Category: Business Mirror

THE national government is giving local governments greater financial capacity and flexibility to respond directly to the needs of their communities, with a record level of funding intended to strengthen the delivery of basic services, infrastructure, and social assistance across the country, the Executive Secretary said.

Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the Marcos administration is placing LGUs at the center of development by ensuring that provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays have the resources to implement projects and respond quickly to the needs of their constituents.

‘The President wants people to feel the presence of the government all the way down to every town and barangay. When people need help, LGUs should have the capacity to act and provide assistance immediately,’ Recto said during his recent visit to Cebu.

A key source of this support is the P57.87-billion Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) for 2026, the largest allocation for the program so far. The fund may be used by qualified LGUs for priority projects such as roads, farm-to-market roads, water systems, health facilities, and multipurpose buildings that can also serve as evacuation centers during disasters.

Recto said the government has also simplified the process for requesting assistance under the LGSF by reducing requirements and improving procedures to speed up the release of funds.

He urged LGUs to promptly complete and submit their requirements through the Ugnayang Bayan portal so that approved projects can move forward without unnecessary delays.

The administration is also looking at further expanding the program if LGUs demonstrate that the funds are being effectively translated into projects and services on the ground.

Recto said the LGSF could receive an even larger allocation in 2027 if this year’s implementation proves successful.

LGUs are also expected to receive substantially greater fiscal support through their National Tax Allotment. In 2027, the NTA of local governments is projected to reach P1.4 trillion, the highest level on record and about 11 percent higher than this year’s allocation.

Recto said the increased resources reflect the national government’s push to empower local officials, who are often in the best position to identify the most urgent needs of their communities and deliver programs directly to residents.

He also praised Cebu’s local officials for working closely with the national government in implementing programs involving food security, infrastructure, health, and other essential public services. According to Recto, strong coordination between the national and local governments is crucial in ensuring that government assistance reaches communities faster.

Among the programs being implemented through strengthened national-local cooperation is the Bagong Pilipinas Rice Program, which aims to provide 10 kilograms of free rice every two months to nearly eight million low-income Filipino families nationwide.

During his Cebu visit, Recto led the distribution of free rice to around 120,000 families in the province and assured beneficiaries that the assistance would not be limited to a one-time distribution.

‘This is not a one-time, big-time program. Rice will be distributed every two months. The President’s instruction is simple: no Filipino family should go hungry,’ Recto said.

He added that the program is designed not only to support vulnerable households but also to provide income opportunities for Filipino farmers by sourcing the rice from local producers.

‘The benefit is twofold: families have rice on the table, while farmers earn from their harvest. The government is helping both families and farmers,’ Recto said.

Every time the rains come, the country is confronted by a familiar and rather embarrassing sight. Floodwaters rise. Waterways overflow. And from canals, creeks and drainage systems emerges a procession of plastic bags, bottles, discarded packaging and household refuse-the accumulated evidence of what we have thrown away and subsequently forgotten. Until the rain returns it to us.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was confronted by precisely this problem when he inspected clearing operations at the Redemptorist waterway last Wednesday. The mountains of waste recovered from waterways tell us that flooding is not merely an engineering problem. Part of it is also a waste-management problem.

And in that visit, the President provided us a better way of looking at the mountain of garbage: it is not a crisis but it could be a harbinger of something worthwhile pursuing. He provided a lens to a new way of looking at that mountain. What if some of what we have been treating simply as garbage could become part of the country’s infrastructure?

That possibility is beginning to take physical form in New Clark City. The Bases Conversion and Development Authority and a Filipino-Indian consortium composed of ATD Waste to Energy Corp., Global Heavy Equipment and Construction Corp., and India-based Uttamenergy Ltd. are developing a P4-billion waste-to-energy facility on a four-hectare site there.

The numbers tell part of the story. The facility is designed to process about 600 metric tons of waste a day and generate approximately 12 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply the equivalent needs of more than 10,000 homes in Clark and surrounding communities. It is expected to reduce the volume of waste requiring final disposal by as much as 80 to 90 percent through controlled thermal treatment.

But those numbers are not what make this project particularly interesting. The more important development is the change in thinking behind them. For generations, our economic relationship with garbage has essentially ended at disposal. We consume something, discard what remains, collect it, transport it and then spend money finding somewhere to bury it.

In that model, waste is purely a liability. Waste-to-energy asks whether part of that liability can be converted into an economic asset. That is a profound distinction. Instead of merely paying to transport waste to increasingly scarce landfills, properly managed residual waste can potentially become feedstock for electricity generation. Something occupying land and threatening waterways acquires another possible economic use.

In a sense, waste should not be viewed merely as garbage but as a resource that, when responsibly managed, can help power homes and support economic activity. There is an elegant circularity to the proposition. The waste that helps clog the waterways can instead help generate the electricity that powers the city.

There is an interesting diplomatic footnote in the upcoming WtE plant in New Clark City. The project traces part of its momentum to President Marcos’s state visit to India in August last year, when waste-to-energy technology figured in discussions between Philippine and Indian business interests. A state visit, therefore, need not end with communiqués, handshakes and photographs.

Its real measure comes later- when an idea discussed across a conference table becomes steel, machinery, employment and electricity at home. New Clark City offers an appropriate laboratory for that proposition. It was conceived as a smart, green and future-ready metropolis. And now, it will have the country’s first waste-to-energy plant.

But there is something that citizens should take into account. If waste is to become a resource, it must first be properly separated, collected and managed. Citizens therefore become participants in the infrastructure even though they may never see the turbines inside the plant.

That may ultimately be the most interesting aspect of the New Clark City experiment. Infrastructure is usually something we imagine government building for us. Waste management is something the government must build with us. The difference is participation. Perhaps someday, when heavy rains again descend upon our cities, fewer mountains of garbage will come floating back to remind us of what we have discarded.

Not because we have simply found a better place to hide our waste. But because we finally learned that the things a nation throws away can reveal something about the way it thinks. For decades, we looked at garbage and saw something without value. New Clark City is attempting something different.

It is asking us to look at what we throw away-and see what it might still become.

MALACAÑANG said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is still open to reconciling with Vice President Sara Duterte amid rumors she sought a private meeting with the chief executive amid her ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, however, did not confirm or deny if there was such a request received by the Office of the President.

‘We cannot confirm anything regarding that matter, as no information has been relayed to us indicating that such an event is actually taking place,’ she said in Filipino in a press briefing on Monday.

During the weekend, there were posts on social media which claimed that Duterte was seeking a closed-door meeting with Marcos for an undisclosed reason.

Duterte is currently being impeached for her alleged misuse of government confidential funds, unexplained wealth, discrepancies in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), and threatening the lives of Marcos, First Lady Louise ‘Liza’ A. Marcos and Leyte 1st

District Representative Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, the chief executive’s cousin.

The relationship between Marcos and Duterte became strained after the chief executive allowed local authorities to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in serving the warrant of arrest against the Vice President’s father, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2025.

The former chief executive is currently facing crimes against humanity at the ICC for the deaths of 6,000 suspects in the war against illegal drugs of his administration.

Castro, however, reiterated that Marcos has not ruled out reconciling with Duterte or any other people, who have any disagreement with him.

‘The President is open [for a reconciliation] to all our fellow citizens and to everyone,’ she said.

The Presidential Communications Office undersecretary, however, earlier said that such reconciliation must not violate any law.

A FORMER Office of the Vice President (OVP) special disbursing Officer (SDO) on Monday testified that Vice President Sara Z. Duterte personally instructed her to release the entire P125 million in OVP confidential funds to her security officer after the money was withdrawn in cash on December 20, 2022.

Former Office of the Vice President (OVP) Special Disbursing Officer (SDO) Gina Acosta made the disclosure on Monday while appearing as a hostile witness before the Senate impeachment court, identifying Duterte as the official who directed the transfer of the funds to Duterte’s security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.

‘The person who instructed me to release the P125 million to the security officer, Col. Lachica, was Ma’am Sara Duterte,’ Acosta said.

She testified that she contacted Lachica after encashing the check because she had received instructions from Duterte, whom she identified as her head of agency.

‘There was an instruction from my head of agency that once I encashed the check, I should release it to Sir Lachica,’ Acosta said.

During the proceedings, private prosecutor Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan presented Acosta’s previous sworn testimony before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, where she explained why she released the entire amount to Lachica despite being the accountable disbursing officer.

‘Because Ma’am Inday Sara instructed that it should be released to him because he was the one who knew how to implement the programs and activities related to confidential activities,’ Acosta previously testified.

Acosta affirmed the statement before the impeachment court and said she would not have handed over the funds to Lachica without Duterte’s approval.

‘There was approval from Ma’am Inday Sara,’ she said.

When asked if she would have released the money without Duterte’s approval, Acosta answered, ‘No, Your Honor.’

Acosta also testified that Lachica was the person responsible for implementing the confidential activities funded by the OVP in 2023 because of his experience and access related to security operations.

When asked whether Lachica implemented the confidential activities, Acosta replied, ‘That is correct, Your Honor.’

Acosta admitted that she herself did not have the operational knowledge required to conduct such activities.

‘I did not know how to do it; I was not an expert in implementing various confidential activities or operations on the ground,’ she testified.

However, during questioning, Acosta acknowledged that she could not identify any provision under the government’s confidential fund rules that authorized a security officer to disburse confidential funds.

Ligutan asked whether Joint Circular No. 2015-01 contained any provision allowing Lachica, as a security officer, to release confidential funds.

‘None, Your Honor,’ Acosta replied.

She clarified that the responsibility for fund disbursement belonged to her as the designated Special Disbursing Officer.

‘My responsibility was that I was the disbursing officer,’ Acosta testified.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero also asked whether spending confidential funds was part of a security officer’s duties.

‘No, Your Honor. That is the responsibility of the disbursing officer,’ Acosta answered.

Acosta said Lachica’s role was focused on implementing confidential operations rather than formally disbursing the funds. She testified that after receiving the money, Lachica would submit utilization reports and liquidate the funds after the completion of the activities.

The P125 million released in December 2022 was the first of four tranches of confidential funds amounting to P500 million allocated to the OVP in 2022 and 2023.

The transactions are being examined under Article I of the impeachment complaint against Duterte, which involves allegations concerning the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.

Acosta, who handled the P500 million in confidential funds as OVP Special Disbursing Officer, is currently testifying as a hostile prosecution witness in Duterte’s impeachment trial.

It’s very clever of Sunnies Face to launch a fragrance collection with the product name in colors.

Red is a floral with amber and fruit notes. Pink is a fresh floral and by that description, you’d think it’s something only a teenager would like. It’s actually very wearable. Cream is a cotton musk. Brown is a woody brown gourmand. Yellow is a fresh citrus. Green is green and earthy, while Blue is an aquatic. Beige, one of the more popular fragrances, is a skin scent. Sunnies is a multi-brand company that started with eyewear 13 years ago. It has since grown into a group of brands spanning beauty, drinkware, retail, and experiences.

Each category serves a different purpose but each one aims to ‘bring beauty in everyday things.’ Thus, fragrance seems to be a natural extension of this vision.

‘Every category we enter begins with the same question: How can we make an everyday moment feel more special?’ said Jess Wilson, co-founder and brand manager of Sunnies Face. ‘Fragrance is one of the most personal parts of someone’s routine. It felt like a natural extension of what we have always wanted to create.’

When Sunnies Face started to develop its first fragrance collection, the brand started with the question: What if you could smell color?

Each scent does live up to the color it was named after. Sunnies Blue has notes of amber, musk, sandalwood, citrus, apple, coconut, plum, and fig. Sunnies Red has sandalwood, white amber, musk, orchid, violet, jasmine, blackberry, and bamboo leaf. Sunnies Cream has ambroxan, musk, sandalwood, lily of the valley, peony, cotton, bergamot, mandarin, and lemon. Sunnies Beige has pink pepper, ambrette, musk, orris, and woody. Sunnies Brown has cinnamon, milk, cedarwood, cream, coconut, sandalwood, cashmere, vanilla, and musk. Sunnies Yellow has vetiver, tonka, cedarwood, neroli, ylang-ylang, bergamot, lemon, petitgrain, and tarragon. Sunnies Green has tomato leaves, geranium, and patchouli.

My favorites are Sunnies Green and Sunnies Beige. But I think Sunnies Brown is a very unique gourmand worth checking out. Each scent is available in two formats. Eau de Parfum (?995/50ml) offers a more concentrated and lasting fragrance experience, while Hair and Body Mist (?595/80ml) is lighter and can be used to refresh scent throughout the day.

The fragrances are available in all Sunnies Face stores and online channels.

Share prices inched up despite mixed corporate earnings result and on expectations that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may pause rate hikes during its next meeting this month.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 6.95 points to close at 6,297.30 points.

Broker 2TradeAsia said margin discipline has been the main highlight across second quarter earnings season.

‘Weighted projection for listed firms points to roughly 8 percent to 12 percent full-year earnings growth for the year, an assumption that we see as sector-specific, rather than broad-based,’ it said.

Average volume of trade was still depressed as it averaged only P5 billion. Foreign investors, who cornered 42 percent of the trades, were net sellers at P3.66 billion.

Other sub-indices ended mixed, led by the broader All Shares index that gained 20.77 points to 3,439.17, the Financials index rose 49.04 to 1,942.68, the Industrial index lost 21.65 to 8,108.49, the Holding Firms index added 77.61 to 4,542.24, the Property index was down 9.43 to 1,906.11, the Services index fell 58.05 to 3,417.18 and the Mining and Oil index shed 302.37 to 18,002.93.

For the week, gainers led losers, 125 to 80 and 39 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers were First Gen Corp., Swift Foods Inc., Ionics Inc., Paxys Inc., Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp., Dominion Holdings Inc., Prime Media Holdings Inc. and ABS-CBN Corp.

Top losers, meanwhile, were Anglo Philippine Holdings Corp., Island Information and Technology Inc., Cityland Development Corp., Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc., Semirara Mining and Power Corp., Shell Pilipinas Corp. and Macay Holdings Inc.

This week

Share prices may remain depressed this week as investors are advised to maintain a defensive bias and resist the urge to chase high-beta cyclicals on global rate-cut headlines that may not translate into BSP action.

It will be a four-day work week as August 21 is a public holiday for Ninoy Aquino Day.

Broker 2TradeAsia said a softer United States employment data, with its July non-farm payrolls slowing to 114,000 and unemployment rate at 4.3 percent, has reignited aggressive US Federal Reserve’s rate-cut expectations, increasing expectations of ‘no move’ from the BSP at its next Monetary Board meeting on August 27.

‘We feel this assumption overlooks local realities. First, inflation eased to 6.2 percent in July but remains well above the 2- to 4-percent target, and the peso is trading near P61.40 per dollar,’ it said.

‘That leaves little room to exit the BSP’s current hawkish position at the 4.75 percent policy rate without risking renewed currency pressure. Our base case is a hold with very hawkish language attached, which should keep equity multiples capped until the Fed moves with more conviction, by around September.’

The broker said portfolio weightings should stay anchored in well-capitalized banks with strong deposit franchises and high-yield utilities or conglomerates offering dividend visibility that rival bond yields.

‘Use metal-driven rallies in local resource counters for quick gains, and keep dry powder ready for clarity once the August 27 decision lands.’

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. gave a trade the range on the stock of SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) as its stock price is holding above its rising 9-day and 50-day moving averages at P596.50 and P594.49, respectively, which have converged and turned supportive.

‘However, the price remains below the still-descending 100-day SMA at P603.61, which caps immediate upside. Trade the range for now, buying support near P590 and taking profit into resistance just above the 100-day MA around P605, with a decisive close above that level needed to confirm a fresh trend reversal.’

SMIC’s shares closed last week at P600 apiece.

Meanwhile, it gave a buy on pullback advise on the stock of Jollibee Foods Corp. as its stock price closed above its short- and medium-term moving averages.

It also pushed right up against the still-elevated 100-day MA, which is the last hurdle before a full trend reversal.

‘Momentum favors chasing strength here too, buying pullbacks toward consolidation levels in the P150s and the creation of higher lows may warrant a further upside momentum.’

Jollibee’s shares closed Friday at P155 apiece.

THE Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) announced it is set to offer for sale 68 properties in Luzon, including three commercial properties, through electronic public bidding, with bid submissions accepted from 9:00 am on September 16, 2026, until 1:00 p.m. on September 17, 2026, and the opening of bids set at 2:00 p.m. on the September 17, 2026.

According to PDIC, the three prime commercial assets are located in Malolos City, Bulacan; Calamba City, Laguna; and Alaminos City, Pangasinan. The property in Malolos City provides access to the city’s commercial and urban centers. On the other hand, the Calamba City property is located along Mayapa-Canlubang Road, a corridor connecting industrial areas such as the Silangan Industrial Park.

Finally, the property in Alaminos City, which is situated along Olongapo-Bugallon Road, provides access to the national highway and connectivity to business hubs in Pangasinan.

The e-bidding will also offer 65 other assets, comprising 34 properties classified as agricultural, 22 properties classified as residential, and 9 properties classified as mixed residential/agricultural. With lot areas ranging from 189 square meters to 3.9 hectares, these properties offer options for individual buyers, developers, agribusiness investors, and commercial enterprises alike. These properties are located in Albay, Aurora, Bataan, Batangas, Benguet, Bulacan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Laguna, La Union, Palawan, Pangasinan, Rizal, Tarlac, and Zambales.

Properties are sold on an as-is-where-is basis and as such, bidders are encouraged to perform comprehensive due diligence covering property condition, status, and ownership prior to submitting bids read the statement the PDIC issued last Friday.

vivo Philippines has launched vivo Community, its official online community platform where existing users, prospective buyers, and tech enthusiasts can access product information, join discussions, share photography content, and raise support concerns.

The platform is available through the Community tab in the vivo Store app or directly at bbs.vivo.com/ph, giving users a dedicated channel for information and assistance beyond vivo’s social media pages.

It brings together several sections covering different aspects of the vivo user experience. News and Events will carry product announcements, promotions, and event updates, while Tech and Specs will provide product deep-dives, comparisons, and feature explainers. Shot on vivo will feature user-generated content, photography challenges, and tips.

Users can also participate in discussions through Connect and Discuss, which includes discussion threads, polls, and QandA. Sports and Hoops will cover vivo’s basketball-related activities and sponsorships, while Contest will feature community giveaways and photography competitions.

A dedicated Support section will handle technical support, warranty-related questions, and service center inquiries, with the vivo After Sales Team overseeing these concerns. Other community discussions are open to user participation, with the vivo team responding where needed.

To mark the launch, new members can receive a free-shipping voucher with no minimum spend by signing up for vivo Community and commenting on the official launch community post. Ten lucky commenters will also have a chance to win an exclusive vivo tumbler with custom laser engraving.

To participate, users can sign up through the vivo Store app or at bbs.vivo.com/ph, then comment on the official community post. The free-shipping voucher will be automatically credited to eligible participants and can be viewed through their vivo e-store coupon list.

‘vivo Community gives our users a dedicated place to find useful information, ask questions and share their experiences with other vivo users,’ said vivo Philippines Brand Marketing Director Liu Lu. ‘We want it to be a practical resource that users can return to, whether they are learning about a new feature, looking for support, or simply interested in what other members are doing with their devices.’

The platform is designed primarily for existing vivo device owners across product lines, while also providing a resource for people researching vivo products and for technology and mobile photography enthusiasts.

A membership rewards system is also in development for vivo Community, with more details to be announced soon. Users are encouraged to stay tuned for upcoming community activities, rewards, and other member benefits.

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has filed a motion for reconsideration seeking to lift the injunction that halted the P85 minimum wage increase in Metro Manila.

In its motion before Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 152, DOLE asked the court to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a cause of action.

It also sought the denial of the petitioners’ application for a writ of preliminary injunction.

DOLE maintained that the petitioners bypassed the administrative remedies provided under the Labor Code before bringing the dispute to court.

Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino said the department is challenging the ruling on several grounds, including the court’s jurisdiction and its treatment of Articles 123 and 126.

‘We filed a motion for reconsideration to strongly challenge the decision of Branch 152,’ Tolentino said.

‘We are basically saying that the court has no jurisdiction, administrative remedies were not exhausted, Article 126 was disregarded, and compliance with Article 123 was not established,’ he added.

Under Article 123, appeals involving regional wage orders are brought before the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

Meanwhile, Article 126 prohibits courts, tribunals or other entities from issuing temporary restraining orders or injunctions against proceedings before the NWPC or regional wage boards.

At stake is Wage Order No. NCR-27, which would grant an additional P85 in daily pay to minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.

Around 1.1 million workers were expected to benefit from the increase, which was scheduled to take effect last month before its implementation was stopped by the court.

DOLE said the wage order went through the prescribed tripartite wage-setting process involving labor, employers and government.

Tolentino filed the motion on Monday together with Assistant Solicitor General Jane E. Yu and officials from DOLE and the NWPC.

Implementation of the P85 wage hike remains suspended while the court considers DOLE’s bid to overturn the injunction.

Shell Pilipinas Corp. (SPC) said it posted a net loss of P2.7 billion in the first half, a reversal of last year’s P970-million net income, due to inventory losses, compressed margins, and soft demand.

‘The first half tested the resilience of energy supply chains across the industry. Our priority was clear: keep fuel available, support our customers and trade partners, and help keep the Philippine economy moving,’ said Lorelie Quiambao Osial, president and CEO of Shell Pilipinas.

During the period, the oil firm generated P2.4 billion in free cash flow driven by strong liquidity and supply reliability despite significant market volatility.

‘By leveraging Shell’s global trading and supply network, local infrastructure, and strong customer relationships, we maintained reliable supply through one of the most volatile market environments in recent years.

While these conditions materially affected earnings, improving trends in May and June reinforce our confidence in the resilience of our business as we navigate a still-volatile environment,’ added Osial.

The oil firm said it faced ‘severe’ margin compression and a net loss due to the Middle East conflict-driven oil price volatility and a weak peso. Despite these, Shell Pilipinas said it maintained fuel availability by leveraging its integrated supply chain and active government coordination.

While high prices caused a 4 percent decline in mobility volumes, commercial fuels saw a 4-percent growth, while lubricants provided stable earnings.

‘As we move into the second half, our focus is to restore profitability, strengthen cash generation, and further improve Shell Pilipinas’ competitiveness. The actions we have taken position us to continue serving the country’s energy needs while creating long-term value for our shareholders,’ Osial added.

Last March, SPC said its net income soared by 69 percent year-on-year to P2.1 billion in 2025 due to higher sales. Its core earnings jumped 28 percent year-on-year to P3.3 billion.

The country’s second largest oil firm also ended 2025 with a free cash flow of P2.1 billion, reversing the P1.6-billion deficit it recorded in the previous year.

Income from operations also went up to P6.46 billion from P6 billion.

SPC’s fuels business delivered a 2-percent volume growth for the full year, supported by stronger contributions from B2B and commercial segments, a ‘healthier’ product mix, and ‘more efficient’ supply chain.