Category: Business Mirror

We, the electorate, were originally scheduled to elect our new barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials in December 2025. However, this was pushed back to November 2026 through Republic Act No. 12232, enacted in August 2025. This resulted in a one-year postponement of the BSKE and a corresponding one-year term extension for incumbent officials.

Now, a new enrolled bill awaiting action from President Marcos proposes to postpone the November 2026 elections further to November 2028. This translates to a staggering two-year postponement and another two-year term extension. Combined, this gives us a total of three years of postponement and a three-year unauthorized term extension for incumbent officials.

This means three long years where we, the electorate, are stripped of our fundamental right of suffrage. It means three years of being governed by local officials who were not chosen by the ballot, but effectively thrust upon us through what amounts to a legislative appointment.

This constitutes a grave violation of the Constitution, which empowers Congress to fix the term of office of barangay officials, but not to indefinitely prolong or extend their tenure without a genuine mandate from the people.

The Supreme Court, in the landmark cases of Macalintal v. Comelec (2023) and Macalintal vs Senate (2025) and subsequent jurisprudence, firmly established that while Congress has legislative discretion, the postponement of elections cannot be done arbitrarily. It requires urgent, substantial, and compelling reasons-and must never be ‘unreasonable and unduly long.’

A cumulative three-year postponement devoid of any valid, pressing justification is manifestly unreasonable, unduly long, and deeply unconstitutional. We must uphold the rule of law and protect our sacred right to choose our grassroots leaders.

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted on the eve of President Marcos signing into law the bill postponing the November 2026 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to 2028. The author is an election lawyer.

Finance super app GCash has made accessing the Philippine stock market more convenient through GStocks PH, allowing Filipinos to open an account with broker AB Capital Securities Inc. in under minutes and begin investing in local stocks with as little as P500.

By digitizing account opening and simplifying requirements, GStocks PH reduces traditional barriers to stock investing, allowing more Filipinos to become part-owners of top Filipino companies through stock ownership without having a bank account or needing to coordinate with a separate broker.

Across the industry, digital platforms have helped broaden participation in the Philippine stock market by making it easier for investors to open accounts, fund investments, place trades, and monitor their portfolios through mobile devices.

According to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), local stock market accounts grew by 27.3 percent to 3.64 million last year, from the 2.86 million accounts recorded in 2024. Broken down, 99.2 percent, or 3.61 million accounts, belong to retail investors, with 3.22 million accounts held online through digital trading platforms and e-wallets. Digital accounts grew by 30.5 percent year-on-year.

Simplified Onboarding and Account Top-Up

Getting started on GStocks PH is designed to be simple, with users able to register for a brokerage account with AB Capital Securities Inc., fund their trading wallet, and begin investing in over 280 companies listed on the PSE all within the GCash app.

To access the platform, fully-verified GCash users need to open the app, select the GStocks PH icon on the Homepage or Invest tab, and click AB Capital Securities Inc. and complete the application process with the broker. After registration, which comes with real-time approval, users can top up their trading wallet with no transfer fees in real time. From there, Filipinos can become part-owners of different locally listed companies by investing with as little as P500. Orders are placed in real-time, but are executed during trading hours and subject to order matching.

By integrating stock investing into a digital financial ecosystem already familiar to millions of Filipinos, GCash is helping make participation in the capital markets more accessible and relevant to more investors. For more information, visit www.gcash.com.

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Any decision to invest in a public offering must be made solely on the basis of the final prospectus published in relation to such offering, which will contain important information about the offer, the business and financials of the issuer, and risks related to such business and the industry of the issuer, among others.

The information provided herein may not be complete, accurate, or current and may change without notice; no representation or warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Before making any investment decision, investors should conduct their own due diligence, consider their objectives, financial circumstances, and risk tolerance, as well as obtain and consider advice from appropriately qualified professional advisers as necessary. Securities offerings such as IPOs are subject to closing conditions, some of which are not within the control of the issuer. An application or subscription for any shares offered through an IPO (including on GStocks) does not guarantee the success or closing of such IPO, or an actual issuance of shares (whether partially or fully) to an investor. Investing involves risk. The value of investments and any income from them may rise or fall, and investors may not recover the amount or principal invested. This content may also contain forward-looking statements that involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and may not be realized. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

G-Xchange Inc. (GXI) is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). To know more, Visit the GCash Help Center or call us at 2882 (Globe/TM) / (02) 7213-9999 (Globe Landline), or Internet Call through the Help Center.

SEN. Panfilo M. Lacson on Monday warned Public Works (DPWH) Secretary Vivencio Dizon that any attempt to cover up anomalies in infrastructure projects in Taguig City could expose those involved to possible criminal liability.

Dizon, Lacson said, should come clean on the red flags found by the DPWH’s own inspection teams that had findings in some 68 infrastructure projects in Taguig -including the slope protection project along Taguig River whose billing photos had geotagged coordinates pointing to Leyte.

‘I told him not to deny the existence of ghost projects because we already submitted the appropriate records to the Ombudsman. You will get into trouble if you try to cover up. Let’s all just come clean on the issue,’ he said in a radio interview.

Another crackdown at DPWH?

PRESIDENT Marcos has not ruled out another crackdown among the officials and personnel of DPWH after discrepancies in the details of flagged infrastructure projects in Taguig cropped up.

In a hearing in the Senate last week, Dizon, who is still in acting capacity, said there was no ‘ghost’ or non-existent infrastructure project in Taguig.

The claim was challenged by Lacson, who said his own team has discovered that at least one infrastructure project in Taguig has geotagged coordinates located in Leyte.

Quoting Dizon, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said DPWH has yet to come out with a ‘conclusive ghost project’ in Taguig for now.

‘However, this does not necessarily mean that there are no anomalies to speak of in Taguig. He [Dizon] is neither confirming nor denying their existence. He clarified this point, noting that a more thorough and meticulous investigation is required to ensure there is no cover-up,’ Castro said in Filipino in a press briefing on Monday.

She said DPWH is now conducting an internal investigation to determine if the geotagging discrepancy was caused by a possible attempt to sabotage DPWH and then cover it up.

‘The DPWH will not let this slide, and neither will the administration,’ Castro said.

‘If there is any wrongdoing at the DPWH and attempts to shield those involved, the President will not hesitate to fire those responsible, because this is definitely and absolutely prejudicial to the government,’ she added.

When asked if Dizon still has trust and confidence in Marcos, Castro said there is no discussion in the Cabinet on the performance of DPWH chief.

‘At present, there is no discussion or information reaching us regarding any issues concerning Secretary Dizon’s work,’ she said.

Lacson said Dizon called him over the weekend after he disclosed details of the ‘Slope Protection along Taguig River Project’ whose geotagged photos attached to its billing reports contained coordinates pointing to Leyte province, some 600 kilometers away from Taguig.

The project, identified by Contract ID 220B0106, had three locations in Tacloban City reflected in the geotagged photographs, Lacson said. Records showed that the DPWH paid St. Timothy Construction Corp., which he identified as owned by the Discaya family, some P96.5 million for the project.

Not isolated case

LACSON said this project is not an isolated case but only the most brazen and telling, since there are several similar cases of highly questionable and suspected ‘ghost’ projects in Taguig based on the site inspection reports.

‘I highlighted this project because it was so brazen, with the photos in the billing reports pointing to an area 600 kilometers away,’ he said, explaining in Filipino.

Also, Lacson said that while they are not yet concluding that the flagged projects are ghosts, it is not correct to conclude that there are no ghost projects in Taguig, based on the responses of Dizon and Undersecretary Ricardo Bernabe III to the questions raised by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano during last Friday’s hearing on the DPWH’s proposed 2027 budget.

‘We are not concluding that those flagged projects are ‘ghosts’ but it is also not correct to conclude that there are no ghost projects in Taguig. The project I described was one of many with findings. In some cases, the inspection teams could not verify the projects because they were covered up by newer projects,’ he said.

‘Very apologetic’

DURING Dizon’s call, Lacson said, the secretary was ‘very apologetic’ and claimed he had been ‘set up’ when he told senators during last Friday’s Senate Finance subcommittee hearing on the DPWH’s proposed 2027 budget that there were no ghost projects in Taguig.

In response, Lacson sent Dizon a video recording of the portion of the hearing where Dizon ‘clearly’ said there were no ghost projects – followed by Bernabe’s claim that all 107 projects in Taguig ‘have accomplishments.’

Lacson said he was also informed on Sunday that a media outfit attempting to verify records on the slope protection project through the DPWH website found the site ‘down.’ He said that when he told Dizon about this, the website appeared to be back up.

Lacson said the issue was particularly troubling because the DPWH’s own inspection teams had found red flags in 68 projects in Taguig. Five DPWH teams composed of personnel from the Bureau of Quality and Safety, Bureau of Construction, Bureau of Research and Standards, and Bureau of Maintenance were sent to Taguig from July 23 to 25 to inspect projects there.

‘I told him to be careful because whoever takes part in a cover-up will become criminally liable. At the very least, they will become accessories after the fact because of the coverup,’ Lacson recalled telling Dizon.

Also, Lacson said that last Friday, he learned from Senate Finance committee chairman Sen. Jose Victor Ejercito that Dizon had gone to Cayetano’s Senate office before the subcommittee hearing on the DPWH budget started.

He said that at the time, he had a hectic schedule as he was chairing the Foreign Relations committee hearing of the Commission on Appointments (CA).

‘I asked Senator Ejercito where Dizon was. I was told he was in Cayetano’s office, and that they were talking,’ Lacson said.

Lacson said he did not expect the categorical denial from Dizon about ghost projects in Taguig. He said he had to defend his position especially because he was given the ‘receipts’ of the projects.

He said he could not accept Dizon’s statement that there were no ghost projects ‘as of now,’ noting that the DPWH’s own inspection reports were dated July 23 to 25.

‘I sympathize with the DPWH’s engineers who were contradicted by their own boss. When Dizon called me and told me he was surprised by my revelation on the Taguig project with photos in Leyte, I told him it was in the DPWH’s own report,’ he said. With Samuel P. Medenilla

INDUSTRIAL investors are looking beyond available land when choosing where to locate, with infrastructure, skilled workers and established supplier networks increasingly shaping decisions on where to put up manufacturing operations, First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) said.

Ramon A. Carandang, FPIP vice president and head of marketing, external relations and communications, said investors need an industrial environment that is already capable of supporting their operations rather than simply a vacant site.

‘We keep strengthening that environment, not just adding space, so it stays ready for whoever comes next,’ Carandang said during a visit by international investors to the industrial estate in Batangas earlier this month.

The delegation was part of a program organized by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to promote the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) initiative.

The estate’s supplier network links manufacturers with supporting industries and service providers, allowing companies to source some of their requirements within the surrounding industrial ecosystem.

FPIP is a 600-hectare industrial estate in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, with more than 80,000 employees working across aerospace, electronics, motor vehicles, food and other advanced manufacturing sectors.

Collins Aerospace, one of FPIP’s aerospace locators, operates one of its largest international facilities at the estate, where it manufactures aircraft interior products such as seats, galleys and galley inserts for the global aerospace market.

FPIP’s location in Batangas also places the estate within the LEC, a government-backed economic corridor linking Subic, Clark, Metro Manila and Batangas.

The corridor is intended to strengthen industrial and logistics connections among the four areas and attract investments in manufacturing and other industries.

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued a circular implementing the renewed suspension of excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene.

The BIR said in a statement the Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 100-2026 it issued last Monday was after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued last Friday Executive Order (EO) 125 (series of 2026).

BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza explained that this new round of temporary suspension follows the Department of Energy’s (DOE) certification that the one-month average Dubai crude oil price based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) reached $99.41 per barrel from August 13 to September 11,2026, exceeding the $80 per barrel threshold prescribed under Republic Act 12316. The law signed on March 25, 2026, authorizes the President to temporarily suspend or reduce excise taxes on petroleum products.

Under EO 125, the BIR said the excise taxes on LPG are fully suspended, except when used as raw material for the production of petrochemical products or for motive power, while the excise tax on kerosene is fully suspended, except when used as aviation fuel.

‘The regular excise tax rates shall automatically revert, without need of further issuance, one week after the one-month average Dubai crude oil price falls below US$80 per barrel, as certified by the DOE, or three months from the effectivity of the EO, whichever comes first,’ the BIR noted.

The BIR previously implemented a similar suspension under EO No. 114, series of 2026, beginning April 17, 2026. The suspension was lifted effective July 8, 2026, after the DOE certification that the one-month average Dubai crude oil price had fallen below the applicable $80 threshold.

Marcos issued EO 125 on the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC). It will take effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette or in newspapers of general circulation.

The Department of Finance (DOF) and the DOE were allowed to issue rules, regulations and guidelines for the implementation of the suspension.

Both agencies were directed to conduct an inventory of existing stocks of LPG and kerosene once EO 125 takes effect.

DOF’s Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue were mandated to submit to the House of Representatives monthly information on the declared value and volume of petroleum products covered by EO 125.

Within 15 days from the issuance of EO 125, the DBCC in coordination with DOE will review the implementation of the new issuance to the House of Representatives and the Senate. It may also recommend to the President the continuation, modification, extension, or termination of the said suspension.

LOS ANGELES-Jewish heirs of Holocaust victims and their representatives have filed two lawsuits in California staking their claims to Nazi-looted paintings that still hang on the walls of prominent museums in Los Angeles and Auschwitz.

This pair of lawsuits are the first to be filed after the recent passage of laws by California and Congress, which strengthen US-based claims to artwork that were forcibly taken from Jewish families during World War II.

One lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and its board chair Daniel Gryczman against Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena for the return of ‘Adam and Eve.’ These are two life-size oil-on-panel masterpieces created by Lucas Carnach the Elder in 1530.

The other lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles the same day by the daughters of the late Dinah Gottliebova Babbitt, a Holocaust survivor and California-based animator who was held in Auschwitz. It demanded the return of watercolors of fellow prisoners that the artist was forced to paint for Josef Mengele, a Nazi physician who had earned the nickname the ‘Angel of Death.’

Spokespersons for both museums say the museums legally hold titles to the works, and intend to continue displaying them to the public. The lawsuits don’t specify the monetary value of the paintings.

Artworks pit Jewish families against museums

THE issue of Nazi-looted art is an emotional, legally and ethically charged topic that pits Jewish families that have suffered inter-generational trauma against museums that say they are trying to preserve a painful, yet important, chapter of history. Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi regime orchestrated the largest art theft in world history, seizing over 600,000 works of art across Europe from Jewish families, collectors and museums. Decades later, many of these masterpieces reside in prominent museums around the world, making the push for their recovery more complex than a simple property dispute.

Rabbi Noah Farkas is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the organization to which Marei von Saher, sole heir of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, has signed over her rights. The paintings were seized from Goudstikker’s collection by Hermann Goring, Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command and changed a number of hands before being sold in the 1960s to the Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, which was renamed Norton Simon Museum in honor of its benefactor.

Farkas said the federation plans to use most of the net proceeds from the recovered art to provide much-needed help to the about 2,500 Holocaust survivors living in the Los Angeles area.

‘These are incredibly beautiful European masterpieces stolen from a Jewish family to enrich the Nazi party and fund the war and death machine against the people,’ he said. ‘It’s our honor to take on this role on behalf of the community and use most of the proceeds to help these elderly survivors live out the last years of their lives in dignity, comfort and peace-something their family members were denied during the Holocaust.’

Marei von Saher, in a statement, said she is grateful to the Jewish organization for taking up her family’s cause.

‘This effort represents a meaningful step toward justice for Holocaust survivors and victims of Nazi era atrocities,’ she said.

Museums want to preserve paintings for posterity

Norton Simon Museum released a statement pointing out that a federal court in 2018 unanimously determined that the museum had proper title to the Cranach paintings. In May 2019, the US Supreme Court declined to get involved in the case, leaving in place lower court rulings.

They said the Cranach paintings, which originally belonged to the Stroganoff family, were put up for sale in 1931 by the Soviet Union in an illicit auction in Berlin where they were purchased by Goudstikker. After a complicated journey, the paintings were sold to the museum by a Stroganoff family descendant. The museum later restored and preserved the pieces.

‘For nearly 50 years, they have been on view at the Norton Simon Museum and will continue to be accessible to the public for years to come,’ the statement said.

Pawel Sawicki, a spokesperson for the Auschwitz Memorial, said the watercolors of Roma victims that Gottliebova Babbitt was forced to paint by Mengele to document his horrendous experiments and racial research, ‘must remain in the Memorial’ to document the man’s crimes. He said these paintings must not be mischaracterized as ‘Nazi-looted art’ because Gottliebova Babbitt painted them against her will as a prisoner and therefore didn’t have ownership of the watercolors.

A Buddhist monk I met during my international studies in China in the late 1980s told me about the significance of the number 9. He said that 9 is a highly spiritual number, a symbol of transition and transformation through inner work or through learning from the material realm. It is often associated with the closing of a cycle, the completion of a pattern, or the culmination of repeated actions.

The well-loved musical group Ben and Ben has reached its ninth year in the business, where it has progressed from a promising Filipino folk-pop collective into one of the country’s most accomplished musical acts. With a phenomenal following on different music and social media platforms, major milestones and filled-to-the-rafter concerts on both local and international arenas, this nine-member band has built a catalog of unforgettable songs that resonate deeply with its multitude of fans and followers.

With heartfelt gratitude, the band will have a special anniversary concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on October 2, and tickets are almost sold-out at this time. Billed as Saranggola: The Concert, the title is inspired by an original Ben and Ben song that continues to enjoy airplay months after it was first released. The song explores themes of solid friendships that defies time, distance and challenges. It also talks about connections and inevitable changes.

The band is also proud of the release of its anniversary album Nine, an anthology collection that looks back on the music, memories and milestones that defined Ben and Ben and shaped them into what it has become.

The nine-track album serves as a musical time capsule of Ben and Ben’s glorious nine years. Gathering nine tracks that convey key moments in their narrative, the songs dabble between nostalgia and discovery, comforting enough for the group’s longtime fanbase Liwanag to recognize the impact of every reworked part, yet fresh enough to offer new listeners an entry point into the band’s expansive musical universe.

‘We celebrate the love we have for one another and the bond we have built through the years,’ said violinist Keifer Cabugao. ‘We’re just deeply grateful, not only for everything the past has taught us, but also for the gift of being present with one another today.’

Also interesting is how the album serves as an act of revisiting-or, for simpler context, reimagining. The anthology features some of Ben and Ben’s most important songs through the perspective of musicians who have taken the journey with them for years. ‘Reimagined, for us, is letting the songs grow up with us,’ explained lead vocalist and acoustic guitar player Paolo Benjamin. ‘The members, our most loyal fans included, were shaped by life a lot during the past nine years. We’ve gone through so much-the ups and the downs and all that was in between-and inspired us to update the songs with a deeper, more nuanced perspective of the present.’ I’ve observed that this evolution is evident in the album’s production and musical direction.

‘The influences and inspiration we truly channeled in producing Nine were literally our nine years of experience in doing what we do-from the countless live performances we had all these years, and with our fanbase Liwanag, to the close relationships and solid friendships we’ve formed with each other in the band,’ shared lead guitarist and backing vocalist Poch Barretto.

The album’s focus track ‘Maybe the Night [Reimagined]’ played an important role in the band’s history, as it was the first song the members worked on from beginning to end as a nine-piece band. Reimagined nearly a decade later, ‘Maybe the Night’ becomes both a return to the beginning and a reflection of how far the nine musicians have grown since then.

Like a saranggola that is tossed into the wind to get it airborne and allow it to dance with the wind so it could fly so high, so will the songs of Ben and Ben when it takes centerstage for its anniversary concert this weekend, a fitting reminder of the beautiful journey the group enjoyed immensely for the past nine years.

For Ben and Ben, the number 9 represents a new chapter that also symbolizes enlightenment and awakening, the beginning and the end of a cycle, a closure for a period that has reached its full development, and the commencement of a transformation that will lead to the rediscovering of how its music will affect human life with a much deeper sense of universal love, truth and oneness.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) said the double-digit decline in vehicle sales last August is a ‘temporary setback’ and that the auto industry’s performance will return to positive territory in the succeeding months.

Data from Campi and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that their member brands sold 29,611 vehicles in August, down from 37,319 units in July and from the 36,714 units recorded a year ago.

In January to August, Campi-TMA member brands sold 271,336 vehicles lower than the 305,381 units in the same period last year.

For the entire industry, estimated year-to-date sales reached 300,550 units as of August, Campi said.

‘We’re still optimistic that vehicle sales will bounce back over the next few months through yearend,’ Campi President Jose Maria Atienza said, noting that demand should recover as operating conditions normalize.

The decline was broad-based across vehicle categories, based on industry data. Passenger-car sales fell 10.3 percent to 55,030 units from 61,358 units a year earlier, giving the segment a 20.09-percent share of total industry sales.

Commercial vehicles, which accounted for 79.91 percent of the market, declined 11.4 percent to 216,306 units from 244,023 units.

Asian utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles, both within the commercial-vehicle segment, fell 10.6 percent to 48,515 units from 54,292 units.

Light commercial vehicles slid by 11.3 percent to 161,676 units from 182,240 units. Campi-TMA figures also showed that light-duty trucks and buses declined by 16.4 percent to 3,765 units from 4,503 units, while medium-duty trucks and buses dropped 14.4 percent to 1,967 units from 2,298 units.

Heavy-duty trucks and buses recorded the steepest decline, with sales plunging 44.5 percent to 383 units from 690 units a year earlier.

Among Campi-TMA member brands, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. led the pack in August with 14,594 units, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 3,570 units and Suzuki Phils. Inc. with 1,350 units.

EV sales

Data from Campi-TMA also showed that electric vehicles (xEVs) accounted for 34.5 percent of the market in August, bigger than their share in the same month last year and second only to April’s 37.2-percent peak.

Sales of electric vehicles, covering battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), reached 45,403 units during the eigh-month period, up 146.2 percent from 18,439 units a year earlier.

Their share of total industry sales more than doubled to 16.73 percent from 6.04 percent.

In August alone, 7,066 xEVs were sold or 214.9 percent higher than last year’s 2,244. However, this was 0.3 percent below July’s 7,089 units.

‘The continued growth in xEV adoption highlights the strong potential of the market,’ Atienza said.

HEVs remained the largest xEV segment in the eight-month period, with sales rising 62.9 percent to 23,764 units from 14,585 units. BEV sales jumped 293 percent to 12,883 units from 3,278 units, while PHEV sales soared to 8,756 units from just 576 units.

In August, HEVs accounted for 42.46 percent of xEV sales, followed by BEVs at 34.66 percent and PHEVs at 22.88 percent.

The figures cover BEVs, HEVs and PHEVs recognized by the Department of Energy as of September 8.

SEEDING the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) came at the expense of capital from two state-run banks that could otherwise have generated higher dividends for the government, boosted bank earnings and expanded their lending capacity, according to an analysis by Geronimo Law.

Russell Stanley Q. Geronimo, founder of the financial consulting firm, said through an article that the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) could have contributed a combined P17.84 billion in dividends to the National Treasury in 2022 had they not provided capital to the sovereign investment vehicle.

The banks were reprieved from their mandated dividend contributions to the government to protect their capital positions and comply with capital adequacy rules after their combined P75-billion capital contribution to the MIC.

Under Republic Act 7656, government-owned banks must remit at least 50 percent of their net earnings to the National Treasury as dividends.

LandBank earned P30.06 billion in 2022, which would have resulted in a P15.03-billion dividend under the 50 percent rule. DBP earned P5.61 billion, implying a dividend of P2.81 billion.

Had the banks retained the P75 billion and invested in Treasury bills (T-bills), Geronimo estimated it would have earned about P4.5 billion in 2024 and P3.75 billion in 2025, as key policy rates were high at that time and the 364-day yield was roughly 5 to 6 percent.

The MIC, however, earned only P2.68 billion in 2024 and P2.36 billion in 2025 from the funds. Geronimo said this was about P1.82 billion less than what the P75 billion could have earned in T-bills in 2024 and P1.39 billion less in 2025, for a total gap of about P3.2 billion over the two years.

‘Maharlika kept most of its money in bank deposits, so it took on almost no investment risk,’ he said. ‘If a fund taking no real risk earns less than [T-bills], the government would have done better simply holding its own securities, or borrowing less, since it was issuing [T-bills] at those same rates during the period.’

The P75 billion capital could have likewise generated about P9.5 billion in annual net income for the two banks, Geronimo said.

MIC, meanwhile, generated an average of about P2.5 billion a year during 2024 and 2025, implying an opportunity cost of P7 billion a year, or P14 billion over two years, he noted.

Furthermore, the banks’ capital infusion to MIC reduced their Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) and shrank the maximum volume of loans they can extend.

Geronimo said the P75-billion reduction in the banks’ capital translated into P470 billion and P535 billion less in potential risk-weighted-asset capacity, based on the capital ratios at which the two banks operate.

The amounts are estimates of how much additional risk-weighted assets the banks could potentially have supported if they had retained the capital.

‘Bank rules limit how much a bank can lend based on how much capital it holds. Because the Maharlika investment is deducted from the banks’ capital under [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] rules, it lowers the maximum amount the banks can lend,’ Geronimo said.

MIC was established in 2023 to mobilize and manage the Maharlika Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of the Philippines.

The fund’s cumulative deployed capital reached P24.7 billion as of end-June, channeled into infrastructure, energy and logistics, among others.

Deployed investments generated P2.09 billion in total portfolio returns from January to June this year through dividends, loan interest, realized gains and equity holdings.

Tech leaders and gig workers are calling for the resignation of Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Renato Paraiso over the government’s brief blocking of Discord, which critics described as ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘poorly executed.’

The block, imposed after the deadly shooting at a school in Banga, South Cotabato, drew fire from the IT and freelance sectors, where virtual assistants, developers and gig workers rely on Discord for day-to-day work. Initial reports suggested the suspect had been groomed on the platform.

The government reversed the ban within hours, with CICC Director Aya Macalma admitting that authorities were unaware of the app’s broader professional uses.

Scam Watch Philippines Co-Founder Art Samaniego Jr. said the episode had damaged the standing of the agencies involved.

‘The most damaging consequence of the Discord block is the blow to the credibility of both the DICT and the CICC,’ Samaniego said. ‘The fatal flaw was underestimating the users.’

Former DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy is preparing to bring the issue to the Supreme Court, questioning the executive branch’s power to block digital platforms on its own.

Working with civil society and tech advocacy groups, including BetterGov.PH and Democracy.Net.PH, Dy said demand letters had been sent to the DICT, the CICC and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) seeking an end to arbitrary platform blocking.

‘This drama has to stop, especially when the economic and civil rights of people are being violated,’ he said. ‘This is no longer about Discord. This is already about our freedom on the internet, which, for some of us, brings food to the table.’

Aguda, in a video message, acknowledged the outcry but defended the government’s decision, saying access to Discord was restored only after the platform committed to concrete child-safety measures.

‘I saw the comments. I saw the memes. And I understand why people are asking: why restrict access to Discord only to restore it shortly after? To those who were inconvenienced, we hear you,’ Aguda said, speaking partly in Filipino.

‘These concrete commitments gave government the basis to restore access to Discord because the restriction itself was never the end goal. Accountability and cooperation were,’ he added.

Aguda said Discord and Reddit have committed to closer coordination with Philippine authorities and stronger safety measures for young Filipino users.

These include a dedicated ‘green lane’ that gives authorities a direct channel to flag serious threats and expedite the review of illegal and harmful content, ‘including grooming networks and activities that exploit or endanger children.’

He said government agencies had been pressing for stronger accountability, faster coordination and clearer mechanisms against online threats to minors even before the restriction was imposed.

‘Responsible governance means knowing when government must act and knowing when access should be restored once the concerns that prompted that action are being addressed,’ Aguda said.

The DICT chief said the government’s focus now shifts to implementation, and that it will closely watch whether the platforms’ pledges lead to faster action and real protection for children.

‘Your access matters, and we recognize the disruption this caused,’ he said. ‘We have restored access, but accountability does not end there. Our children deserve to enjoy everything technology makes possible with the protection they need and deserve.’

The CICC, an attached agency of the DICT, earlier gave Discord and Reddit 24 hours to establish a Philippine presence following the shooting at Banga National High School. The agency cited a Nihilistic Violent Extremism (NVE) group allegedly recruiting and grooming teenagers on the platforms, which is suspected to have links to the September 18 shooting that killed three students.

The CICC extended the deadline only for Reddit, leading to the Discord ban, which took effect Wednesday evening and was lifted the following day after Discord representatives met online with CICC and DICT officials.