Saturday, 14 February 2026, 4:19 am

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    Top News

    Import pause lifts palay prices, tests rice cost balance

    A temporary rice import ban ordered by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from September to December 2025 has pushed up farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice) across the country, helping farmers recover from months of losses but raising concerns about possible higher rice prices for consumers.

    News Dispatch

    Agriculture

    Japan invests in BARMM’s aquaculture future

    The Japan government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have launched a two-year program to strengthen aquaculture and fisheries in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(BARMM), a region seen as one of the Philippines’ most promising areas for fish production.

    President Marcos unveils P63B spending for irrigation

    President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has earmarked more than P63 billion for irrigation projects in 2026, betting that water infrastructure will be the catalyst for higher farm output and a more resilient rural economy.

    NFA goes big with tonner bags for rice warehouses

    The National Food Authority (NFA) is planning to use bigger “tonner” bags in storing rice and palay across its warehouses, aiming to improve efficiency in manpower, storage, and handli

    DA expands P20 rice program in Metro Manila

    The Department of Agriculture (DA) is expanding the rollout...

    Corporate

    WTCMM wins ASEAN award for exhibition excellence

    World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) has been honored with the ASEAN MICE Venue Award in the Exhibition Venue Category at the 2026 ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards. The accolade was presented during the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026 at Nustar Resort, Cebu.

    BPI lists record P50-B Sigla bonds on PDEx

    The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has listed ₱50 billion worth of “BPI Supporting Individuals Grow, Lead, and Achieve” (SIGLA) bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx), marking the bank’s largest peso bond issuance to date.

    Estate Water marks decade with strongest performance yet  

    Estate Water, a unit of Manila Water Philippine Ventures (MWPV), is celebrating its 10th year of operations with record growth and expanded services across the country.

    ALLHC courts Taiwanese firms in industrial push

    AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. (ALLHC) led an investment mission to Taiwan earlier this month to promote the Philippines as a top destination for Taiwanese companies looking to expand in Southeast Asia.

    Banking & Insurance

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    Corporate Bulletins

    WTCMM wins ASEAN award for exhibition excellence

    World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) has been honored with the ASEAN MICE Venue Award in the Exhibition Venue Category at the 2026 ASEAN Tourism Standards Awards. The accolade was presented during the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026 at Nustar Resort, Cebu.

    Estate Water marks decade with strongest performance yet  

    Estate Water, a unit of Manila Water Philippine Ventures (MWPV), is celebrating its 10th year of operations with record growth and expanded services across the country.

    EEI builds future workforce with training academy

    Construction giant EEI Corp. has raised the bar for...

    Century Pacific lands anew in Forbes’ Best Employers list

    Century Pacific Food Inc. has once again earned a spot on Forbes’ World’s Best Employers list, marking its second straight year of global recognition and reinforcing the company’s view that culture is not a soft metric, but a serious business asset.

    Social Responsibility & Sustainability

    SteelAsia earns region’s top green mark from Moody’s

    SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. has secured a “very good” SQS2 rating from Moody’s, earning what the agency described as the strongest and only Sustainable Finance Framework of its kind in the region to fully link financing with measurable decarbonization outcomes.

    Jollibee Group shift Philippine facilities to 99% renewable

    The Jollibee Group has transitioned its commissaries and logistics facilities in the Philippines to 99 percent renewable energy, marking a major step in its sustainability efforts.

    Skills take center stage in bank foundation’s classroom turnover 

    Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI) has turned over a new two-storey, six-classroom Technical-Livelihood Education (TLE) building to Zamboanga City High School Main (ZCHSM), marking its 900th classroom built nationwide.

    Zinc-enriched rice targets child stunting in 7 areas

    Around 1,500 day care and elementary school children at risk of malnutrition in seven provinces will receive high-zinc rice under a 90-day feeding program.

    Markets

    Barbie’s holiday hangover hits Mattel

    Barbie wasn’t in the mood to celebrate — even if Ken showed up with Hot Wheels and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Investors weren’t feeling festive either.

    Markets cool off as peso flexes quiet strength 

    Global markets are taking a step back—not because of panic, but caution. Investors are reducing risk as they navigate uncertainty around inflation, interest rates, and global tensions. 

    Qualcomm shares drop as memory shortfall clouds outlook

    Qualcomm shares fell Thursday as investors reacted to warnings that industry-wide memory supply constraints are hurting the company’s near-term handset outlook, overshadowing record quarterly revenue and a confident long-term strategy.

    FirstMetroSec rolls out Active Trader to support faster, more dynamic market trading

    First Metro Securities Brokerage Corporation (FirstMetroSec) has launched Active Trader, a new trading interface under its FirstMetroSec PRO platform, as part of its ongoing push to strengthen its digital trading ecosystem amid increasingly active market conditions.

    Travel

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    Energy

    Solar surge slashed costs by 30%

    A rooftop revolution is powering new savings for Eight8Ate Holdings, Inc.

    NGCP to complete P18.5-B grid projects in 2026

    The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will complete seven major transmission projects worth at least P18.5 billion in 2026 to strengthen grid reliability and support rising electricity demand.

    Raslag powers into wind with debris deal

    Raslag Corp., the listed solar farm pioneer, has sealed...

    Jollibee Group shift Philippine facilities to 99% renewable

    The Jollibee Group has transitioned its commissaries and logistics facilities in the Philippines to 99 percent renewable energy, marking a major step in its sustainability efforts.

    Transport & Communications

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    Property

    Filipinos boost Pag-IBIG savings to record high

    Pag-IBIG Fund members socked away a record P160.41 billion in savings in 2025, smashing the previous year’s haul by 21 percent and setting the highest annual collection in the agency’s history. 

    DOJ draws line on housing quotas

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) has thrown a legal wrench into how property developers meet their socialized housing obligations, declaring key portions of a 2021 housing department order legally infirm.

    Aboitiz, House of Investments gets clearance for Tarlac Estate expansion

    LIMA Land Inc., the Aboitiz Group’s economic estates arm, and House of Investments (HI) of the Yuchengco Group have secured clearance from the Philippine Competition Commission, paving the way for the formalization of their joint venture at TARI Estate in Tarlac.

    Subsidence persists beneath Manila Bay reclamation, UP study shows

    Land reclaimed from Manila Bay remains broadly stable at the surface, but beneath that stability, ground subsidence is continuing and is likely to persist, according to a satellite-based study by researchers from the Department of Geodetic Engineering at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

    Environment

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    Technology

    PH eyes Nvidia chain for tech gains 

    The Philippines is stepping up its bid to capture high-value slices of the global technology supply chain, zeroing in on Tier 1 contract manufacturers within the ecosystem of Nvidia, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

    P1T electronics bet powers PH future

    More than P1.06 trillion in cumulative investments has poured into Philippine economic zones since 1995, cementing electronics as the backbone of the country’s manufacturing engine, according to Tereso O. Panga, director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

    DICT, Meta steps up crackdown on online scams, child exploitation

    The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced that Meta Platforms Inc., the company behind Facebook, has agreed to intensify its efforts against online financial scams and the sexual abuse and exploitation of children online (OSAEC).

    Globe shifts focus to network quality, tops Ookla consistency rankings

    Globe Telecom Inc. said it has shifted its strategy from simply expanding coverage to delivering total network reliability, as it was named the Most Consistent Mobile and Fixed Network and the leader in 5G Coverage in the Philippines by Ookla for the second half of 2025.

    Health & Science

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    Opinion

    Philippine bond market: Confidence, stability, lower borrowing costs

    The Philippine government bond market may sound like a tangle of numbers and acronyms, but it matters to everyone. 

    Philippine paradox: Doing right, paying wrong

    Even when the government acts with moral clarity, ordinary Filipinos often end up holding the short end of the stick. 

    Airport knife shooting thrusts security governance into spotlight

    A knife-related shooting at Iloilo International Airport has forced an uncomfortable reckoning inside aviation security circles: what happens when systems meant to stop danger at the door allow it to fester into a crowded terminal.

    Regulatory stress test for PH aviation: The PR113 lavatory fiasco

    The reported handling of a lavatory system failure on Philippine Airlines Flight PR113 should not be treated as a one-off operational lapse.

    Sports & Entertainment

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    Exclusive

    Sunlight Air chooses precision over size aloft

    In an aviation industry often driven by scale and speed, Sunlight Air is taking a more measured route. The boutique carrier is building its business around efficiency, discipline, and destination depth, convinced that smarter operations can deliver both commercial returns and environmental gains.

    PSAC urges stronger funding for Philippines startups 

    The Private Sector Advisory Council is raising a clear warning. In a recent meeting with the Department of Trade and Industry, PSAC said the Philippine startup scene is slipping behind Southeast Asian peers, not for lack of ideas but for lack of capital that actually moves.

    Tariffs rattle, AI thrives: Gruppo EMS builds ahead 

    Amid escalating US-China trade tensions and renewed tariff uncertainty from Washington, EMS Group of Companies is expanding production, accelerating its push into artificial intelligence hardware, and positioning the Philippines as an increasingly strategic alternative manufacturing base for global electronics firms.

    Aboitiz focus on industry, townships follow jobs

    For three decades, the Aboitiz Group has been quietly building a real estate portfolio that spans homes, offices, and commercial spaces. But in recent years, it has made a deliberate pivot away from crowded residential battlegrounds toward a less glamorous, far more strategic corner of the market: industrial development. The bet is simple but bold—build where factories, logistics, and infrastructure go first, and let communities grow organically around them.