Category: Business Mirror

TREASURY bill (T-bill) yields fell on Monday as slow economic growth tempered expectations for aggressive monetary policy tightening, although short-term yields could remain high as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) tries to keep inflation under control.

The BSP could raise rates by a measured 25 basis points, then a hawkish pause, rather than pursue a faster tightening cycle, after second-quarter growth slowed sharply, said Manulife Investment Management and Trust Corp. Philippines Head of Fixed Income Jean Olivia De Castro.

‘Existing weak domestic demand raises the cost of overtightening even as inflation remains above target,’ De Castro said. ‘Amid higher inflation and [foreign exchange] risk, local monetary policy could stay restrictive for longer.’

Against this backdrop, short-dated bond yields, most sensitive to near-term BSP policy rates, could remain elevated while longer yields could fall as investors expect a closer end to the hiking cycle, she added.

The 91-day T-bill average yield dipped by 4.2 basis points to 4.995 percent from 5.037 percent recorded in the previous auction last week. The Treasury awarded yields ranging from 4.975 percent to 5.052 percent.

Likewise, the 182-day debt papers fetched an average yield of 5.545 percent, down by 10.7 basis points from a week ago’s 5.652 percent. Yields ranged from 5.6 percent to 5.670 percent.

Average yield on the 364-day securities slipped by 18.9 basis points to 5.723 percent from 5.912 percent. It has rates ranging from 5.898 percent to 5.938 percent.

Yields fell as second-quarter economic growth came in weaker-than-expected at 2.3 percent, reducing the urgency for the BSP to deliver more rate hikes, said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

Demand for T-bills was also strong, leaving the Treasury swarmed as combined tenders reached P184.2 billion, making the auction 4.4 times oversubscribed.

This prompted the auction committee to double the non-competitive bids across all tenors to P16 billion for the 91-day, P12 billion for the 182-day and P5.6 billion for the 364-day tenor. With the outcome, the Treasury generated a total of P58.8 billion for the auction relative to the P42 billion programmed offering.

Investors could continue to demand higher yields from the government as compensation for holding longer-term government bonds, De Castro said.

As investments contracted by 9.2 percent and construction slumped by 14.8 percent in the second quarter, De Castro said near-term cash borrowing needs by the government may not surge immediately if spending is delayed.

However, borrowing requirements could become more uneven as projects restart and spending catches up, she noted.

‘The bigger implication is on the deficit dynamics: weaker investment or construction weighs on growth and revenues as the government may still need to finance priority spending over infrastructure spending,’ De Castro said.

‘For investors, that combination argues for a higher risk premium driven by policy/implementation uncertainty and the risk that weaker growth slows improvement in debt metrics,’ she added.

The government seeks to raise P2.682 trillion this year, following a 70:30 financing mix in favor of domestic sources.

So far, the government has borrowed P1.821 trillion to finance its programs and projects.

Outstanding debt of the national government climbed to an all-time high of P19.065 trillion, pushing the debt-to-GDP to a 22-year-high at 66 percent in the second quarter.

THE Philippines’s gross gaming revenues (GGR) dropped to P88.136 billion in the second quarter due to weaker earnings from electronic games (e-games) as players wagered less and felt the pinch of the Middle East crisis.

State gaming regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) reported last Monday that the GGR declined by 20.33 percent from the P110.631 billion notched in the same period a year ago.

‘The decline was driven by several factors, including the impact of inflation and the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, which weighed on consumer spending, particularly on discretionary activities,’ Pagcor Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco was quoted in a statement as saying.

Revenue from electronic gaming, which includes e-games, e-bingo, bingo and poker, declined by 37.21 percent to P39.851 billion in the second quarter from P63.471 billion a year earlier. It accounted for 45.21 percent of total gross gaming revenue during the period.

Licensed casinos, meanwhile, overtook electronic gaming as the industry’s largest source of revenue.

Land-based casinos generated P45.37 billion, or 51.49 percent of total gaming revenue in the second quarter, up by 2.93 percent from P44.086 billion in the same period last year.

Pagcor-operated casinos also contributed P2.905 billion, equivalent to 3.30 percent of industry GGR. This was 5.42 percent lower than the P3.072 billion recorded a year ago.

This brought total GGR to P175.738 billion in the first half of 2026, down by 18.16 percent year-on-year from P214.752 billion.

The decline in gaming revenues comes as the state gaming regulator grapples with weaker earnings from gaming operations.

Pagcor’s total revenue also fell by 26.64 percent to P43.32 billion in the first half of the year from P59.05 billion in the same period last year as lower earnings from gaming operations weighed on its financial performance.

Tengco said the gaming industry could eventually recover as operators improve services, adopt new technologies and strengthen responsible gaming measures.

Regulatory tightening and weaker consumer spending are seen to weigh on the country’s gaming revenues this year, according to Standard and Poor’s (S and P) Global Ratings, which forecasts the GGR to decline by 7 percent before recovering by 2 percent in 2027.

This puts the Philippines behind other Asia-Pacific gaming markets, such as Macao special administrative region (SAR) and Singapore-the region’s most attractive markets-but ahead of New Zealand in terms of GGR growth.

In 2025, total GGR reached P396.138 billion, up by 6.39 percent from P372.334 billion in 2024.

Heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon, or ‘habagat,’ submerged parts of Cavite and forced families in Las Piñas to seek temporary shelter, while rescuers worked to bring stranded residents to safety.

In Kawit, Cavite, Coast Guard personnel assisted stranded residents, providing transportation to those making their way home through floodwaters.

In Pasig, meanwhile, the floodwaters brought an unexpected catch. Jerry Saunda, 54, of Pinagbuhatan, showed off an estimated 8-kilogram Cream Dory he caught at Barkadahan Bridge in Taytay, Rizal.

He said the fish have become increasingly common in the floodway, reportedly swimming upstream from Laguna de Bay.

Heplanned to give his catch to a friend for a birthday meal.

NONIE REYES AND BERNARD TESTA

There is a version of Alex Eala’s story that never happened: a talented kid plays tennis on a cracked public court, shows promise, then nothing. No academy, no years of travel and coaching before a single peso of prize money comes back. By 19 she’s in a business course, tennis never having paid the bills, and nobody knew there was a story worth telling.

Eala’s own rise has been rightly celebrated as a triumph of talent and hard work, but it should also prompt a harder question, one about the system around her rather than how she got there: how many athletes with the same talent and drive lack a real shot? It’s worth asking whether the country is building a pipeline sturdy enough that talent alone decides who competes on the world stage.

That question sharpens once you look at what the state actually promises athletes who make it through the official system, and what happens to them once the glory fades.

Republic Act 10699, passed in 2015, was meant to fix exactly this. An Olympic gold medalist earns P10 million and the Gold Medal of Valor; silver and bronze pay less, down through the SEA Games. The law also promises PhilHealth coverage, priority housing, and a functioning retirement system. A decade later, implementation continues to fall short of the promise.

A retiring athlete or coach receives a lump sum equal to 25 percent of the cash incentives earned over their career, a percentage of money they have already received. Represent the country for a decade without medaling at the level that triggers a payout, and your retirement benefit is 25 percent of zero. It isn’t a retirement system so much as a bonus structure for winners. Neither the training partner nor the SEA Games veteran who never won a medal is covered by a law built to reward outcomes, not years of service.

Then there’s the P30,000 funeral benefit for a national athlete or coach who dies. Modest in 2015, it’s definitely lacking now. Lawmakers need to show more urgency in updating the fine print to cover everyone else.

Even the benefits untethered to medal count, i.e., a 20 percent discount on transport, hotels, and medicine, have struggled to become real, with athletes publicly asking why merchants weren’t honoring rights already granted them by law.

Eala’s rise is a useful mirror, because it happened outside the system RA 10699 governs. She proves what talent plus resources can produce. The law was meant to produce that outcome without the resources, and to take care of athletes who never become global stars but represented the country all the same.

If the pride in Eala becomes more than a headline, it should become pressure to fix what RA 10699 quietly fails. The kid on the cracked court is still out there. Whether she gets a real shot depends less on how loudly we celebrate the exception, and more on fixing the rule.

A SENATOR is seeking to provide a P2,000 monthly disability support allowance to persons with disabilities (PWDs) to help cover disability-related costs and other essential expenses.

Under Senate Bill 2386, or the National Disability Support Act, qualified PWDs will receive the monthly allowance through a National Disability Support Allowance Program, with the amount subject to periodic adjustments based on inflation to preserve its value over time.

‘Persons with disabilities face additional and often invisible expenses in their daily lives, including transportation, healthcare, personal assistance, and assistive devices. These are essential not only for survival, but for participation in school, work, and community life. When these expenses are not addressed, opportunities are limited, poverty is deepened, and exclusion persists,’ sen. Bam Aquino said.

‘This allowance is designed to complement existing social protection programs and empower persons with disabilities to live more independently, pursue education and employment, and participate more actively in society,’ he added.

The measure proposes a phased implementation of the Disability Support Allowance Program. During the first three years, priority beneficiaries will include children with disabilities and adults with significant disabilities.

In the next three years, coverage will be expanded to include persons with moderate disabilities who incur disability-related costs. Ultimately, the program will cover all eligible persons with disabilities who incur disability-related extra costs.

‘By strengthening income support, this measure helps ensure that persons with disabilities are not only supported, but empowered to live independently and participate fully in society,’ Aquino stressed, adding that empowering persons with disabilities builds a more inclusive and equitable Philippines.

To ensure fair and responsive implementation, the measure mandates the creation of a Disability and Needs Assessment System (DNAS), which will determine eligibility based on an individual’s functional limitations, support needs, and barriers to participation rather than income alone.

The bill also establishes a Disability Management Information System (DMIS) linked to existing national databases-including the National ID System, the Philippine Persons with Disabilities Registry, PhilHealth, and community-based monitoring systems-to improve disability data, strengthen policymaking, enhance service delivery, and facilitate the direct payment of benefits to qualified beneficiaries.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will administer the program with support from a Multi-Stakeholder Committee led by the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA).

‘In empowering persons with disabilities, we are not only addressing inequality, but also unlocking potential, strengthening communities, and building a more inclusive and equitable Philippines,’ Aquino said.

Hazardous mercury-laced skin whiteners are still widely available in the marketplace, threatening people and the planet, a group advocating zero waste and toxic-free society said.

The EcoWaste Coalition made this observation ahead of the ninth anniversary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which entered into force on August 16, 2017.

The treaty, among other provisions, banned the use of mercury in cosmetics, such as skin-lightening products, to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of mercury and its compounds.

‘Our vigilant market monitoring shows the global ban on health- and environmentally-damaging mercury-containing cosmetics is far from being fully enforced,’ said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

‘Countries that produce, import, and export mercury-containing cosmetics, as well as e-commerce and social media platforms peddling them, must take strong steps to shut down the illegal manufacturing and sales of these prohibited products.’

‘Moreover, we must fix colorism, challenge discriminatory beauty standards, uphold inclusivity, lift all skin tones, and promote respect for natural skin to discourage use of chemical whiteners laced with mercury and other hazardous substances,’ she added.

The Minamata Convention originally scheduled the global phase-out of the manufacture, import, and export of mercury-added cosmetics in 2020. At the fifth Conference of the Parties (COP5), parties agreed to a binding 2025 deadline to eliminate mercury in such products, and removed the previous one part per million (ppm) threshold for mercury content in cosmetics.

However, mercury-laced skin-lightening products are still being made and sold, even though the 2020 and 2025 phase-out deadlines have passed and health authorities have already flagged some of these items, the EcoWaste Coalition said.

To illustrate the persistent problem with mercury-added cosmetics, the EcoWaste Coalition reported it has procured and analyzed 27 contaminated products from January to July 2026, including 22 from Pakistan, two from Taiwan, and one each from China, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Of the 27 analyzed products, 15 were manufactured in 2025; four in 2026; three in 2024; two in 2023; and one in 2022 (two products provided no production and/or expiration dates).

Using a handheld Olympus Vanta M Series X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, the EcoWaste Coalition detected mercury up to 33,970 ppm in these products marketed to lighten the skin tone, achieve a youthful glow, treat acne, and remove signs of ageing, including age spots, freckles, and wrinkles.

Among the mercury-tainted skin-lightening products discovered by the EcoWaste Coalition from January to July 2026 are:

From Pakistan: Arayna Papaya Glow Beauty Cream; Arena Gold Beauty Cream; Arena Gold New Fairness Cream for Men; Biocos Beauty Cream with Emergency Whitening Serum and Soap; Bio Gold Papaya Whitening Beauty Cream; Chandni Day and Night Whitening Cream (black packaging); Chandni Whitening Cream Men›s; Due Beauty Cream; Face Fresh Beauty Cream; Fresh and White Beauty Cream; Golden Pearl Beauty Cream with Gluta Serum; Golden Pearl Ultra Glam Beauty Cream; Navia Gluta Bright Beauty Cream; Parley 24K Gold Gleam Beauty Cream; Sativa Beauty Cream; Seven Herbal Beauty Cream; Seven Herbal Ubtan; Super White Anti-Marks Cream; Super White Beauty Cream; Tibet Snow; Yaz Beauty Cream Double White + Vitamin C; and Yaz Gold Beauty Cream Active White + 24K Gold Dust.

From Taiwan: Lianibo Whitening Night Cream and Meiduzi Night Cream.

From China: Nen Fu Mei Yan Herbage Ruddy Speckle-Removing Cream.

From Thailand: Berry Plus Extra Whitening Cream.

From Indonesia: Rose White and Natural Cream Moisturizer.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), acting on the reports submitted by the EcoWaste Coalition, had already issued 10 public health warnings against the purchase and use of Arena Gold Beauty Cream, Due Beauty Cream, Face Fresh Beauty Cream, Parley 24K Gold Gleam Beauty Cream, Tibet Snow, Yaz Beauty Cream Double White + Vitamin C, and Yaz Gold Beauty Cream Active White + 24K Gold Dust from Pakistan; Lianibo Whitening Night Cream and Meiduzi Night Cream from Taiwan, and Rose White and Natural Cream Moisturizer from Indonesia.

In addition, the EcoWaste Coalition, during the same period, monitored the illegal sale of skin-lightening products already flagged by the FDA, particularly the five variants of Pakistan-made Goree Beauty Cream, in online shops, social media sites, and in physical stores, particularly in 20 out of 23 local government units in the province of Cavite; Quezon City; and Davao City. The products were flagged due to mercury adulteration and/or lack of required market authorization.

CENTRAL banks in emerging Asia are increasingly finding ways to support their currencies without dipping into foreign-exchange reserves, as recurring Middle East tensions and the prospect of higher-for-longer US interest rates keep policymakers on edge.

India has lured nearly $40 billion from its diaspora via high-yield dollar deposits, underpinning a recovery in the rupee from a record low in May. South Korea’s push to accelerate corporate dollar repatriation has helped the won to its biggest monthly gain since 2022. Indonesia drew $1.6 billion in bond inflows in the last two months as it offered incentives to foreign funds, and Taiwan has also been instructing exporters to sell US dollars at times of currency weakness.

The measures broaden the toolkit for policymakers, supplementing traditional tools such as interest-rate hikes and foreign-exchange intervention that formed the first line of defense after the Mideast conflict sent oil prices soaring. The spike exposed emerging Asia’s heavy reliance on energy imports, making the region one of the weakest pockets of the currency market. While oil prices have since eased on signs the US and Iran are nearing a deal, several Asian currencies still rank among this year’s worst performers.

Still, EM Asia central banks aren’t abandoning traditional defenses.

Authorities in the Philippines have raised rates by 50 basis points, and the Bank of Korea last month tightened policy for the first time in three years. MUFG Bank Ltd. is forecasting two more increases by Indonesia and the Philippines, and at least one more hike by the BOK this year.

Europe’s sugar output is set to fall to the lowest in more than a decade as hot weather damages an already smaller beet crop, tightening global supplies under pressure from a powerful El Niño.

Production in the European Union and the UK is set to fall to about 15 million tons, the lowest level since the 2015 season, according to data from SandP Global Energy. A series of heat waves this summer have battered yields for the current season after acreage had already declined for a second straight year as producers curbed output after bumper crops depressed prices.

That adds to mounting concerns about a potential worldwide deficit as the El Niño weather pattern looms over cane production in several key Asian producers including India and Thailand. That fear has seen prices surge in recent weeks. On Friday, white sugar futures in London touched the highest level in a year in intraday trade. Raw sugar in New York is on track to gain more than 7 percent this week.

‘The lower crop will contribute to deficits in the first and second quarter of next year and that’s already being priced in the market,’ said Claudiu Covrig, lead analyst at Covrig Analytics. With exports from Europe missing or at least reduced to a minimum, ‘prices will go further north.’

The European Commission’s MARS crop-monitoring unit last week cut its forecast for EU beet yield to 76 tons per hectare, down 7 percent from a year earlier, citing unfavorable weather.

While that’s near the five-year average, the prolonged heat has eroded any cushion for the crop, potentially pushing the EU to turn into a net importer of the sweetener, StoneX analyst Pedro Antiquera said in a note.

The outlook could deteriorate even more as weather forecasts continue to point to above-normal temperatures and limited rainfall, worsening already depleted soil moisture levels, according to Marina Malzoni, principal analyst for soft commodities at SandP Global Energy.

Covrig Analytics has cut its output forecast for the EU and UK to 14.7 million tons, the lowest since 2022 when high temperatures hurt output and sent prices soaring. The European Commission expects output in the EU alone to slip to 14.1 million tons.

‘With acreage continuing to contract, the sugar beet crop has become increasingly vulnerable to yield shocks,’ said Malzoni. ‘Prices are expected to increase in the near term as the supply-demand balance tightens.’

That could be a silver lining for European processors after two consecutive bumper harvests when the region was awash with sugar and a price slump squeezed their margins.

Sugar prices in the region have risen as much as 9 percent since June, lifting the premium that white sugar futures command over raw sugar, according to Arnaud Lorioz, chief executive officer of Paris-based brokerage Deepcore.

Still, a sustained recovery for processors will require a further reduction in supplies because Europe could still produce a small surplus, Stephan Bttner, chief executive at Austrian sugar producer Agrana, said in an earnings call last month.

Impact on the region’s top producers:

Output in France, Europe’s biggest producer, is set to drop by about 13 percent to the lowest in four years, European Commission data showed. The dry weather has caused ‘significant damage’ to sugar beets and accelerated attacks by weevils, according to the farmers’ group, CGB.

Second-largest beet grower Germany faces an additional threat from the rapid spread of the reed glass-winged leafhopper, a pest linked to a disease that cuts sugar content in beets, according to the local industry association WVZ.

Poland, the European Union’s third-largest sugar producer, is headed for an 18-percent drop in output this year after a smaller planted area and a cold, dry spring curbed beet yields, according to the sugar beet growers’ association KZPBC.

THERE’S that familiar squeak of rubber shoes on wood. The thump of balls on the same hardcourt. And there’s the voices. Of players encouraging one another. Of coaches barking commands.

It’s practice of the Ateneo Blue Eagles who are trying to compress in the space of about 50 days what should have been the entire summer in preparation for the upcoming University Athletic Association of the Philippines Men’s Basketball Tournament.

However, the similarities end up to a certain point. It is different. Some of the old familiar faces are gone. Banished if not suspended. There are new coaches as well. RJ Jazul and Kerby Raymundo are now there.

‘Time to start my coaching career,’ quipped RJ who recently called it a day on his 15-year Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) career.

Like everyone, it’s about endings and beginnings.

When Louie Alas was brought into the Ateneo fold three years ago, there was no explicit reason but he as well as many others surmised that they were getting him so they could lure his son, Kieffer, to Loyola Heights.

After Letran, the elder Alas told himself that was his last stop as head coach for a college team. Serving as an assistant or a consultant is fine. But not becoming the head coach. In fact, his family was against it. They know the toll it took on him in Letran. So, he was fine joining the Ateneo coach staff as an assistant.

A prayerful and deeply religious man, he asked God for what the reason was. The answer came three years later as a jarring reminder that all things are revealed in His time.

In the aftermath of the Dipaculao tragedy, he too was prepared to walk away.

One of the Ateneo priests said something that struck a chord in him and made him rethink his position, ‘How can you leave the kids at this difficult time?’

‘I was prepared to walk away,’ Coach Louie related. ‘But the team just lost their head coach, two players and others. I cannot abandon these kids.’

At the same time, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) school came calling and offered him the head coach duties in addition to an attractive offer.

The question he asked God three years ago was finally answered. He declined the NCAA school’s offer.

Dipaculao claimed more than the lives of Divine Adili and Rene Baterbonia. It cost the team its multi-titled head coach, team manager and coaching staff. It also cast a huge pall over the school and a deep division among its constituents, supporters, and alumni that remain as a festering wound to this day.

As for the players, during a time when all one had to concern themselves with was school, basketball, and girls, they were all confronted by loss and a deep grief. Not to mention social media hate.

One player said that he often finds his inbox with hate mail and death threats. Come UAAP time, they will have to deal with that and more. ‘I don’t think we can wish it away. We have to learn how to deal with it and just show that we aren’t bad people.’

If past teams were formed from victory and glory, this edition of the Blue Eagles is forged from the crucible of tragedy.

Teams usually bond over a journey, even a championship. This one is the same but there are mountains to climb.

There is a huge target on their backs. Not as a favorite to win a championship, but because many feel they escaped debilitating sanctions.

The fact that no one on the current squad left says something about their resilience. That word, according to Coach Louie, should sum up this team. ‘Add commitment,’ said the coach.

Almost immediately after the tragedy, opposing teams tried to pry away some of the players. One of the most sought after was Kieffer. But he was dead set on Ateneo for some time. When three UAAP coaches came calling to transfer, he sent back a terse message in capital letters: ‘NO.’

Either he played for the blue and white or would try his luck once more in the United States.

While the Blue Eagles are dedicating the upcoming season to their fallen teammates, it will not be only the other schools, they will go up against. There is that intense public scrutiny as well as haters and trolls who insist there was foul play and that they should have sat out the season if not suspended.

But they are right here and right now. There is no running away. Only confronting their demons on and off the court.

‘No one said basketball or even a season is easy,’ summed up the coach. ‘Kaya nga, laban lang. One Big Fight!’

A greener lifestyle is built through small, intentional choices. From your daily routine to the products you bring home, every decision can support sustainability, craftsmanship, and Filipino pride with Green Finds at Kultura.

Even everyday essentials can make a difference. The Fine Life Market Liquid Castile Hand and Body Soap offers a gentle cleanse made with natural ingredients like olive oil, castor oil, and essential oils. Biodegradable and suitable for sensitive skin, it turns a simple routine into a mindful ritual with calming and refreshing scents.

The items you carry can tell meaningful stories too. The Abaca Handbag with Shells is handwoven from abaca fibers grown in Albay and reflects the artistry of generations of Filipino women artisans. Meanwhile, BidiBidi bags combine function, creativity, and social impact. Crafted in Camarines Sur using sustainable and upcycled materials, each piece showcases intricate embroidery while supporting women artisans and farming communities.

At home, thoughtful choices continue with the Beyond Borders Tea Towel. Woven on antique wooden looms using traditional Abel weaving techniques, it helps preserve a centuries-old Filipino craft.

For gifts and keepsakes, the Brave Story Dugong Plushie offers a heartwarming example of sustainability. Made from repurposed textiles by mothers turned artisans, each plushie is uniquely crafted with care.

Even snacking can align with mindful living. OSH Snacks offers plant-based treats, from light and crunchy OSH Pops to indulgent Choco Mango Dipped snacks, proving that sustainable choices can still be delicious.

With Green Finds at Kultura, every small choice contributes to a lifestyle rooted in care, culture, and conscious living.