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Construction activity in Central Visayas weakened in the first quarter 2026 despite an increase in building permits, as higher material and fuel costs, rising logistics expenses and global economic uncertainty dampened project values.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed approved building permits in the region rose 7.4 percent in the January-to-March period.

However, the total value of approved construction projects fell 12.8 percent to P6.47 billion from P7.42 billion a year earlier, indicating developers remained cautious amid rising costs.

Cebu Province remained the region’s largest construction market, accounting for P2.83 billion in approved projects. Bohol followed with P1.53 billion, although its construction value declined 22.8 percent from a year earlier.

Among the highly urbanized cities, Cebu City posted the largest construction value at P902.6 million, despite a 50.8 percent decline. Lapu-Lapu City saw construction value fall 57.7 percent to P376.8 million.

In contrast, Mandaue City emerged as the region’s fastest-growing construction market. Total construction value surged 439.3 percent, while approved floor area expanded 442.4 percent, driven by strong residential, commercial and industrial developments.

Mandaue City’s residential sector recorded a 314.6 percent increase in construction value, the highest in Central Visayas, reflecting robust demand for housing and condominium projects.

Commercial construction grew even faster. Non-residential construction value climbed 494.3 percent to P454 million, bucking the regional trend as investments continued to flow into commercial and industrial facilities.

Across Central Visayas, approved non-residential construction value fell 21.2 percent to P3.01 billion, signaling weaker investment in business establishments.

Cebu Province accounted for the largest share at P1.53 billion, while Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City posted declines of 73.2 percent and 67.9 percent, respectively. Bohol’s non-residential construction value also dropped 47.1 percent.

Residential construction also slowed across the region. The number of approved residential permits declined 4.5 percent, while construction value fell 9.3 percent.

Cebu Province remained the largest residential market with P1.16 billion in approved construction value despite a 21.9 percent decline. Bohol, however, posted a 7.3 percent increase to P976.3 million, while residential floor area expanded 48.5 percent, suggesting a shift toward larger and higher-value housing projects.

Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City recorded declines in residential construction value of 33.6 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

Other construction categories provided some support. The value of approved building additions jumped 462 percent to P65 million, led by Cebu Province. ‘Other construction’ projects, which include demolition and landscaping works, rose 256 percent to P163.3 million, with Mandaue accounting for the largest share.

Meanwhile, alteration and repair works remained concentrated in Cebu Province and Cebu City, partly driven by reconstruction efforts following the Northern Cebu earthquake and Typhoon Tino.

The PSA said construction activity could weaken further in the coming quarters as higher steel, cement and fuel prices continue to raise development costs.

It also warned that geopolitical tensions, extreme heat linked to El Niño and the possibility of higher interest rates could slow investment in capital-intensive projects.

Bidding for a P208-million contract to purchase electronic buses and charger units in the Bay City Loop project has been opened by the Philippine Reclamation Authority.

At yesterday’s Kapihan sa Manila Bay, PRA chairman Alex Lopez said a budget has been approved for the acquisition of electric buses and charger units.

An invitation to bid has been published, Lopez confirmed.

The PRA will implement competitive bidding procedures using a nondiscretionary ‘pass/fail’ criterion.

‘The manner of the bid opening shall be based on the lowest calculated and responsive bid,’ the PRA said.

Qualified to bid are Filipinos or sole proprietorships, partnerships or organizations with at least 60-percent interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

As promised, Alas Pilipinas coach Angiolino Frigoni is sticking to his guns, the same ones he coached in a poor fifth-place showing in the men’s SEA V Cup first leg in Candon City, llocos Sur last week..

While the battle-tested Italian mentor isn’t promising the moon, he is of the belief that a bright future awaits his charges.

But Alas will be tested anew as it clashes with old, familiar foe, SEA V Cup first leg champion and conqueror Cambodia in today’s second and last leg of this annual event over in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Dynamo Josh Ybañez, named Best Libero in Candon, will spearhead the same squad that also features fellow World Championship veterans Lloyd Josafat, Louie Ramirez and Vince Lorenzo, and Southeast Asian Games beach volley medalist Jude Garcia.

Also in fold are Jian Salarzon, Axel Van Book, JJ Macam, Al Bukhari Sali, Rodge Alejos, Trevor Valerra, Lirick Mendoza, Josh Magalaman, Greg Ancheta, Adrian Villados and Vennie Ceballos.

Frigoni is steadfast that while the door is still open for Alas players who missed out joining the team in Candon, they would have to work and compete to reclaim their old spots.

Among those who weren’t in Candon due to various reasons were Bryan Bagunas, Marck Espejo and Leo Ordiales.

Alas is determined to get back at Cambodia after the former succumbed to the latter in a five-set duel that led to the Nationals’ fifth-place finish.

There were no fireworks during the confrontation yesterday between Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag despite their word war over alleged anomalies in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

As the Senate impeachment court was tackling the grave threat allegation against Vice President Sara Duterte, Cayetano asked Matibag why the NBI was ‘expanding’ its ‘jurisdiction’ after the latter said the bureau can investigate any crime motu proprio.

Cayetano said Matibag’s remark ran counter to the law that modernized the bureau – or Republic Act 10867 – which listed the crimes that it can investigate.

The cases that the NBI can investigate, according to the law, are ‘human trafficking cases in all airports, extrajudicial, extralegal killings committed by state security forces against media practitioners activities, killings of justices and judges, violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, cases from the Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council and violations of the Anti-Dummy Law,’ Cayetano said.

Based on the law, the NBI is also mandated to investigate threats and assaults on the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker and Chief Justice. It is the President who can direct the NBI to investigate any crime ‘when public interest so requires,’ Cayetano said.

‘Why do they have to say any crime if you can do it… if you can investigate any crime after all? It seems that you’re expanding your jurisdiction by yourself,’ Cayetano said.

Matibag said the scope of the bureau cannot be limited, it being the country’s ‘primary investigating body.’

‘The list, yes it’s there. But it doesn’t limit our investigation,’ he said. ‘We also have our primary role to make sure that law and order is being promoted through the NBI din po.’

Cayetano took issue with Matibag’s announcement that they are also investigating allegations that Cayetano’s bailiwick Taguig has ghost flood control projects.

Matibag was reprimanded on Tuesday by the court for his statements about Cayetano regarding the NBI probe on the SEA Games.

Ping tags 2 ghost projects in Taguig

Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday said he has information regarding two ghost projects in Taguig, part of Cayetano’s alleged P6.79-billion budget insertion in the 2025 national budget, of which P2.085 billion was allotted for slope protection and drainage projects.

Lacson accused Cayetano of having 25 percent kickbacks from these projects collected by an identified ‘bagman.’

‘TAGUIG GHOST INFRA PROJECTS UPDATE: We have documented at least 2 case studies so far. Too many P100M slope protection and drainage projects totaling P2.085B out of the P6.79B insertions under the 2025 GAA,’ Lacson wrote on X. ‘There is no turning back!’

Lacson said some of the projects by Cayetano when he was House speaker were linked to detained contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya, but implemented by another contractor under a five percent royalty scheme.

Other projects were implemented by Topnotch Catalyst Builders, which is among the top 15 flood control project contractors announced by President Marcos last year.

The Lopezes’ white knight has made an initial payment to secure its planned entry into the empire, in a move that could, for better or for worse, see the end of the Lopezes’ control of the conglomerate founded by Don Eugenio Lopez Sr.

The down payment – or is it lock-in money? – has been made, sources said.

The plot twist, however, is that the focus is not just ABS-CBN, contrary to the initial buzz in the grapevine, but on the ultimate parent level, Lopez Inc., the principal holding company of the Lopez Group of Companies that holds the private investments and business interests of the Lopez family within the Lopez Group.

Sources said the Lopezes have agreed in principle to sell their shares in Lopez Inc. and just cash out, perhaps convinced that the political and business environment that paved the way for the meteoric growth of their once formidable empire no longer exists.game

If this happens, it’s a win-some, lose-some situation of sorts for the Lopezes. It’s a win because they will all get a windfall from the sale of their shares worth billions of pesos, but they will ultimately lose control of their companies.

One scenario, which is the emerging outcome, is that all four Lopez factions will unload and sell their shares.

Another scenario, as reported by Bilyonaryo, is that only the Gabby Lopez-led majority will sell and Piki will be the lone holdout.

Whichever scenario becomes reality, it means the third generation Lopezes have decided, amid their ugly family squabble, to just sell to an outsider.

As I said in previous columns on the Lopez family feud, a sale of their shares was inevitable because on their own, they could not resolve their conflict which has even moved to the courts.

And it’s all because one camp declined to infuse P2 billion into ABS-CBN while the other raised a howl over what it described as poison pills.

Win-win

But a sale at this stage could still be a win-win for both buyer and seller because the sellers could still fetch a good price and the buyer could eventually enjoy a good resale value.

The outsider would have control of most companies in the Lopez Group such as First Philippine Holdings Corp., First Gen Corp., Rockwell Land Corp., as well as ABS-CBN.

Lopez Inc. is owned by the four branches of the Lopez heirs, through each branch’s respective private holding companies, according to documents the Lopez majority earlier submitted in court: Presentacion Lopez-Psinakis branch through Presta Holdings Company Inc. (15.98 percent); Oscar Lopez branch through Croslo Holdings Corp. (29.17 percent); Manuel Lopez branch through Mantes Corp. (29.17 percent) and Geny Lopez branch through Crème Investment Corp. (25.68 percent).

Each of the four branches of heirs has representatives on the board of directors of Lopez Inc. in proportion to its respective stockholdings through Presta, Croslo, Mantes and Crème.

The heirs and their corresponding representatives on the board are as follows:

1) Presta: Lauro Eugenio Panganiban III, Maria Eugenia Brown and the estate of Michael Psinakis.

Presta’s 15.98 percent stock ownership in Lopez Inc. is represented by one seat on the board and is currently held by Maria Eugenia Brown.

2) Croslo: Oscar Lopez Jr., Federico ‘Piki’ Lopez, Benjamin Lopez, Mercedes Lopez-Vargas, Elvira Carmen Lopez-Bautista, Beatrice Eugenia Lopez-Puno, Maria Presentacion Lopez-Abello and Angela Cristina Lopez-Guingona.

Croslo’s 29.17 percent ownership is equivalent to two seats on the board and is currently occupied by Piki Lopez and his brother Benjamin Lopez.

3) Mantes: Manuel Lopez Jr., Miguel Ernest Lopez, Martin Lopez and Maita Lopez-Lichuaco.

Mantes’ 29.17 percent translates to two seats on the board, which are currently occupied by Miguel Ernesto Lopez and Martin Lopez.

4) Crème: Eugenio ‘Gabby’ Lopez III, Regina Paz Lopez, Maria Rosario Lopez, Rafael Lopez, Roberta Pilar Lopez, Ernesto Miguel Lopez and Ramon Javier Lopez.

Crème has a 25.68 percent stock ownership in Lopez Inc. and is represented by two seats on the board currently occupied by Gabby Lopez and his brother Rafael Lopez.

Aside from this, various individual family members from Presta, Croslo, Mantes and Crème hold positions or are involved in other corporations within the Lopez Group.

Negotiations still ongoing

‘Negotiations are in flux but are way advanced,’ a source said.

The billionaire buyer, sources said, is aggressive and is not risk-averse. As a Filipino business idiom says, ‘matapang ang pera.’

Nothing official has been announced as I write this piece, and based on my experience as an economic journalist, anything can still happen when it comes to boardroom takeovers – hostile or otherwise – even if money, such as a down payment, has already changed hands.

But I also heard that many of the third generation of Don Eugenio Lopez Sr.’s bloodline have long been wanting to sell their shares and cash out.

If that happens, they can just pack their bags, leave business behind and just jet-set, perhaps to the famed billionaires’ paradise of Monte Carlo, drinking Cristal champagne or a Negroni on hotel terraces overlooking Casino Square.

After all, a series of unfortunate events in the past, bad decisions, skyrocketing debts and an extravagant lifestyle of some Lopez members have already diminished the empire.

Besides, after parting with a crown jewel like Meralco, the Lopezes have long proven true an old business truth: everything can be for sale at the right price.

Forty-eight distribution utilities (DUs), or local energy providers in the Philippines, charge consumers higher electricity rates than the record-high national average rate of P12.43 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in June, according to a study by an energy advocacy group.

The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) gathered and analyzed the data through its electricity rate monitoring platform, PRESYO-PH, which records and ranks distribution utilities every month based on the actual price their customers pay per kWh.

The group’s analysis followed the Department of Energy’s announcement on Monday, July 20, that the Philippines now has the most expensive power rates in Southeast Asia. The country has already surpassed Singapore’s P0.09 per kWh, which used to be the highest in the region.

ICSC said, however, that the national average rate does not reflect the reality faced by most Filipino consumers, as higher residential charges from DUs indicate that most households are paying more for electricity than the benchmark.

DUs with above-average rates

ICSC records the electricity rates of 116 DUs in the Philippines. Ten of these are off-grid, while 106 are on-grid.

On-grid DUs are connected to a main transmission network and can draw or supply electricity without local battery storage. Off-grid DUs, on the other hand, operate in remote areas and islands independently of the main transmission network.

Generally, on-grid DUs are expected to charge less because they are more cost-effective than off-grid DUs, which are heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels, local generation and battery storage to meet consumer demand.

However, out of the 106 on-grid DUs, nearly half, or 48, charge their customers electricity rates higher than the national average in June.

TARELCO I in Tarlac has the lowest rate among those above the national average at P12.45 per kWh, while Southern Leyte’s SOLECO charges P16.57 per kWh, the highest.

Meralco, the largest private energy company in the country, ranks ninth, charging its customers P14.48 per kWh.

Generation charge

This July, consumers are facing higher electricity charges.

Meralco alone, which holds 80% of the market share, announced on July 10 an upward adjustment of P0.3428 per kWh, bringing the overall rate to P14.8261.

This translates to an increase of P69 in the electricity bills of households consuming 200 kWh.

ICSC said generation charges consistently make up the largest portion of what consumers pay for electricity. Based on its data, generation charges account for at least 46% of the rate mix of distribution utilities, while other costs make up the rest.

The group said this indicates the country’s need to reduce its dependence on imported fuels. According to the US International Trade Administration, liquefied natural gas, a critical transition fuel in the Philippines, accounts for 22% of the country’s power generation in 2026, resulting in increased imports that make up 46% of the natural gas feedstock.

The group further emphasized that, beyond that, diversifying the country’s power mix by using indigenous renewable energy resources is also highly needed.

‘Beyond reducing exposure to imported fuel price volatility, a more diversified power mix can strengthen the country’s long-term economic competitiveness, enhance resilience to external shocks, and improve the well-being of Filipino consumers,’ ICSC’s study read.

The Philippine National Police recently reported a 20.6-percent decline in the country’s crime rate for the second quarter of 2026 – an encouraging development that reflects the hard work of law enforcement agencies and their partners in maintaining peace and order.

At the same time, several high-profile incidents have understandably drawn significant public attention. Reports involving minors in violent crimes, including stabbing incidents, as well as the killings of motorcycle taxi riders in Caloocan and Cavite, have raised concerns about safety and security. These cases serve as a reminder that progress in public safety is an ongoing effort. Even as crime rates move in a positive direction, every serious incident has a real impact on victims, families and communities. This can also influence public perception – quite strongly if I may say.

A photo of a motorcycle taxi rider wearing a helmet with the message, ‘Buntis po ang asawa ko. Huwag niyo po sana akong saktan,’ quickly went viral on social media following reports of a rider’s killing. The image resonated with many people because it reflected broader anxieties about personal safety and the uncertainties of everyday life.

The decline in crime rates is encouraging- it represents progress and shows that many initiatives to improve public safety produce results. At the same time, the government certainly has their work cut out for them. The challenge now is to ensure that these gains are consistently felt by ordinary citizens in their daily lives, whether they are commuting to work, operating a business, sending their children to school or returning home during the late hours of the evening.

In today’s digital age, public perception is influenced not just by actual incidents on the ground but also by the speed and reach of information online. Social media can be a powerful tool for raising awareness, but it can also amplify fear through disinformation, misinformation and production and amplification of rage-bait content designed to provoke emotional reactions and maximize engagement.

While vigilance is important, it is equally important for the public to be discerning consumers of information and to verify facts before drawing conclusions or sharing content that may unnecessarily heighten anxiety.

Beyond public safety, there is also an important economic factor to this situation. As we know, businesses thrive in environments that are stable, secure and predictable. When a country or a community is perceived to be safe, investors are more confident about expanding operations, opening new facilities and ultimately creating jobs. This benefits not only businesses but also ordinary Filipinos who will be able to have more employment and livelihood opportunities and stronger local economies. Improvements in peace and order therefore translate into not only safer neighborhoods but also into better economic opportunities.

Singapore, for example, has built a global reputation for safety, stability and good governance, helping it become one of Asia’s leading economic hubs. The lesson is clear: when people and businesses feel secure, investments and growth often follow. Conversely, persistent misperceptions can discourage business expansion and limit job creation.

As the country continues to make progress in public safety, it is equally important to promote fact-based discourse so that confidence is built on reality and allow more opportunities, investments and economic growth to benefit Filipinos. This is why perception matters almost as much as reality.

The goal should then be to align improving crime statistics with a corresponding sense of security among the public. This requires continued transparency from authorities, prompt action on reported crimes and effective communication that helps communities understand both the challenges and the progress being made.

Of course, maintaining safe and secure cities is not the responsibility of law enforcement alone. We all have important roles to play in promoting peace and order- families, schools, local governments, businesses, civil society groups and individual citizens alike. Respect for the law, responsible citizenship and active community involvement contribute significantly to safer neighborhoods.

On the part of law enforcement, sustained police visibility and responsive policing can help reinforce public confidence. These efforts should be complemented by practical measures from local government units and barangays, such as ensuring that streetlights are operational, CCTV systems are functioning and public spaces are properly maintained and monitored.

Another issue that deserves attention is the growing visibility of youth involvement in violent incidents. Addressing this challenge requires a broader social response. Parents, educators, community leaders and policymakers must work together to provide young people with guidance, support systems and opportunities that steer them away from violence and criminal activity.

As we continue working together to strengthen public safety, promote responsible and fact-based discussions, we create an environment where businesses can invest and create jobs and we move closer to the kind of communities Filipinos aspire for. I long for the day when people can enjoy a morning walk without worry, when parents can send their children to school with complete peace of mind and when workers can travel safely at any hour of the day or night. This is the future that Filipino families deserve and look forward to: one that is secure, stable and filled with opportunity. In the end, success is measured both by lower crime rates as well as the peace of mind and better quality of life enjoyed by every Filipino.