Category: Business Mirror

THE proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 must be felt in the everyday lives of Filipinos and must translate into stronger economic growth, more jobs, improved public services, and greater opportunities for families across the country, the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations said on Monday.

As the House of Representatives began its review of the proposed spending program during the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing, House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Mikaela Suansing stressed that the national budget must go beyond figures on paper and serve as a strategic investment that delivers measurable benefits to citizens and strengthens the Philippine economy.

‘Congress will ensure that the country’s P7.2-trillion budget will not remain only on paper but will be felt in the daily lives of every Filipino family,’ Suansing said.

She emphasized that government spending must create tangible improvements through accessible healthcare, quality education, stronger infrastructure, and expanded employment opportunities that directly contribute to economic development.

‘Filipinos should see its impact through more accessible healthcare, higher-quality education and better classrooms, more employment opportunities, and improved roads that will help farmers transport their products faster and connect them to markets,’ she added.

Suansing said the House supports the economic framework presented by the Development Budget Coordination Committee for the 2027 national budget, anchored on ‘People-Centered Growth for an Inclusive and Resilient Future.’

She said the framework recognizes that sustainable economic growth depends on investments in human capital, public services, infrastructure, and workforce development.

‘We affirm the framework presented by the DBCC in crafting the 2027 National Budget. This means prioritizing investments in quality education, healthcare services, and workforce upskilling,’ Suansing said.

The lawmaker said the impact of the national budget should be measured not only by the amount of government spending but also by its ability to generate economic activity, improve productivity, create jobs, and expand opportunities for Filipino workers and businesses.

She added that every allocation must deliver value to taxpayers by supporting programs that address national priorities and strengthen the country’s long-term economic resilience.

‘Every peso in this budget comes from the hard work and sacrifices of Filipino taxpayers. That is why Congress will conduct thorough deliberations in the coming months to ensure that every peso is directed toward programs that genuinely respond to the needs of our citizens and strengthen the future of our country,’ Suansing said.

Cooperation

Suansing also highlighted the importance of cooperation between Congress and the executive branch in developing a budget that responds to the country’s economic needs and development goals.

She cited the President’s Budget Message, saying the proposed spending plan represents more than a financial program but an investment in the Filipino people and the nation’s future.

‘More than just a financial plan, this budget is a strategic investment in the Filipino people and in the future of our nation. It converts national priorities into concrete actions, ensuring that every public resource strengthens institutions, expands economic opportunities, and improves the quality of life of every Filipino,’ Suansing said.

She said the House will continue examining the proposed appropriations to ensure that government funds support programs that encourage inclusive growth, improve competitiveness, and create better opportunities for communities nationwide.

Suansing said accountability and transparency will remain central to the budget process to protect public resources and maintain taxpayers’ trust.

‘We will establish sufficient safeguards in the budget to ensure that it cannot be abused. Congress will make sure that the 2027 budget is one that the Filipino people can trust,’ she said.

‘These reforms reflect Congress’ commitment to removing secrecy from the budget process and showing where every peso from Filipino taxpayers goes,’ Suansing said.

As the country moves toward another record-level spending plan, Suansing emphasized that the true measure of the budget will be whether it produces stronger economic growth, more opportunities, and improvements that Filipino families can experience in their daily lives.

The proposed budget is 6 percent higher than the P6.793-trillion allocation for 2026 and is equivalent to 21.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The House has begun its scrutiny of the proposed 2027 national budget through the DBCC briefing, where lawmakers will examine economic assumptions, fiscal targets, and government spending priorities.

A PHILIPPINE team snatched five gold, seven silver and 13 bronze medals in the recent Southeast Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) Junior and Cadet Championships at the Arena TSH OCM in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Oscar del Castillo led the charge with a gold medal in the 17-and-under cadet men’s epee which he complimented with a silver medal in the 21-and-under junior men’s epee.

The 16-year-old del Castillo bowed to Singapore’s Benjamin Lee, 15-11, in the junior men’s epee final, but rebounded with a convincing 15-8 win against Do Dang Khoi of Vietnam in the cadet men’s gold medal play.

Willa Galvez, on the other hand, earned a bronze medal in junior women’s foil individual, while Hagia del Castillo settled with a silver in the cadet class with Victoria Ebdane and Yuna Canlas clinching a bronze medal each in women’s individual foil.

Galvez-supported by Nickel Asia Corp., Converge, NLEX Corp., Rain or Shine, MVP Sports Foundation, Strong Group Athletics, Pocari Sweat and Icons Sports Management Services-beat Singapore’s Sita Naidu Maaravis, 15-14, in the quarterfinals but dropped a 15-8 decision to eventual gold medalist and Malaysia national team member Suraya Rizzal.

Del Castillo missed the gold medal following a 15-7 defeat to Oo Chin Yu of Malysia in the final after beating Ebdane in the semifinals 15-3, while Canlas suffered a 15-5 loss to Oo in the other semifinals bracket.

Don Geronimo (men’s epee), Jethro Chan (men’s foil) and Papina Torre (women’s epee) earned bronze medals in cadet individual categories.

In team events, Galvez and Ebdane teamed up with Jodie Tan to secure the junior women’s foil gold, before Ebdane and Tan joined hands with Canlas and del Castillo to take home the cadet women’s foil gold.

National athlete Khiane Felipe connived with Vito Coching, Drake Chung and Matthew General in ruling the sabre junior men’s team event, while del Castillo starred with Joaquin de Silos, Jacob Mayo and Li Jiashu to win the epee cadet men’s team title.

Galvez also got silver in the cadet women’s foil team with Christine May Morales and Victoria Malvar, while the women’s epee team of Papina Torre, Eleina Junia and Faith Olemos also won a silver medal.

Also in teams, Estelliah Gilliana, Hailey Peters, Arianna Tiu and Nadelle Turiano also settled with a silver in junior women’s saber, while Chung won a silver in cadet men’s sabre with Marcus Co Say, Erlon Mallari and Sean Ragos; and Ryona Salvante, Elise Acuzar, Ruth Nierras and Gillana pocketed a silver in cadet women’s sabre.

Also winning bronze medals in team events include Geronimo, Mayo, de Silos and del Castillo in junior men’s team epee; Canlas, Del Castillo and Malvar in junior women’s foil; Junia, Olemos, Torre and Rhiana Cruz in junior women’s epee; Inigo Divinagracia, Lucas Palafox, Elijah Timbol and Chan in junior men’s foil; Cruz, Summer Feliciano and Chiara Guidote in cadet women’s epee; Luis Clemente, Ynigo Estrada and Qody Omengan in cadet men’s sabre; and Chan, Palafox and Yohann Roldan went home with a bronze in cadet men’s foil.

On Friday, we will be celebrating the life of Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. He was assassinated 43 years ago, on August 21, 1983, and today, Filipinos are being asked once again to sit with why that death still matters, and what it should still be asking of us.

His most famous act of courage happened in front of cameras. He knew what boarding that plane in 1983 might cost him, and he came home anyway. History remembers him because the moment was witnessed.

But the version of courage the Philippines actually runs on, most days, is the kind nobody photographs.

This has been a hard year to feel proud of institutions. Investigations drag on, trust gets rationed out carefully, and it’s easy to read the news and conclude that integrity has become a rare commodity. But it’s also worth noticing what most of us may be missing: the country hasn’t actually been kept standing by its most visible people. It’s been kept standing by the ones we do not witness.

It’s in the local engineer who signs off on a project only after actually inspecting it, knowing no one would catch her if she didn’t. It’s in the OFW nurse in a foreign hospital ward, still homesick after a decade, wiring money home on a reliable schedule. It’s in the volunteer who shows up with a boat during the fourth typhoon of the month, when the news cameras have moved on, but the water hasn’t.

The part of Ninoy’s story that gets remembered and reduced to a single image is his fall on the tarmac. The harder, less cinematic truth is that he spent years building toward that moment in exile, writing, organizing, staying convinced our country and his people were still worth the trouble, long before there was any evidence that the ending would be worth it. Most Filipinos who keep this country functioning are doing the same right now, not the tarmac part, but that doesn’t mean it’s less important or less demanding. It’s just that it is usually unwitnessed.

So this year, as we remember Ninoy once more, the useful question is whether you’d still do the honest version of your job, the honest version of your vote, the honest version of your small daily choices, on a day when absolutely no one is watching or checking. That’s the less glamorous form of courage, a decision made privately and repeatedly by millions of people who will never be named in a headline, but who keep being decent anyway.

Ninoy’s courage got a name, a monument, a holiday. Ours mostly won’t. But his was never meant to be the only kind that counted. It was meant to be the spark, not the whole fire. Forty-three years on, the fire is still made of the same unglamorous material. Ninoy’s courage bought this country a second chance. Ours is what we do with it when nobody’s asking us to.

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday assured the public that it remains on heightened disaster response readiness as continuous rains from Tropical Cyclones (TCs) Maymay and Luis, along with the southwest monsoon or habagat, continue to threaten affected communities, ensuring the sustained delivery of relief assistance and social protection services to families in need.

As of Monday, August 17, the DSWD reported that more than 4.3 million family food packs (FFPs) are prepositioned nationwide, while P1.36 billion worth of food and non-food items (FNFIs) remains available at the agency’s disaster resource centers and Field Office warehouses for immediate deployment.

Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said the agency’s Field Offices are continuously monitoring affected areas and coordinating with local government units (LGUs) and partner agencies to ensure that assistance reaches communities that may need additional support.

‘We continue to coordinate with our local government units [LGUs] and other partner agencies to ensure that not only relief assistance, but also the necessary social protection interventions, are delivered to our fellow Filipinos affected by Tropical Cyclones Luis and Maymay,’ Dumlao said.

The DSWD’s continuing response comes as thousands of families remain displaced due to the impact of TCs Maymay and Luis. Based on the latest Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Communication (DROMIC) report, 6,949 families or 24,181 individuals are still staying in evacuation centers.

To date, the agency has provided more than P690.911 million worth of assistance, including 1,015,417 family food packs, 12,710 non-food items, 16,971 ready-to-eat food boxes, and other food assistance to affected families.

The DSWD Field Offices have also extended P2.253 million worth of financial assistance to individuals and families affected by the disasters.

Beyond relief distribution, the agency continues to provide social protection interventions to address the emotional and psychosocial needs of disaster-affected communities.

Field offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Region 4-A (Calabarzon) have provided services through Child-Friendly Spaces, Women-Friendly Spaces, and Psychological First Aid sessions. These interventions served 739 individuals through Child-Friendly Spaces, 31 through Women-Friendly Spaces, and 210 individuals through Psychological First Aid.

Dumlao emphasized that disaster response goes beyond the distribution of relief goods, particularly for children, women, and other vulnerable groups who may experience stress and trauma during emergencies.

The agency has also deployed three mobile kitchens that have provided meals to 1,629 individuals in affected communities.

Meanwhile, DSWD Field Offices continue to conduct relief operations in various areas. Additional family food packs were distributed in Pangasinan by Field Office 1, while Field Office 2 provided additional food and non-food items to affected families in Claveria, Cagayan.

In the National Capital Region (NCR), additional family food packs were released to affected residents in several cities, including Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pateros, Taguig, and Quezon City.

The DSWD said it will continue monitoring weather conditions and coordinating with concerned agencies to ensure that emergency assistance and protection services are immediately provided to communities affected by continuous rains.

As weather systems continue to bring rainfall in several areas, the agency urged communities to remain alert and coordinate with local authorities for updates and emergency assistance when needed.

Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) on Monday said it rejected the offer of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. L.P. (KKR) to acquire a portion of FPH’s shareholding in First Gen Corp.

KKR earlier has offered to purchase 8.43 percent of FPH’s common shares in First Gen Corp. (FGen) and launch voluntary tender offer for FGen’s public float, both at P35 per share. FPH is the parent company of First Gen.

‘After careful deliberation and consideration, FPH has determined that KKR’s proposal does not represent FGen’s true value,’ FPH said in its disclosure.

KKR proposed to acquire an additional 20 percent stake in First Gen by initially acquiring an additional 8.43 percent from parent firm FPH at P35 per share for a total amount of P10.6 billion. KKR intends to launch a tender offer for 11.67 percent of First Gen’s outstanding shares at the same price at P35 apiece to support a potential voluntary delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange.

First Gen’s shares closed Monday at P27.20, while FPH shares closed at P102 apiece.

The Lopez Group’s clean and renewable energy provider said last week that its attributable recurring net income was nearly flat at P8.7 billion in the first half compared with the previous year’s P8.6 billion.

The company’s revenues jumped 73 percent to P41.1 billion in January to June from P23.7 billion in 2025. FGen said this was due to the higher prices of electricity sold by its power plants during the period.

Eugenio ‘Gabby’ L. Lopez III last week said Crème Investment Corp., the holding company through which his branch of the family owns a 25.7 percent stake in Lopez Inc., has completed the sale of all of its stake to businessman Ramon S. Ang.

The deal ended months of bickering with family allied with Gabby and those with their cousin Federico ‘Piki’ R. Lopez, FPH chairman and CEO.

Ang, chairman and CEO of San Miguel Corp., invested in his personal capacity through his wholly owned holding company, Illumina Investment Holdings Inc.

UNCERTAINTY over the holding of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections should be resolved before the filing of certificates of candidacy in September, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the poll body is ready to proceed with the elections under the existing law, but Congress should ‘ideally’ decide on any postponement before the filing period begins.

‘Hopefully, by the end of September, we will already know whether the elections will be postponed or not because this is a question the public is already asking,’ Garcia said.

He said allowing the uncertainty to stretch into the filing period could leave prospective candidates unsure whether the elections would push through.

‘It would be difficult to reach that date without knowing whether the barangay and SK elections will push through,’ Garcia said.

However, Comelec is not taking a position on proposals to either postpone or proceed with the polls, he added.

Garcia said preparations would continue unless Congress changes the law, noting that materials already procured could still be used if the elections are eventually reset.

About P8 billion of the P19-billion budget for the elections has already been spent, he said.

Meanwhile, some expenses could be lost if the polls were pushed back, including printed voters’ lists and election supplies that may expire or become unusable as voter records change.

Garcia cited ballpens and indelible ink among the materials that could no longer be used depending on how long the elections are postponed.

Apart from possible wastage, Comelec may need another P2.5 billion to P3.5 billion if higher personnel and transportation costs persist amid the current crisis.

Garcia said every P1,000 increase in the honorarium of around one million teachers who will serve during the elections would require an additional P1 billion, while higher oil prices could further raise the cost of deploying election materials nationwide.

Comelec is still determining the exact additional funding requirement, with Garcia stressing that the P2.5-billion to P3.5-billion estimate remains subject to further assessment.

INFRASTRUCTURE spending is seen to rebound and post double-digit growth in the second half of 2026, while the government increasingly turns to public-private partnerships to sustain infrastructure investment.

The government could finally snap its streak of declines in infrastructure spending in the second half, with growth partly driven by a low base in the same period last year, according to Budget Undersecretary Romeo Matthew T. Balanquit. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’s forum on Friday.

When the flood control corruption scandal leaked, infrastructure spending had been down since the second half of 2025 due to stricter billing validation of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects.

‘We definitely see an increase in the third and fourth quarters this year,’ Balanquit said, noting that growth will also be supported by the utilization of funds that the Department of Budget and Management released to DPWH in the previous months.

This year, infrastructure spending was cut to P1.272 trillion from P1.558 trillion, equivalent to 4.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Last year, the Marcos Jr. administration was aiming for infrastructure spending as a share of GDP to be around 5 percent in the medium term.

What matters now, Balanquit said, is to increase the infrastructure spending-to-GDP ratio and not by relying indefinitely on higher government spending to meet its infrastructure needs.

‘In fact, we are trying to unbundle and release that burden from DPWH. When it comes to school-building infrastructure, the Department of Education is now trying to tap local government units and also the private sector through public-private partnerships [PPP],’ Balanquit said.

This is the direction the government is undertaking right now, Balanquit said, as they have seen greater private-sector appetite for infrastructure projects, with the PPP pipeline now exceeding 500 projects, compared with fewer than 100 before the enactment of the PPP Code.

The projects are also becoming more diversified, from traditional transport infrastructure such as roads and railways to social-sector infrastructure, he noted.

This strategy of tapping private investors will continue despite the recovery in public infrastructure spending, Balanquit added. ‘What’s great about this is that even the private sector is also becoming involved in investment in these long-term projects.’

The rebound in infrastructure spending could also boost economic growth in the second half, particularly as the government sticks to its full-year growth target of 3.5 to 4.5 percent, Balanquit said.

However, the economy would need to expand by around 6 percent in the second half to reach the upper end of the government’s target, he added.

‘I think that’s manageable,’ he said. ‘I honestly believe we will be doing well in terms of public construction.’

As of end-May, infrastructure spending and other capital outlays contracted by 42.9 percent to P268.4 billion from P471.5 billion in the same period a year ago.

AGRICULTURAL damage caused by the combined effects of the southwest monsoon and successive typhoons on local farmlands has breached P1 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In its latest report, the DA said damage and losses incurred by 30,073 farmers and fisherfolk have climbed to P1.03 billion.

Around 25,662 hectares of plantations were affected by the Southwest Monsoon (habagat) and tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay. Of these, 21,440 hectares still have a chance to recover.

The volume of production losses to agriculture and fisheries across seven regions stood at 25,280 metric tons (MT), affecting rice, corn, cassava, high-value crops, fisheries, livestock and poultry, infrastructure, machinery, and equipment.

The regions that recorded damage based on the DA’s monitoring were the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas.

Among the commodities, the agency said rice sustained the brunt of the losses at 16,105 MT, valued at P589.44 million. This was followed by high-value crops at 7,772 MT, worth P313.07 million.

Corn and cassava also recorded losses, which stood at 1,309 MT for P46.24 million and 84 MT worth around P954,270, respectively.

The P9.26-million damage to fisheries and aquatic resources stemmed from damaged fishing boats, gears, tanks, and office buildings. Losses included produce, such as milkfish, tilapia, mangrove crab, oyster, and giant freshwater prawn.

Furthermore, the livestock sector lost 6,036 animal heads worth P6.91 million, which included chickens, swine, cattle, carabaos, goats, sheep, ducks, horses, quails, and turkeys.

Irrigation facilities, farm structures, and machineries also recorded damage valued at P47.86 million, P15.21 million, and P80,000, respectively.

Despite this, the DA said it has ramped up intervention efforts to support farmers and fisherfolk affected by the weather disturbances.

Several assistance measures included P177.67 million worth of agricultural inputs such as rice, corn, and vegetable seeds. It also issued 1,007 bags of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) to the affected local government units (LGUs) of La Union and Batanes.

The DA also allocated an initial amount of P35.67 million for the indemnification of 5,005 insured affected farmers and fisherfolk through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC).

Loan offers of up to P25,000 from the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) are also available. These come with a three-year repayment term, interest-free.

Ralph Lauren welcomed guests to The Ralph Lauren Centre Court Suite at The Championships, Wimbledon, in July.

Guests were invited to experience the newly debuted The Polo Bar by Ralph Lauren at Centre Court, bringing the sophisticated warmth of the New York institution to the tournament’s historic grounds for the first time. Guests enjoyed classic cocktails and thoughtfully curated details throughout while watching the Gentlemen’s Singles Semi-finals.

Notable guests include, Dustin Hoffman, Keira Knightley, Richard E. Grant, Kento Kaku, Lesley Manville, Felicity Jones, Luke Thompson, Joe Locke, Rashida Jones, Ezra Koenig, Ananya Panday, Mia Armstrong, Bassel Khaiat. All the guests were dressed in Ralph Lauren.

In the Philippines, Polo Ralph Lauren is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists Inc., and is located at Shangri-La, Greenbelt 5, Rustans Makati, Solaire, and the newly opened Rustans Cebu Store.

Polo Ralph Lauren is also available online through www.lazada.ph, www.shopee.ph, www.zalora.ph, and www.rustans.com.

For Eurica Labapiez, reaching the national Top 10 of the 2026 Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT) is more than a personal academic triumph-it is a promise fulfilled to her family and proof that a student from a mountain barangay can rise to the top with determination and opportunity.

Labapiez, a graduate of Cebu Eastern College (CEC) and a Cebu City government scholar, placed 10th nationwide in the 2026 LEPT conducted in March, becoming the first topnotcher from barangay Toong, a mountain barangay in Cebu City.

Her achievement was celebrated Friday, Aug. 14, during CEC’s 2026 PACECGARBO, where she joined fellow CEC graduates Jessa Junio and Jenny Rose Daro, who placed third and fifth nationwide, respectively.

Each of the three topnotchers received P100,000 from CEC as an incentive for their outstanding performance.

For Labapiez, the road to the national rankings began with a simple inspiration-a teacher she admired and her own love for teaching.

She pursued elementary education because she wanted to follow the example of the teacher she looked up to and because, as she put it, ‘I love teaching kids.’

Her journey was also made possible through the Cebu City Government Scholarship Program, which allowed her to pursue college without a maintaining grade requirement.

As the eldest child in her family, Labapiez said one of her motivations was the desire to eventually help her parents shoulder the educational expenses of her two siblings.

Now that she has completed college and earned a place among the country’s top-performing examinees, she said she can begin fulfilling the promise she made to her parents.

Her message to other students is rooted in the fears and challenges she herself had to overcome.

‘Ayaw kahadlok sa inyong gustong makab-ot. Buhata ang tanan bisan nahadlok ka or ikaw ra usa, ayaw pagkawala sa paglaum [Don]t be afraid to pursue your dreams. Give it your all, even if you’re scared or have to face the journey alone. Never lose hope],’ Labapiez said.

Labapiez’s achievement was part of an unprecedented showing by CEC, which placed three graduates on the 2026 LET national Top 10 list. Junio secured third place, Daro ranked fifth, while Labapiez finished 10th.

The feat also marked the second consecutive year that CEC produced a topnotcher in the teacher licensure examinations, reinforcing the institution’s growing record of performance in teacher education.

CEC Board of Trustee member and Vice President Dwight Choachuy said the achievement demonstrates that a student’s potential should not be measured by financial circumstances.

‘Talent knows no economic status. Intelligence is not measured by one’s financial capacity. And greatness is never limited by the challenge of life,’ Choachuy said during the PACECGARBO program.

He also underscored the impact of scholarships, saying educational assistance can help students break cycles of hardship and create opportunities not only for themselves but for their families and future generations.