Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Two motorcycle riders were killed while a back rider was injured in a head-on collision along the Manila North Road in Urdaneta City at around 6 p.m. on Sunday.

A 55-year-old motorcycle rider from Nueva Ecija was piloting a Suzuki Raider 150, with a 35-year-old female canteen helper from San Manuel, Pangasinan, when they crashed into a Honda Click 125 driven by a 37-year-old painter from Quezon City.

Initial police investigation says the Honda Click allegedly encroached into the opposite lane in an attempt to overtake a vehicle, resulting in a head-on collision with the oncoming Suzuki Raider.

The impact threw both motorcycle riderss and the back rider onto the road.

Personnel of the Urdaneta City Emergency Medical Services rushed them to the Urdaneta District Hospital, where both motorcycle pilots were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician. The back rider remains confined for medical treatment.

John Mark ‘Marama’ Tokong gave the Filipino crowd plenty to cheer about after beating Brazilian World No. 11 Samuel Pupo to advance to Round 2 of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour Philippines Pro at Cloud 9 here Sunday.

Tokong put up 16.60 points on waves of 8.60 and 8.00, while Pupo could only manage 11.00 in their opening-round heat.

Surfing before a big home crowd, Tokong handled the pressure well, making the most of the six-to-eight-foot waves under light conditions.

He admitted that competing in front of his fellow Filipinos was not easy, but he tried not to think too much about the pressure once he got into the water.

‘It’s crazy and amazing. There was a lot of pressure, but I just told myself to relax, keep things simple and enjoy the waves,’ Tokong said.

He could hear his family, friends and supporters cheering from the shore whenever he came out of a wave. For the Filipino surfer, that made the experience even more special.

‘I’m not doing this just for myself, but also for my family, friends, fans and especially the Philippines. Representing my country is very important to me,’ he said.

With one round behind him, Tokong is now looking forward to his next heat, hoping to give the Filipino fans another performance to cheer for.

Surfers who lose in the opening round will still receive US$13,000 (around P830,000), while the champion will collect US$80,000 (approximately P5.1 million).

The prosecution could not have decided at the beginning of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s impeachment trial to concentrate exclusively on unexplained wealth because the financial documents that ultimately convinced prosecutors to narrow down the case became available only after lengthy legal disputes and compliance with court-issued subpoenas.

House private prosecutor and trial spokesperson Benjamin ‘Jay’ Tolosa Jr. explained that the decision to withdraw three impeachment articles followed the prosecution’s examination of banking records and other financial documents that had not been available when the proceedings began.

‘But we have to explain, it was not possible to make that decision at the start,’ he said.

Tolosa responded to criticism that prosecutors should have concentrated on Article II from the outset instead of spending several months presenting evidence on charges they eventually withdrew.

‘Kasi remember, itong mga dokumento na ito, hindi namin nakuha kaagad ito,’ Tolosa explained.

The prosecution initially pursued four impeachment articles involving confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and grave threats before withdrawing three charges on October 13, leaving only Article II for the Senate impeachment court to decide.

‘The defense really tried to block this,’ Toloa said, referring to the objections raised against the production of financial records.

The defense had challenged requests for banking documents and other financial information, prompting arguments before the impeachment court over whether the prosecution could compel their disclosure.

‘After ma-subpoena yan, medyo matagal na time ‘yan bago sila nag-present,’ Tolosa recalled.

The court eventually authorized the production of records from banking institutions and other agencies, with the prosecution receiving substantial volumes of documents that required examination and comparison with Duterte’s official declarations.

‘At kailangan hintayin ‘yan sabay-sabay bago i-release,’ Tolosa explained.

‘We all saw the boxes of documents. Doon lang namin napag-aaralan,’ Tolosa added, recalling how prosecutors reviewed the materials after receiving them.

The resulting analysis by forensic accountant Alexander Cabrera identified approximately P817.87 million in allegedly unexplained wealth, while prosecutors also cited broader financial discrepancies reaching about P1.5 billion, figures disputed by Duterte’s defense.

‘Doon lang lumabas itong figure na ito na napakalinaw as explained by Attorney Cabrera na 817 to 1.5 billion,’ Tolosa said.

I may have intuitively, though fearlessly, foretold the ascent of Alexander G. Gesmundo to the highest post in our judiciary. On Jan. 6, 2006, in my cluttered chamber as the two-week-old chief justice (CJ), I inducted him as a new Sandiganbayan magistrate. After formally administering his oath of office with both of us in our official robes, I matter-of-factly offered him my seat so he could sign his appointment papers. Spontaneously, I told the inductee whom I had never met before, ‘Please, sit down on my chair. One day, you will occupy it.’

AS FATE WOULD HAVE IT, 15 YEARS LATER, on Apr. 5, 2021, he was appointed the 27th chief justice of the Philippines. Remarkably, CJ Gesmundo neither sought his nomination to the post nor coveted the appointment. Though not the most senior or second most senior justice at the time, his ascension was nonetheless accepted by all the justices-a tribute to his modesty, intellectuality, collegiality, and integrity. They knew his ascent did not involve political bargaining or calculated ambition; it was the natural culmination of a life devoted to humility in greatness.

Without fanfare or publicity, he took his oath as the primus inter pares of the Supreme Court before Senior Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe (who normally should have been a shoo-in for the top post), with the Court en banc as witnesses. Unlike prior chiefs who were sworn in by the President at Malacañang, this act of independence from the appointing authority endeared him to his colleagues.

Over the years, CJ Alex and I have grown quite fond of each other. At my request, he has faithfully chaired the board of judges of the legal scholarship program of the Foundation for Liberty and Prosperity (FLP) for five years since his appointment. Graciously, he welcomed the finalists into the inner sanctum of the Supreme Court-a privilege reserved for a select few-where he and the board conducted their interviews. Even beyond that, he inspired the interviewees to champion liberty and prosperity under the rule of law, a legal philosophy he shares with FLP.

HE INHERITED A JUDICIARY BESET BY THE RAVAGES of the pandemic and a huge backlog of cases. Undaunted, he spearheaded a reform agenda called the ‘Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027,’ a five-year blueprint to guide the judiciary toward case decongestion, enhanced legal education, technology-driven court processes, coupled with a steadfast protection of constitutional rights.

Though passionate in forging digital transformation, he nonetheless always stressed that technology is merely a means; justice for our people remains the ultimate end. Thus, he pioneered the Court’s framework on ‘human-centered augmented intelligence’ to ensure that innovation supports, rather than supplants, human judgment.

Anchored on this vision, he ensured the accessibility and responsiveness of the courts to ordinary citizens. As he so simply but eloquently summarized, ‘[t]he majesty of the [Supreme] Court shines clearest and brightest in our devotion to rendering justice swiftly, without fear or favor.’

A brief survey of his key decisions reveals a passion for substantive justice over technicality. He consistently interpreted the law to humanize it. In People v. Pagal (Sept. 29, 2020, en banc)-in which he acquitted the accused of murder despite his guilty plea-CJ Gesmundo opened his ponencia with a quote from Cicero, asserting that essential justice for the poor transcends the immense power of the state to prosecute.

Truly, the words of justices carry a god-like finality, immortalized in jurisprudence, read, debated, and admired (or despised) long after they pass from this Earth. Despite this rather intoxicating power, CJ Alex kept to his characteristic humility and relied on his conscience and private prayers to guide his every decision.

NOTABLY, HE FOSTERED COLLEGIALITY IN THE COURT. He listened intently to his peers, welcomed divergent views, and did not impose his will. When tempers flared during difficult debates, he would quietly arbitrate to preserve institutional unity.

His modest, selfless approach to leadership stems from his reverence for the office. Indeed, he views his headship more as a divine calling and less as a worldly achievement. True, he did not seek the top office in the judiciary, but our country is infinitely better because he accepted the call to it. Surrendering to a duty larger than himself, he personified the constitutional duty of ‘proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence.’

On Nov. 5, CJ Alex will reach the compulsory retirement age of 70 and regain his freedom after his long exile on the quiet, secluded peaks of Mount Olympus. I am personally delighted that he has accepted his election as an FLP trustee, effective Nov. 6.

As president of the association of retired justices, I will gladly welcome him as the most junior member of our group. Our retired (but not retarded) colleagues will join him in pursuing personal passions or hearing his quiet reflections about the high office he once held-remembering the humility with which he served it, and the greatness with which he left it.

The Philippines can no longer afford to mistake economic growth for economic transformation. The International Monetary Fund in 2024 reported that Philippine labor productivity remained below its prepandemic trend, while medium-term potential growth was revised downwards from 6.5 percent before the pandemic to 6.0-6.3 percent.

The 2024 Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas study on total factor productivity (TFP) supports these findings, indicating that Philippine productivity was below its prepandemic level, with estimated TFP growth in 2022 ranging from -1.9 percent to 0.8 percent, depending on the trend estimate.

A critical question can be raised: Did the Philippines restore its productive capacity after the pandemic, or merely resume activity without rebuilding its foundations and making it resilient to external shocks?

The economy contracted by 9.5 percent in 2020, rebounded 7.6 percent in 2022, then slowed to 5.5 percent in 2023.

Yet, a recovering gross domestic product (GDP) does not necessarily mean a recovering productive potential. Growth has gone downhill since then.

During the pandemic, businesses closed, investment collapsed, workers lost jobs and firms’ accumulated knowledge, supplier relationships and production routines were disrupted.

These losses may have shifted the country’s production possibility frontier (PPF) inward, thereby reducing the economy’s productive capability.

As proof of this weakened productivity capability, the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office initially reported that Philippine investment fell by about 34 percent in 2020 from the 2019 level. Pandemic scarring is later seen to have cut annual potential growth by an average of 1.69 percentage points from 2022 to 2024, with roughly two-thirds due to slower physical capital accumulation.

These losses compounded long-standing weaknesses. The Philippines has struggled to build a broad industrial base and move agricultural workers into higher value-added activities.

Consumption, supported partly by overseas Filipino workers’ remittances, stays central to domestic demand. Remittances are indispensable to households, but consumption cannot substitute for a productive economy generating technological progress, sustained productivity gains and better-paying jobs.

The missed opportunity in 2022

The strong GDP growth in 2022 offered an opportunity to rebuild the economy’s productive capacity. Instead of chanting growth, the government could have pursued a coordinated industrial strategy to restore investment, upgrade technology, develop skills and reconnect domestic suppliers to production networks.

Technology is central since machinery alone is insufficient. Productive capacity depends on firms’ ability to acquire, operate, adapt and improve technology, which decides whether investment raises productivity and enables more sophisticated production. Without it, the country risks being trapped in lower value-added activities despite participating in global markets.

A capability-driven industrial policy could have found and subsidized functionally upgraded industries that specialize in nonroutine jobs and produced incomes according to their ability to develop technological change, create domestic value and generate productive linkages.

To do this, public support must be conditional, transparent and time bound, tied to measurable improvements in productivity, technology adoption, workforce skills and export performance.

Crucially, these capabilities could have spread beyond large enterprises. Supplier development programs could have trained micro, small and medium enterprises to adopt technology, meet quality standards and become reliable suppliers to advanced firms.

Assistance could have been judged by capability improvements, not the number of beneficiaries. Investment, education, trade, innovation, development finance and infrastructure could have been coordinated to support this transformation.

The cost of misguided policy

Reforms beginning in 2022 required costly public investment, but wrong policies carried costs as well. Early intervention could have preserved viable enterprises, skilled workers and supplier relationships before deterioration made rebuilding harder. It could have accelerated productive investment and strengthened domestic firms before subsequent headwinds intensified.

A stronger industrial base would not have insulated the Philippines from global commodity price shocks, tighter monetary conditions or weaker external demand. However, more productive firms, diversified production and deeper domestic supply chains could have provided greater capacity to adapt, sustain output and protect employment. Better paid productive jobs would have strengthened household welfare and confidence.

Appropriate reform would necessarily have increased immediate government spending. Its potential advantage however, was lowering the longer-term cost of rebuilding lost capabilities while expanding the productive base from which future income and public revenue could grow.

This required disciplined support for viable firms, measurable performance targets, withdrawal of aid from persistent underperformers and safeguards against indiscriminate subsidies and corruption.

Rebuilding productive capacity

The pandemic did not cause all the structural weaknesses, but it exposed and deepened them. Not pursuing capability-building reforms decisively during the recovery left the country vulnerable to subsequent shocks and allowed further erosion of its productive potential.

The government must urgently move beyond managing the economy’s immediate pressures and commit to a disciplined industrial policy that builds productive capabilities, upgrades technology and diffuses them across domestic firms.

Every year of delay risks widening the gap between what the Philippines produces today and what a stronger industrial base could produce. Without decisive action, economic stagnation will no longer be merely a looming risk. It could become this administration’s defining legacy.

The Truth Commission will assist families of drug war victims if they take legal action against the doctors who allegedly violated their profession’s code of ethics when they signed off death certificates with dubious causes of death.

A lawyer for the families of the drug war victims said, however, that there are currently no plans to go after the doctors, adding that government prosecutors should initiate that case.

One of these five physicians has died. She and another doctor were medical officers at the health departments of Caloocan City and Quezon City.

Carlos Conde, spokesperson of the civil society-led commission, told the Inquirer on Saturday that the commission was planning to reach out to families who were affected by the alleged ‘miscertification’ of the cause of death of drug war victims to ask what action they plan to pursue.

‘And if they want to file a petition, we certainly will assist them,’ he said.

The copies of the death certificates and other related documents would also be brought to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), added Conde.

Falsification charges possible

Forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun, who is also part of the Truth Commission, flagged discrepancies in the causes of death of 13 people who were gunned down for being suspected drug users or pushers.

They were either shot in the head, torso, arm, or neck but were declared to have succumbed to such ailments as pneumonia, stroke, sepsis, and other ‘natural causes.’

Conde said, at the very least, complaints of falsifying public documents, a criminal offense, could be brought against the erring doctors.

Human rights lawyer Theodore Te, who is also interim chair of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), said they could be held liable for malpractice. But he noted that PRC is in the best position to determine whether or not the doctors acted professionally or within the ethical bounds of their profession.

The penalties for their possible criminal offenses would depend on the evidence and whether there was malicious intent or mere negligence.

‘If it was malicious, meaning there was a clear intent to mislead, to remove this person’s identity from this whole mass of EJKs (extrajudicial killings), then you have…possible charges of falsification,’ Te said in a press conference by the commission on Friday. ‘And then you even have the possibility [that they were] part of a much larger plan, of conspiracy.’

‘Pressure or duress’

But Te also noted that pursuing the criminal aspect of the alleged violations could be ‘much more difficult’ because the quantum of evidence required before the courts is higher at ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt.’

This much higher threshold is not required by the PRC or the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) should they act on their own and decide to impose administrative sanctions on the doctors at least.

Conde said the commission could only speculate at this point on what prompted the five doctors to sign the death certificates and declare that the drug war victims died of various illnesses despite being fatally shot.

‘The context of this is the drug war, and God knows what sorts of pressure or duress a lot of people were under,’ Conde told the Inquirer.

As to some physicians who were in private practice and were unauthorized to sign death certificates, he cited Fortun, who noted that some of the relatives of the victims may have been compelled to tap private doctors ‘in their desire and haste’ to bury the bodies.

But nothing is certain. That is why an investigation is necessary, stressed Conde.

‘Policy of impunity’

Human rights group Karapatan and former Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares, a lawyer for the families of drug war victims, said on Saturday the ‘miscertification’ of the victims’ cause of death shows the ‘impunity’ enjoyed by former President Rodrigo Duterte.

‘[This] is yet another proof that there is [a] cover-up or whitewashing of the Duterte regime’s crimes,’ Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay said in a statement to the Inquirer.

She said ‘impunity was a declared policy’ under Duterte as shown by his ‘guarantee to both soldiers and police that they will protect them as long as they kill according to his orders.’

Colmenares echoed Palabay’s statement, saying the doctors who allegedly committed the miscertification are ‘part of the infrastructure of impunity.’

‘Human rights lawyers have been raising that for a while, the misdeclaration of the death certificates and even in the autopsy reports,’ Colmenares said, recalling the story of Lenin Baylon, whose death certificate was corrected almost nine years after his death.

Baylon was killed by a stray bullet in 2016 from masked gunmen who were allegedly running after drug suspects. But his family was forced to sign a waiver agreeing to list bronchopneumonia as the cause of death for his body to be released.

Colmenares said the misdeclaration of the cause of death has ‘severe’ impacts, saying that families of those killed during the drug war would not be able to sue the assailant because the cause of death would show they died from other causes.

‘The impact of this miscertification is not trivial. These are very serious actions, and the doctor should be investigated, and those found to have connivance with the police should go to prison,’ he added.

Building a case

Colmenares said doctors who falsify the victims’ cause of death ‘should be charged as an accessory to the crime,’ given how they are ‘making it impossible for victims to get justice from the court.’

‘If they did that to cover up for the police, they should go to prison together with the police. It’s really horrible for the victims to falsify documents that make them helpless in seeking justice for their loved ones,’ he said.

An investigation could also help establish before the International Criminal Court (ICC) that there was ‘widespread’ or ‘systemic killing’ under Duterte, who is detained by the Hague tribunal for the charges of crimes against humanity of murder.

‘Regarding the charges, the doctors were not mentioned. But regarding the evidence and the witnesses, they can be mentioned. Because part of what the prosecution needs to establish before the ICC is the widespread or systematic killing[s],’ Colmenares said.

‘Because the system is a matter of policy. Like a plan, and the falsification forms part of the plan to make the police or perpetrators unaccountable,’ he added.

But regarding the pursuit of charges, Colmenares said: ‘It’s really difficult for us to file cases when the documents are not available…and the police is not so cooperative, and the [Department of Justice] is not supportive.’

The annual All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day observances across Bukidnon were generally peaceful, though authorities recorded multiple highway vehicular accidents involving motorcycles and pedestrians, killing an individual.

Capt. Leonila Vicente, newly-designated Bukidnon Police Provincial Office (BukPPO) information officer, told the Inquirer on Monday afternoon, November 2, that security operations across all private and public cemeteries concluded with no major crime disruptions.

‘The province-wide Undas observance was generally peaceful,’ Vicente said, attributing the orderly outcome to the joint deployment of over 1,100 security personnel and multi-agency units that began Sunday morning, Nov. 1.

Forces from the BukPPO, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), local Traffic Management Centers (TMC), and Barangay Police Auxiliary Teams (BPAT) maintained continuous patrols across memorial parks, churches, transit terminals, and primary road networks.

Amid the heightened security measures, local police reported three separate road crashes along key provincial thoroughfares between Sunday evening and Monday morning.

The sole reported fatality occurred on Sunday night, in Barangay Capitan Bayong, Impasug-ong town, where a 46-year-old male motorcycle driver died after colliding with a three-wheeled passenger vehicle (bao-bao).

In Don Carlos town, a 62-year-old male pedestrian from Barangay Bobong, Kitaotao, sustained minor injuries on Monday morning after being struck by a motorcycle driven by a 27-year-old woman from Barangay Alae, Manolo Fortich. Police confirmed the victim is out of danger.

In Maramag town, police responded to a Monday morning collision along the national highway involving two motorcycles operated by minors.

One motorcycle was driven by a minor carrying a 61-year-old female passenger, while the second motorcycle was operated by another minor carrying a companion.

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) has called for sustained efforts to resolve attacks on journalists and hold perpetrators accountable, as the Philippines joined other nations in observing the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on Monday, Nov. 2.

In a statement on Monday, the PTFOMS stressed that arrests alone are not enough to end impunity for crimes against media workers.

‘Ending impunity means ensuring that attacks against journalists are not ignored, that cases are not forgotten, and that victims and their families can have confidence that justice remains within reach,’ said Undersecretary Jose Torres Jr., executive director of PTFOMS, as quoted in a press release.

‘An arrest is an important step, but our collective responsibility does not end there. Cases must be diligently pursued, with full respect for due process and the independence of the courts,’ he said.

The PTFOMS commended the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the arrest of a suspect in the ambush of radio broadcaster and station manager Jay Lavapiez.

The suspect, known by the alias ‘Doming,’ was arrested on Oct. 30 in Barangay Poblacion, Tapaz, Capiz.

He was allegedly involved in the ambush of Lavapiez last June 22. At around 5:40 a.m. of that day, Lavapiez was driving along the national highway in Barangay Cagay, Roxas City, on his way to host his program at Baskog Radyo when two men on a motorcycle blocked his path and fired four shots from a 9mm pistol at the driver’s side.

Lavapiez managed to evade the attack by maneuvering his vehicle into a roadside gutter and escaped unharmed.

‘We thank the PNP, particularly PRO6 under PBGen Tuaño and the operating units, for their persistence and coordinated work in bringing the suspect before the courts,’ Torres said.

‘No single institution can end impunity on its own. We need sustained cooperation among law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, the judiciary, media organizations, civil society, and the public,’ he added.

Torres also appealed to those with credible information to come forward through the proper authorities and help secure justice for slain media practitioners and those who have survived attacks.

‘When journalists are safe, societies are better informed. When crimes against them are properly investigated, and those responsible are held accountable, the rule of law is strengthened,’ Torres said.

‘We owe victims and their families sustained action-not only on this day of remembrance and solidarity, but for as long as the pursuit of justice requires,’ he added.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed Nov. 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists through Resolution 68/163, adopted on Dec. 18, 2013.

The date commemorates the killing of French journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, who were murdered in Mali on Nov. 2, 2013, while on assignment for Radio France Internationale. The PTFOMS said the observance draws attention to the failure to bring perpetrators of crimes against journalists to justice. It also serves as a reminder for governments to take measures to prevent violence against journalists, ensure accountability through impartial, speedy, and effective investigations, and bring perpetrators to justice.

The 2026 Order of Merit title will be up for grabs starting next week at the Masters course of the Manila Southwoods in Carmona, Cavite, when the 108th Philippine Open presented by the Philippine Sports Commission tees off.

Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert holds a slim lead over Travis Smyth of Australia, and with 780 points due to the winner of the $1-million (around P64 million) event, former OOM champs John Catlin and Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand are still very much in the running.

The American Catlin is one of the biggest stars expected to play, having won six national opens in his career.

‘You know, anytime you can win a national open, I think it just adds a little bit of extra prestige,’ Catlin, who has victories in Australia, England, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Ireland, said after ruling the International Series’ Hong Kong leg last May.

‘Anytime you can win a national open is just incredible.’

Ian Snyman of South Africa is shooting to end the season with the second win of his career after he had broken through in Taiwan last May.

Taichi Kho of Hong Kong is running fifth behind Catlin, and the 2023 Rookie of the Year is also looking for his second win of the season after ruling the defunct IS stop in Morocco.

Miguel Tabuena is the highest-ranked Filipino in the Open field this month, sitting at No. 447 in the world and looking for a follow-up to his last win on local soil that literally came at his home course of Sta. Elena close to 14 months ago.

A full field of 132 players will answer the starting gun on Nov. 12, with the Philippines to enter as many as 29 players.

The final OOM standings of the local PGT, meanwhile, was released, with Angelo Que, a former Open champion, topping the list for the second straight year.

There will be 12 Filipinos from the PGT OOM that will make the main roster of the Open, as the host country will most likely be able to field a total of 29 players at the most.

Players like Que, who is a former champion, Clyde Mondilla, Sean Ramos and Lloyd Go already have slots because of eligibilities in different categories, giving those outside the top 12 in the OOM a chance to play from Nov. 12 to Nov. 15.

Philippine stocks may face cautious trading this week as peso weakness, elevated oil prices and the prospect of further interest rate increases weigh on investor sentiment, according to F. Yap Securities Inc.

In its outlook for Nov. 2 to Nov. 6, the brokerage said investors would also scrutinize corporate earnings guidance for signs that higher borrowing costs could delay expansion plans or affect dividends.

F. Yap identified a break below 5,600 as a signal to reduce exposure further, while a sustained close above 5,800 could support additional buying.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) ended last week at 5,680.35, down 0.84 percent.

The peso closed at P63.74 against the dollar on Friday after reaching P64.20 during the week, according to the report.

F. Yap said a weaker currency could compound pressure from elevated oil prices by making imported fuel and food more expensive.

The firm warned that these conditions could weigh on consumer confidence during the holiday quarter.

The brokerage expects a possible US Federal Reserve (Fed) rate increase on Dec. 9, followed by another Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas hike on Dec. 17.

This scenario could limit gains in rate-sensitive stocks before year-end.

The Fed kept its benchmark rate at 3.75 to 4 percent at its latest meeting, the report noted.

Beyond quarterly earnings, F. Yap said management commentary would be crucial in assessing companies’ prospects.

With funding costs higher and the peso under pressure, the brokerage expects some property developers and conglomerates to reduce or postpone capital expenditures for 2027.

Such decisions could also affect cement producers and construction suppliers.