Category: Business Mirror

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said its purchases of paddy rice soared in June on the back of a favorable harvest and its competitive buying price range.

The grains agency said it procured 807,691 50-kilo bags or 40,384 metric tons (MT) of palay in the reference month, more than double the 355,910 bags or 17,795.5 MT it bought last year.

With this, the NFA noted that it met its procurement target of 381,500 bags or 19,075 MT in June.

‘Increase in procurement compared to last month is mainly due to favorable harvest this cropping season, and the continuous implementation of the Council-approved Price Range Scheme [Pricers] for palay procurement activity,’ the NFA said.

Under the grains agency’s program, it buys clean and dry palay at P23 to P30 per kilo, while the price of fresh and wet palay ranges from P17 to P23 per kilo. Such a scheme changes weekly per province.

The NFA said it had a total expected milled rice inventory of 8.9 million bags or 445,459 MT at the end of June. It added that the grains agency’s stockpile accounts for 18.9 percent of the country’s national rice inventory.

Meanwhile, the agency said it distributed 60,252 bags or 3,012 MT of milled rice during the reference month, 13.6 percent of its target of 440,445 bags or 22,022.25 MT.

It allocated some 544 MT of rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), legislators, and local governments for relief operations and calamity response.

About 1,314 MT of rice were distributed to government agencies and local government units’ (LGUs) rice requirement under the Executive Order 51 program, the NFA said.

Furthermore, around 1,126 MT have been distributed to LGUs under the food security emergency program, which was declared to expedite the release of rice stocks held by the NFA.

It added that some 27 MT of rice have been allotted for the auction or private institutions.

The NFA recently invited the public to participate in the tender for more than 1 million 50-kilo bags or 57,997 MT of aging rice stocks. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/09/29/nfa-invites-bids-for-1-16-m-bags-of-aging-rice-stocks-worth-%e2%82%b11-6b/)

The agency has started issuing auction documents. The Central Office Auction Committee (COAC) will issue these documents until October 8, while documents from the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat will be available until October 7.

Interested bidders are required to tender a 10-percent bond of the total price offer, which will be deducted from the overall payment of the winning bidder.

This year, the NFA aims to procure as much as 880,000 MT of palay to meet its new buffer stock requirement of 15 days as stipulated under the amended Rice Tariffication Law (RTL).

Earthquake victims in some towns in northern Cebu province call for help as they battle rain, the cold weather at night and their desperate need for food while still waiting for relief goods to reach their area.

Arg De Real, a resident of Sitio Pandan, Barangay Mahawak in Medellin town, uploaded photos on Wednesday showing some of his family members and other evacuees sleeping under a blanket of transparent plastic to shield them from the rain.

De Real shared that there are currently an estimate of 400 families there who evacuated after the magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Cebu on Tuesday evening, September 30, 2025.

‘Duol ra man mi og dagat sad. Ni bakwit lang mi sa bukid (We are living near the sea. That’s why we evacuated here to the hilly area),’ he told Business Mirror in an interview on Thursday.

Most of them, he shared, only brought plastic bags so they can use it to shield them from the rain while some were fortunate enough to have some tents.

Fear prevents them from going back to their houses, especially at night, as the town continues to experience aftershocks.

They called on authorities to help them as they are running out of food to eat.

‘Untag hatagan tanan peru ug kamu mang hatag unaha tawn amoa kay murag dili kaabot sa amoa [We hope that everyone gets to receive it, but if you can help us, please prioritize us as we haven’t received any help yet],’ he added.

He emphasized that they currently need food, water to drink, and tents there.

Amidst the tragedy, De Real still keeps a positive mind saying they are all ‘good’.

Different photos spread all over social media where evacuees seek help in order for relief goods and aid to reach them.

An uploader also posted a photo of kids photographed along the highway in San Remigio town raising cardboards with the words printed, ‘Walay tarong kaon’ (Have not eaten well) and ‘Help us. More food, water’.

The Cebu Provincial Government reported they have sent 7,622 food packs to Medellin town and 300 food packs to San Remigio as of 5pm on Thursday, October 2, 2025.

This is apart from the water bottles and other relief items that were also sent there.

In a video interview by local station MyTV Cebu, Mayor Edwin Salimbangon said the quake left many residents traumatized such that they opted to stay on the roadside and open fields.

Salimbangon said the town has received initial relief good,s but it could only last up to two days.

The municipality has opened its Tourist Rest Area to serve as a 24/7 drop-off site for donations.

No permit needed to bring aid

Private individuals and groups who wish to directly send their donations to affected areas don’t need to get a permit.

The Cebu Provincial Government clarified this, even as it advised the volunteers to ‘proceed with extra caution and remain vigilant’ since there are still aftershocks there.

‘Donations coursed through the Capitol will be received and recorded at the Command Center to ensure transparency, proper documentation, and accountability, and to guarantee that assistance reaches those in need.,’ the Cebu Provincial Government said in a statement.

THE contraction of the Philippine manufacturing sector in September is only a ‘cautionary signal’ as this only stemmed from ‘short-term’ challenges,’ according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).

‘We in Peza remain positive despite the recent drop of the [Purchasing Manager’s Index] PMI for September, as we believe that this is more of a cautionary signal than a cause for alarm, stemming from short-term challenges rather than structural weaknesses,’ Peza Director General Tereso O. Panga told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message on Thursday.

Citing survey reports, the Peza chief pointed to weaker domestic demand, fewer client orders, supply chain disruptions caused by weather, the impact of various policy shifts and the recent geopolitical movements as key contributors to the slowdown in the manufacturing sector.

He also noted that rising input costs continue to place pressure on manufacturers, prompting some firms to scale back orders or output.

Panga said while foreign demand remains stable, the lower local demand ‘weighs’ on overall performance of the manufacturing sector in the country.

‘For Peza, this underscores the importance of strengthening ecozone resilience against weather-related disruptions, ensuring stable and predictable policies that support manufacturers, and helping firms manage costs and diversify their markets,’ Panga told this newspaper.

Nevertheless, he said the investment promotion agency sees this trend as ‘temporary,’ pointing out that investments greenlighted by Peza this year reflect a ‘continued upward trajectory.’

On Wednesday, S and P Global Market Intelligence reported that the Philippines’ Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) score fell to 49.9 in September from the 50.8 in August.

‘While signaling just a fractional deterioration in the health of the manufacturing sector, this was only the third time in just over four years where the headline index has been in contraction territory,’ S and P Global said.

Data from Peza showed that it has approved P154.70 billion worth of investments in the January to September 2025 period, up 33.5 percent compared to the P115.87 billion approved in the nine-month period in 2024.

Panga also noted that the economic zones have been generating more interest as multinational corporations (MNCs) are setting their sets on ecozones for their offshore operations.

For one, the Peza chief said there are companies ‘shifting production out of China in favor of the Philippines to benefit from our lower tariff for exported goods to the US and EU as well as our most generous fiscal incentives package for investors across Asean.’

The agency also sees this development in the manufacturing sector ‘as an opportunity to step up coordination with government and industry partners so that our locators remain competitive, resilient and able to contribute to the Philippines’ positioning as one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific.’

There was the Pharmally scandal that happened during the Covid-19 pandemic when the head of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), Lloyd Christopher Lao, who had previously worked at the Office of Presidential Assistant Bong Go, awarded government contracts totaling P11.5 billion to a very undercapitalized (P625,000) Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. The contracts were to supply face masks and shields, test kits, personal protection equipment (PPEs) and related items for the Covid-19 protection program.

There were clear irregularities in the procurement and delivery process. The COA flagged the transactions. The supplies were overpriced and/or defective and/or old/mislabeled inventories.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Senator Richard Gordon conducted a probe that President Rodrigo Duterte openly opposed and blocked. Gordon concluded there was wrongdoing but his colleagues in the Senate refused to sign the Committee Report.

Nevertheless, the Ombudsman filed cases against several defendants led by Lloyd Christopher Lao.

The financing of these anomalous Pharmally transactions was traced to and facilitated by Michael Yang, the former Presidential Economic Adviser to then President Rodrigo Duterte.

Status: the Sandiganbayan has ruled to proceed with the graft case after being detoured by motions to quash, which were deemed finally on September 8, 2025.

Then there was Mary Grace Piattos. The Office of the Vice President Sara Duterte was allotted confidential and intelligence funds in the 2023 national budget in the amount of P125 million. More, if we include the intelligence funds allotted to the Department of Education which she then headed.

In the only accounting she made for the use of funds (in an incredibly short period of 11 days) she reported as recipients various fictitious or dubious names that were obviously from popular brands of snack foods. The House of Representatives, after public hearings, voted to use this as one of the grounds for her impeachment. The Senate, as impeachment court, delayed the proceedings. The case was brought to the Supreme Court, which declared the House’s impeachment process defective and unconstitutional.

Status: A Motion for Reconsideration has been filed and is pending, alleging that the Supreme Court decision was made on the basis of a wrong understanding of certain vital facts. An impressive group of legal luminaries (past Supreme Court Justices, members of the Constitutional Convention, several lawyer associations and law schools) have disagreed with the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision.

And now, the President of the Philippines himself, in his latest SONA, brings to the attention of Filipinos, the monstrous scandal of corruption in the granting of government flood control projects through criminal manipulations in the national budget process.

Responding to the loud public outcry for accountability, the President has formed an Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate and recommend measures to enforce such accountability.

Meantime, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is conducting public hearings on these flood control projects, and is discovering the involvement of legislators, government officials, contractors and more. The House of Representatives has suspended its own investigations.

Meantime, the NBI has recommended the prosecution of 21 persons related to flood control projects including incumbent and past senators, congressmen, contractors and government engineers.

The revelations are dramatically unfolding in the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson.

Meantime, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, appointed to the ICI as adviser, has suddenly resigned, after Malacañang announced they would review if he had a possible conflict of interest (he denies this), since the suspected criminal contractor Discaya had reported infrastructure project contracts with Baguio City. Malacañang had signaled its less-than-full trust, so the honorable thing to do was resign.

We Filipinos are all in the maw of all-engulfing darkness as we are witnessing revelations that for so long our own government leaders, officials and bureaucracy in conspiracy with public work contractors have been stealing public funds through various dubious schemes of ‘ghost’ non-existing projects, sub-standard and unfinished projects, over-pricing and money diversions to private pockets.

We have been betrayed, abused and raped by our senators, congressmen and public officials.

We are sinking in the cesspool of their excrement.

Rex Education proudly congratulates three of its distinguished authors-Atty. Hector M. De Leon Jr., Managing Partner of SyCip Salazar Hernandez and Gatmaitan; Atty. Nilo T. Divina, Managing Partner of Divina Law, and Atty. Tranquil A. Salvador, Partner at Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc and De Los Angeles-for their recognition in the Asia Business Law Journal’s Philippines Top Lawyers 2025 A-List.

According to Asia Business Law Journal, A-List lawyers are ‘lawyers who are currently the star performers of the Philippines’ legal profession; the lawyers who are personally undertaking the country’s top legal work, crafting the most cutting-edge legal solutions to complex problems, and setting the highest standards in terms of quality, innovation and the ability to handle complex matters.’

The journal also defines Legal Icons as ‘lawyers who are the luminaries of the Philippines’ legal profession; the titans who command the respect of clients and juniors alike; the mentors who lead the Philippines’ most admired law firms and/or legal teams, and who are the country’s most prolific rainmakers.’ Among those honored with this distinction are Atty. Hector M. De Leon Jr. and Atty. Nilo T. Divina, who, aside from being part of the prestigious list, are also recognized as Icons.

Champions of Legal Practice and Education

Atty. Hector M. De Leon Jr. is celebrated nationwide for his dual expertise as a leading practitioner and one of the country’s most prolific and trusted legal authors. His textbooks on Obligations and Contracts, Business Law, and Commercial Law remain indispensable in business programs and law schools. His works on the Philippine Constitution, Criminal Law, and related subjects continue to shape the legal literacy of countless law students and professionals.

Atty. Nilo T. Divina is equally admired as a premier corporate and litigation strategist and the transformative leader of Divina Law. His authoritative texts on Commercial and Corporation Law are essential references for law students, bar reviewees, and practitioners seeking clarity on complex commercial issues.

Atty. Tranquil A. Salvador, a recognized leader in litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR), is also an esteemed law professor and author whose works advance the study of Remedial Law. Beyond his practice areas-which include aviation, insurance, mining, and ADR-he has made a profound impact on legal education through his widely respected textbooks and bar reviewer materials such as Footnotes Vol. I: Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure.

‘Being recognized as part of the prestigious list and called icons of Philippine law underscores the enduring impact of Atty. De Leon, Atty. Divina, and Atty. Salvador-not only in their respective practice areas, but also in their invaluable contributions to Philippine legal education through their published works,’ said Rex Education CEO, Don Timothy I. Buhain. ‘Their scholarship and leadership align with our aspirations: to nurture minds and transform communities through education.’

Rex Education takes immense pride in being the publishing partner of these exceptional legal minds and joins the legal and academic communities in celebrating their well-deserved recognition in Philippine Law and Legal Education.

Congratulations, Atty. Hector M. De Leon Jr., Atty. Nilo T. Divina, and Atty. Tranquil A. Salvador-whose work continues to shape the future of Philippine law.

AS September ends and another quarter closes, take a moment to pause with me. What are things that happened this month that left an impact on you? Which do you feel good about? Which may have ruffled you up a bit? Reflection feels simple but can be hard-yet it’s one of our most powerful tools to live with intention and presence.

To make this reflection easier, I like to think of life as five baskets-distinct but connected where growth and meaning mesh together:

Personal emotion: your inner well-being and feelings

Immediate family: spouse, children, those closest at home

Work or craft: your vocation, contribution, and purpose

Social relationships: friends, siblings, extended network

Community impact: service, outreach, influence beyond self

Each basket will feel full or empty at times. The goal is not perfection but awareness. Challenges in one basket can spark strength in another, while joys can guide healing where it is needed the most.

Often, we avoid admitting when a basket feels empty or painful. Cracks in one area can reveal beauty in another. Emotional struggles may deepen family bonds, fuel empathy in community work, or open a new creative path.

This past quarter has brought a lot of surprises, mistakes and unexpected challenges for me. Some were bruising to my personhood, yet those same challenges also brought out support and affirmation on everything I have built and stood for all these years.

Nurturing your emotional basket-through self-care and reflection-can give clarity to better support loved ones. Even when your work feels overwhelming, it may anchor your purpose and bring hope to personal or family uncertainty.

Here are practical ways to nurture gratitude and growth in your baskets, backed by research from family education and mental health experts:

Personal emotion. Keep a daily gratitude journal, listing three things-big or small-that bring you joy. Clinical studies show gratitude reduces anxiety and depression symptoms while boosting positive emotions (Emmons, R.A., and Stern, R. 2013). Gratitude is a psychotherapeutic intervention (Journal of Clinical Psychology). On tough days, note small wins-a quiet moment or kind word. Acknowledge negative feelings without judgment; self-compassion is key (Neff, K.D. 2011). Self-compassion: Stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind. Practice gratitude before sleep-this habit improves mood, sleep quality, and immune health.

Immediate family. Stick to your loving routines-greeting each other in the morning, asking how their day was. Even if you do not always get a bright answer, still celebrate the peaceful mornings or shared laughs. I have teenagers now and they can be moody at times. I still give my son the same hug and sit with him to check on his day. Reflect on what fun things you and your partner did or can do for the next months – explore a new restaurant, get a foot massage together.

Work or creative craft. At quarter’s end, reflect on tasks that brought purpose versus those that drained you. I felt so proud being able to introduce to my husband and my daughter Erik Smyth, the inventor of DEW cleaning products, powered by advanced electrolysed water technology and free from harsh chemicals, eco-friendly and certified by Allergy UK.

Social relationships. Reconnect or set dinner-dates with childhood friends. My grade school volleyball and scouting group of 4 has always offered me so much solace and strength. Exploring new friendships are great as well.

Community impact. Engage in volunteering aligned with your values; gratitude fuels sustained service. Although it seems time is always running out on me, serving the Philippine Association of National Advertisers Foundation (Pana) as their chairman this year, as well as the board of Pana has given me so much meaning and fun, being in the marketing industry all these years.

Gratitude is far more than a feel-good idea, it is therapeutic. Systematic reviews find regular gratitude practices reduce anxiety and depression while boosting holistic mental health (Wood, A.M., et al. 2010). The role of gratitude in well-being (Clinical Psychology Review). Long-term studies link higher gratitude to lower mortality rates, improved heart health, and emotional resilience (Harvard Health Publishing 2024). Gratitude enhances health, happiness and longevity.

Gratitude shifts focus outside ourselves, allowing us to have a more ‘bring it on’ attitude, rather than a defeatist one. It encourages prosocial behaviors, deepening community ties (Frontiers in Psychology 2024). Gratitude fosters community and prosocial behavior. When trained to see blessings amid struggle, we build emotional muscle-becoming more open to beauty, more forgiving of imperfections, and more patient with growth.

The greatest invitation is this: as long as we are given another breath to live each day, there is definitely something to look forward to in.doing, learning and being. Let us live this next quarter with ourselves and the people around us, not chasing perfect balance, but embracing the grace that guides us from basket to basket, one day at a time.

A TOTAL of P8.008 billion in calamity funds may be accessed by government agencies to provide relief and rehabilitation in light of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu on Tuesday night, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

In a statement on Wednesday, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman urged government agencies to activate their Quick Response Funds (QRF).

This comes after the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure immediate relief and rehabilitation for communities affected by the earthquake, which claimed at least 20 lives, injured dozens, damaged heritage churches and other structures and disrupted power in several parts of the Visayas. Related stories on the Cebu earthquake in Nation and Economy pages.

The QRF is an emergency standby fund lodged under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF), also known as the calamity fund.

It enables frontline agencies to immediately provide assistance to areas stricken by disasters and emergencies.

Government agencies with built-in QRFs include the Departments of Health (DOH), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Defense-Office of Civil Defense (DND-OCD), Education (DepEd), Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Transportation-Philippine Coast Guard (DOTr-PCG), Agriculture (DA) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

Agencies may request for replenishment from the DBM once their QRF balance has reached at least 50 percent.

‘Our prayers go to the families who lost their loved ones and to all who are enduring this tragedy. In moments like this, government aid must never be delayed,’ Pangandaman said.

The budget secretary has also ordered the DBM and PS regional office in Cebu and nearby areas to immediately check on the safety of their personnel, submit situation reports and conduct structural inspections of DBM and PS buildings.

DBM’s regional offices in Central and Eastern Visayas were also instructed to coordinate with their regional counterparts from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to identify requirements where DBM assistance may be extended.

P100 M for Masbate

Meanwhile, the DBM also released P100 million in assistance for those affected by three consecutive typhoons that battered Masbate.

The P100-million fund will cover food, shelter, medicines and supplies for families who lost their homes and livelihoods.

The province was declared under a state of calamity, after more than 400,000 families or almost 1.6 million individuals from 2,615 barangays have been affected.

Citing authorities’ reports, the DBM said damage to agriculture and infrastructure in the province is estimated at over P63 million, while more than 1,000 classrooms were damaged and are no longer usable by students.

‘Following President Marcos’ instructions, we acted immediately to release the necessary funds. It is our duty to ensure that aid reaches families in need without delay,’ Pangandaman said.

Under the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), the national government may extend support to local government units during calamities.

Local governments may access the LGSF once their own disaster risk reduction and management funds are depleted, and if those remain inadequate, they may request additional funds from the NDRRM Fund.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa vowed to expand the benefits provided by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) following the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of an additional P60 billion in the 2026 proposed budget of the agency.

On Wednesday ‘s budget hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Health chaired by Pia Cayetano, Herbosa said that they will increase PhilHealth’s benefits for those suffering from heart disease, diabetes, high blood, and cancer.

‘Gusto ng ating Pangulo na pataasin pa ang sinasagot ng PhilHealth sa ating mga gastusing pangkalusugan. Pati dental benefits at para sa mental health, ating dadagdagan,’ Herbosa said as the agency proposes for

P320.52 billion for the Department of Health (DOH) and its attached agencies and corporations.

Likewise, he also assured of the continuity of the Zero Balance Billing, seen to cover even bigger public hospitals in the provinces and cities.

‘May panukala ang DOH na magkaroon ng panibagong line item sa GAA, na tatawagin nating ‘Zero Balance Billing support for Level 2 and Level 3 LGU hospitals.’ Ito ay para sana hindi lamang sa DOH hospitals. Kung popondohan ito ay labis na makakatulong,’ Herbosa explained.

The hearing highlighted the nation’s ongoing efforts to fulfill Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3) and bring the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law to life.

The proposed 2026 budget of DOH has increased from P303.86 billion in the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) and P259.42 billion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The Office of the Secretary is set to receive P263.96 billion, while attached specialty hospitals and agencies, including the Lung Center, Kidney Institute, Heart Center, and Children’s Medical Center, maintain steady funding. Meanwhile, the PhilHealth is set to receive P53.3 billion in 2026 from an entire year with zero subsidy.

As for the senators, they assured that the 2026 budget reflects both national legal mandates and global health goals.

They also urged all stakeholders to uphold the integrity of the UHC Law and accelerate progress toward SDG 3 by ensuring transparent, accountable, and health-focused budgeting.

IN my September 3 column, I wrote about the excessive greed for money that fuels misconduct such as fraud and corruption-the most pressing, interconnected issue in the country right now and labeled as the largest corruption scandal in history.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to freeze assets of individuals and entities linked to anomalous flood control projects. These assets cover more than 700 bank accounts, insurance policies, luxury vehicles and real estate properties.

A freeze order is valid for 20 days, during which it will be determined whether to lift or extend it for up to 6 months if the CA finds probable cause that the frozen accounts are related to illicit activities. If the court does not file a case within this period, the freeze order is automatically lifted.

Why issuing freeze order of bank accounts suspected of graft and plunder a crucial first step? It is an important action to prevent movement or disposal of funds and other assets believed to come from unlawful activities. Criminals and plunderers typically move illegal wealth quickly into shell companies, foreign bank accounts, expensive purchases, gambling, or cryptocurrencies.

A freeze order stops them from transferring or liquidating assets while investigations are ongoing. Without it, assets will be very difficult for authorities to trace and recover.

Banks of accounts under investigation are legally required to act on a freeze order immediately and lock these bank accounts to prevent any access or movement. Funds stay locked until the freeze order expires or gets lifted. Banks also preserve transaction history of frozen accounts and provide the AMLC with records and related documents that can be used for the investigation.

The ongoing Senate probe on the issue is becoming more and more complex by the day. Filipinos want to know the truth and see more names exposed, but most importantly, we want these investigations to bring justice-prosecution of parties involved and real reforms to curb systemic corruption in government.

Loud and clear, beyond recovery of stolen public funds, people want restitution. It is taxpayers’ money stolen, and assets recovered should be returned to the people. Can the government give us a tax break or holiday, or reduction in income tax and VAT for a period? In other jurisdictions, however, governments will go after prosecution and asset recovery, then use recovered assets for social services and programs, rather than tax holiday or offsetting tax collections.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected Php2.85 trillion tax in 2024, with income taxes accounted for 53.75 percent of the collection. If only our taxes are put to good use or intended purpose such as the government’s flagship projects and social services, the country can improve its climate resilience, disaster risk prevention and management, support sustainable economic growth and we will not be in this predicament now.

In a recent interview, BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. assured the public that the banking sector remains strong and liquid. Banks, on the other hand, will continue to act as gatekeepers to detect suspicious transactions, and support additional reforms such as strengthening checks and balances, stricter measures to make it more difficult for illegal funds to enter and exit the financial system.

Even if we are all angry and dismayed, we must keep our faith in the integrity of our institutions, judicial process and law enforcement. We should continue to press for transparency and accountability in governance. We deserve a government that’s credible, honest, just and truly serves the people.

Why spend ?12 billion a year on foreign servers when we can build our own for ?2.5 billion?

This was the central question raised during the House deliberations on the DICT’s 2026 budget, as lawmakers pressed for investments in local data centers to reduce dependence on costly and risky foreign cloud storage.

Rep. Presley De Jesus asked the sponsor how much government would need to establish its own facilities.

Rep. Brian Poe, sponsoring the budget, replied:

‘Mr. Speaker, it will cost us ?2.5 billion pesos. However, what I wasn’t able to clarify. is that the ?2.5 billion is not all in one go. In fact, based on the absorptive capacity of DICT, we will have to spread out this ?2.5 billion across the remaining three years of the administration to build these data centers.’

Rep. Robert Nazal then raised funding options, suggesting the Spectrum Users Fund (SUF) as a possible source:

‘Since we’re already requesting for the ?2.5 billion and we intend to get it from the GAA, why not get it from the SUF?’

Poe acknowledged the proposal but explained DICT’s immediate priorities:

‘Mr. Speaker, DICT is prioritizing the connectivity, the internet connection, as well as the continuing appropriation for maintenance and operation of these Free Wi-Fi sites. Now, to my colleague’s point, I understand where he’s coming from. If there’s ?21 billion sitting in this fund and there is a bad need for these data centers, why not consider the data centers? And that’s something that we can take up. But before we go into that, I think the DICT has a pressing commitment by October to deliver these Free Wi-Fi sites to the Filipino people.’

Both interpellators and Poe agreed that local data centers are vital – not only to save billions in recurring cloud rental costs but also to safeguard sensitive government information. Poe closed by emphasizing that DICT has steadily improved its absorptive capacity – from 87% utilization in 2024 to a projected 93% in 2025 – making it ready to roll out phased investments in data centers while ensuring the timely delivery of Free Wi-Fi commitments to the Filipino public.