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Agriculture
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...
DA sees path to over 3% farm growth this year
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is cautiously optimistic that the farm sector will grow by more than 3 percent in 2026, pointing to improving fundamentals rather than a one-off rebound. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said history shows the target is achievable, with the sector posting above-3 percent growth in eight of the past 20 years, even as risks from weather, pests, and global markets remain.
DA forms group to guide rice imports, steady supply, protect farmers
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has created a technical working group (TWG) to manage rice imports using data, with the goal of keeping prices stable, ensuring enough supply, and protecting local farmers.
Corporate
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.
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.
Policy shift details Pacific Online’s e-lotto bet
Pacific Online Systems Corp. is folding its hand on a once-promising digital gamble.
Corporate Bulletins
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.
Lazada Refreshes Platinum Perks, Raises Loyalty Stakes
Lazada is giving its top shoppers another reason to stay loyal—and logged in. The eCommerce platform has elevated its Platinum Membership in the Philippines with a monthly refresh of premium brand partners, kicking off February with a lineup of more than 60 big-name collaborators.
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.
Energy
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.
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.
Meralco partners with Aclara to expand smart meter rollout for consumers
Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has partnered with Aclara Meters Philippines, a subsidiary of Hubbell Inc., to deploy over 72,000 smart electricity meters across its service area starting this year. The move is part of Meralco’s broader effort to modernize operations and improve service reliability.
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.
Technology
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.
UK tech courts Manila AI alliances
UK technology leaders are stepping up their Southeast Asia push, with artificial intelligence and cybersecurity partnerships firmly in the spotlight at UK–Southeast Asia Tech Week 2026 in Manila.
AboitizPower expands MobileAP App with new flexible bill payment option
AboitizPower has added a new payment feature to its MobileAP app, allowing customers to pay their electricity bills using Billease through QR Ph. The update gives users more flexible and convenient ways to manage their power payments, including pay-later and installment options.
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.
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.
