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The Philippine peso’s slide toward P64 against the US dollar comes at a difficult time for an economy already struggling with slowing growth, rising inflation, and uncertainties arising from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Inflation accelerated to 7.2 percent in September, while economic growth slowed to just 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026. The International Monetary Fund has projected full-year growth of 3.4 percent, reflecting the increasingly difficult environment confronting Philippine businesses and households. The peso’s depreciation adds another layer of pressure.

As a net importer of petroleum, the Philippines is particularly exposed to international oil-price movements. A weaker peso raises the domestic cost of dollar-priced imports, while geopolitical disruptions involving Iran and the wider Middle East can intensify the pressure on fuel, electricity, transportation, and food prices.

These developments have implications extending well beyond the foreign-exchange market. They can also affect the banking system, particularly institutions whose profitability depends heavily on consumer lending. Consider UnionBank of the Philippines, which has built one of the industry’s most profitable lending franchises, supported by its substantial exposure to consumer loans, which generally command higher interest rates than traditional corporate lending.

Its financial performance illustrates the attraction of this strategy. During the first nine months of 2026, UnionBank earned P9.9 billion, a 53-percent increase from the comparable period last year. Net interest income rose 9 percent to P51.9 billion, while its net interest margin improved to 6.9 percent, among the highest in the Philippine banking industry.

But the equation changes when inflation accelerates, economic growth weakens compounded by a decline in the peso value that equates more spending on food, transportation, electricity, and other necessities that impacts the disposable income available for debt repayments.

In a BusinessMirror report last April, Moody’s said that Union Bank is more exposed to risks arising from ‘shrinking’ financial buffers of retail borrowers amid higher inflation. It said that UBP had the largest share of retail loans among its rated Philippine banks at around 60 percent of its total loans, while unsecured retail loans accounted for around 40 percent of its total loans.

‘We view the latter as a relative weakness because this asset class has underperformed compared to corporate loans,’ said Moody’s Ratings. That report was made in April when the peso was at P60 to the dollar. Now, the peso is near the P64 mark and at the time this paper reported the Moody’s assessment, it said that ‘on a consolidated basis, (UBP) is more exposed to risks arising from the shrinking financial buffers of retail borrowers amid higher inflation.’

A consumer-heavy loan portfolio can become more sensitive to prolonged inflation, weaker employment conditions, and reductions in household purchasing power. Higher interest rates may also increase debt-servicing costs for borrowers with variable-rate obligations or those refinancing existing debts. The consequences need not appear immediately.

In a sense, UBP’s exceptional profitability may not remain unchanged. The bank’s 6.9-percent net interest margin reflects the earnings power of its lending model. Whether that advantage can be sustained will depend partly on the capacity of its borrowers to withstand a more difficult economic environment.

And that brings us to a larger lesson about financial risk. Moody’s ratings said while the bank’s problem loans formation improved in 2025 following the bank’s tighter credit underwriting, slower growth and limits on new-to-credit lending, UBP’s problem loans ratio (stage 3 loans as a percentage of gross loans) remained ‘elevated’ at 7.2 percent.

In The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb examined how rare, consequential events can overturn expectations and expose the limitations of conventional risk assessments. The present geopolitical tensions are not entirely unforeseeable. Neither are inflation, currency depreciation, or slower economic growth.

What may prove difficult to anticipate is how these pressures interact, how long they persist, and how deeply their combined effects penetrate household finances. A bank may continue reporting strong earnings even as the economic assumptions supporting its business model begin to change.

A family that once comfortably serviced its loans may discover that rising living costs have altered the arithmetic of its monthly budget.

And an economy that appears capable of absorbing one external shock may find itself confronting several at once. The financial statements may still show healthy margins, improving profits, and adequate capital.

But somewhere beyond those figures, the household budgets on which consumer lending ultimately depends are being rewritten. The question is how much of that rewriting will eventually find its way into the banks’ own ledgers.

THE Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) logged an 81-percent rise in net income in the first nine months of 2026, driven by reduced loan loss provisions and strong foreign exchange gains.

The state-owned bank’s net income grew to P4.098 billion as of September from P2.256 billion in the same period last year, its latest financial statement showed.

Net interest income after provision for impairment improved by 39.51 percent to P14.433 billion from P10.345 billion a year ago.

This, as provision for impairment eased to P8.607 billion, down by 21.88 percent from P11.019 billion.

The bank’s interest income slipped by 2.44 percent to P38.486 billion from P39.451 billion a year earlier, as earnings from loans and receivables, financial assets and deposits with banks declined.

Despite this, foreign exchange profits more than doubled to P1.395 billion from P553.877 million last year.

This offset the 96.15-percent drop in trading gains, which fell to P25.564 million from P664.886 million, sustaining other income at P3.099 billion, which was 2.02 percent lower year-on-year than P3.163 billion.

Meanwhile, interest and other financial expenses on bills payable and other borrowings and deposits declined by 14.60 percent year-on-year to P15.445 billion from P18.086 billion.

Together, this increased the bank’s net income before income tax to P4.868 billion, 240.65 percent higher than the P1.429 billion recorded a year earlier. Provision for income tax amounted to P770.131 million.

As of September, the total resources of the country’s ninth-largest bank in terms of assets reached P1.093 trillion, while its liabilities and capital funds totaled P992.218 billion and P100.891 billion, respectively.

Earlier this year, DBP saw its rating outlook lowered to ‘stable’ from ‘positive’ by Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings. Fitch Ratings also revised its outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable.’

The revisions mirrored the Philippines’ sovereign rating outlook as its ratings are tied directly to the sovereign credit profile and the government’s capacity to provide support.

DBP provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy-infrastructure and logistics; micro, small, and medium enterprises; environment; social services and community development.

MANAMA, Bahrain-The United Arab Emirates’ presidential adviser said Sunday that his country hopes a diplomatic breakthrough in Qatar-led mediations is possible to avert a new round of confrontation between the US and Iran.

The Iran war, which began on Feb. 28 with joint strikes by the US and Israel followed by attacks by Iran on the Gulf nations, has made it ‘a watershed year’ for the region and the world, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said at a security forum in Bahrain.

‘We don’t really want to see another round of confrontation in the region,’ Gargash told the audience at the Manama Dialogue, an annual security summit in Bahrain organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, or IISS, that brings together regional and international state, defense and foreign-affairs officials and experts.

Iranian negotiators are in Qatar for talks on a proposal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz soon, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He said that no direct talks are being held with the US and that the final outcome depends on answers provided by the United States to the ‘Iranian questions.’

In an interview shared on his Telegram channel, Araghchi said Iran hoped that the US would choose ‘diplomacy over other paths.’ He said Iran was ready for both defense and diplomacy, depending on Washington’s ‘rationality.’

Escalation fear casts shadow over forum

A possible escalation cast a long shadow over the three-day security forum in Bahrain’s capital, Manama.

Gargash, the UAE adviser, said that the current crisis requires ‘a lot of wisdom, with political tools being our main tools, and the understanding that military solutions will only complicate the current very complicated scene that we have and will not actually bring any quick off-ramps.’

Gargash, however, acknowledged that ‘the rules of logic’ show that the US and Iranian stances are far apart.

‘If these positions are not bridged, then we have to worry about the worst,’ Gargash said.

He said it’s not in the interest of the region or Iran to withstand another round of war.

It was a sentiment echoed by other Gulf and Arab officials at the forum.

Egypt’s foreign minister Badr Abdelatty, a day earlier, told the gathering: ‘The second round [of escalation] will be more dangerous, more destructive, and it will lead to nowhere.’

But Gargash added that his country and the region are braced for the possibility of escalation.

Before a ceasefire was reached in April, the UAE faced the largest number of airborne attacks from Iran, with more than 3,000 drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting airports, military and oil facilities, according to IISS. Most of those attacks were intercepted.

Since then, Gulf nations have spent billions of dollars to boost their defense capabilities.

Gargash said that the war has solidified US-UAE relations, making them ‘even more important’ and at the heart of the UAE’s ability to defend itself.

Bahrain welcomes efforts to reduce tensions

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AT the conference, Bahraini Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said that his country also welcomes ‘every effort to reduce tensions, prevent escalation and create opportunities for dialogue.’

Al Zayani said that Iran has shown what he called a pattern of attacks or threat of attacks threatening the region’s and the world’s stability and prosperity by targeting sea, air and data facilities.

He said Iran has continued to do so even after a ceasefire was reached and as recently as last month, threatening underwater data cables. He described the attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on neighboring Saudi Arabia as part of the pattern.

‘These attacks are part of one continued pattern,’ he said. ‘The hands may change, the approach doesn’t.’

Iran fired 500 drones and nearly 200 ballistic missiles toward Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, at the height of the war, according to IISS. The attacks hit the naval base, residential buildings, the financial district and a water desalination plant.

This summer, Houthi rebels have escalated their attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and airports, saying they were a response to Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa airport. The Houthis have hit critical oil pipelines and disrupted air traffic in the kingdom.

Another issue that prevailed over the forum was the lack of a coordinated defense response among the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

At the height of the war with Iran, the response from the Gulf countries that bore the brunt of Iranian strikes was at the national level, each working with US command and control centers in the region. That, according to IISS, at times hindered their overall defensive effort.

Gargash offered a rare candid criticism.

‘I have to come and say that we have not collectively risen to the challenge. Nationally, we have. Each state independently has, or sometimes in terms of bilateral cooperation,’ Gargash said. ‘In one of our most critical crises, we collectively have not risen to the challenge.’

EXPLAINING monetary policy decisions is as powerful as adjusting the policy rate at a time when uncertainty is ‘so high,’ according to BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr.

In his speech at the ‘SEACEN Masterclass: Central Bank Communication,’ Remolona emphasized that ‘communicating monetary policy matters, especially today when uncertainty is so high.’

With global supply shocks, fragmentation, and other noises, people look to central banks for guidance, he explained.

‘We, central bankers, like to think that our most powerful tool is the policy rate. I believe explaining our decisions can be equally powerful,’ added the BSP governor.

While the policy rate moves money, he said the narrative behind it and where it might go ‘also shapes behavior.’

And that behavior, he said, ‘is often what we are after.’

Remolona emphasized that monetary policy ‘works best when our message is not just heard but understood.’

To illustrate the importance of forward guidance, former BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said in an earlier commentary that ‘central banking is [not only] about the current policy rate, but …also about shaping expectations of where policy is going.’

Guinigundo said if households, businesses and markets begin to believe that the central is becoming more concerned about weak growth than inflation remaining ‘substantially above target,’ expectations can become ‘less firmly anchored.’

Right signal

GUINIGUNDO released this commentary a few days after the Monetary Board (MB), the highest policy-making body of the BSP, decided to raise its policy rate by another 25 basis points on August 27.

While this was the ‘right decision,’ Guinigundo said the more important question is whether it was enough and, more importantly, whether the BSP’s message was ‘strong enough to convince markets that it remains firmly committed to bringing inflation back to target.’

When the commentary was issued in late-August, the former BSP deputy governor said the MB meeting on October 22 ‘will therefore be an important test.’

‘By then, the BSP will have more information on inflation, the peso, global oil prices, domestic demand and inflation expectations,’ Guinigundo said.

If inflation remains elevated and the real policy rate remains negative, he said simply holding the nominal rate unchanged could be interpreted by markets as a ‘further easing of the real monetary stance.’

That would be the wrong signal, Guinigundo said in August.

Fast forward to October 22, the MB delivered a larger-than-expected 50-bps hike in the key policy rate, bringing the BSP’s target reverse repurchase rate (RRP) to 5.50 percent.

Resisting temptation

THE MB based its decision after noting that the coming months could see a further acceleration of inflation, with the average headline inflation forecast for 2027, hence, revised upward to 6 percent from 5.4 percent.

‘The [MB] recognized the need for a strong monetary policy response to broadening price pressures and further upside risks to inflation,’ the BSP said in its statement on October 22.

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Such a ‘decisive response,’ the central bank emphasized, will make monetary policy ‘appropriately restrictive.’

‘This will contain second-round effects and firmly anchor inflation expectations,’ BSP noted.

The central bank said it stands ready to take further monetary policy action ‘as necessary’ to ensure the timely return of inflation to the target, in keeping with its price stability mandate.

In his August commentary, Guinigundo said the BSP should ‘resist the temptation to declare the tightening cycle effectively finished simply because growth is weak.’

‘This is not an argument for indiscriminate tightening or for ignoring growth. It is an argument for recognizing the hierarchy of responsibilities,’ added Guinigundo.

The former central bank deputy governor emphasized that the BSP’s primary mandate is price stability, adding: ‘Other authorities must deal with the structural and supply side impediments to growth.Asking monetary policy to compensate for weaknesses elsewhere risks creating the worst of both worlds: weak growth and persistent inflation.’

STRICT enforcement of automatic price freezes in calamity-stricken areas and an aggressive crackdown on food cartels are indispensable steps to protect Filipinos as a strong El Niño threatens national food supply and prices, a senator warned.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, urged the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), of Agriculture (DA), and of Health (DOH), and the National Price Coordinating Council to intensify market monitoring and enforce price controls to prevent illegal price increases.

‘No one should profit from the impending calamity through ways that deepen our people’s misery, especially the farmers and fishers, as well as consumers. In times of crisis, the public must be well protected from profiteering,’ Pangilinan said in Filipino.

Pangilinan highlighted Section 6 of Republic Act 7581 (The Price Act), as amended by Republic Act 10623, which mandates that prices of basic necessities in areas declared under a state of calamity are automatically frozen at prevailing rates unless otherwise declared by the President.

Under the law, an automatic price freeze remains in effect for the duration of the emergency, up to a maximum of 60 days. For basic necessities that are wholly imported and deregulated under existing laws-such as household liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene-the price control applies for up to 15 days, accounting for available inventory.

Beyond monitoring retail markets, Pangilinan pressed law enforcement authorities and implementing agencies to build strong legal cases against individuals and syndicates exploiting drought conditions to manipulate supply. Under Section 5 of the Price Act, hoarding, profiteering, and cartels involving basic commodities are strictly illegal.

‘I call on implementing agencies, local price councils, and law enforcement authorities to gather evidence and pursue criminal and administrative cases, where warranted, against those responsible for illegal price manipulation. Enforcement must not end with frontline sellers. We must target the very top,’ Pangilinan urged.

‘The people are demanding that profiteers be jailed,’ he added in Filipino. ‘If only small vendors are caught, the campaign means nothing. We should hold accountable the big traders and capitalists, as well as the brains behind syndicates involved in hoarding and price manipulation.’

Pangilinan reminded regulators and perpetrators of the severe legal penalties outlined in the Price Act:

Illegal Price Manipulation (Section 15): Carries a prison sentence of five to 15 years and fines ranging from P5,000 to P2 million.

Violating Price Freezes-Ceilings (Section 16): Punishable by one to 10 years imprisonment, a fine ranging from P5,000 to P1 million, or both.

He also warned corrupt government workers, citing Section 19 of the law. Public officials or employees who conspire in or knowingly conceal Price Act violations by reason of their office will be held principally responsible, facing criminal charges alongside permanent disqualification from holding public office, Pangilinan also said.

LEGISLATORS have expressed optimism for lasting peace and economic growth in southern Philippines following the historic convening of the first elected Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliament and the election of its regular leadership.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, Sen. Francis Escudero, and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia-ur Rahman Alonto Adiong separately congratulated newly elected Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua and Speaker Amer Zaakaria A. Rakim, along with the deputy chief ministers, deputy speakers, majority floor leader, and members of the 80-seat assembly.

The inaugural session, held on October 30, marked the formal transition from over seven years of interim governance under the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to a fully elected Parliament following the region’s historic parliamentary elections on September 14, 2026. The term of the first regular Parliament will run through June 30, 2031.

Call for unity, support

GATCHALIAN highlighted the region’s path toward long-overdue economic development and good governance under the new leadership.

‘We congratulate our countrymen in BARMM, as well as Abdulraof Macacua for his election as chief minister of the whole region. We have trust in the new leadership’s ability to push good governance and, with the help of stakeholders, to push economic progress and welfare of everyone in the region,’ Gatchalian said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Gatchalian urged political blocs, civil society organizations, and local governments to unite behind the new BARMM administration to guarantee stability and inclusive development.

‘For so long, everyone has dreamed of long-term peace and development in BARMM and the entire Mindanao. We are confident we can attain the dream of progress for the communities of our Muslim brothers and the whole of Mindanao,’ he added.

Milestone

ESCUDERO lauded the assembly as a major victory resulting from years of peace negotiations between the National Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

‘The inaugural session is a testament to the progress we have made in transforming decades of conflict into meaningful opportunities for peace, stability and self-governance,’ Escudero said, wishing the leaders success in pushing the region toward greater prosperity.

‘This is a victory not only for the Bangsamoro people but for the entire country. It is proof that peace, when nurtured through dialogue, patience and cooperation, can lead to stronger institutions and more empowered communities,’ the Bicolano legislator added.

Escudero expressed confidence that the assembly will build upon transition-period gains to improve public services and uplift daily life for ordinary Bangsamoro families.

National-regional partnership

ADIONG, a former Bangsamoro Parliament member (2019-2022), called the moment a fulfillment of a long-standing dream for genuine self-governance.

Air Canada’s stock price tumbled the most in more than a month after the airline slashed its full-year guidance for the second quarter in a row on higher-than-expected jet fuel prices.

The Montreal-based carrier, which is Canada’s largest, said it now anticipates adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization to land between C$2.4 billion ($1.7 billion) and C$2.7 billion for the year. In August, it expected adjusted Ebitda of as much as C$3.2 billion.

Shares were down 7.9 percent to C$20.14 at 1:40 p.m. Friday in Toronto. The airline suspended guidance in April after the outbreak of war in Iran, before reinstating it at lower levels in August. Thursday’s third-quarter earnings release cut that outlook again, citing a C$906 million year-over-year increase in fuel expenses.

The carrier sees jet fuel costing approximately C$1.72 per liter for the fourth quarter, up from a previous estimate of C$1.29 per liter.

That means airfares could be heading upward, too. ‘At this point in time, certainly we are trying to push further increases in market,’ Mark Galardo, chief commercial officer, told analysts.

Despite the tough cost backdrop, Air Canada said its third-quarter operating revenue of C$7 billion constituted a record.

‘Higher fuel costs are weighing more heavily on the profitability of Air Canada’s competitors, which ultimately will lead to more industry capacity cuts to the benefit of Air Canada,’ National Bank of Canada analyst Cameron Doerksen wrote in a note.

The carrier’s largest rival, WestJet Airlines Ltd., called for a national aviation strategy Thursday ‘to address mounting cost pressures and a growing market imbalance that is weakening Canadian aviation’s ability to absorb fuel-price shocks,’ adding the system is ‘already stretched thin by cumulative charges and regulatory burden to the brink.’

WestJet blamed the Canadian government for rescuing smaller carriers Transat A.T. Inc., Porter Airlines Inc. and Flair Airlines Ltd. in recent months. Publicly traded Transat said in September that it’s taken a total of C$400 million in federal loans due to fuel costs. That’s in addition to debts incurred during the Covid pandemic, which it already struggled to pay off.

‘Self-funding companies are left challenged to compete against fares subsidized by public financing,’ WestJet said in its statement. ‘While well-intentioned, this is now undermining the entire industry’s ability to recover the cost of fuel.’

Air Canada said by email that it ‘remains focused on managing fuel-price volatility.’

DAKAR-Height, like in most sports, is might even in swimming where the Philippines Jamesray Mishael Ajido found didn’t have when ranged against much taller opponents at the 4th Youth Olympic Games.

Ajido had practically the same skill set as every other swimmer here, but obviously not the body length.

‘It’s given, the Americans and Europeans, and even the Africans have that height advantage,’ said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino, reiterating his observation while doing the rounds at the Youth Olympic Village since arriving here last Wednesday. ‘They’re bigger.’

That disadvantage showed in Ajido’s campaign in the men’s 200 meters butterfly on Sunday, where he finished fifth against rivals who towered over him by a head or more, and whose reach is much longer.

‘He has the skills, but not the height,’ said Ramil Ilustre, who’s tasked to coach-alongside Jensen Halili of the National Academy of Sports in Capas-Ajido and Riannah Chantelle Coleman here by the Philippine Aquatics Inc.

Ajido clocked 55.16 seconds for fifth place in the 100m fly final, finishing three seconds behind gold medalist Egyptian Ali Zain and under a second behind silver medalist Serbian Aleksej Kalan and bronze medalist Slovakian Marias Kristof and fourth-placed Indian Tirthank Pegun.

All four stood a foot or more taller than Ajido.

All’s not lost though for Ajido, who will still race the 50 meters freestyle and 50 butterfly heats on Wednesday for Team Philippines supported by the Philippine Sports Commission chaired by Patrick Gregorio.

Coleman was scheduled to swim the heats of the women’s 200 breastroke Monday and also the 50 breastroke on Thursday.

Tchelzy Maayo and Hillarion Palles III and their coaches, Reyland Capellan and Japanese Kazutaka Hakamada, checked in at the YOV on Monday, five days ahead of the artistic gymnastics competition at the Dakar Expo Center in Diamniado.

Arriving here on Thursday are the cycling team composed of athlete Maritanya Krog and coaches Mark Lexer Galedo and Marita Lucas, the athletics team of Pi Durden Wangkay (Men’s 200m) and Naomi Marjorie Caesar (Women’s 800m) and coach Jonah Genilza and windsurfing’s Jade Justine Justiniane and coach German Paz.

Pitted against opponents who’re a head or more taller, Ajido clocked 55.16 seconds to better his time in the morning qualifiers by almost two seconds where he placed seventh, but it wasn’t enough for the bemedalled Asian juniors swimmer to break the podium.

Zain looked even more formidable in the final and erased his heats best time of 53.96-second performance with 53.96 and the Egyptian had enough to beat Kalan and Kristof.

A dejected Ajido-the only Southeast Asian in the final-passed the Mixed Zone protocol.

THE Senate majority bloc has united behind efforts to strip questionable and corruption-prone allocations from the proposed 2027 national budget, aiming to restore full transparency to the legislative appropriations process, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Sunday.

‘The majority of senators are rallying behind Senate Finance Committee Chairman JV [Joseph Victor] Ejercito’s efforts to cleanse the 2027 budget of unwarranted, whimsical, and corruption-prone items. -ALL MEANS ALL!’ Lacson said in a statement.

The commitment comes amid heightened scrutiny of the House-transmitted version of the General Appropriations bill (GAB). Ejercito previously raised alarm over the reported realignment of approximately P206 billion within the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget by the House of Representatives.

Among the significant reductions flagged by Ejercito were cuts to critical government operations, including flood mitigation initiatives, calamity funds, foreign-assisted projects, right-of-way acquisitions, health promotion, child immunization, and local health facility programs.

A key focal point of the Senate’s review is the sudden surge in infrastructure allocations. Senate findings revealed that the number of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects expanded dramatically from 11,420 items under the executive branch’s original National Expenditure Program (NEP) to 16,244 items in the House-approved GAB.

Lacson pointed out that 6,271 of these new DPWH projects were inserted directly by lawmakers without undergoing initial vetting or technical evaluation by the Executive branch.

To address these unvetted additions, Ejercito secured a commitment from the DPWH to drop all infrastructure projects lacking complete documentation from the House-approved GAB before plenary debates commence, should the agency fail to submit the required paperwork by November 3.

In addition, Lacson affirmed that the Senate will systematically review every increase inserted into the DPWH allocation. This includes examining high-profile line items such as the budget for the First District of Ilocos Norte – represented by the President’s son Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos – which recorded the single largest net increase among congressional districts.

Congress is set to resume plenary sessions on November 9, with Ejercito anticipating that formal floor debates on the 2027 budget bill will start on November 23 as senators work to finalize a clean fiscal plan before the end of the year.

DAVAO CITY – The post-transition Bangsamoro Parliament elected interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua to the regional government’s top post, expecting him and his soon-to-be-formed Cabinet to eliminate the vestiges of revolutionary struggle toward cementing the Bangsamoro’s own transition to self-governance.

On October 30, Macacua got a vote of 51 from the 80 members of Parliament during its first session as an elected body. Under Republic Act No. 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the Chief Minister must secure the majority vote of all MPs, or at least 41 votes to assume the position.

As Chief Minister, Macacua will head the executive administration and appoint the heads of the Bangsamoro ministries, offices, and agencies (BMOAs). He is also responsible for presenting a platform of government for Parliament’s approval.

He will form a Cabinet, the majority of whose members must come from Parliament, and nominate two Deputy Chief Ministers for election by the lawmakers.

Together, the Chief Minister and Cabinet will constitute the Government of the Day, responsible for implementing laws, delivering public services, and carrying out the administration’s priorities.

The position gives Macacua considerable responsibility over the direction of the regional government, the Bangsamoro Information Office said.

‘Today is not merely about the assumption of leadership. It is about the continuing fulfillment of a promise,’ Macacua said in his inaugural address on Friday in the first session of the Parliament as a duly elected and constituted body.

He said that accepting the mandate was neither a personal victory nor a claim to political entitlement, ‘but a sacred amanah (trust) that carries the hopes, expectations, and aspirations of the Bangsamoro people’.

‘I shall endeavor to be a leader for everyone at every time-not only for those who have placed their confidence in me, but equally for those who have expressed their reservations or chosen a different path,’ he said.

Macacua was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) panel negotiating a peace settlement with the national government and later became a commissioner of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) that drafted the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

When BARMM was established in 2019, Macacua became a member of the BTA, the interim law-making body. He was picked to serve as head of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy (MENRE) from 2019 to 2022, overseeing concerns involving natural resource management, environmental protection, and energy development.

He later served as Senior Minister, taking part in coordinating the policies and development priorities of the interim government.

In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed him officer in charge of Maguindanao del Norte, a province created following the division of Maguindanao. Among his efforts were improving road connectivity in rural communities and strengthening coordination among the province’s 12 municipalities through a memorandum of agreement aimed at promoting cooperation and more equitable resource allocation.

On February last year, Marcos appointed Macacua as Interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro government, succeeding former Chief Minister and MILF Chairman Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, who had led the region since its establishment in 2019.

During the Parliamentary election this year, Macacua sought an electoral mandate, winning a seat as district representative of Maguindanao del Norte’s Third District under the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), which he chaired.

Also In his speech, Macacua pledged to continue the Moral Governance Agenda championed by former Chief Minister Ebrahim, who also won seat in Parliament.

‘To our Amerul Mujahideen, the Honorable Chairman Ahod ‘Al Haj Murad’ Ebrahim, Sir: I want to personally assure you that the Moral Governance Agenda you have started and steadfastly championed will remain at the very heart of my leadership,’ he said.

‘You have my word, Sir, that I will remain faithful to this vision, not only in words but in every decision and action of this administration, until the very last day of my mandate. This is my commitment to you, and an amanah I intend to honor,’ CM Macacua added.