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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said inflation may have picked up in September, projecting consumer price hike to average between 1.5 and 2.3 percent, as higher rice, fish, and fuel costs added pressure.

The forecast comes after August inflation stood at 1.5 percent, which settled below the 2 percent to 4 percent target band of the inflation-targeting central bank.

The central bank said it would stay alert to both domestic and global developments, underscoring its data-dependent stance on monetary policy. /dda

State universities and colleges (SUCs) are critical pillars of higher education, human capital development, and technological innovation in the Philippines. As SUCs expand access to higher education, they act as equalizers that can level the playing field for the underprivileged. These institutions are essential in addressing educational disparities, promoting inclusive growth, and advancing research that contributes to national development. They serve as hubs for talent cultivation and skills training, supporting the development of a knowledge-based economy.

Today, the Philippines has 113 SUCs operating nationwide. SUCs face common challenges such as financial constraints, regulatory barriers, and sub-optimal use of funds, which undermine long-term sustainability. A persistent issue is the lack of funding for capital outlays, leading to aging buildings, outdated and inadequate facilities, and the discontinuation or non-implementation of development plans despite a growing student population. Additionally, SUCs struggle to recruit specialized personnel like psychometricians and guidance counselors due to uncompetitive salaries, forcing them to rely on temporary staff. Retention of academic staff is also problematic when there is insufficient support for human resource development.

SUCs mainly depend on government subsidies for funding. They also generate income from tuition, auxiliary services, and income-generating projects (IGPs). Under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, the government now covers the tuition fees of undergraduate students. While research grants are sought, procedural barriers often hinder SUCs, especially lesser-known universities, from securing funding. SUCs face challenges like uneven budget distribution, limited financial independence, and multiple layers of bureaucracy that slow down effective use of funds. Many struggle to maximize revenue from IGPs and turn research outputs into profitable intellectual properties (IPs) because they lack entrepreneurial skills and necessary facilities.

To address these issues, it is essential to pursue strategic reforms in SUCs’ financing. International experience provides insights into how Philippine SUCs can become more financially sustainable. For example, Singapore funds its universities through block grants with a three-year budget cycle and strong endowment funds.

Singapore’s National Research Foundation Central Gap Fund actively promotes the commercialization of research outputs. Meanwhile, Thailand adopts a decentralized approach that grants autonomy to universities via block grants, allowing for more flexible fiscal management. This strategy has resulted in higher research budgets and increased operational efficiency.

Locally, the establishment of knowledge, innovation, science, and technology parks in SUCs, through the support of the Department of Science and Technology and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, can further unlock the optimal utilization of land grants and foster industry partnerships. The UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub serves as a pioneer in this type of university-industry collaboration. This partnership fosters technology commercialization, business incubation, and job creation. Although there are debates surrounding this approach, such as the prioritization of IT services versus a more research-intensive focus, similar partnerships can facilitate a more optimal utilization of SUCs’ assets.

Other good practices include continuous investment in faculty and staff capacity building, especially for research, and emphasizing digitization for increased administrative efficiency.

The government should continue pursuing the creation of more fiscal space, allowing for more investments in higher education. Furthermore, strengthening university-industry partnerships and facilitating the commercialization of IPs and innovations can substantially improve SUCs’ funding and support the country’s development agenda.

Down the line, performance-based funding linked to clear and transparent key performance indicators can further enhance efficiency. A more ambitious reform for the Philippines is to grant greater financial independence to SUCs through block grants and multi-year budgets for internally generated income, giving them flexibility in resource allocation.

An effective tuition fee structure can support these block grants, which should be based on the standard cost of education delivery, a quality premium, and the capacity limits of SUCs.

To effectively serve as catalysts of social and economic progress, the financial sustainability of SUCs must be achieved through strategic reforms that free them from financial constraints imposed by conservative and rigid structures.

The low-pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) now has a high chance of developing into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Wednesday, Oct. 1.

According to Pagasa, the LPA was estimated at 1,080 kilometers east of Southeastern Luzon as of 2 a.m.

While it does not yet have a direct effect on land, Pagasa said that it is likely to develop into a severe tropical depression within the next 24 to 48 hours.

‘And if this develops into a tropical cyclone, we will name it Typhoon Paulo,’ said Pagasa’s Weather Specialist Loriedin de la Cruz in a video weather report.

The LPA entered PAR at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 30.

Meanwhile, the easterlies will continue to bring cloudy skies with scattered rain and thunderstorms across the country. It will affect the Bicol Region, Eastern and Central Visayas, Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Aurora, and Quezon.

The rest of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms.

Residents in these areas are advised to remain vigilant for potential flash floods and landslides due to moderate to heavy rainfall.

Light to moderate winds will prevail across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI), the listed semiconductors and electronics manufacturing arm of the Ayala Group, has shut down its Kuichong facility to consolidate its China business in a single location.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, IMI said final production activities in Kuichong ended on Tuesday, Sept. 30. They are now integrating operations into IMI’s Pingshan facility.

‘Throughout this transition period, IMI’s management team will prioritize business continuity and ensure that key customer accounts from IMI Kuichong will be served with minimal disruption,’ IMI said in its disclosure.

‘This strategic move is expected to further improve operational efficiency, increase capacity utilization in IMI Pingshan and further streamline IMI’s footprint in China,’ it added.

This follows IMI’s P635-million exit from its Czech Republic business in June as it sought to cut losses and return to profitability.

Its subsidiary, Cooperatief IMI Europe UA, had agreed to sell 100 percent of IMI Czech Republic to Keboda Deutschland GmbH and Co. KG. /dda

Ayala Corp. has signed a deal to bring another grocery format to the Philippines, this time United Arab Emirates-based Spinneys, which will likewise mark its debut in Asia.

Under the partnership, Ayala will hold a 60-percent stake, while Spinneys will own the remaining 40 percent, Spinneys said in a press statement issued in Dubai dated Sept. 30.

The partnership marks Spinneys’ first venture outside of the Gulf area.

The company said this was ‘aligned with its strategy to broaden its geographic footprint by entering structurally attractive high-growth markets.’

The collaboration is also seen to signify Ayala’s growing stake in the retail sector, as it continues to bring more international brands to the Philippine market.

New chapter

Just recently, Ayala signed a deal to bring warehouse club Makro to the country.

‘Spinneys’ expansion into Southeast Asia marks an exciting new chapter for us. The Philippines offers significant long-term growth potential, with strong economic fundamentals, a growing affluent population, and increasing demand for high-quality offerings,’ said Sunil Kumar, CEO at Spinneys.

‘With a growing middle and upper-income population, the Philippines is seeing a clear shift in consumer expectations creating a strong opportunity for a modern, premium retail offering like ours. Our partnership with Ayala combines its deep local knowledge with our operational expertise, providing a strong foundation to grow in a measured way. As we enter this next phase, we’re delighted to be bringing our highquality and fresh offering to a new region,’ Kumar added.

Ayala president and CEO Cezar Consing said the country’s oldest conglomerate was honored to be the first partner of Spinneys as it ventures outside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Trade with GCC

‘We hope this investment will catalyze trade and investment between the Philippines and the GCC. At Ayala, we take pride in partnering with some of the world’s leading companies and working alongside them to bring world-class products and services to the Philippines,’ he added.

Retail holding firm Spinneys Holding 1961 has been operating in the UAE since 1961. It became a publicly-listed company in 2024.

Based on its 2024 annual report, it had at least 80 stores in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Revenues last year stood at AED 3.2 billion ($870 million) while net profit amounted to AED 290 million ($78.95 million).

Its core focus is food, with more than 85 percent of retail revenues generated from food products. Within the food segment, it focuses on ‘fresh’ food, which makes up more than 63 percent of total retail revenues.

Slater Young, Manilyn Reynes and Ellen Adarna expressed concern for their fellow Cebuanos who have been affected by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the island on Tuesday. Sept. 30.

The entire province of Cebu has been placed under a state of calamity amid the widespread destruction and rising death toll. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Bogo City, which recorded the most number of fatalities.

Young, who is based in Cebu, assured those checking up on them that his family is safe and extended his prayers to those affected by the calamity.

‘Thank you for the messages and well-wishes. The family is all okay from the quake last night,’ he said via his Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Oct. 1. ‘Praying for our fellow Cebuanos and everyone else affected from the quake.’ Reynes shared her prayer written in Cebuano via her Instagram Stories.

‘Dear God, palihug, tabangi intawon ang tanan. Daghang salamat,’ she said. (Dear God, please help everyone. Thank you very much.) Cebuano actress Adarna, for her part, reposted a social media card showing the aftermath of the earthquake in Cebu and appealing for prayers. The Office of Civil Defense said on Wednesday morning that ‘as high as 60 individuals were reported to have perished in this earthquake.’ /edv

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday led the distribution of financial aid and livelihood assistance in Masbate, one of the provinces hardest hit by Typhoon Opong.

During the event at Nursery Elementary School, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided P10,000 each to 600 families through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region V also released two checks totaling over P34.8 million to the provincial government of Masbate. The funds will support the agency’s Livelihood Assistance and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers programs, benefiting 6,455 individuals in 11 municipalities.

Aside from these, Marcos also oversaw the distribution of family food packs, hygiene kits, malongs, 10-meter laminated sacks, and water filtration kits from the DSWD.

In addition, two Starlink units were turned over to Nursery Elementary School to provide internet connectivity for the evacuees.

As of Tuesday, the school shelters 41 families or 121 individuals, displaced by Typhoon Opong.

In his speech, Marcos told the typhoon victims that the government will provide continuous assistance to help them return to their normal lives.

‘Do not worry, the government’s support will continue for as long as you are in need,’ the President said in Filipino.

‘Even if it takes us a little longer because your homes are not yet repaired, we are already providing support,’ he added.

Aside from the distribution of aid, Marcos also visited Masbate Provincial Hospital to personally inspect its damaged facilities and turned over a facsimile check worth P3 million from the Department of Health to the provincial government for repair works.

Before SB19 and other P-pop groups ever graced the concert stage, there were the Universal Motion Dancers (UMD) and Streetboys who have amassed a solid fandom behind them.

UMD, Streetboys, and other popular 70s, 80s, and 90s Filipino dance legends, as well as some iconic artists are raring for a 2025 grand reunion, and they are set to appear in one major show on November 4 at the Big Dome.

Talent manager Gio Medina, who used to be an in-house dancer for ‘Eat Bulaga’ for nearly a decade back in the day, shared some details about the upcoming reunion concert during the relaunch of his salon in Quezon City over the weekend.

Medina shared that the concert will be graced by the ’90s boy groups Universal Motion Dancers or UMD (Wowie de Guzman, James Salas, Jim Salas, Gerry Oliva, Marco McKinley, and Norman Santos), Streetboys (Vhong Navarro, Danilo Barrios, Chris Cruz, and Nicko Manalo), and Manoeuvres (Joshua Zamora, Jason Zamora, Michael Flores, Jon Supan, Reden Cruz, Jhon Cruz, and Rene Sagaran).

The show’s lineup also includes renowned choreographers Geleen Eugenio, Maribeth Bichara, Mel Feliciano, and the dance duo The Aldeguer Sisters. Medina also teased the special participation of Jojo Alejar, Amanda Page, Ara Mina, Carmi Martin, Eula Valdez, Gardo Versoza, Jackie Lou Blanco, Regine Tolentino, and Roderick Paulate, among others.

Medina, who is also set to perform at the concert, said there will be more surprise guests at the upcoming reunion titled ‘D’Legends on the Dance Floor,’ as they aim to bring solid nostalgia to the fans.

‘Gardo Versoza, machete, sasayaw ng naka-heels! Ang daming pasabog. I think Sexbomb din nandoon. Lahat nandoon. Complete. Magrereminisce talaga (Gardo Versoza, machete, dancing in heels! Lots of surprises. I think Sexbomb is also there. Everyone is there. Complete. It will be a total reminisce),’ the talent manager told select members of the press. /edv

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will expand the livestreaming of the bidding process of projects in a bid to promote transparency.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday said that the agency would post all livestream links on its social media pages for the public to access.

While all biddings at the central and regional offices are already livestreamed, Dizon said the policy would now cover the district offices.

The ongoing probe of anomalous flood control projects has so far uncovered either ‘ghost’ or substandard undertakings emanating from the district office level.

As Dizon lifted the suspension of procurement activities for locally funded projects under the agency, a memorandum order dated September 16 provided preliminary measures that must be followed during the bidding process, which included livestreaming.

Dizon added that the DPWH would initiate this process during the procurement phase for the multimillion-dollar Bataan-Cavite interlink bridge project.

‘If the DPWH [personnel] will be the only ones monitoring this, there might not be enough scrutiny. If we can do something for the public to be aware of this and keep an eye on the projects of DPWH, I think monitoring will be strengthened and corruption in the past will not happen again,’ Dizon stressed.

New undersecretaries

At the same time, President Marcos has appointed five new undersecretaries of the DPWH.

Taking their oath administered by Dizon on Sept. 29 were: Arrey Perez, undersecretary for operations in charge of convergence projects and technical services; Arthur Bisnar for regional operations; Charles Calima Jr. for special concerns; Ricardo Bernabe III for the Office of the Secretary; and Samuel Rufino Turgano for legal services.

The DPWH also signed on Tuesday a partnership agreement with the Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP) to boost transparency and accountability in national infrastructure projects.

The DPWH and BCP committed to launch Integrity Chain, a blockchain-powered platform which aims to provide a real-time public dashboard that tracks progress on infrastructure projects, such as bidding, planning and awarding.

The DPWH said the platform also allows the public to scrutinize the projects and report anomalies and tampering of records.

Dizon said its pilot implementation would begin with the foreign-assisted projects, as their funding and documents were already vetted by multilateral and international organizations.

Dizon said he expected ‘greater transparency’ now that the agency had partnered with the private sector on the use of blockchain technology.

ICI-AMLC cooperation

Meanwhile, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) signed on Tuesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for cooperation in the ongoing investigation of alleged anomalies in flood control projects.

The pact was signed by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice and ICI Chair Andres Reyes Jr. and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. as chair of the AMLC.

Representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission, both AMLC members, likewise took part in the signing.

Unprogrammed funds

‘As you may know, the ICI is still very young. We have been in existence for only 15 days, with just four lawyer-volunteers carrying the weight of a tall task. Yet despite our size, our mandate is broad: to investigate irregularities, demand accountability, and restore integrity in public infrastructure. This is why the assistance of the AMLC is both timely and indispensable,’ Reyes noted.

In Congress, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio on Tuesday urged Malacañang to ‘stop washing its hands off the corruption allegations’ relating to infrastructure projects implemented under President Marcos’ watch.

Tinio noted that the majority of the projects funded under unprogrammed appropriations (UA) in 2023 and 2024 went to ‘favored regions’ now being flagged for anomalous and ghost flood control projects.

‘It is only the President’s discretion that determines how UA (funds) are used,’ he said.

Citing official data from the Department of Budget and Management, Tinio disclosed that the DPWH received P61.4 billion in unprogrammed funds in 2023 for 1,889 projects and P153 billion in 2024 for 1,811 projects.

This means that, in these two years alone, the President approved 3,770 public works projects worth P214.4 billion from unprogrammed funds.

In 2023, the top regions that got the largest share in UA were: Central Luzon, with 283 projects worth P11.7 billion; Bicol with 138 projects worth P7.6 billion; and Central Visayas with 170 projects worth P7.2 billion.

In 2024, Mimaropa got the lion’s share of UA with P29.4 billion for 201 projects, followed by Central Luzon again with P25 billion for 285 projects, and then Metro Manila with P16 billion for 181 projects.

At least a third of these funds for both years went to flood control projects.

More cracks are showing in the ranks of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the erstwhile rebel group heads to the polls to seek a democratic mandate if the regional parliamentary elections push through on Oct. 13.

The recent firestorm stems from the social media comment of Deputy Education Minister Haron Meling characterizing Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Abdulraof ‘Sammy Gambar’ Macacua as a ‘puppet’ of Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., whom he also described as someone who is out ‘to dismantle the MILF.’

Meling is identified with a faction of the MILF that had questioned the appointments made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last March to the interim regional government, especially his pick of Macacua, then acting provincial governor of Maguindanao del Norte, as Chief Minister, replacing MILF chief Murad Ebrahim.

Macacua’s appointment on March 12 came as Ebrahim tendered his resignation a week earlier so he could focus on leading the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the MILF’s political party, to a victorious outcome in the upcoming BARMM elections.

Although Ebrahim had praised Macacua’s leadership experience and bade him well in his new role, the issue about him being eased out had refused to die down, splitting the MILF’s supporters.

Over the weekend, Ebrahim told journalists he was indeed eased out, only to backtrack in saying that he refused an offer to be a Member of Parliament (MP) as he ‘already resigned from the BARMM.’

On Monday, some 14 base commanders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the MILF armed wing headed by Macacua, condemned Meling’s remarks as ‘not only baseless but also detrimental to the fabric of unity’ of the group, which fought four decades of secessionist war with the government and won political concessions through 17 years of peace negotiations.

‘We cannot afford to allow the rhetoric that seeks to fracture our organization to prevail. We urge all parties, especially those in positions of authority, to exercise caution in their words and actions,’ the base commanders said in a joint statement.

MP Abdulbasit Benito called out Meling’s remarks as ‘reckless,’ for which he should be made accountable.

MP Naguib Sinarimbo said Meling’s remarks were ‘utterly unbecoming of a public official, especially one who serves within the very administration led by the individual he now seeks to defame.’

Sinarimbo, who served as one of the legal counsels of the MILF during its negotiation with the government, stressed that while constructive criticism is a vital part of democratic discourse, ‘it must be exercised within the bounds of truth, respect, and legality.’

Efforts to reach Meling proved futile as requests for comments remain unanswered.

But Deputy Speaker Lanang Ali Jr. hit back at the base commanders for supposedly being selective in whom to defend among the MILF leaders, pointing out that Ebrahim was also heavily criticized on social media.

‘With just one comment from Haron Meling, you already react this way?’ Ali wrote on social media./coa