immediate financial constraints, is critical. Engaging and supporting parents and caregivers is key to ensuring children reach their full potential.

2. Ensure Proper Nutrition for Children Under Five, Not Just School-Age Kids

The government is already investing heavily in school-based feeding programs. However, we must find a way to expand similar programs to children younger than five. Conditions like stunting are largely irreversible after age two. Enhancing the implementation of Republic Act 11148, also known as the 鈥淔irst 1,000 Days Law,鈥� is an excellent starting point.

3. Conduct Detailed Child Mapping, Not Just Home Visits

While national information systems are maturing, they still have gaps in tracking the target population in specific areas. Similarly, household visits by school personnel are often unsystematic and incomplete. A transition to comprehensive child tracking systems through enhanced and coordinated child mapping in local governments would enable the government to ensure every child, especially the most vulnerable including the children with disabilities, receives the appropriate services.

4. Increase Preschool Sessions, Not Just School Buildings

We commend the government for its investment in constructing new child development centers, but there is a significant lag between budget approval and project completion. We advocate for the widespread use of Supervised Neighborhood Playgroup sessions in communities to ensure early childhood education can begin immediately while waiting for new buildings to be completed.

5. Tap Other Experts for Teaching, Not Just Teacher Education Graduates

The Teacher Education Council鈥檚 forthcoming roadmap aims to attract top talent to the profession. In addition, we recommend creating pathways for graduates of other fields, as well as other professionals, to become teachers. Their specialized expertise and diverse life experiences are invaluable for a child鈥檚 holistic development.

6. Use Local Languages, Not Just English and Filipino

The choice of a medium of instruction is often political. However, from a scientific standpoint, a child鈥檚 first language is the best foundation for further learning. It enhances early learning and is the most effective way to build proficiency in both Filipino and English, preparing children to be globally competitive.

7. Teach Socioemotional Skills, Not Just Academic Competencies

Beyond low academic performance, employers frequently report that graduates lack the essential soft skills needed for the workplace. Socioemotional skills like self-awareness, relationship management, and responsible decision-making cannot be taught through lectures; they must be modeled. Schools should intentionally dedicate time and resources for activities that consistently build these skills.

8. Support Out-of-School Individuals, Not Just Formal Learners

Many Filipinos, usually through no fault of their own, have been unable to complete basic education, severely limiting their economic prospects. Expanding access to the Alternative Learning System offers a vital second chance to this portion of the population. The more out-of-school youth and adults we can support now, the sooner they can be more productive.

9. Prioritize Education in BARMM, Not Just Autonomy

As BARMM advances its autonomous governance, the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE), led by visionary and competent technocrats, has successfully integrated all levels of education into a single agency. Given its unique context, BARMM requires a combination of direct implementation and systems strengthening support than other national agencies. Tailored national government support will ensure that BARMM鈥檚 institutions are capacitated to provide quality, inclusive and resilient education services while recognizing the region鈥檚 autonomy.

10. Enhance Climate Resilience, Not Just Disaster Preparedness

Children in the Philippines lose up to a month鈥檚 worth of school days due to climate-related events. Damaged learning infrastructure and materials, as well as high hazard exposure, impede their learning. The Philippine education system must adapt to the realities of climate change by investing in safe learning infrastructure, integrating climate change education into the curricula, training teachers and education personnel on climate-responsive teaching, and empowering children themselves to be active participants in climate change efforts. These are essential to continuous access to quality, inclusive education amid climate-related disruptions.

Education reform is a long-term endeavor. The country would benefit from sustained initiatives protected from political shifts. The existence of new strategic plans is a positive step, providing a roadmap for future leaders to follow. However, significant work remains to be done to ensure that these plans translate into tangible benefits and results that are felt directly by every Filipino child to be productive citizens, prepared to navigate the challenges of the future. The government can count on UNICEF to continue its support in ensuring the rights of every child are met.

Behzad Noubary is the country representative ad interim of UNICEF Philippines.

The Philippines鈥� ambition to graduate from being a middle-income economy will require many years of sustained growth, with scarring from the coronavirus pandemic and global uncertainties threatening to delay its progress.

Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the country鈥檚 transition to high-income status could take 鈥渄ecades of sustained high growth and capacity expansion.鈥�

鈥淕lobally, the median period required for a country to progress from middle-income to high-income status is approximately 23 years. Since 1990, only 35 middle-income countries have transitioned to high-income status,鈥� Mr. Balisacan said.

The Philippines is currently classified as a lower middle-income economy as its gross national income (GNI) per capita stood at $4,470 in 2024, up from $4,230 a year earlier, but still far from the World Bank鈥檚 high-income threshold of more than $13,935.

GNI per capita would need to grow more than three times for the Philippines to become a high-income country, Mr. Balisacan said.

The Philippines has been stuck in the World Bank鈥檚 lower middle-income bracket since 1987. The Marcos administration is targeting to reach upper middle-income status by next year.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam has overtaken the Philippines in terms of GNI per capita, reaching $4,490. Other economies in the lower middle-income level are Cambodia ($2,520), Laos ($2,000), and Myanmar ($1,220).

Meanwhile, Malaysia ($11,670), Thailand ($7,120), and Indonesia ($4,910) are upper middle-income countries. Singapore ($74,750) and Brunei ($36,150) are high-income countries.

According to World Bank Division Director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Zafer Mustafao臒lu, the Philippine economy must grow by 6% to 7% annually to reach high-income status.

鈥淩egardless of these thresholds, it is important for the Philippines to continue on a path of fast, inclusive, and job-rich growth that translates into improved living standards for all Filipinos,鈥� Mr. Mustafao臒lu said in an e-mail.

鈥淎mBisyon Natin 2040鈥� was conceptualized in 2015 as a 25-year plan that envisions a high-income economy, with the Philippines becoming a predominantly middle-class society while minimizing poverty and poor health.

The DEPDev has clarified that there is no specific target year for the Philippines to reach high-income status, but its long-term goals have been set back by the COVID-19 pandemic that cost three years of growth momentum, Mr. Balisacan earlier said.

Emerging domestic and global risks could also derail its progress, he said.

鈥淪lower growth is projected across countries, including in advanced economies and emerging Asia, stemming from the escalation of trade tensions, elevated uncertainties, and intensified geopolitical conflicts,鈥� Mr. Balisacan said.

鈥淎 further worsening of the global economic condition may also stall progress in rebuilding policy buffers and further deteriorate countries鈥� resilience against ongoing and future shocks.鈥�

US President Donald J. Trump鈥檚 protectionist trade policy has caused heightened global uncertainty. Since his return to the White House in January, Mr. Trump has imposed higher duties on various goods and sectors as he looks to strengthen US manufacturing and boost investment.

The US began imposing higher 鈥渞eciprocal鈥� tariffs on most of its trading partners starting Aug. 7. A 19% tariff was slapped on goods from the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Mr. Balisacan added that delayed rate cuts in the US could also affect the Philippine economy as this could lead to a weaker peso and a potential disruption in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas鈥� (BSP) own easing cycle.

The US Federal Reserve has kept its target rate at the 4.25%-4.5% range since December last year, with officials citing the need to assess the inflationary and economic impact of Mr. Trump鈥檚 tariffs. However, Fed policymakers said in their July meeting that they continue to see two rate cuts this year.

For its part, the BSP resumed its easing cycle in April after a surprise pause earlier this year amid the uncertainty brought by the US鈥� policies.

In August, the Monetary Board delivered its third straight 25-basis-point (bp) cut to bring the target reverse repurchase rate to 5%.听 It has now trimmed benchmark borrowing costs by a total of 150 bps since August 2024.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said the policy rate is now in a 鈥渟weet spot鈥� in terms of both inflation and output, but he left the door open for one more reduction within the year to support the economy if needed, which would likely mark the end of its current rate-cut cycle.

Household spending and private investment also remain vulnerable to inflation-related risks, while extreme weather events and disasters pose threats to infrastructure and agricultural output, Mr. Balisacan added.

鈥淢eanwhile, government spending could be hampered by the weak absorptive capacity of implementing agencies and local government units, as well as by the passage of tax/revenue-eroding measures.鈥�

ESCAPING THE 鈥楳IDDLE-INCOME TRAP鈥�
The World Bank describes the 鈥渕iddle-income trap鈥� as a situation where a country is able to achieve middle-income status but then reaches a plateau and sees a deceleration in growth as it is unable to ramp up the sophistication of its economic structure to further increase productivity.

Mr. Balisacan said the government is exerting all efforts to avoid a boom-bust cycle, wherein an economy experiences rapid growth and then suddenly contracts.

The Philippines鈥� demographic dividend, which he said is expected to last until around 2060 to 2070, offers a window of opportunity.

鈥淭he country has a 20-year window to leverage its young population by investing in education and health and bridging the gap between human skills and labor market demand.鈥�

He added that investment in critical infrastructure, reforming business regulation, and opening more sectors to competition could lead to higher and sustained economic growth.

The government is 鈥渟trengthening efforts to manage public debt responsibly, keep the fiscal deficit within prudent limits, address inflationary pressures, and safeguard overall financial stability鈥� in its quest for sustained and stable economic growth, Mr. Balisacan said.

ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office Country Economist Andrew Tsang said the Philippines has a 鈥渓ong way鈥� to go before it reaches high-income status, with the fragile global environment expected to hit investment sentiment and trade.

This is why overcoming the scarring effects of the pandemic and boosting competitiveness are of paramount importance.

鈥淭his means attracting more investment and improving access to financing, especially for MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) whose balance sheets have been impaired, and upgrading productivity, job quality, and workforce skills,鈥� Mr. Tsang said, adding that many MSMEs still rely on informal lenders like loan sharks due to banks鈥� reluctance to extend credit to the sector.

鈥淎t the same time, the government should prioritize improving labor productivity and job quality in the services sector, as well as in high-productivity sectors such as high-end manufacturing, digital services, and agribusiness,鈥� he said.

Former Finance Secretary Margarito 鈥淕ary鈥� B. Teves said reaching high-income status would also require the government to strategically allocate its funds to support productive economic activity.

鈥淚t is a tough task that requires sustained commitment and strong leadership on the part of the government to mobilize its limited resources productively into programs and projects that would provide opportunities to all Filipinos,鈥� Mr. Teves said.

The country must diversify growth sources by investing further in agriculture, supply-chain improvements to manage food inflation, and addressing hunger and malnutrition, he said.

Boosting foreign direct investment inflows should also be a priority, he added. As a way to attract investments, the government must continue to improve the country鈥檚 physical and digital infrastructure.

鈥淭his would facilitate a smoother flow of goods and people across the archipelago, as well as unlock growth potential in the countryside. Enhancing internet access, especially in far-flung communities, is crucial in enabling information sharing such as in education, healthcare, and even skills development,鈥� Mr. Teves said.

鈥淓scaping the middle-income trap is not about doing more of the same but about moving up the value chain,鈥� Mr. Mustafao臒lu added.

Citing the World Bank鈥檚 World Development Report 2024, he said middle-income economies like the Philippines should apply the sequenced strategy of investment, infusion, and innovation or 鈥�3i.鈥�

鈥淚n short, to achieve more sophisticated economies, middle-income countries need two successive transitions. In the first, investment is complemented with infusion, so that countries focus on imitating and diffusing modern technologies. In the second, innovation is added to the investment and infusion mix, so that countries focus on building domestic capabilities to add value to global technologies, ultimately becoming innovators themselves.鈥�

The Philippines needs to recalibrate the mix of the three drivers of economic growth 鈥攊nvestment, infusion, and innovation 鈥� as it moves through middle-income status, he said.

鈥淚n secondary cities like Cebu or Davao, it鈥檚 also about helping firms better integrate into global supply chains. In more advanced areas, where sophisticated firms are emerging, building a strong innovation ecosystem becomes critical.鈥�

Mr. Mustafao臒lu said there is no one-size-fits-all formula, but countries like South Korea, Poland, and Chile, which successfully escaped the middle-income trap, share key traits. These include sustained investment, strategic openness, and targeted support for firm capabilities and workforce skills that are adapted to their respective development stages and institutional context.

鈥淟ong-term success depends on investing in people… Boosting foundational learning, reducing stunting, and scaling up digital and technical skills 鈥� especially through flexible, lifelong learning 鈥� are essential to prepare workers for a rapidly changing global economy.鈥�

In the face of rising global uncertainty, the Philippines must double down on reforms that strengthen competitiveness and resilience, such as eliminating barriers that keep firms small and unproductive, and tackling high costs related to doing business. Mr. Mustafao臒lu said. It must also put in place trade and investment policies to help firms meet international standards and connect to value chains.

鈥淚n short, global headwinds make reform more urgent 鈥� not less. By deepening competition, investing in capabilities, and helping firms connect to global markets, the Philippines can move up the ladder towards a sophisticated high-income economy.鈥�

The Philippines finds itself at the center of a strategic contest, rallying Southeast Asian neighbors and Western partners against China鈥檚 expanding assertiveness in the South China Sea, as it prepares to host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit next year.

Manila is seeking to accelerate talks on a long-delayed Code of Conduct (CoC) for the disputed waters, aiming to bring negotiations closer to conclusion before it assumes the bloc鈥檚 chairmanship in 2026 鈥� a role it will take a year earlier than expected after Myanmar declined its turn.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro said the Philippines wants to meet the 2023 mandate set by ASEAN foreign ministers to finalize a CoC with China 鈥渂y next year,鈥� even if experts remain skeptical about the chances of securing a legally binding agreement.

鈥淚t is our view, and we are all working together to have the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct to be out by next year,鈥� Ms. Lazaro told a recent news briefing. Malaysia is set to host a technical working group meeting this month, followed by Singapore in September, with another round in China later in the year.

鈥淎ll of these are fast-tracking [ways], but of course, in their own time frame, and the discussions are being really intensely discussed,鈥� she added.

Once it takes over as ASEAN chairman, the Philippines plans to make peace and security, maritime cooperation and climate change the cross-cutting priorities of its leadership. 鈥淲e are of the view that we should build on what Malaysia has done and create building blocks to strengthen ASEAN cooperation,鈥� Ms. Lazaro said.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who came to office in 2022, has taken a stronger public stance against Beijing鈥檚 actions in the South China Sea. His administration has deepened ties with the US and other like-minded partners such as Australia and Japan, while expanding joint maritime activities.

ASEAN and China signed a nonbinding Declaration of Conduct in 2002, but efforts to transform it into an enforceable framework have repeatedly stalled due to political sensitivities and competing strategic interests.

Analysts say the prospect of finalizing a robust, legally enforceable CoC remains slim.

鈥淭he chances are very slim,鈥� Francis M. Esteban, a faculty member at Far Eastern University鈥檚 Department of International Studies, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. 鈥淲e still have to consider that ASEAN works on consensus, and lately, the dynamics between member states have been in shaky waters.鈥�

If consensus is achieved, it would be a 鈥済ame-changer鈥� that could lend ASEAN greater moral and legal legitimacy on maritime issues, he said.

鈥楾HORNY ISSUES鈥�
Justin Keith A. Baquisal, a national security analyst at FACTS Asia, said member states still differ on what activities should be permitted or prohibited under the CoC.

鈥淲hile all parties have said they want to have it as soon as possible, there are thorny issues,鈥� he said in a Viber message. 鈥淢any want to retain a wide decision space and be flexible, so I doubt they can agree much.鈥�

He added that while the CoC could bring predictability in regional maritime tactics and formalize dispute resolution, it would not be a 鈥渕agic solution,鈥� especially given Beijing鈥檚 track record of ignoring international rulings 鈥� including the 2016 arbitral award in favor of the Philippines that voided its sweeping nine-dash line claim.

The South China Sea remains one of Asia鈥檚 most volatile flashpoints, claimed wholly or partly by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Beijing asserts sovereignty over more than 80% of the waterway based on a 1940s map 鈥� a claim dismissed by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Some ASEAN members remain reluctant to confront China directly, prioritizing economic and military ties with Beijing. 鈥淭hose ASEAN member states that lean towards China for support will ask the Philippines if it can provide more than what they are getting from China,鈥� Mr. Esteban said.

Mr. Baquisal said neighbors such as Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam have generally adopted nonaligned policies. 鈥淭hey will refrain from outright calling out or confrontation with China. That is ultimately their sovereign prerogative.鈥�

The Philippines, he added, might have to settle for reinforcing regional acceptance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) without expecting others to join its stronger stance.

Chester B. Cabalza, president of the International Development and Security Cooperation think tank, said ASEAN should exercise 鈥渟trategic patience鈥� given the complexity of redefining the regional security framework.

鈥淚t will be a feat for ASEAN since the Philippines is a staunch supporter of maritime international law, but China would deter it and call it bias,鈥� he said via Messenger chat.

Tensions in the South China Sea are unfolding alongside intensifying US-China competition in the region. Mr. Cabalza noted that US tariff policies are reshaping trade dynamics in ASEAN, giving Beijing opportunities to deepen economic influence through 鈥渓ucrative trade-offs鈥� with member capitals.

The Philippines recently concluded reciprocal tariff talks with Washington, set to take effect on Aug. 1. However, its rates offer little advantage over competitors such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

Mr. Baquisal said the Philippines should match its diplomatic push with accelerated military modernization 鈥� acquiring more ships, enhancing maritime domain awareness and reinforcing outposts in the Spratly Islands.

The government has embarked on a $35-billion (P2-trillion) modernization program over the next decade, including advanced naval vessels, aircraft, and missile systems. Manila is also integrating foreign partners into its defense posture, holding joint patrols and multilateral exercises in contested waters.

鈥淗abitualizing the treatment of the South China Sea as not Chinese internal waters is very important, as this creates facts on the ground,鈥� Mr. Baquisal said.

Multinational cooperation 鈥� once rare in the South China Sea 鈥� is becoming more common. The Philippines now routinely participates in exercises with countries like the US, Japan and Australia.

Mr. Esteban suggested embedding South China Sea education in the basic curriculum to foster public understanding of maritime sovereignty. 鈥淲e need a whole-of-society approach in enforcing our sovereignty,鈥� he added.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. enters the second half of his six-year term with his long-term legacy in mind, and might be best placed to achieve this if he pursues transformative reforms and avoid being treated like a lame duck for the remainder of his tenure, analysts said.

Mr. Marcos, whose presidency began with promises of stability and prosperity in 2022, now faces pressure to translate rhetoric into results. In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, he pointedly avoided mention of his economic goals during the last half of his term.

Weighing on him is the burden of public expectations to deliver on his campaign promises of cheap rice, a revitalized countryside, and a revival of manufacturing.

Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said Mr. Marcos鈥� midterm SONA suggested the caution of a President focused on survival, with political harmony prioritized over bold reforms that have the potential of throwing Congress into gridlock.

Mr. Tapia noted the administration must shift from 鈥渕aintenance mode鈥� to pursuing bold, strategic reforms.

According to College of St. Benilde School of Diplomacy and Governance Dean Gary D. Ador Dionisio, the remainder of the President鈥檚 time in Malaca帽ang must be focused on pursuing a 鈥渞emarkable, realistic reform agenda.鈥�

鈥淕iven his limited time, the administration must prioritize reforms鈥� to stabilize our economic foundation in the face of a high debt-to-GDP ratio,鈥� he told 大象传媒 via Messenger chat.

He said these economic reforms must be undertaken with an eye towards reassuring the international community that the Philippines has working institutions that are up to the task of dealing with corrupt officials, as well as opening up the budget to greater public scrutiny, particularly the bicameral deliberations on the budget bill where many so-called 鈥渋nsertions鈥� are made, diluting the impact of the Executive branch鈥檚 priority measures.

Mr. Ador Dionisio noted that the administration must pass a national living wage to increase the purchasing power of workers.

During the first half of the administration鈥檚 term, Congress failed to pass a legislated wage increase for minimum wage earners. The President also did not mention such measures during his SONA.

While such bills passed in their respective chambers, the House and Senate never agreed on which version to adopt. The House passed a bill to increase the minimum wage for private-sector workers by P200 on the last day of session of the 19^th Congress. The Senate had passed similar legislation nearly a year earlier, calling for an increase of P100.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment, almost five million minimum wage earners in 2024 across 14 of the 17 Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) benefited from the pay hikes approved by regional boards, which ranged from P21 to P75.

As of July 2025, the National Capital Region had the highest daily minimum wage P695 for nonfarm workers, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had the lowest at P361.

RTWPBs are authorized to adjust pay rates because they theoretically are best positioned to determine the needs of their respective regions, though in practice their wage adjustments have failed to keep up with the cost of living. A legislated wage hike, on the other hand, represents a one-size-fits-all approach that does not consider regional conditions.

Mr. Marcos has never publicly discouraged a legislated wage hike but has taken a position largely backing the role of RTWPBs.

Jose Enrique A. Africa, executive director of think tank IBON Foundation, urged the administration to adopt an agenda focused on industrialization and structural reform.

Merely passing priority bills endorsed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) is insufficient if they fail to address deep-rooted issues like agricultural stagnation, deindustrialization, and inadequate public services.

鈥淭he best way for the Marcos Jr. administration to avert the early onset of lame-duck status is to shift from the listless performative governance so far to pushing a bold and coherent legislative agenda for industrialization,鈥� he told 大象传媒 via Viber.

鈥淭his can be embedded in some of the proposals already raised by the LEDAC and can also leverage rhetoric from his last SONA.鈥�

Mr. Africa said the priorities should be policies focused on short-term welfare, like food security, jobs, and healthcare, while laying the foundation for long-term transformation in agriculture, renewable energy, and transport.

In agriculture, a sector Mr. Marcos gave specific attention to when he became his own Secretary of Agriculture early in his time in office, Mr. Africa called for further support for smallholder farmers to reduce hunger and stimulate agro-industrial development.

Though the administration made P20 rice a centerpiece program, the goal has been haltingly achieved through subsidies and by limiting the beneficiaries to the poorest segments of society. Along the way, it had to declare a food emergency due to rising rice prices.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) polling organization reported that about 7.5 million families experienced involuntary hunger in March 2025. Involuntary hunger was defined as having nothing to eat at least once in the past three months.

Mr. Tapia noted that agricultural modernization and food security are the kind of reforms with immediate and tangible impact on the lives of ordinary people. Addressing long-standing supply-chain issues and boosting domestic production will help stabilize food prices and reduce dependence on imports.

For jobs and infrastructure, Mr. Africa said the government must expand labor-intensive public employment programs to build essential infrastructure and support skills development.

Infrastructure and digital transformation, according to Mr. Tapia, remain cornerstones of the administration鈥檚 鈥淏uild Better More鈥� program. Timely completion of flagship projects and the acceleration of e-governance are seen as essential to improving public service efficiency and attracting investment.

The administration must also promote decentralized, community-owned energy systems and reassess privatized water services, Mr. Africa added.

He batted for a wealth tax on billionaires to raise revenue and signal a commitment to equitable development.

Mr. Tapia said the administration must protect the middle class from excessive tax burdens. With debt levels still elevated, he stressed the need for a credible fiscal strategy that can support social and economic priorities without stifling growth.

鈥淚f he can deliver visible results in these areas, Marcos can frame his last three years as a period of consolidation and meaningful nation-building rather than drift into political irrelevance,鈥� Mr. Tapia said.

Mr. Africa argued that what is 鈥減olitically feasible鈥� should not be defined by elite interests alone.

Mr. Ador Dionisio argued for rejoining the International Criminal Court to signal its commitment to human rights despite historical baggage.

Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, unilaterally left the ICC in 2018 when the tribunal started investigating his war on drugs. He is currently detained at The Hague while awaiting trial for alleged crimes against humanity.

Mr. Ador Dionisio added that the policy agenda should include expanding the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the cash-transfer program at the core of the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment.

He also advocated for super health centers to ease the burden on Department of Health-run hospitals, depoliticizing government aid, and diversifying trade partnerships beyond the US.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. could face legislative headwinds as a divided Congress threatens to derail his reform agenda, political analysts said, casting uncertainty over his efforts to build a lasting legacy ahead of the 2028 presidential race.

Contentious proposals will likely be subjected to deeper scrutiny in Congress, which could force the President to settle for watered-down measures at the expense of radical structural reforms, they added.

鈥淎 fragmented legislature creates a 鈥榯ransactional鈥� environment where bills will require heavier political bargaining and concessions,鈥� Cleve V. Arguelles, chief executive officer and president at Philippine think tank WR Numero Research, said in a Viber message.

鈥淎 split Congress slows momentum for structural reforms and forces Mr. Marcos to focus on popular, low-conflict measures rather than ambitious policy changes,鈥� he added.

The administration suffered a setback in the May 12 elections after only six of Mr. Marcos鈥� 11-man senatorial slate secured seats in the chamber 鈥� the worst showing by an incumbent since 2007.

While this poses a challenge for the President to marshal support in the chamber, Mr. Marcos has secured backing in the House of Representatives after his cousin, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, retained leadership of the chamber in the 20^th Congress with a supermajority vote.

鈥淭here is a significant change in the Senate as shown in the increase in the number of pro-Duterte senators,鈥� Dennis C. Coronacion, who heads the University of Sto. Tomas Political Science Department, said in a Facebook chat.

With five of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio鈥檚 endorsements winning senatorial seats, the total Duterte-allied senators in the chamber have risen to seven, which Senator Ronald M. dela Rosa has called the 鈥淒uter7鈥� bloc.

鈥淭his division means that while Malaca帽ang can push bills swiftly through the House, the Senate may act as a brake, especially on contentious measures,鈥� Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. 鈥淭he risk is that Marcos鈥� key reforms could stall or be watered down in bicameral negotiations.鈥�

This may not be the case for non-controversial bills, which are less likely to encounter a congressional deadlock, said Mr. Coronacion.

20^TH CONGRESS AGENDA
The President campaigned on a platform of economic revival, promising to reduce rice prices, boost agriculture, and usher in a new industrial era. Past the midpoint of his term, Mr. Marcos faces a critical window to enact long-term reforms that could define his legacy and help shore up support for his potential successor.

The Executive has yet to release its legislative wish list for the 20^th Congress, as of writing, but Mr. Marcos is expected to focus on pushing for the approval of education, health and agriculture measures 鈥� issues that Mr. Arguelles said are 鈥減olitically safe and broadly popular.鈥�

Aside from gut issue-based policies, George T. Barcelon, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Mr. Marcos should usher in structural reforms on power and logistics to lower operational costs to help attract foreign investors into the country. He noted that policymakers should move away from relying solely on incentives to lure foreign investors.

鈥淲e鈥檝e always been very open about trying to attract more foreign investors because we are the one among ASEAN countries getting the least amount of investments,鈥� he said in a phone call. 鈥淏ut just putting it in the law, or keep on adding incentives may not make this happen because there are still gaps.鈥�

The government should also reform the tax system by enacting a Magna Carta for taxpayers and streamlining procedures to simplify payments, Eleanor L. Roque, tax principal of P&A Grant Thornton, said in a Viber message.

鈥淭ransparency and clear rules also help in encouraging investors, local and foreign, to invest in the Philippines,鈥� she said.

Authorities should also focus on improving tax collections for now instead of looking at implementing new taxes to first plug revenue gaps, she added. 鈥淚t may be more important to focus on collection efficiencies now and improving taxpayers鈥� services.鈥�

Mr. Marcos is, however, expected to call for new tax measures amid a worsening fiscal position, and the need for welfare programs, like financial aids, to help shore up support for his administration, said Anthony Lawrence A. Borja, an associate political science professor at the De La Salle University.

鈥淲ith the current fiscal limits facing the government, tied with promises of more welfare and government subsidies, new or increased taxes would certainly be forwarded,鈥� he said in a Facebook chat.

An August report, published by the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD), recommended that policymakers pursue tax reforms to support the government鈥檚 fiscal consolidation plan, including improving tax administration and expanding the tax base.

鈥淭ax reforms may involve prioritizing the implementation of previously planned excise tax measures, further improvements in tax administration, broadening the tax base and enhancing the control of tax incentives,鈥� the think tank said.

The CPBRD recommended that Congress either increase tax rates on sugary beverages or impose a 鈥減roportionate鈥� tax rate that scales with the sugar content of drinks.

Drinks that use caloric or non-caloric sweeteners are currently charged a P6 excise tax per liter, while drinks that use high fructose corn syrup, or any such sweeteners in combination are charged P12 per liter, under Republic Act No. 10963, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law.

The think tank also recommended lawmakers consider narrowing the tax gap between cigarettes and vapes by increasing the tax rates on heated tobacco products, while also introducing a 20% ad valorem tax plus a P20 specific tax on electronic nicotine and non-nicotine devices.

There should also be a hike on road users鈥� tax rates, as the CPBRD said the current regime is 鈥渄isproportionately low鈥� and needs an update to keep up with the pace of new vehicles.

The Motor Vehicle User Charge rate varies depending on the vehicle type, gross weight and year model, according to the Land Transportation Office.

Policymakers should also consider implementing a global minimum tax regime to capture profits from multinational companies seeking to reduce their tax burden by setting up shop in the country, the think tank added.

The government has ramped up borrowing since the coronavirus pandemic, raising debt to 63.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) as of June, the highest since 2005, from only 39.6% in 2019.

This is above the 60% threshold considered by multilateral lenders to be manageable for developing economies. The Marcos administration aims to bring the debt ratio to 60.4% by yearend, and 56.9% by 2028.

National debt also jumped to a fresh high P17.27 trillion as of end-June, according to the latest government data.

鈥淲ith the Philippines鈥� current fiscal position, we may see more aggressive borrowing done by the National Government after raising the country鈥檚 debt ceiling and raising taxes for digital services and long-term interest earnings,鈥� Reinielle Matt M. Erece, an economist at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, Inc., said in a Viber message.

However, pushing for tax reforms will likely face an uphill battle in the Senate, said Mr. Tapia. 鈥淎ny tax measure must be packaged as pro-growth and shield the middle class to survive scrutiny.鈥�

EXECUTIVE TOOLKIT
Mr. Arguelles said Mr. Marcos has a broad array of powers in his Executive toolkit to help advance key measures in the event of a legislative gridlock.

鈥淧residents in the Philippines operate in a hyper-presidential system with both formal and informal powers,鈥� he said, citing the Executive鈥檚 power to disburse funds and appointment powers to government bodies, such as regulatory agencies.

鈥淭he control of disbursement of government funds still remains the most potent lever to reward allies and discipline dissenters,鈥� he said.

鈥淎dministrative discretion can also help fast-track parts of his agenda without waiting for new legislation,鈥� he added.

Mr. Marcos could also strike 鈥渜uid pro quo鈥� deals with lawmakers to block key legislation, offering plum political appointments or fast-tracking business licenses in exchange, said Mr. Coronacion.

the President could also use the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office to help negotiate compromises among lawmakers that are blocking his agenda, said Mr. Tapia.

鈥淗e could also time his endorsements to sway fence-sitting legislators,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he strategic use of public opinion and alliances with local governments can also pressure the Senate to act.鈥�

Much depends on Mr. Marcos鈥� performance in the second half of his term, which will be crucial in shaping his legacy and laying the groundwork for a viable successor, he noted.

鈥淚f Marcos pushes through landmark measures 鈥� like fiscal reforms, infrastructure programs, or social protection laws 鈥� he strengthens his claim to a transformative legacy and positions an ally for 2028,鈥� Mr. Tapia said. 鈥淔ailure to deliver would risk painting him as a 鈥榗aretaker president,鈥� making it harder to rally a successor and leaving the field open for opposition or Duterte-backed candidates.鈥�

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has entered the second half of his term with many promises to fulfill, but constrained by dwindling political capital, as shown by the administration鈥檚 performance in the 2025 midterm elections.

Although a recent OCTA survey (May 2025) said that President Marcos鈥� satisfaction rating is a high 68.1%, this does not translate into sufficient political capital. The political capital is necessary to pass difficult legislative reforms. For instance, a Senate that is mainly opposition, regardless of political color, will constrain the administration鈥檚 legislative agenda.

Further, the high satisfaction rating stands on shaky ground. Populist measures like the P20-per-kilo rice and different kinds of ayuda, make the masses happy. But this populism is fiscally unsustainable.

Nonetheless, if the President would like to leave a good legacy, he could use his high satisfaction rating to overcome the present major obstacles, introduce the durable reforms, and enable longer-term growth. His satisfaction rating should give him confidence that bold reforms can be done in the last three years of his term.

Thus, despite facing a few controversies, including the 2025 budget which was tagged by civil society as the most corrupt budget in Philippine history, President Marcos can still rectify the situation, move beyond business as usual, and adopt decisive reforms.

The administration must contend with what the World Bank describes as 鈥渨eak Philippine growth until 2027.鈥�听 The administration in truth has failed to meet its original growth targets.听 To save face, it has annually revised the targets downwards.

PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING BINDING CONSTRAINTS
As a first step, the Marcos administration needs to identify the binding constraints to private investments and growth. From there, determine the appropriate policy interventions. To undertake this, the growth diagnostics approach, popularized by Ricardo Hausmann, Dani Rodrik, and Andr茅s Velasco, is useful.

Examining low levels of investments and entrepreneurship, the diagnostics approach narrows the policy priorities through a decision tree, it explores possible causes, and picks out which constraints to investments are the most binding. To quote Hausmann et al., a growth and investment strategy must have a 鈥渟ense of priorities鈥� and targeting the most binding constraints 鈥渋s likely to provide the biggest bang for the reform buck.鈥�

Using the growth diagnostics approach, we then ask a series of questions, which would eventually lead us to the most likely binding constraints.

For example:听 Does an external shock like the US President Donald J. Trump鈥檚 high tariffs constitute a binding constraint? Analysts have pointed out that the Philippines is not as deeply integrated into the US and global markets, and hence the overall effect on our economy is rather 鈥渓imited.鈥�

Net, can the main obstacle be the high cost of finance?听 Globally, interest rates are stable or low.听 In the Philippines, the central bank has likewise pursued an easing of monetary policy. This August 2025, the central bank cut its benchmark rate by a quarter point. 听 It has also signaled a further rate cut before the end of the year.

Or is the binding constraint attributed to low appropriability like high prices?听 At the start of Marcos鈥� term, post-pandemic inflation shot up because of supply bottlenecks, which in turn fueled inflation expectations. This became a barrier to investments,听 听

It did not help either that import controls, low productivity, underinvestment, poor infrastructure, and oligopolistic market structure exacerbated the rise in basic food prices.

But general inflation in July 2025 stood at 0.9% (or a national average of 1.7% from January to July 2025). That said, food poverty and hunger persist, suggesting that the government must make food more accessible and affordable.

Is the binding constraint low human capital?听 The many persistent problems relating to education and health outcomes, their non-resolution will have a bigger economic impact in the future. But they have not seriously undermined current growth. In fact, labor productivity in the Philippines has improved in recent years. In 2024, it rose to 4.5% year on year. The problem is that workers are not even being given a fair share of the productivity gains, based on the data on huge wage markdown.

Is the binding constraint infrastructure? Poor and inadequate infrastructure used to be a most binding constraint. The Duterte administration addressed this by almost doubling government spending for infrastructure from 2.8% to 5.5% during its term.

CORRUPTION
The current problem is how the budget for infrastructure has become severely corrupted. To wit: The diversion of budget items to corruption-prone projects (e.g., flood control), the huge overpricing, the use of substandard materials, and even the existence of ghost projects.听 Most telling is the statement of Senator Panfilo M. Lacson that 鈥渟ometimes less than 40% of project costs鈥� is left for actual implementation.听 Outspoken mayors for good governance like Benjamin B. Magalong and Vico N. Sotto have likewise narrated stories about blatant corrupt practices.

Considering all this, BusinessWorld columnist Diwa C. Guinigundo wrote that 鈥渢he biggest drag on our economic momentum is not inflation, nor interest rates.听 They have been tamed. It is corruption 鈥� plain, cruel, and devastating.鈥� (See 鈥淐rawling beneath the bar of Caesar鈥檚 wife,鈥� Aug. 29, 2025.)

Corruption has drained the public coffers and has deteriorated the government鈥檚 fiscal position. But other factors contribute to the worsening fiscal problem. The government has allowed inefficient, inequitable, and unsustainable expenditures like the different types of patronage ayuda and the inequitable health benefits that have not been subject to a technically rigorous assessment.听 It has abandoned the reform of the increasingly costly pension system for military and uniformed personnel; they do not contribute a single centavo to their pension fund.听 And it has rejected sound proposals to generate substantial tax revenues through, say, health taxes.

NARROW FISCAL SPACE
Thus, while the high degree of corruption has significantly contributed to the country鈥檚 shrinking fiscal space, the narrow fiscal space in itself is a most binding constraint.

For context, the government has yet to successfully unwind the deficit and reduce the debt burden from the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of understandable high deficit spending and borrowing.听 More disturbing is the fact that the trend for debt-to-GDP ratio, instead of going down during the post-pandemic period, has risen from 60.6% for the full year in 2024 to 62%, or nearly P17 trillion, as of March 2025.

Meanwhile, the projected National Government (NG) deficit for 2025 is equivalent to 5.5% of GDP, barely an improvement from the deficit of 5.7% in the previous year. Note that before the pandemic, the deficit stood at 3.4% of GDP.

Sadly, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto turns a blind eye to the fiscal problem. Secretary Recto maintains his position that the country鈥檚 fiscal position remains robust.

鈥淪trategic measures were prepared to ensure fiscal sustainability and provide necessary buffers amid rising global economic uncertainty due to political tensions, prolonged higher interest rates, and unpredictable trade policies. But given our current strong fiscal performance, these are not needed at this time,鈥� Secretary Recto said in an April 2025 statement. Further, Secretary Recto has adopted a firm stance of 鈥渘o new taxes鈥� until the end of the Marcos administration.

The Bureau of Treasury, in its 2024 Full-Year Cash Operations Report, reported that total revenue collections in 2024 reached P4.419 trillion, or 16.72% of the country鈥檚 GDP, the highest revenue effort since 1997.

NONTAX REVENUES
A closer look at some indicators will belie Secretary Recto鈥檚 statements. The seemingly satisfactory revenue effort is deceiving. Note that 鈥渂etter-than-expected鈥� nontax revenue collections primarily drove higher total revenue collections. These nontax revenues included public-private partnership concession fees amounting to P30 billion, and notably, P167.2-billion transfer of funds from two government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PHIC) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

In short, the bulk of these non-tax revenues are regurgitated revenues 鈥� huge transfers from PHIC and PDIC. Moreover, the transfer of these 鈥渇und balances鈥� has been challenged at the Supreme Court, with petitioners calling on the Court to declare the provision transferring the GOCC funds unconstitutional for being a rider to the General Appropriations Act.

Beyond the illegality of the act, citizens have been questioning the wisdom and morality of the transfers.听 The PhilHealth funds are social health insurance premiums of indirect contributors or the indigent population, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens.听 The PDIC鈥檚 mandate is to protect the funds of bank depositors.

At the root of the PhilHealth and PDIC fund transfers is massive corruption that led to bicameral insertions of pork barrel projects in the programmed appropriations. The pork barrel projects bumped off the development programs, which became unprogrammed appropriations (UA). In turn, the UA鈥檚 funding depended on the transfers from PhilHealth and PDIC.

It is a fluke to base overall revenue performance on nontax revenues. Nontax revenues like the transfer of PhilHealth and PDIC funds to the National Government are artificial, non-recurring, unstable, and worse deceptive.

TAX REVENUES
But even with respect to tax revenues, the recent performance is mediocre. Analyzing tax revenue collections shows that actual collections missed the target set by the Quarterly Fiscal Program by 0.51% in 2024.

Moreover, the tax revenue collection got a superficial, temporary boost from a change in the filing schedule from monthly to quarterly. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reported: 鈥淭he substantial rise in VAT collections resulted from collecting 12 months鈥� worth of VAT in 2024 compared to just 10 months鈥� worth in 2023.鈥�

In addition, a bonus that will not repeat is the increase in personal income tax collections, 鈥渄riven mainly by higher government employee salaries with the implementation of Executive Order No. 64 s. 2024.鈥�

The fluke pertaining to the 2024 revenue performance, thanks to nontax revenues, will point to a shrinkage of almost half of projected revenue contribution in percentage terms to the fiscal balance in 2025. (Source: Budget Expenditures and Sources of Financing, FYs 2018 to 2025.)

STUBBORN FISCAL DEFICIT
In response to the stubborn fiscal gap, Finance Secretary Recto recently adjusted the borrowing plan to P2.6 trillion from P2.55 trillion. Worse, the government has consistently moved its targets after failing to reach them. Most recently, the Department of Finance (DoF) lowered the growth targets from 6%-8% to 5.5%-6.5%.

Said differently, the lackluster fiscal performance has sacrificed growth. The fiscal pressures have a constraining effect on investments and human capital development programs.

In June 2025, the national budget deficit shot up to P241.6 billion from P145.2 billion in May 2025 as spending continued to outpace revenue collections. Year-on-year Treasury data indicate that this is a 15.56% increase from the P209.1 billion deficit in June 2024.

In the first six months of 2025, the National Government鈥檚 budget deficit widened by 24.69% to P765.5 billion from the P613.9-billion gap last year. The BTr said the budget deficit remained relatively within target as it was 0.63% above the programmed P760.7 billion for the first half.

So far, the Marcos administration has only successfully legislated two tax reforms: the Value-Added Tax (VAT) on Digital Service Providers Act, which will collect P102 billion until 2029, and the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), which will collect P25 billion until 2030. Other reforms, including the motor vehicle road users鈥� tax (MVRUT), the excise tax on single-use plastics, and excise taxes on alcohol, vape products, junk food and sweetened beverages have been dropped.

Rather than pursuing fiscal consolidation, the administration has increased politically motivated, populist, and corruption-prone expenditures and pursued revenue-eroding measures.

Congress passed the CREATE MORE Act, which repeals the law that rationalized fiscal incentives, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act. CREATE MORE destroyed the core of the CREATE reform: giving incentives based on rigorous, fair, performance-based, and transparent rules 听 administered by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board.

Another threat is the continuing intense lobby of the tobacco industry to railroad a bill that will effectively lower tobacco tax rates.听 Although the attempt to pass the bill (House Bill No. 11360) in the last Congress was thwarted, expect the bill to be resurrected in the current 20^th Congress. If passed into law, over the next 10 years, the said bill will result in over one million new smokers and P176.5 billion worth of lost government revenues.

Solving the fiscal space problem has two major features. On the spending side, the government must stop the corruption of the budget and do away with inefficient and inequitable spending. Here, President Marcos, Jr. has called out the corruption in the flood-control projects. Public anger and vigilance can likewise restrain corruption.

On the revenue side, given the stubbornness of Secretary Recto towards tax reforms, the President can come forward and tackle the bull by its horns. The President must get the assurance that some tax reforms that efficiently generate substantial revenues have popular support.

We refer in particular to health taxes. Raising taxes on alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages, tobacco, and vape products is a win-win. They discourage consumption of harmful products that contribute to non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer while raising government revenues that will create fiscal space as well as finance health and nutrition programs.

Admittedly, it is most challenging to pursue reforms in the last half of the presidential term. But President Marcos has shown that he can express intense anger about corruption of the budget. We hope he will exhibit the same intensity to solve the intractable fiscal problem and, to quote his former Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, to avert a 鈥渇iscal collapse.鈥�

For the Marcos legacy to happen, he must surmount the most binding constraints, namely corruption and the narrow fiscal space.

Pia Rodrigo is strategic communications officer while Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III coordinates the Action for Economic Reforms.

PHILIPPINE companies are expected to integrate more sustainable financing into their capital-raising strategies as they pursue growth and build operational resilience amid economic and political uncertainties.

More banks, real estate, and utility firms are expected to issue sustainability-linked bonds, DragonFi Analyst Jarrod Leighton M. Tin said.

鈥淭hese instruments are often linked to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, with interest rates tied to the achievement of specific key performance indicators 鈥� falling short can trigger a rate penalty. For companies that prioritize ESG, sustainability-linked bonds offer both strategic alignment and competitive funding terms,鈥� he said.

China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said sustainable finance will soon become a dominant form of fundraising for corporates.

鈥淭here is increasing issuer and investor demand for sustainable finance products, like green, social, and sustainability-linked bonds. So far, a lot of the funds raised from such issuances are flowing to support renewable energy and eligible real estate projects,鈥� he said.

ING Philippines Country Manager Jun Palanca said the company is seeing strong client activity in the digital infrastructure and energy sectors, which are driven by long-term structural shifts.

鈥淭he energy transition is a major driver of investment activity. Despite broader market caution, renewable energy and transition-related mergers and acquisitions remain resilient across Australia, India, the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea,鈥� he said.

鈥淒igital infrastructure stands out as a key focus, with strong capital inflows into data centers, fiber networks, and connected ecosystems. Clients are increasingly focused on scalable, high-demand verticals 鈥� particularly artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled data platforms and regional connectivity solutions,鈥� he added.

Mr. Palanca noted that ING is also intensifying its focus on Philippine clients in the food and agriculture sectors.

鈥淭he country presents significant untapped potential and is poised to play a leading role in building a more sustainable and resilient food system across Southeast Asia,鈥� he said.

According to Mr. Palanca, the Philippines is entering a pivotal phase in its sustainable finance journey, underpinned by strong regulatory alignment and evolving investor expectations.

鈥淭he Philippine government鈥檚 sustainable finance roadmap, supported by financial regulators, offers clear guidance for market participants, catalyzing the development of green bonds, sustainability-linked loans, and ESG frameworks,鈥� he said.

鈥淭his structured approach is prompting local institutions to broaden their funding strategies 鈥� embedding sustainability goals and accessing deeper pools of international capital,鈥� he added.

Launched in 2021, the country鈥檚 sustainable finance roadmap and sustainable finance guiding principles seek to create an understanding among stakeholders of sustainable economic activities. These also aim to help make sustainable finance mainstream domestically.

In June, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report that the Philippines鈥� sustainable bond market only accounted for 2% of East Asia.

For the first quarter, the ADB said sustainability bonds took up 86.5% of the country鈥檚 total sustainable debt stock, followed by green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds with market shares of 11.7% and 1.8%, respectively.

ADB figures showed that the country鈥檚 outstanding local currency bonds rose by 4.1% to $235 billion in the first quarter.

For its part, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been promoting the adoption of sustainable financing and practices in the local business sector.

In January, the SEC partnered with the International Finance Corp. (IFC) to support the 30by30 Zero Philippines Program that aims to raise the climate-related lending of financial institutions to 30% of total portfolio on average with near zero coal exposure by 2030.

The 30by30 Zero Philippines initiative was developed by the IFC and the World Bank.

SECTORS TO DRIVE CAPITAL SPENDING
With the projected increase in sustainable finance, more companies are seen to allot more capital in various sectors to support their growth.

Mr. Colet said that companies are expected to continue allotting massive capital expenditure (capex) in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

鈥淏oth sectors are attracting significant investor interest due to favorable macroeconomic fundamentals, government support, and ample financing,鈥� he said.

鈥淕iven the long-term nature of capex investments in those sectors, sponsors and investors are looking beyond near-term uncertainties. They are willing to commit capital now because they remain optimistic about the growth prospects of the Philippines,鈥� he added.

Ven Christian S. Guce, chief finance officer of listed holding company Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), said the company鈥檚 capex in the near-to-medium term will be largely focused on digital transformation.

鈥淭hese investments include group-wide upgrades and harmonization of enterprise resource planning systems, and enhancements in procurement, enterprise asset management, enterprise planning, and other operational systems to drive cost efficiencies,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e continue to invest in people programs who are key drivers of the transformation. We have established centers of excellence such that we can leverage as a bigger cohesive group, to deepen expertise and sustain the transformation of the conglomerate to a high-performing organization,鈥� he added.

Mr. Guce said FDC will remain focused on continuously improving and creating value for its customers.

鈥淭hese may involve capex aimed at improving customer satisfaction, safety, health, and environmental outcomes. Digital investments are prioritized towards customer value creating systems and applications as well as for operating efficiencies,鈥� he said.

鈥淲ithin each of our business segments, capital allocation decisions are guided by internal hurdle rates and a constant review and anticipation of changing market dynamics and emerging economic cycles,鈥� he added.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is expecting capital raising to reach over P186 billion this year.

PSE President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ramon S. Monzon said that capital raising at the local bourse reached about P62.6 billion for the first six months, with some P123.7 billion still expected to be raised in the latter half of 2025.

Andrian A. Perez, president of medical logistics firm PharmaServ Express, Inc., said the company is prioritizing investments in technology infrastructure, cold chain capacity, and last-mile delivery to help future-proof its operations.

鈥淥ur goal is to bridge the persistent gaps in healthcare logistics while staying agile amid shifting market conditions,鈥� he said.

According to Mr. Perez, the company is actively exploring sustainability-linked debt instruments and blended financing, particularly for our cold chain expansion and digital health accessibility initiatives.

鈥淲ith growing pressure to align business practices with ESG frameworks, many local corporations 鈥� including ours 鈥� are evaluating alternative capital sources that align with long-term sustainability goals. Financial instruments that reward good governance and environmental resilience are gaining traction in both the public and private sectors,鈥� he said.

BUILDING RESILIENCY AMID UNCERTAINTIES
Amid political and economic uncertainties, corporates are faced with the challenge of making their operations more resilient to ensure continued growth.

AP Securities, Inc. Research Head Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia said companies should consider diversifying geographically or into other less regulated sectors to increase resiliency amid global uncertainties.

鈥淐ompanies that are exposed to regulatory risk should consider diversifying into less regulated sectors鈥� Another option would be to diversify geographically鈥�,鈥� he said.

Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc. President and CEO Anuj Aggarwal said the company is strengthening its local ecosystem to ensure stability and responsiveness amid global uncertainties.

鈥淎t the same time, we鈥檙e building organizational resilience through workforce upskilling, process automation, and data-driven decision-making. Ultimately, our aim is to future-proof our business by ensuring that innovation, sustainability, and customer trust remain at the heart of our growth agenda, regardless of external challenges,鈥� he said.

鈥淐ontingency plans must be proactive, not reactive. Our playbook includes business continuity frameworks, robust risk management systems, and digital transformation investments,鈥� he added.

Mr. Tin said capital structure and financing strategy are ways that companies could protect themselves from political and economic uncertainties.

鈥淐ompanies with strong reputations, transparent disclosures, healthy leverage ratios, and ample headroom on financial covenants are better positioned to raise capital 鈥� whether through preferred shares, stock rights offering (SRO), or bonds,鈥� he said.

鈥淚f short-term external headwinds are expected to weigh on operations, these companies can still tap the markets to fund long-term growth,鈥� he added.

Mr. Palanca said some of the approaches that Philippine corporates could implement on their contingency plans include building inventory and logistics buffers, boosting local sourcing, and integrating ESG and climate adaptation into planning efforts.

鈥淪ustainability-driven contingency planning helps firms meet regulatory requirements while embedding long-term resilience. This includes climate risk assessments, resource efficiency measures, and alignment with national development goals,鈥� he said.

鈥淟eading firms are stockpiling critical inputs and partnering with logistics providers to enable rerouting and flexible delivery. This is especially vital in a country prone to typhoons and reliant on maritime trade,鈥� he added.

Compiled by reporters Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Ashley Erika O. Jose, and Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

LIPAD CEO Noel F. Manankil

OVER the next three years, we are highly focused on two transformative initiatives that will significantly enhance both land connectivity and passenger experience at Clark International Airport (CRK). Foremost among these is the anticipated launch of the Manila鈥揅lark (CRK) express train service. This project of the Department of Transportation is a true game-changer in multimodal transport infrastructure and is expected to enhance accessibility to CRK. While we remain committed to delivering an enjoyable and seamless journey within the terminal, the express train directly addresses the growing demand for increased land connectivity vis-脿-vis the growing number of flights that operate at CRK.

Jonathan Jack R. Madrid, president and CEO, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines

CONTINUING to deliver on the baseline targets of Roadmap 2028, our industry has been growing steadily in revenue year after year. That momentum allows us to invest in developing Filipino talent for the next generation of work. We are moving into a period where AI is no longer just a support tool but an active partner that can make decisions and orchestrate processes. This shift will create more high-value jobs that require critical thinking, adaptability, and empathy. With strong collaboration between government, industry, and academe, we have an opportunity to reinforce the Philippines as a global leader in digital services.

Philippine Nickel Industry Association Chairman and Carrascal Nickel Corp. President and CEO Antonio L. Co听

I AM LOOKING forward to sustained growth across our portfolio 鈥� particularly in mining, where gold, copper, and nickel continue to offer strong long-term value. We are committed to advancing world-class operations that highlight the Philippines鈥� potential as a key player in the global minerals supply chain. At the same time, we see expanding opportunities in the hospitality and food sectors, driven by a revitalized domestic market and renewed investor confidence. Across all ventures, our focus is on creating long-term value, elevating Filipino excellence, and contributing meaningfully to inclusive national development 鈥� while continuing to uplift the communities where we operate.

Eric T. Francia, president & CEO, ACEN Corp.

THE PHILIPPINES鈥� growing momentum in regional competitiveness 鈥� driven by advances in sustainable development, digital infrastructure, and tourism 鈥� presents an exciting path forward. At the Ayala Group, we鈥檙e leveraging synergies across our ecosystem to help transform key sectors that matter to national progress. ACEN, for our part, remains deeply committed to accelerating the country鈥檚 transition to a low-carbon future, enabling inclusive growth through renewable energy, and supporting communities as they adapt to a more resilient and sustainable economy.

Globe Telecom, Inc. President and CEO Carl Raymond R. Cruz

I鈥橫 EXCITED to lead Globe through its next phase of transformation, moving from being primarily a connectivity provider to becoming the Philippines鈥� most trusted and admired digital solutions platform. We鈥檒l deepen our core strengths in mobile data, fiber broadband, and enterprise connectivity, while scaling new growth engines in cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and digital platforms.

Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc. President and CEO Anuj Aggarwal

TO BECOME a $100-million company in the Philippines.

PLDT Inc. Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan

I LOOK FORWARD to growing our agriculture business, which I believe holds enormous promise for our people. And also to PLDT鈥檚 centennial, which we鈥檒l celebrate three years from now, in 2028 鈥� prompting us to think not just about the immediate future, but about the next century.

Rick Santos, chairman and CEO, Santos Knight Frank

I THINK in the real estate side, I am really excited about the redevelopment of the Makati Central Business District and some of the changes in the zoning laws. I鈥檓 also excited about some of the new infrastructure and developments being planned so that鈥檚 great for the big cities like Makati or Bonifacio Global City (BGC). I think the other thing I鈥檓 excited about is the data center market, which will bring a lot more capital and jobs and connectivity here.

Jie C. Espinosa country manager, CBRE Philippines

I鈥橫 EXCITED to see how developers are starting to really pay attention to quality, Because overall, you go around the city, the quality that you see in areas like Fort Bonifacio鈥� you鈥檙e starting to see it in Ortigas, and now it鈥檚 spreading to Quezon City. So ultimately, that will really change the landscape. It will change the behavior of most occupiers.

James M. Montenegro, country manager, Chroma Hospitality, Inc.

IN THE PHILIPPINE CONTEXT, I鈥檓 most excited about the rise of locally branded lifestyle hotels. With brands like Grafik Hotel Collection 鈥� one of our own 鈥� and others developed by key hospitality players, there鈥檚 a real opportunity to reshape the country鈥檚 hotel landscape. I firmly believe that lifestyle hotels capture the cultural strengths of the Filipino hotelier 鈥� showcasing our authenticity, creativity, and heartfelt care for guests. These hotels aren鈥檛 just places to stay; they鈥檙e immersive reflections of who we are and how we host.

Mober Technology Pte., Inc. CEO Dennis O. Ng

WE鈥橵E ALREADY proven that green logistics can scale, now we鈥檙e focused on making it more accessible. What excites me most is helping others make the shift. We鈥檙e opening our infrastructure and tech to support small truckers and partners who want to electrify their fleet. That鈥檚 how we create real industry change.

Ross Joseph J. Romanillos, president and CEO of CTP Construction and Mining Corp.

I AM MOST excited about the opportunity to continue building a company that puts people at the heart of progress. We remain committed to providing stable and dignified livelihoods for our employees and creating lasting impact in the rural communities where we operate. In the years ahead, we aim to further integrate sustainability into our operations 鈥� strengthening our contributions to environmental protection, community development, and inclusive growth.

Emmanuel V. Rubio, president and CEO, Meralco PowerGen Corp.

OVER the next three years, I鈥檓 most excited about how MGEN is accelerating its growth while contributing meaningfully to the country鈥檚 energy transition. We are scaling up our renewable energy portfolio significantly 鈥� led by landmark projects like MTerra Solar. At the same time, we continue to optimize and diversify our entire generation mix to ensure long-term reliability, affordability, and sustainability. With each project, we move closer to our vision of energy security for the Philippines, powered by a diversified portfolio and strengthened by strong partnerships and purpose-driven growth.

Jettson P. Yu, founder and CEO, PRIME Philippines

THE MOST exciting part for me is how the series of events globally will evolve, because of two things: artificial intelligence (AI) and war. When there鈥檚 war, the response across all sectors is to innovate and accelerate research and development to be ahead. Then you have AI, which is also an accelerator of innovation. So I鈥檓 very excited to see how this would shape the evolution听 of mankind.

Catherine A. Ilagan, president and CEO, Filinvest Alabang, Inc.

THE NEXT few years will be transformative for FAI.听 There鈥檚 a lot happening across our townships, and it鈥檚 exciting to see the momentum build.听 In Filinvest City, a major telco company will soon start building their new campus headquarters, and that鈥檚 a real game-changer, which will mean more jobs, more movement, and a stronger business ecosystem in the Metro South.听 In Clark, Filinvest Mimosa Plus is becoming the go-to leisure destination in the area, with retail projects opening soon and luxury residential living that offers a country club lifestyle.听 Over in Cebu, CDM continues to ride the wave of growth, welcoming major locators and expanding its footprint.听

ING Philippines Country Manager Jun Palanca

THE CONVERGENCE of sustainability, digital innovation, and regional connectivity is reshaping the growth trajectory for our clients, our country, and ING itself. Over the next three years, we have a unique opportunity to move beyond adaptation and help drive meaningful impact 鈥� whether by accelerating the energy transition, supporting the digitalization of industries, or enabling cross-border investment that unlocks jobs and opportunities for Filipinos.

Jerry G. Ngo, East West Banking Corp. CEO

TECHNOLOGY continues to reshape banking by driving greater ease, efficiency, speed, and precision, enabling us to serve more people, more meaningfully, and at greater scale. As digital tools become increasingly embedded in everyday life, we see clear opportunities to accelerate digital adoption, elevate customer experiences, and expand access in underbanked areas, ultimately helping more Filipinos fulfill their dreams.

DragonFi Co-Founder and CEO Jon Carlo C. Lim

AT DRAGONFI, we鈥檙e thrilled to be the first broker-dealer in the Philippines accredited as a PERA (Personal Equity and Retirement Account) administrator. We鈥檙e targeting the launch of our PERA offering by October 2025, and we see this as a game-changer for long-term savings and capital market development in the country.

Arlo G. Sarmiento, CEO, Vivant Corp.

ADVANCING KEY PROJECTS that will shape our energy and water portfolio for years to come. In power, we鈥檙e scaling up renewable energy 鈥� starting with our first large-scale solar project in Luzon and wind farm in Northern Samar, which will diversify our generation mix and strengthen our presence in the national grid. We also have plans to expand our capacity in the off-grid market solidifying our lead as one of the largest players in the sector. We believe with our investments in these small islands, we would see more progress in the region in the next few years.

Kurt Lenard T. Gutierrez, co-founder and CEO, Dormy PH

FIRST & FOREMOST -鈥� I鈥檓 really excited on how Gen Z will shift consumer & B2B trends as they enter the workforce, this tech-native, highly-entrepreneurial generation will surely make waves on digging the PH deeper into the digital space.

SMC Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang

OVER the next few years, people will begin to see and feel the results of the work we have been doing. Our expanded food manufacturing operations will make quality, affordable food available to more families. More Battery Energy Storage facilities will also come online. This will strengthen our grid and bring reliable power even to the farthest communities. Travel will also be easier and safer. SLEX TR-4 will be partially open, cutting travel time to Southern Luzon. MRT-7 will also be fully operational. This will ease the daily commute for thousands in Bulacan and help decongest Metro Manila. More importantly, we will be nearing completion of the New Manila International Airport project and its supporting infrastructure. This will not only transform air travel but also unlock our country鈥檚 full economic potential and competitiveness in the region.

Dante R. Bravo, president – Philippine Nickel Industry Association president and CEO – Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.

I AM MOST EXCITED about the opportunity to further align our operations with the country鈥檚 industrialization goals, particularly as global demand for critical minerals like nickel continues to grow. We aim to responsibly expand our operations so we can create more jobs, uplift more communities, and contribute more significantly to rural development 鈥� through infrastructure support, education, health services, and local enterprise stimulation. The next three years present a crucial window to deepen our impact 鈥� anchored on sustainability, innovation, and meaningful national progress.

Packworks Co-Founder Ibba Bernardo

WHAT energizes me: turning 蝉补谤颈鈥憇补谤颈 stores into digital-lifeline hubs

I鈥檓 excited that in the next three years over a million Filipinos will see their local 蝉补谤颈鈥憇补谤颈 stores not just as retail outlets but as community nodes offering banking, medicine, solar-powered connectivity, fintech, and more. As my fellow co-founder, Hubert Yap, said in 大象传媒 before, 鈥淲e see 蝉补谤颈鈥憇补谤颈 stores of the future as pharmacies, power plants, and banks,鈥� I believe this could become reality within just two years.

Francis Giles B. Puno, president and COO, First Gen Corp.

WE鈥橰E EXCITED about expanding our renewable energy capacity and leveraging our diversified RE portfolio. We are building up our energy sources to grow to 13 gigawatts by 2030. We are excited because over the next three years, we expect to reap the benefits from our aggressive drilling campaign for more geothermal energy sources. Moreover, construction of our planned 50-MW solar facility in Batangas, will go听 full swing this year.

Carlos Aboitiz, chief corporate services officer, Aboitiz Power Corp.

I鈥橫 EXCITED about AboitizPower鈥檚 growth story. We have initiated a comprehensive growth strategy, involving investments in our RE platform, new technologies such as natural gas, pump storage hydro, and battery energy storage systems, our DU franchise expansion in Davao, brownfield expansions in baseload thermal, and many more. In the next three years, we aim to have a larger, more diverse business delivering more sustainable, profitable growth for our shareholders, while delivering greater energy security, affordability, and sustainability to the Filipino people.

Compiled by reporters Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Ashley Erika O. Jose, and Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Globe Telecom, Inc. President and CEO Carl Raymond R. Cruz

WE’RE TRACKING how AI is transforming industries, and how we can scale it responsibly to make our services more personalized, efficient, and secure. On the consumer side, shifts in household spending patterns, the impact of inflation, and the role of remittances are critical in shaping our pricing, offers, and financial services. And in the enterprise space, we’re watching the rising demand for integrated ICT solutions, as businesses look for partners that can support them through digital transformation end-to-end.

Emmanuel V. Rubio, president and CEO, Meralco PowerGen Corp.

WE鈥橰E WATCHING four major trends that are reshaping the energy landscape: decarbonization, digitalization, decentralization 鈥� and what I personally believe is the inevitable next step 鈥� democratization. Decarbonization is pushing us to invest in utility-scale renewables and low-carbon technologies to meet climate goals without compromising reliability. Digitalization is changing how we manage and optimize assets 鈥� from generation to consumption. Decentralization is enabling more flexible, distributed energy solutions that bring power closer to where it鈥檚 needed.

LIPAD CEO Noel F. Manankil

THE LOUDEST TREND to watch out for is digitalization. Digital transformation continues to redefine the global aviation landscape, with airports around the world continuously adopting contactless technologies, seamless online processes, and integrated digital systems. As a premier international gateway, we at CRK are committed to aligning with these advancements for a consistent delivery of a world-class, future-ready passenger experience.

PLDT Inc. Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan

LIKE EVERYONE, I鈥檓 watching AI, which is reshaping every industry before our eyes. I鈥檓 also observing Gens Z, Alpha, and Beta 鈥� the last one being the AI native generation. It鈥檚 always stimulating to think of how they鈥檒l transform our workplaces, our economy, and our lives. And the issues which our Zs, Alphas, and Betas will face in their respective times.

Canon Marketing (Philippines), Inc. President and CEO Anuj Aggarwal

WE CLOSELY MONITOR evolving consumer preferences and rapid technological advancements 鈥� these are constant drivers of innovation for us. True to our slogan, 鈥淒elighting You Always,鈥� we are committed to bringing the latest technology and meaningful solutions closer to our customers.

Philippine Nickel Industry Association Chairman and Carrascal Nickel Corp. President and CEO Antonio L. Co听

WE ARE CLOSELY WATCHING how shifting global demand for commodities 鈥� especially critical minerals like gold, copper, and nickel 鈥� is shaping new investment frontiers. At the same time, we鈥檙e tracking how changing consumer behavior, digital innovation, and tourism recovery are creating fresh momentum in the food and hospitality sectors. On the home front, we remain attentive to policy and regulatory shifts that could unlock greater competitiveness and long-term growth for Philippine industries.

Jonathan Jack R. Madrid, president and CEO, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines

WE ARE CLOSELY watching three major trends. First is the rapid adoption of Agentic AI, which can handle complex processes end to end and fundamentally change how companies operate. Second is the continued rise in global demand for outsourced and digital services, which supports consistent revenue growth. Third is the emergence of new hybrid roles like AI operations leads, prompt engineers, and AI auditors. These shifts make large-scale, enterprise-based training essential. The government鈥檚 P740 million commitment to upskill Digital Filipino Workers is a crucial step to ensure our workforce stays ahead. We believe that combining advanced technology with our culture of empathy will be our strongest advantage in the years to come.

Rick Santos, chairman and CEO, Santos Knight Frank

THE TRENDS I鈥檓 watching closely are healthcare, BPO (business process outsourcing), the energy sector, AI, and geopolitics.

Jie C. Espinosa, country manager, CBRE Philippines

THE TREND that I鈥檓 closely watching is AI, because it will have an impact on the IT-BPM (information technology-business process outsourcing) sector. Up to what extent, nobody knows yet. But we all know, we all recognize that down the road, it could impact the numbers.

James M. Montenegro, country manager, Chroma Hospitality, Inc.

I鈥橫 PARTICULARLY curious to see how AI will influence traveler decision-making, booking patterns, and online search behavior. We鈥檙e already witnessing how AI is transforming the way people plan their trips from personalized suggestions and dynamic pricing to real-time support through chatbots. What鈥檚 even more interesting to me is how this shift will affect local and independent hotel brands like our own, Grafik Hotel Collection. AI presents opportunities to compete smarter 鈥� whether through better-targeted marketing, deeper insights into guest behavior, or more tailored experiences that resonate with individual preferences.

Mober Technology Pte., Inc. CEO Dennis O. Ng

WE鈥橰E OPTIMISTIC about how sustainable finance is evolving in the country and we鈥檙e hopeful the government keeps building momentum around EV adoption. Policy and capital will accelerate the shift, but we鈥檙e not standing still. We鈥檝e built a working model, and we鈥檙e ready to scale with partners who share the same vision.

Ross Joseph J. Romanillos, president and CEO of CTP Construction and Mining Corp.

WE ARE CLOSELY OBSERVING how sustainability standards are evolving in the mining and construction industries, especially in relation to climate resilience and community engagement. We鈥檙e also tracking developments in workforce upskilling, environmental policy, and infrastructure investments that will help shape how responsible businesses like ours continue to grow 鈥� while remaining deeply grounded in service to people and the planet.

Carlos Aboitiz, chief corporate services officer, Aboitiz Power Corp.

WE鈥橰E CLOSELY monitoring the energy transition, especially how a combination of evolving technology and market considerations is reshaping our energy landscape. We are actively transitioning AboitizPower鈥檚 energy mix, making complex decisions to create a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system for the Filipino people. This involves the strategic deployment of various energy technologies to ensure that we keep pace with the robust growth of the Philippine economy.

Jettson P. Yu, founder and CEO, PRIME Philippines

I AM WATCHING closely how people are reacting to what鈥檚 going on, because any business is always influenced by behaviors of people.

Catherine A. Ilagan, president and CEO, Filinvest Alabang, Inc.

WE鈥橵E OBSERVED a growing trend where cities are becoming more people-centric. The term being introduced is 鈥渃entral social district,鈥� which reflects a renewed focus on livability, wellness, and community connection. At Filinvest Alabang, Inc., we are proud to be leading in this space. Our townships are designed to support vibrant live-work-play lifestyles, with green-certified infrastructure, thoughtfully planned mobility systems, and inclusive public spaces.

SMC Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang

I鈥橫 ALSO HOPEFUL about the progress we can make in flood mitigation. Over the past five years, we have cleared more than 8.5 million tons of silt and waste from 163 kilometers of rivers, at no cost to the government or taxpayers. Imagine what more we can accomplish with continued partnerships with government, LGUs, and local communities. The next few years will be busy, but they will also be meaningful. And for me, the real reward is knowing that everything we do is meant to help more communities thrive and create opportunities for generations to come.

ING Philippines Country Manager Jun Palanca

WE鈥橰E CLOSELY tracking the rapid evolution of sustainable finance in the Philippines. ESG integration is no longer a niche 鈥� it鈥檚 becoming embedded in strategy, capital-raising, and risk management across sectors. This signals a deep and lasting shift in how companies define value and resilience. Digital transformation also remains a defining force. From mobile payments to supply chain technologies, innovation is not just a competitive edge 鈥� it鈥檚 a prerequisite for agility in a volatile environment. Initiatives like the National Fiber Backbone and the Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap are expanding access and enabling new business models.

DragonFi Co-Founder and CEO Jon Carlo C. Lim

ONE OF THE MOst important trends we鈥檙e watching is the modernization of financial regulations in the Philippines. For too long, onerous and outdated rules have limited the ability of local fintech players to innovate and compete, placing them at a severe disadvantage compared to their foreign counterparts who often operate in more progressive regulatory environments.

Arlo G. Sarmiento, CEO, Vivant Corp.

FIRST, how national and local public policies enable the rollout of critical infrastructure especially in the water sector. At the end of the day, strong policy alignment is what transforms investment into real impact. On the power side, the evolving regulatory environment for the Retail Electricity Supply (RES) market 鈥� how it opens the energy market, how it protects consumers, and how it supports fair competition.

Kurt Lenard T. Gutierrez,听 co-founder and CEO, Dormy PH

I鈥橫 CLOSELY watching AI, GovTech, & PropTech. AI is a no-brainer, but more interesting locally is how GovTech is rapidly pacing with the industry. The PHL Supreme Court has launched its policy on eNotarization, which I鈥檓 certain will trickle down to digitizing legalities in the country & eliminate red tape. I expect this to have trickle down effects towards PropTech, which is traditionally process-heavy 鈥� perhaps we鈥檒l see a FinTech-like wave hit PropTech soon enough.

Jerry G. Ngo, East West Banking Corp. CEO

WE鈥橰E CLOSELY observing how technology is making the industry more efficient, agile, and customer-responsive. From AI-enabled decision-making to seamless mobile interactions, the bar has been raised for ease, speed, security, and personalization. But just as important are the behavioral shifts we鈥檙e seeing. More individuals now blend digital convenience with in-person service, expecting both immediacy and connection.

Dante R. Bravo, president – Philippine Nickel Industry Association president and CEO – Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.

WE ARE CLOSELY watching the global shift toward green technologies, which is rapidly transforming supply chains, investment priorities, and regulatory landscapes across economies. Just as critical are ongoing reforms in our local regulatory environment, which will play a decisive role in shaping a more competitive and resilient Philippine mining industry, one that is well-positioned to secure its place in the global nickel value chain.

Packworks Co-Founder Ibba Bernardo

1. AI for the neighborhood store

Right now, I鈥檓 really excited about how micro鈥慹ntrepreneurs can use AI to help grow their businesses. That鈥檚 not developer-speak; it comes from watching Pack鈥憃wned 蝉补谤颈鈥憇补谤颈 stores start predicting demand, managing stock, and crafting promos without spreadsheets. What used to feel like magic is now regular on mobile. Pair that with tools on Sari.PH Pro, and every neighborhood store鈥檚 inventory looks less like guesswork. AI helps us hyper鈥慶ustomize solutions that are very relevant to the individual market as opposed to a one-size-fits-all rollout.

2. Connectivity becoming inclusion 鈥� not just convenience

3. Hyperlocal logistics and demand insight

4. Embedded finance for store鈥憀evel credit and inclusion

5. Public-private models as operational infrastructure

I鈥檓 watching realism meet opportunity.

Francis Giles B. Puno, president and COO, First Gen Corp.

WE鈥橰E ALWAYS on the lookout for changes in policy and regulations that would allow us to operate more sustainably and attract capital to help achieve energy security and supply stability for the country. Technology-wise, we鈥檙e watching how energy storage solutions and smart grids will evolve as these will help the transition to RE and address intermittency. AI and data analytics are slowly optimizing power generation and distribution; they provide insights that are important for demand planning, supply allocation and even infrastructure support.

METRO MANILA鈥檚 condominium glut is prompting developers to adapt amid shifting buyer preferences and evolving market trends, according to experts.

The oversupply of mid-income units is leading developers to recalibrate pipelines, introduce sustainability features, expand services, and explore alternative uses for unsold inventory, while urban planners see opportunities for adaptive reuse and mixed-use projects.

Claro dG. Cordero, Jr., director and head of research, consulting, and advisory services at Cushman & Wakefield, said today鈥檚 urban development trends suggest that Metro Manila鈥檚 oversupply of mid-end residential units has far-reaching implications for the region鈥檚 future.

鈥淲ith market uncertainties and evolving buyer expectations, developers must move beyond traditional practices and adopt innovative strategies that will not only enhance project quality but also build buyer confidence and resilience,鈥� he said.

Likewise, mid-income developers are now expected to shift their strategies from a broad-market perspective to a more location- and lifestyle-specific approach, said Anjo L. Sumait, head of residential services at property consultancy firm Santos Knight Frank.

According to property consultancy firm Colliers Philippines, pre-selling condominium launches between 2022 and 2024 plunged by 58% compared with the property boom of 2017鈥�2019.

As of the second quarter, about 30,500 ready-for-occupancy units remain unsold, Colliers noted. About 32% of these come from the lower middle-income segment, which are valued at P3.6 million to P6.99 million.

鈥淚n Metro Manila, it鈥檚 difficult to determine right now when developers will start launching aggressively,鈥� Colliers Philippines Director and Head of Research Joey Roi H. Bondoc said.

鈥淒evelopers are tweaking their strategies. They are recalibrating and launching less, but when they launch less, they鈥檙e more prudent.鈥�

News of the oversupply could be traced back to the property boom in the mid-2010s, fueled by rapid urbanization, strong demand from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and the growing business process outsourcing sector.

However, this momentum was cut short in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic normalized work-from-home arrangements.

POGOs, which drew significant take-up in the middle-income segment, were banned by the government last year. Following this 鈥渆xodus鈥� was an influx of vacant, ready-for-occupancy units, especially in the Bay Area.

DMCI Project Developers, Inc. (DMCI Homes), one of the country鈥檚 leading mid-segment developers, said the condo glut has prompted the firm to be 鈥渕ore rigorous in planning future launches within Metro Manila.鈥�

鈥淲e recognize that today鈥檚 dynamic real estate landscape requires greater agility and precision,鈥� DMCI Homes Vice-President for Marketing Jan O. Venturanza said.

鈥淲hile these present near-term challenges, we view them as a natural market correction that pushes developers to be more strategic, selective, and innovation-driven.鈥�

DMCI Homes has also been more responsive to changes in sales take-up, buyer behavior, and market sentiment, Mr. Venturanza said.

鈥淎ny adjustments to our launch calendar are therefore not a pullback, but a strategic effort to ensure product relevance, enhance customer value, and safeguard long-term viability,鈥� he added.

鈥淩ather than slowing growth, this approach allows us to innovate our pipeline, optimize existing developments, and strengthen customer engagement 鈥� positioning us for renewed momentum and sustainable success in the year ahead.鈥�

STRATEGIES
To spur demand for existing inventory, developers must reposition older or underperforming properties through upgrades or alternative use cases, Mr. Cordero said.

鈥淐onverting vacant properties into co-living spaces, smart rental units, or even flexible commercial hubs offers adaptive reuse strategies that breathe new life into stagnant investments,鈥� he noted.

Buyers are now looking for more value-packed offerings that integrate with different lifestyles, Mr. Cordero added.

鈥淒evelopers should assess unit sizes and integrate multi-functional layouts that cater to changing lifestyles like work-from-home setups or family-friendly spaces,鈥� he said.

Furthermore, offering essential yet unique amenities tailored to mid-income buyers, like coworking lounges or eco-friendly fitness spaces, can elevate the value of a development, he added.

Sustainability features have also served as an attractive price point for buyers, as energy-efficient systems, sustainable materials, and green spaces help make projects cost-efficient, Mr. Cordero said.

Sourcing raw materials locally could also mitigate supply chain disruptions, control unexpected price hikes, and enhance development timelines and turnover, he added.

鈥淭here鈥檚 also a growing demand among end-users and young professionals who value functional design, flexible payment terms, and the potential for long-term appreciation, an area we鈥檝e seen traction in through our recent transactions,鈥� Mr. Sumait added.

Homebuyers also seek more transparency in project progress, material sourcing, and financial options through digital platforms, Mr. Cordero said.

Roy Amado L. Golez, Jr., director for research and consultancy at Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), said Metro Manila鈥檚 condo crisis has shaped the developer-buyer relationship into a more interactive and involved type.

鈥淚 think what鈥檚 happening now is the developer is not just a seller, and the buyer is not just a plain buyer,鈥� he said.

According to Mr. Golez, buyers can now seek developers鈥� assistance in leasing, designing, and furnishing their units, while some developers offer laundry and cleaning services.

For instance, DMCI Homes has provided services like commercial-grade fiber connectivity, carpool programs, electric vehicle charging stations, and water recycling systems, Mr. Venturanza said.

The mid-income developer also seeks to attract homebuyers through well-planned layouts, lush open spaces, and resort-inspired amenities.

鈥淲e remain committed to delivering innovative, value-driven solutions that respond to the evolving needs of the mid-income market,鈥� he noted.

Homeownership in the Philippines also remains unattainable for many Filipinos, with condominium prices in Metro Manila 19.8 times the median annual household income, according to American nonprofit research and education group Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that condominium prices in Metro Manila rose by 14.2% in the first quarter, up from 6.6% in the same period last year.

鈥淭here is also a growing preference for leasing instead of ownership among younger buyers, so residential leasing could be a business model that developers should explore more,鈥� Mr. Sumait noted.

For veteran architect Joel L. Luna, a review of the country鈥檚 zoning laws and building codes would also help provide more affordable housing and efficient pricing.

鈥淭he practice of assigning high floor area ratios (FAR) to enable higher land values should be regulated. FAR was conceived as a mechanism to manage the level of development within an area to ensure that the systems that service such development (roads, open spaces, utilities) will not be overwhelmed and will be equitably enjoyed,鈥� said Mr. Luna, who serves as the founder and principal of Joel Luna Planning and Design.

鈥淧rivate developers, however, have used this as a means to charge higher prices,鈥� he added.

He also cited the need to review and update building codes to provide options for innovative and affordable materials, like timber construction, which could lower the cost of condominium units.

To further reduce the cost of living and ownership in condominiums, developers should also incorporate more waste management as well as energy and water conservation systems, he added.

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
Market shifts in the mid-income segment are a strategic opportunity to enhance the positioning of unoccupied units, according to DMCI Homes鈥� Mr. Venturanza.

He cited the increased demand for transport-oriented developments due to the sustained return-to-office trend, as well as the rollout of key transport infrastructure projects.

External sources of demand include remittances from overseas Filipino workers, and renewed interest from foreign retirees and long-stay expatriates, Mr. Venturanza said.

鈥淚n response, we are recalibrating our sales and marketing strategies to align with these evolving demand drivers 鈥� emphasizing strategic location, financing flexibility, and community integration. These efforts are expected to support stronger absorption of existing inventory and reinforce our value proposition in the mid-income segment,鈥� he noted.

Mr. Sumait added that the rise of young, first-time buyers as well as newly independent households serve as potential buyers for unsold condominiums.

According to Mr. Cordero, unsold inventory may be repositioned as suitable for hybrid work arrangements.

鈥淩epositioning and marketing unoccupied mid-income condos as ideal residences for hybrid workers can unlock untapped value 鈥� by marketing these as furnished units with functional spaces that double as home offices to create immediate differentiation,鈥� he said.

Lastly, building mixed-use developments, which incorporate retail and office spaces, schools, parks, and transit connections, have seen growing traction among homebuyers, Mr. Luna said.

鈥淎 masterplanned development gives a sense of predictability that enables buyers to be at ease knowing that their investment is sound and may even appreciate in value over time.鈥�

鈥淏y adopting a long-term vision, developers can ensure projects remain relevant and resilient through fluctuating market cycles, better absorbing shocks caused by oversupply,鈥� Mr. Cordero said.

UNDERSTANDING THE INCOME 鈥� HOUSING GAP
The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the government鈥檚 socioeconomic research arm, helps shape policy through evidence-based analyses. Its 2023鈥�2024 Economic Policy Monitor: Wealth Creation for the Expanding Middle Class in the Philippines shows that in 2021, families earning below P24,060 per month were classified as poor to low-income, while those earning between P24,060 and P48,120 fell into the lower-middle-income bracket. Together, these groups account for 82.6% of households nationwide.

Assuming a 6% annual income growth since 2021 鈥� and no changes in the number of families per income class 鈥� families at the upper end of this bracket could afford homes priced up to around P2.9 million under favorable financing conditions.

Yet, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas鈥� (BSP) Q1 2025 Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) shows median nationwide house prices at P2.95 million and condominiums at P4.35 million. In Metro Manila, houses average P7.72 million and condos P4.81 million. Even in traditionally more affordable provincial markets, median prices have climbed to P2.85 million for houses and P3.37 million for condominiums.

The BSP鈥檚 recent shift from the Residential Real Estate Price Index (RREPI) to the more comprehensive RPPI offers a clearer view of price movements across regions and property types 鈥� and reinforces the finding that most Filipino families are priced out of the median housing market.

PROPERTY PRICES RISING FASTER THAN INCOMES
The RPPI recorded a 7.6% year-on-year increase in nationwide housing prices for Q1 2025, with Metro Manila rising by a sharp 13.9%. Within the capital, condominium prices grew 14.2% while house prices rose 11.2%. Outside Metro Manila, house prices were up by 2.9% and condominium prices by 1.8%.

Meanwhile, household consumption growth is projected at 4.5% in 2025, according to BMI Research, a Fitch Solutions company that provides economic, industry, and financial forecasts to help stakeholders make informed decisions across markets. The contrast in these growth rates highlights the widening affordability gap.

OVERSUPPLY AT THE HIGH END, SHORTAGE IN AFFORDABLE UNITS
Metro Manila currently has over 82,800 unsold condominium units, mostly priced between P3.6 million and P12 million. At present demand levels, this stock could take about three years to absorb.

In contrast, the national housing backlog reached 6.5 million units as of 2022. The government鈥檚 initial plan under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Housing (4PH) Program was to build 1 million units annually, but actual production has fallen short. Under new leadership at the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the target has been scaled back to 3.2 million units by 2028 due to financing and construction constraints.

This disparity 鈥� an oversupply of mid- to high-priced units alongside a shortage of affordable homes 鈥� underscores the need to realign supply with actual demand.

COST PRESSURES AND THE SHIFT TO HORIZONTAL HOUSING
Developers cite rising costs of materials, labor, and financing as major factors driving price increases. Vertical housing is generally more expensive to build than horizontal developments, which has fueled renewed interest in subdivision-style housing under the 4PH Program.

The Pag-IBIG Fund has responded with a special subsidized interest rate of 3% for the first five years of housing loans under the Expanded 4PH Program, specifically for first-time homebuyers. These loans cover socialized housing units priced up to P850,000 for house-and-lot packages and P1.8 million for condominiums, targeting families earning below P47,856 per month in Metro Manila and P34,686 outside the capital. While helpful, these measures remain limited in scope compared to the scale of the housing gap.

EXPANDING TO PROVINCIAL GROWTH AREAS
Developers are increasingly turning to emerging cities and provincial markets, where land is more affordable and horizontal housing demand is stronger. In Q1 2025, house prices rose by 3.98% in Metro Cebu and 2.92% in Metro Mindanao. These areas offer healthier absorption rates and provide a path toward more inclusive housing development.

BUILDING A MORE INCLUSIVE HOUSING MARKET
The numbers make it clear: the market is not short on housing 鈥� it鈥檚 short on the kind of housing that most families can afford. Addressing this requires more than building more units; it demands a fundamental shift in planning, financing, and delivery strategies.

This means targeting areas where land is accessible and demand is growing, updating zoning and land use plans, widening financing options, and fostering stronger partnerships between the government and private sector. Continued investment in transport infrastructure will also be key to connecting secondary cities with major employment hubs, making them more viable for working families.

With the right recalibration, the housing sector can transition from a supply-driven to a demand-responsive model 鈥� one that serves a broader range of Filipinos and makes homeownership a reality for millions still waiting for a place to call their own.

Roy Amado Golez, Jr. is the听 director for Research, Consultancy, and Valuation at Leechiu Property Consultants.

The office sector was heavily impacted, with net take-up in Metro Manila down to 195,200 square meters annually from 2022 to 2023 compared to 942,300 square meters every year from 2017 to 2019. The POGOs left a huge void in the office market and this gap has yet to be bridged. Some IT-BPM and traditional occupants including government agencies continue to look for office space and expand, but with 2.9 million square meters of vacant space, we estimate that it might take more than five years to fill the abandoned spaces.

For the office market we continue to see leases being closed by IT-BPM firms outside Metro Manila. Cebu remains a major destination for expanding firms and continue to take advantage of the locality鈥檚 highly skilled workforce, improving infrastructure, high quality lifestyle at a discount, and presence of massive townships offering live-work-play-shop lifestyle. Among the developers with office towers due to be completed over the next 12 to 24 months include SM, Filinvest Land, and Cebu Landmasters.

As I mentioned in my previous 大象传媒 column, it is a mixed bag at this point. We still see glimmers of hope for the property market post-covid. Opportunities are not just based on location. Some property firms are also seizing opportunities given the rising demand for the more expensive residential projects and the projected further reduction of interest and mortgage rates.

LOWER INTEREST AND MORTGAGE RATES TO STOKE PROPERTY
Colliers believes that the central bank鈥檚 decision to reduce interest rates should help revive demand in the residential market. In 2025, the central bank has cut basic interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) to 5.25%. Analysts are expecting the central bank to cut policy rates by at least 25 bps for the remainder of 2025.

Colliers expects the central bank鈥檚 policy rate cut to positively impact the Philippine property market. Lower interest rates should make mortgages more affordable, driving demand for mid-income projects in Metro Manila and horizontal developments in areas outside NCR (AONCR). The rate cut is also likely to spur consumer spending, benefiting the leisure and retail sectors. Lower interest rates should also entice traditional firms and manufacturers鈥� continued expansion, which should increase demand for office and industrial space across the country.

Lower interest rates should also guide developers with their promos and payment schemes. Colliers recommends that developers continue offering more attractive and carefully curated promos, particularly firms with a substantial number of ready-for-occupancy (RFO) units yet to be sold. Residential developers should be proactive in offering leasing and early move-in promos for RFO projects. All over social media, we see a number of developers offering rent-to-own programs and extending their payment terms to about 10 years. Some developers are even allowing buyers to move-in with little to no down payment and discounts of as much as 45% of Total Contract Prices (TCPs) for spot cash payments.

LAUNCHING THE RIGHT PRODUCT AT THE IDEAL LOCATION WITH THE RIGHT PRICE
Several developers are aggressively implementing their geographic diversification, and we believe that this should result in a more diverse Philippine property market, ultimately benefiting investors and end-users.

We recommend that developers carefully assess the attractive product types and price points to offer to areas where they are planning to expand. For instance, upscale to luxury projects remain popular in major central business districts (CBDs) such as Fort Bonifacio, and Makati CBD while affordable to mid-income projects are more attractive in fringe areas such as Alabang-Las Pi帽as, Manila North, Makati Fringe, Mandaluyong, and even the Camanava (Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela) corridor.

Meanwhile, we believe that developers will continue to venture into horizontal residential projects outside of Metro Manila where demand comes from end-users. Colliers data showed that horizontal units in key provinces in Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Western Visayas, and Davao region have better absorption with remaining inventory life (RIL) only ranging between 1 and 3 years.

REIMAGINING USE OF OFFICE SPACE
A third of our respondents in a previous Colliers poll use their office space to collaborate. Other respondents are making their spaces more productive by incorporating smart technologies (e.g., smart desks and meeting rooms) as well as quiet zones and privacy pods. In our view, the role of office space is now transforming with several companies now using their spaces to mount group activities (e.g., townhall meetings) for their employees. Colliers believes that reimagining and rethinking the utilization of office space will be critical moving forward especially as more companies intend to entice a greater fraction of their employees to return to office (RTO). Reimagining workspaces is also important as more companies are planning to implement hybrid work arrangements.

As companies encourage their employees to return to the office, landlords have a key role in making RTO more appealing. This can be achieved by organizing tenant engagement events that focus on enhancing the well-being of employees within office spaces.

PUSH FOR SMARTER, MORE RESILIENT DEVELOPMENTS
It鈥檚 good to see that office tenants are now prioritizing green and sustainable features when looking for office space. As Colliers Philippines previously highlighted, providing green, healthy, and sustainable office space is becoming popular, with landlords now taking advantage of demand from multinational companies and large Filipino firms highlighting sustainability. This will likely be the norm moving forward and occupying healthy and sustainable spaces will be pivotal in enticing employees to RTO.

Colliers estimates that around 1.1 million square meters (11.9 million square feet) of new office space is likely to be completed from 2025 to 2027, with about half of these spaces having green and/or sustainable certifications. We encourage landlords to cash in on this rising demand, especially from multinational corporations that require their Philippine units to hold offices within sustainable office towers and advance their parent firms鈥� adoption of sustainable development and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.

Developers should also consider integrating green technologies (GreenTech) to differentiate their projects in the market. These include natural lighting, optimized air quality and rainwater catchment facilities. We also encourage developers to adopt sustainable features with the inclusion of green spaces such as vertical gardens in their upcoming projects. Property firms should also take a more aggressive stance in introducing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into their residential projects. Colliers also believes that the launch of more property technology (proptech) features will be the norm moving forward. A number of developers have incorporated built-in fiber optic internet connection, videoconferencing areas and flexible workspaces which are suited for work-from-home (WFH) or hybrid working arrangements. We also encourage developers to highlight amenities such as open spaces and activity areas.

DISSECTING THE POPULARITY OF LEISURE-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENTS
The pandemic has highlighted the need for greener, more open spaces. This is a major reason why property firms now offer bigger spaces, whether for condominium or horizontal developments. These projects are classified as upscale and luxury developments based on total contract prices but are among the best-selling projects in the market post-COVID. We expect developers to continue launching similar projects, but the first movers definitely have an advantage.

Colliers Philippines believes that it is imperative for property firms to take advantage of the rising demand for resort-themed projects across the country. For one, these projects are banking on the revival of the Philippine tourism market, which the Marcos administration continues to aggressively promote. The tourism sector remains one of the major job-generating economic sectors of the Philippines, and the government鈥檚 emphasis on the sector will substantially benefit developers catering to local and foreign markets.

Leisure-themed developments also benefit from improving connectivity. Major projects in the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas (Calaba) corridor, for instance, are taking advantage of improving access from Metro Manila to Southern Luzon. Hordes of people visit their favorite destinations in the south during weekends and holidays, and the ease of travel has been facilitated by the completion of major public projects, including those connecting cities from north to south Luzon.

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR PHILIPPINE PROPERTY MOVING FORWARD
Recalibration is a must for developers to remain relevant.听 We see property firms constantly innovating to fully take advantage of opportunities in the market 鈥攚hether it鈥檚 office, residential, retail, leisure, or industrial segment. Evolution is crucial to achieving progression and developers must be on the lookout for the next property segment or location that offers the greatest returns!

Artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily reshaping the country鈥檚 healthcare landscape, offering transformative solutions across diagnostics, patient triage, and hospital operations. Radiology departments are beginning to adopt AI tools that interpret X-rays and CT scans with remarkable accuracy. Telemedicine platforms now use chat-based systems to assess urgency in patient cases, while hospital administrators rely on predictive models to forecast admissions and streamline records management.

The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DoST-PCHRD), through its Digital and Frontier Technologies for Health Program (DFTH), is steering the country toward intelligent, tech-enabled health systems. By supporting research projects that integrate AI into diagnosis and public health surveillance, the council is helping bridge hospital-based care with community-level health monitoring.

Among the supported projects is the CHERISH project (A Retrospective Study on the Accuracy of AI-Powered Reading of Chest X-Rays in the Diagnosis of COVID-19 Pneumonia in a Tertiary Hospital), which utilizes AI to analyze chest X-rays and detect pneumonia, identifying whether the cause is COVID-19, bacterial, or viral. The model has demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity. Through the CHERISH COVID-19 Detection App, radiologists can upload images, receive probability-based assessments, and share results with attending physicians, who then incorporate AI insights into their clinical evaluations.

On the other hand, the HealthPH project (HealthPH: Intelligent Disease Surveillance for Public Health using Social Media) uses AI to analyze social media posts written in Filipino and Cebuano for signs of emerging infectious diseases. This innovative approach provides early warning signals to health authorities, especially in areas with limited laboratory capacity, enabling faster detection and response to outbreaks.

Another initiative is the UTAK AI project (UTAK AI: Clinical Landing and Federated Learning of Medical Imaging AI on Brain Tumors) implemented by the University of the Philippines Manila, in collaboration with Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan AI Labs, and Philippine General Hospital, which uses convolutional neural networks and deep learning techniques to improve brain tumor detection and diagnosis through Taiwan鈥檚 Deep Brain model. Building on earlier work by Taiwanese collaborators, the project is developing a local AI software for federated learning of medical imaging on brain tumors.

Adding a nutrition-focused application, the AINA project (Artificial Intelligence Nutrition Assistant: Development and validation of a deep learning food recognition system for dietary assessment among Filipinos) is developing an automated food recognition and dietary assessment system. Integrated into a mobile app, it can be used by nutrition and public health professionals, researchers, and food industry stakeholders to monitor clients鈥� dietary intake and quality.

These DoST-PCHRD-supported projects illustrate the breadth of AI鈥檚 potential in Philippine healthcare, from imaging-based diagnostics in radiology, neurology, and nutrition science, to surveillance systems for tracking infectious diseases. Telemedicine can also benefit from AI-assisted triage, guiding patients toward appropriate care before reaching a clinic or hospital. In rural communities, AI tools can serve as an initial screening method, reducing delays in treatment. Decision-support software can provide clinicians with relevant data and possible treatment options during consultations, while predictive models help health authorities direct limited resources where they are most needed.

The DoST-PCHRD, as the national coordinating body for health research and development, plays a vital role in advancing AI-powered health innovations. Through funding, technical support, and strategic partnerships, the council is helping build a future-ready healthcare system, one that embraces intelligent technologies while ensuring equitable, safe, and effective care for all Filipinos.

Ranz Elifred F. Valdez is a science research specialist at the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, a sectoral planning council under the Department of Science and Technology.

THE first half of 2025 has been shaped by geopolitical shocks and local political frictions, with global attention fixed on US President Donald Trump鈥檚 unpredictable economic moves. For the Philippines, early developments offered promise: in April, while other ASEAN countries faced tariffs of up to 49%, the Philippines received the second-lowest rate at 17%, prompting the country鈥檚 positioning as a 鈥淐hina+1+1鈥� fallback manufacturing hub.

That advantage was short-lived. Following regional negotiations, the Philippines鈥� tariff rose to 19%, matching Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. While further negotiations remain possible, the Philippines must focus on strengthening fundamentals to attract both local and foreign investment amid these shifting trade winds.

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High operating costs and structural barriers continue to challenge the Philippines鈥� industrial competitiveness

The Philippines faces significant hurdles to industrial competitiveness, starting with high operating costs. It has the second-highest electricity rate in Southeast Asia with industrial power costs roughly 40-50% higher than in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand. For energy-intensive sectors like steel, cement, and glass, fuel and power can account for up to 60% of expenses.

Labor costs, once a key advantage, have also tightened: after recent wage hikes across ASEAN, the Philippines now sits mid-pack among ASEAN-5 economies. Structural and regulatory inefficiencies further dampen investor confidence. Slow permit processing, heavy bureaucracy, port congestion, and a shortage of large, ready-to-use facilities extend lead times and raise logistics costs.

Geographic advantage, robust policy support, and talent depth drive the Philippines鈥� regional investment competitiveness

Despite cost and regulatory headwinds, the Philippines offers clear strategic advantages backed by measurable progress. Approximately 141 kilometers from Taiwan, it serves as a rapid-response hub for semiconductor supply chains, with same-day air and overnight sea access for critical components. This geographic edge is reinforced by competitive incentives from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Board of Investments (BoI), including income tax holidays, a 5% special tax on gross income, duty-free importation of capital equipment, and streamlined customs within ecozones. Thanks to this, PEZA approvals rose 59.1% year on year to P72.362 billion in the first half of 2025.

Infrastructure spending is also ramping up, with P1.507 trillion allocated in 2025 to the 鈥淏uild Better More鈥� program鈥檚 194 flagship projects. Key undertakings such as the Subic鈥揅lark鈥揗anila鈥揃atangas freight railway, Batangas Port expansion, and new international airports are designed to cut logistics costs, ease congestion, and boost inter-island and export connectivity, alongside investments in renewable energy and digital infrastructure.

Human capital remains a major asset: the Philippines ranks second in Asia in English proficiency, has a median age of 26.1 years, and produces over 800,000 tertiary graduates annually, including a strong STEM pipeline, thus offering a young, adaptable workforce for both labor-intensive and high-value manufacturing.

With these strategic advantages in place, the next question is where in the Philippines these strengths translate into the greatest on-the-ground potential. A closer look at the country鈥檚 most active industrial hubs reveals which provinces are best positioned to capture new investment flows.

Pampanga leads provincial warehousing demand, driven by world-class infrastructure and pro-business climate

Pampanga, together with the Metro Clark area that extends into northern Tarlac, has emerged as one of Central Luzon鈥檚 most dynamic industrial and logistics growth corridors. Once regarded mainly as a secondary support hub to Bulacan, the province has rapidly risen in prominence, accounting for nearly 17% of national warehousing requirements in the first half of 2025, the most of any province.

The province鈥檚 connectivity is also among the best in the country, with Clark International Airport serving as a major gateway for cargo and passenger movement, SCTEX linking Clark to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, NLEX connecting directly to Bulacan and Metro Manila, and future freight infrastructure such as the Subic鈥揅lark Railway and Malolos鈥揅lark Railway set to enhance regional distribution capabilities.

Metro Clark鈥檚 industrial surge is matched by a favorable business environment within its economic zones, offering 100% leasehold control for foreign locators, minimal bureaucracy, and a full suite of fiscal incentives from the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), PEZA, and BoI. With world-class connectivity, robust industrial demand, and a pro-investment regulatory framework, Clark is no longer just a strategic alternative 鈥� it is quickly becoming a primary choice for expansion.听

Robust port infrastructure and ongoing capacity upgrades fuel Cebu鈥檚 steady pipeline of warehouses and cold storages

Cebu鈥檚 robust port infrastructure 鈥� consistently handling the highest cargo volumes in recent years 鈥� anchors its position as Visayas鈥� industrial and logistics hub. This maritime advantage has enabled Cebu to command the highest average lease rate among key warehousing locations and secure the second-largest cold storage capacity in the country. Reflecting this strength, cold storage developers are doubling down, driving the country鈥檚 largest pipeline of new capacity entirely from existing operators.

However, challenges persist. Much of Cebu鈥檚 warehouse stock, particularly in the prime area of Mandaue, consists of aging facilities with limited connectivity. Poor zoning implementation and the city government鈥檚 push for commercialization have pushed industrial activity outward. Consolacion has emerged as the leading alternative, offering newer warehouse developments and soon hosting the New Cebu International Container Port.

Further northeast, Liloan is poised to become the next catchment area, supported by ample land supply and planned road upgrades. To the south, Talisay serves as Consolacion鈥檚 counterpart, with Minglanilla expected to anchor the bulk of upcoming warehouse projects. With port capacity continuing to grow and central warehouse availabilities becoming scarce, Cebu鈥檚 industrial expansion will inevitably spread outward, making timely investment in connective infrastructure critical to sustaining growth.

Modern warehouses, economic growth, and infrastructure development build Davao鈥檚 industrial edge

Just like Cebu, Davao stands as the most sought-after province for warehousing in its region, recording the third-highest occupancy rate nationwide at 98.3%. Despite robust demand and the presence of modern Grade A facilities that rival those in Metro Manila, average lease rate remains very attractive at P160 per square meter per month.

Its strategic location in the south of Mindanao makes it a vital gateway for logistics and distribution firms serving the southern market, reinforced by robust economic growth and major infrastructure upgrades. These include the Davao City Bypass Road, which will cut travel time between Toril and Panabo by nearly an hour; the Davao City Coastal Road, easing traffic while doubling as a storm-surge barrier; the Davao鈥揝amal Bridge, reducing inter-island travel to just five minutes; and the Sasa Port modernization, which will expand maritime cargo capacity.

Investment appeal is further strengthened by the Davao City Investment Promotion Center, which offers multi-year tax exemptions and non-fiscal incentives such as permit facilitation and business matching.

With the scarcity of central district warehouse space, new developments are shifting northward to Tibungco, Panacan, and Mahayag, where fresh entrants are driving supply growth. Backed by modern facilities, growing connectivity, and pro-investment policies, Davao is poised to cement its role as the strategic industrial nucleus of Mindanao.

Strategic relief, cost reduction, and structural reforms will position the Philippines to capture high-value investments

To sustain industrial growth and attract high-value investments, the Philippines must pair immediate relief with structural reforms. Tariff shocks can be eased through targeted measures such as duty drawback, faster VAT refunds, and selective trade agreements, tied to export performance. Cost competitiveness can be strengthened by offering time-bound electricity subsidies to high-value sectors like semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and cold storage.

Regulatory bottlenecks require a nationwide single-window clearance system, digitalized processes, and multi-year legislation to ensure policy stability. Skills gaps in advanced manufacturing can be addressed through specialized training hubs in industrial zones, industry-led apprenticeships, and globally recognized certifications.

Finally, port congestion and infrastructure gaps must be tackled through fast-tracking priority projects, improving operational efficiency, and building multimodal connectivity linking industrial parks to highways, ports, and airports.

While the Philippines lags its most competitive ASEAN peers, its strategic location, investment incentives, skilled workforce, and infrastructure pipeline form a solid base of sustainable industrial growth. Addressing cost, skills, and regulatory challenges with urgency could elevate the country from a promising alternative to a primary choice for global supply chain relocation.听 听 听

Jet Yu is the听 founder and CEO of PRIME Philippines.

PRIME Philippines is the country鈥檚 fastest-growing and most disruptive commercial real estate advisory firm. Established in 2013, PRIME has redefined the brokerage industry by replacing outdated practices with innovation, data intelligence, and relentless execution. With full-service offices in Manila, Cebu, and Davao, PRIME has completed over 300 high-impact projects nationwide. Backed by a team of over 100 professionals, PRIME is multi-awarded and trusted by the country鈥檚 top developers, investors, and occupiers. It is involved in big ticket office transactions and holds the No. 1 position in industrial leasing nationwide.

But the move towards the digital space has also forced them to go beyond traditional communication methods and customer service channels and tap social media to engage with current and potential future clients.

The 2025 Global Digital Report by consumer intelligence firm Meltwater and creative agency We Are Social said that Filipinos spend an average of eight hours and 52 minutes daily on the internet, ranking third worldwide and well ahead of the global average of six hours and 38 minutes.

Filipino internet users aged 16 and above also ranked fourth globally in terms of social media usage, spending an average of three hours and 32 minutes on social media daily, the report also showed.

For the banking industry, which is in the business of handling other people鈥檚 money, reputation is a key currency 鈥� and with the way social media platforms are built, one isolated incident or complaint can spread like wildfire in a matter of minutes and cause problems for these institutions.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is well aware of the double-edged nature of social media. In 2021, it released rules on reputational risks, requiring all its supervised financial institutions to immediately report any incidents that could potentially impact their financial standing and affect stakeholder confidence.

This includes any issues raised on social media platforms that may affect its stakeholders and 鈥渓ead to a full-blown crisis if not responded to in a timely and effective manner,鈥� the BSP added.

鈥淭he business of banking is based on trust and confidence. And you know how trust and confidence can be eroded. Let鈥檚 say, you publicize in social media that this bank was hacked. This bank was victim of a major security breach,鈥� BSP Deputy Governor for the Corporate Services Sector Elmore O. Capule said in a recent interview.

鈥淚n banking, your reputation is everything. So, unlike before, it escalates over a period of time. Before, there was panic. Now, because of social media, practically, it鈥檚 instantaneous. Whenever we see, let鈥檚 say, there鈥檚 news that this bank was victimized, in a matter of few hours, if you鈥檙e monitoring social media, its expansion is geometric.鈥�

Mr. Capule said this puts banks in a tight spot as the real-time nature of social media requires them to respond immediately.

鈥淯nlike before, if something happens, the calibration time is longer to make a response. Now, it鈥檚 practically real-time. So, in order to protect their reputation, they have to be able to respond very fast. And in banking, reputation is everything. So, it鈥檚 a challenge,鈥� he said.

鈥淏ut for me, in banking, that鈥檚 a drawback. Because in banking, there has to be a response. Now if you start reducing the response time, then the effectiveness of our tools to prevent panic, et cetera, is severely degraded. Let鈥檚 say, there鈥檚 panic. By morning, there鈥檚 a bank run… So, how do we react? It degrades that reaction time. For me, that鈥檚 the major issue.鈥�

With the rise of digital banking platforms, a social media-driven bank run can happen in a matter of hours as customers can withdraw their funds instantly.

鈥淚magine, in a traditional bank, we have panic. What do I do? I run to the branch, fall in line. If you鈥檙e a digital bank, or digital electronic transfers, I can do the withdrawals at midnight. It changes the equation,鈥� Mr. Capule said.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the challenge, right? How fast can you respond to the depositors for them to calm down?… If a banking crisis will happen now, how fast can the bank respond and the government respond?鈥�

Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) President and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) President and Chief Executive Officer Teodoro K. Limcaoco shared the same concern, noting that misinformation and disinformation is easier than ever to spread via social media platforms.

鈥淭here鈥檚 the ability of information to spread faster than it normally would. It鈥檚 a negative because you need to correct misinformation. You have to correct things that are not quite accurate. You have to get to that faster than ever before. And social media is just so pervasive. Unlike before when it was traditional media, if there was something misprinted by mistake, it鈥檚 easy to go to one person and correct it. Social media, let鈥檚 say someone comes up with a wrong fact or puts up a wrong card and it spreads, even if you correct that card, it鈥檚 gone beyond it,鈥� Mr. Limcaoco said.

On the flip side, social media is also a convenient tool for banks to reach a wider audience 鈥� whether it鈥檚 to promote their products and services, respond to concerns, or warn them of emerging threats.

鈥淪ocial media seems to be one of the main channels that people receive information. So, for banks, whether it鈥檚 BPI or any responsible bank, we do use social media to educate our clients and to market our products,鈥� Mr. Limcaoco said.

鈥淲hen things like Facebook and social media were just beginning, a lot of the big companies actually paid very little attention to it. Traditional media was still the main way of communicating. Today, I think there鈥檚 an equal emphasis on traditional media and social media.鈥�

On BPI鈥檚 part, Mr. Limcaoco said the bank uses various social media platforms and forms of content to appeal to different kinds of audiences, making sure to be both informational and entertaining to make even just the idea of financial services more accessible.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard. It鈥檚 really trying to reach people and make sure they have the willingness to learn as well. We鈥檙e out there, BPI, the BAP, all the member banks, we all have some program on financial literacy. It鈥檚 just getting the people to accept it because it does take time. Would you go to school for financial literacy? Let鈥檚 say we wanted everyone to do cooking 鈥� some people just don鈥檛 see the interest,鈥� he said.

鈥淢any people don鈥檛 understand the need for financial literacy… It鈥檚 just a matter of people being willing to learn and seeing the need to learn.鈥�

FINANCIAL SCAMS
Improving financial literacy has become especially important in the digital age, which has given rise to the proliferation of scams via online channels, highlighting growing cybersecurity risks in the industry.

The BSP earlier said that its supervised financial institutions lost P5.82 billion from cyberattacks in 2024, up 2.6% from the previous year. Top cybersecurity risks faced by the industry include phishing, 鈥渃ard-not-present鈥� fraud, account takeover or identity fraud, and hacking.

A survey released by global analytics software firm FICO in May 2024 showed that Filipinos are most concerned about falling for financial scams amid the surge in real-time payments, with 35% of respondents saying their top worry is the risk of being tricked into sending money to criminals.

Meanwhile, concerns about identity theft also persist among Filipino respondents, with over 23% citing it as their top financial crime concern. This was followed by having a bank account taken over by a fraudster (16%), their credit or debit card being stolen and used (13%), their cash being stolen (8%), and fake online retailers and fake advertisement tricking them into buying goods that never arrive (6%).

Sumsub Asia-Pacific Vice-President Penny Chai said one of the most prominent types of fraud driven by social media is romance scams.

鈥淩omance scams often start on social media, dating apps, or chat platforms, where fraudsters can create believable profiles, sometimes using deepfake photos or videos to appear real. Once trust is built, the fraudster can create an elaborate story, like a sudden medical emergency, to extract money from a smitten victim fast,鈥� Ms. Chai said. 鈥淩omance scams alone are already incredibly damaging but what鈥檚 more troubling is that they are increasingly part of larger, organized fraud networks… Such incidents highlight how the issue is not just limited to financial crime but part of a larger problem of human exploitation.鈥�

鈥淪ocial media has also made it easier for criminals to recruit money mules, especially young adults and students. Targeted online with false promises of easy cash, they are tricked into handing over their bank or credit card accounts to be used for laundering illicit funds,鈥� she added.

The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has also resulted in increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks, with fraudsters now using bots to scrape data from various sources to build fake identities, Ms. Chai said.

Laws like the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), which was signed in 2024 and implemented earlier this year, aim to address the increase in cybercrime involving financial institutions.

Prohibited acts or offenses under the AFASA include money mule activities and social engineering schemes, mass mailers, or human trafficking, as well as other offenses such as opening a financial account under a fictitious name or using the identity or identification documents of another person.

Under the implementing rules of the AFASA released by the BSP, banks are allowed to temporarily hold funds which are the subject of disputed transactions for acts prohibited under the law.

鈥淚 think AFASA is a major step towards fighting cybercrime… AFASA gives us the leeway and gives the ability for customers to report quickly to the bank and puts the responsibility of the bank to act on it quickly. It gives us the ability to go to the recipient bank, meaning the bank of the scammer, and try to hold those funds and try to retrieve them. So, AFASA gives us some rights that we didn鈥檛 have before. And therefore, we just have to figure out how to operationalize it,鈥� Mr. Limcaoco said.

鈥淭he problem with cybercrime is the money gets in and then gets pulled out right away. So, AFASA gives the receiving bank the ability to hold the money first. It doesn鈥檛 have to return it, but you hold it, so it doesn鈥檛 get lost. That鈥檚 a major step that as the receiving bank, I can hold it. If I think it鈥檚 suspicious, I can hold it, and without any fear, because it鈥檚 part of the law.鈥�

KEEPING UP WITH DIGITALIZATION
As technologies continue to evolve, Philippine banks need to keep up to reap the benefits of digitalization while guarding against the accompanying risks at the same time.

BSP鈥檚 Mr. Capule said their risk management regulations require banks to put in place systems to protect themselves and their customers from potential threats, including those stemming from the use of social media and the industry鈥檚 ongoing digital shift.

Moody鈥檚 said they expect more Philippine banks to adopt AI solutions to comply with regulatory requirements.

鈥淟ike their global counterparts, Philippine banks are increasingly adopting AI 鈥� particularly machine learning 鈥� for fraud detection and transaction monitoring. These tools help flag suspicious activities, enhance customer due diligence and analyze historical transaction data to combat digital banking scams and identity fraud. However, adoption remains in the early to mid-stages, with most efforts focused on pilot projects in fraud detection and basic automation,鈥� it said in an e-mail.

鈥淚n addition, banks face unique challenges. With over 14 types of acceptable identity documents in the Philippines, establishing a single authoritative identity source is difficult and complicates fraud detection. The prevalence of money mules 鈥� where account holders collude with bad actors 鈥� also makes traditional rule-based detection ineffective. These complexities make AI adoption essential.鈥�

However, operational, structural, and regulatory issues continue to hinder widespread AI adoption in the Philippines, it said.

鈥淕lobally, governance is still catching up with the rapid evolution of GenAI (generative AI). To navigate these complexities, banks need multi-disciplinary teams spanning technology, governance, ethics, business and data science. Agility is key,鈥� Moody鈥檚 said.

It added that banks should be strategic about their AI and technology investments to unlock these solutions鈥� full potential.

鈥淏anks must be clear about when to build and when to buy, and budget accordingly. While GenAI proofs of concept can be created quickly, the final stages 鈥� evaluation, guardrails and testing 鈥� are where challenges can surface. As regulated entities, banks require deterministic outcomes (where an exact input must equate to an exact output), but GenAI鈥檚 probabilistic nature makes this challenging. Bridging this gap requires partnering with established organizations that have invested resources in solving these problems,鈥� Moody鈥檚 said.

鈥淲ell-targeted tech investments can significantly boost banks鈥� performance. Those that invest in AI and digital tools can benefit from faster credit decision-making, better fraud prevention and deeper customer engagement, which improve efficiency and trust. Enhanced data capabilities also support financial inclusion by enabling banks to better serve underbanked populations… In a market with a saturated banked population and many underbanked individuals, AI is a key differentiator. Banks that embrace it will be better positioned to compete and grow.鈥�

To help combat financial fraud, Sumsub鈥檚 Ms. Chai said Philippine banks should adopt a multi-layered approach that is adaptive as these threats also continuously evolve.

鈥淎s fraud becomes more organized, scalable, and sophisticated, with tactics like deepfakes, synthetic identities, and organized fraud networks, relying on a single point of defense like OTP (one-time password), is no longer viable. Replacing OTP with biometric authentication is becoming a critical layer of protection, offering stronger identity assurance and reducing friction for users,鈥� she said.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 needed is a multi-layered approach that looks at the bigger picture. It鈥檚 not just about verifying someone once but about understanding how users behave over time, spotting patterns by ongoing monitoring, and being able to act quickly when something feels off. This is especially important since most fraud (76%) happens after the KYC (know your customer) process.鈥�

Having these measures in place will help build Filipinos鈥� trust in the digital economy and make them less vulnerable to fraud, Ms. Chai added.

The AFASA鈥檚 implementing rules require banks to have a fraud management system for monitoring and flagging suspicious and fraudulent transactions.

Mr. Capule acknowledged that these systems can be expensive. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 the cost of doing business,鈥� he said.

All in all, these regulations will help ensure the stability of the Philippine financial system as the industry continues to evolve 鈥� and even with the threat of technology-driven bank runs, Mr. Capule said.

鈥淒efinitely, we have a lot of systems in place… But of course, we haven鈥檛 tested it yet. Thankfully, not yet. We鈥檙e looking at when we鈥檒l have a major bank run… So, hopefully, the system is in place. But of course, if it happens, it鈥檚 the first time we鈥檒l see it.鈥� 鈥� Aaron Michael C. Sy

The Philippines has been trying to become a healthier nation by democratizing healthcare through inclusivity and innovation.

As a potential catalyst for change that can benefit millions of Filipinos, the digital health industry in the country is projected to reach almost $1 billion in value by the end of the year, according to online statistics firm Statista. The sector is thriving due to a multitude of reasons, including rising internet and smartphone penetration, local startups harnessing telemedicine, AI, digital platforms, and innovative procurement tools that address accessibility issues.

This surge in digital transformation has given rise to a new generation of healthtech startups that are now allowing the Philippine healthcare system to catch up with the rest of the world. These budding enterprises range from telemedicine platforms that bring doctors to patients鈥� screens to AI-powered procurement systems that streamline medical supply chains, each of them making the Philippines a little healthier per transaction.

Mediclick, founded in 2020, brands itself as a modern online pharmacy where customers can find high-quality healthcare products and solutions that cater to their needs. With their 鈥渕eds made easy鈥� feature, Filipinos can conveniently order their medications from home, with same-day delivery that allows patients to quickly begin their recovery without delay. At the startup, they believe that quality healthcare should be accessible to all, which is why the company provided a platform that鈥檚 simple, seamless, and easy to use. By bridging the gap between patients and providers, especially for those needing consistent medical support, Mediclick exemplifies how digital tools can enhance continuity of care and convenience.

Another thriving healthtech startup in the Philippines is digital health platform Hive Health. The company offers health maintenance organization (HMO) plans tailored for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups, covering outpatient, inpatient, emergency, and dental services. It also provides business owners and human resources (HR) managers with a dedicated dashboard that simplifies tasks like employee onboarding, offboarding, and invoicing. Co-founded at Harvard and Stanford by Camille Ang and Jiawen Tang, this award-winning startup is revolutionizing access to quality, affordable healthcare for millions of Filipinos, one SME at a time.

Matching these budding enterprises is Kindred Health, Inc., founded in 2021 and backed by Pulse 63 Healthcare Ventures. The company is pioneering an integrated ecosystem of women鈥檚 health services, as their mantra goes, 鈥渃omprehensive women鈥檚 healthcare designed by women, for women.鈥� Kindred Health offers a variety of services focusing on women鈥檚 health, including protection against cervical cancer, understanding reproductive health, as well as easing stress and anxiety.

Beginning its journey as part of the AIM-DBI鈥檚 startup accelerator program, SeeYouDoc has since expanded to become a pioneer of telemedicine in the country. The company is a comprehensive healthcare platform that delivers telemedicine solutions for medical professionals and offers a marketplace of healthcare services tailored for patients in the Philippines. Founded in 2018, the startup has made an impact in the lives of Filipinos through projects and collaborations with local and international organizations, including the government through the Department of Health (DoH), the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), the World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines.

Making waves for simplifying procurement and supercharging healthcare, health startup Medhyve is tackling inefficiencies in healthcare procurement through its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered business-to-business platform. On a mission to disrupt the healthcare landscape in the Philippines, the company is improving access to quality healthcare by making first-rate medical products more accessible throughout the country. Medhyve specifically empowers small to medium hospitals with an online medical marketspace fitted with AI-driven business tools and dashboards.

With a vision of ending healthcare poverty through technology in the country, CareSpan Philippines is building a virtual clinic infrastructure that helps healthcare providers deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care online. The startup鈥檚 website notes that it is at the forefront of healthcare delivery transformation that improves efficiency & creates new value for quality of care by developing increased capabilities to examine, diagnose and treat patients, and dramatically expanding access to medical services. By combining technology with clinical independence, CareSpan is laying the foundation for a more decentralized, accessible, and sustainable healthcare model in the Philippines.

This model is already making a tangible impact on the ground. In an interview with 大象传媒, Health Futures Foundation, Inc. (HFI) Executive Director Pedrito B. Dela Cruz shared that the startup had approached the nongovernment organization for the possibility of a collaboration. HFI has been a partner of many national and international agencies, and academic institutions in the various facets of universal and primary healthcare, and advocates and acts in the best interest of the poorest to achieve total health and development.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e already establishing a foothold in a few areas. One is Taguig in Metro Manila. Another is Palawan, where they鈥檝e set up telehealth systems, providing access to primary care services and people, as well as PhilHealth鈥檚 E-konsulta package. At the same time, helping the local government unit to enroll indigents to PhilHealth,鈥� he said.

These early successes are promising, but they also highlight hard truth that the digital transformation of healthcare in the Philippines is still in its early stages.

To build on the momentum set by these trailblazing startups, Manila Doctors Hospital (MDH) Information Technology Director Edison T. Dungo encourages healthcare institutions to actively pursue strategic partnerships that align innovation with infrastructure and long-term sustainability.

鈥淭he digital transformation of healthcare in the Philippines remains in its nascent stage. Although there have been pioneering achievements 鈥� locally developed, specialized solutions are still few and far between. Therefore, it is imperative for Manila Doctors Hospital to collaborate strategically with the government, peer hospitals, and technology providers. Through these partnerships, we can identify digital solutions that best align with our clinical objectives, technological capacity, and cost considerations 鈥� ensuring that our digital journey is both effective and accessible,鈥� he said.

Philippine healthcare still has a long way to go to be truly beneficial for all Filipino. However, with the help of startups that are making investments in digital infrastructure, expanding to rural and underserved areas, adhering to data privacy norms, and integrating with public health systems, the country is finally on track to build a smarter, more inclusive healthcare system.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the e-commerce landscape in the Philippines, offering new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and personalized shopping experiences.

While Filipino consumers are quick to embrace AI-powered features, adoption among businesses 鈥� particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) 鈥� remains uneven due to cost, complexity, and infrastructure challenges.

A 2025 survey by e-commerce platform Lazada found that sellers across six Southeast Asian (SEA) countries already use an average of four AI tools in their operations. In the Philippines, 76% of sellers are familiar with AI 鈥� well above the regional average of 68%, according to research by Kantar in partnership with Lazada. But 64% of Filipino sellers said AI adoption could be 鈥渃ostly and time-consuming.鈥�

The study also found that 37% of Filipino merchants fall under the 鈥淎I agnostic鈥� category 鈥� those who are cautious, have low trust in the technology and keep a neutral stance toward adoption. Many of these sellers struggle to transition from manual processes to AI-driven systems.

Elyse P. Juan, creative director at Filipino gift shop Papemelroti, cited the need for better support and clearer communication from e-commerce platforms.

鈥淲hen you roll out new features like these, you need to inform us local businesses beforehand,鈥� she said in an Aug. 7 interview. 鈥淥ur people don鈥檛 come from technically trained backgrounds. There鈥檚 also a language barrier on the dashboards. There鈥檚 so much jargon.鈥�

Admir Masin, a conversational AI expert at global cloud communication platform Infobip, noted that while the Philippines has a strong digital foundation 鈥� high mobile penetration and increasing cloud adoption 鈥� other challenges persist.

Infrastructure issues like inconsistent internet connectivity and reliance on legacy systems are real, he said in an e-mailed reply to questions. 鈥淏ut the bigger barriers tend to be organizational readiness, siloed data and limited awareness of AI鈥檚 strategic value.鈥�

Mr. Masin said industry-specific playbooks and unified omnichannel strategies 鈥� where customers experience seamless service across all touchpoints 鈥� could help scale AI adoption.

CONSUMERS LEAD THE WAY
While businesses remain cautious, Filipino consumers are more open to AI-enhanced shopping. A study by Shopee involving 400 Gen Z participants found that 70% rely on e-commerce platforms as their primary source of product information.

Clariza Yu, Shopee鈥檚 head of mall solutions, said 80% of buyers prefer visual content, and 60% made purchases after seeing products promoted by influencers.

鈥淚nfluencers play a very big role in winning over Filipino consumers,鈥� she said via Zoom. 鈥淧eople look for authentic storytelling and a genuine connection.鈥�

鈥淔ilipinos also have a very aspirational culture 鈥� if they see someone they look up to in TV or on social media promoting a certain product, it becomes more credible for them,鈥� she added.

Both Shopee and Lazada have integrated AI tools to enhance customer engagement and streamline the shopping experience.

Lazada鈥檚 AI curates personalized catalogs based on user preferences, said Pauline DLC Castro, head of user product operations at Lazada Philippines.

鈥淚magine a catalog that knows your skincare goals, your favorite brands and even the specific concerns you鈥檙e trying to address 鈥� AI does exactly that,鈥� she said in an e-mailed reply to questions.

Lazada鈥檚 generative AI tool, AI Lazzie, helps users find the right products and deals. It also analyzes spending habits to offer tailored vouchers. During Lazada鈥檚 2025 6.6 Super Wow Sale, AI Lazzie鈥檚 contribution to sales tripled compared with the 2024 12.12 All-Out Pasko Sale.

Shopee, meanwhile, reported a 15% improvement in user satisfaction and a 0.5-day reduction in average customer inquiry and case resolution times in 2025 compared with early 2024.

Ms. Yu also highlighted Shopee鈥檚 virtual fitting room feature, which allows users to upload images and try on apparel virtually. 鈥淎I has helped buyers feel more informed and confident in their online shopping decisions,鈥� she said.

AI presents significant opportunities for MSMEs, which are the backbone of the Philippine economy. A 2023 McKinsey & Co. study found that businesses using AI in sales and marketing could increase revenue by as much as 15% and cut costs by 20%.

AI-driven solutions are projected to contribute more than $1 trillion to the Southeast Asian economy by 2030.

AI levels the playing field for small businesses, said Arlie Jophen F. Matubis, a digital marketer at education technology firm Techedify. For example, AI can optimize your website to rank higher on Google or generate content at scale for social media marketing.

However, not all experiences with AI are positive. Ms. Juan of Papemelroti said AI-assisted features like chatbots could be frustrating, especially when dealing with customer complaints or shipping issues.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 be penalized for a courier鈥檚 mistake,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he algorithm might flag us, but the delay could be because the parcel wasn鈥檛 picked up by the courier.鈥�

As AI becomes more embedded in daily life, concerns about data privacy and ethical use are growing.

Filipinos often prioritize convenience over privacy, said Sherwin M. Pelayo, executive director at the Analytics & AI Association of the Philippines (AAP). 鈥淲e don鈥檛 read those terms and conditions because we just want to be in the bandwagon.鈥�

He cited the importance of ethical guidelines such as data minimization and opt-out options for data collection.

Sammuel P. Sanclaria, a senior software engineer at Techedify, said tracking technologies like cookies are activated when users visit websites. Ignoring consent popups effectively allows full tracking of user behavior.

These are used for cross-selling and upselling, he said. 鈥淧ersonally, I only allow necessary tracking data. That鈥檚 one way to protect ourselves from data mining.鈥�

Mr. Pelayo warned that while AI offers convenience, it also poses risks. 鈥淲e鈥檙e giving out our personal data unknowingly to all these AI engines,鈥� he said.

To address these concerns, the Private Sector Advisory Council for Jobs and Education has presented a national AI upskilling roadmap to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. The roadmap, which seeks to promote digital literacy, assigns implementation responsibilities to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Commission on Higher Education and the AAP by 2026.

鈥淥ur staff learned through Lazada University and Shopee University,鈥� Ms. Juan said. 鈥淏ut if these platforms really want to empower more Filipino businesses, it would be great if they conducted more face-to-face training.鈥�

As AI continues to evolve, bridging the gap between consumer enthusiasm and business adoption will be key to unlocking its full potential in Philippine e-commerce.