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Agriculture
₱310.9M Nueva Vizcaya farm road breaks ground
The Department of Agriculture (DA) broke ground Sunday on the P310.9-million Pangawan–Banao farm-to-market road project in Nueva Vizcaya.
El Niño farm damage hits P6.87B; food costs set to rise
The Department of Agriculture (DA) reports initial damage from the ongoing El Niño has reached P6.87 billion, hitting crops and livelihoods across the country and raising concerns over food supply and consumer prices.
NFA boosts rice stocks, advances modernization at 54
The National Food Authority is ramping up rice procurement, distribution, and facility upgrades as it marks 54 years, with Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. affirming the agency’s vital role in steady, affordable rice supply for Filipinos.
₱9.7 billion activated to tackle El Niño threat, high fuel prices
The Department of Agriculture confirmed Thursday it may use P9.7 billion in Special Allotment Release Orders to support farmers and fisherfolk facing rising fuel prices and the expected severe effects of El Niño.
Corporate
GSIS chief named Asia’s modern hero for public service, financial leadership
Government Service Insurance System President and General Manager Wick Veloso has been conferred the “Asia’s Modern Hero” award for distinguished public service and financial leadership, receiving the honor at the September 25, 2026 ceremony at Okada Manila organized by the Golden Icons Foundation and Asia’s Golden Icon Awards & Events Inc.
Security Bank partners rally to build classrooms
The people who safeguard Security Bank every day are now helping build better learning spaces for Filipino kids.
S&P finds 96% of Maynilad investments green-aligned
Maynilad Water Services Inc. has secured a Philippine Green Equity Label after S&P Global assessed all of its 2025 revenue and 96 percent of its investments as aligned with green activities, even as the water concessionaire faces challenges from water losses, fossil-fuel use, and dependence on Angat Dam.
Brazil ban throws spanner into DigiPlus expansion
Brazil’s move to ban fixed-odds betting and online gaming has thrown a spanner into the international expansion of DigiPlus Interactive Corp. The Latin American country was supposed to be the beachhead of DigiPlus’ overseas move.
Corporate Bulletins
iBPI VYBE partners with Noodlerama for better cashless dining
BPI expands VYBE’s network via Noodlerama, giving customers exclusive deals and wider payment access.
E3 2026 gains strong industry backing ahead of October WTCMM Expo
E3 2026 gains strong industry backing ahead of October WTCMM Expo
Corporate bulletin
Event Experience Expo (E3) 2026 is drawing wide support across the MICE sector, with leading firms signing on as partners and sponsors for the October 28–29 event at World Trade Center Metro Manila. The growing roster covers event tech, production, AV, staging, build, logistics, creative services, F&B and more, representing every part of bringing events from plan to reality.
WTCMM Chairman and CEO Pamela D. Pascual said modern events must build meaningful connections, drive business, and keep pace with changing tech and expectations. This broad participation shows the value of one shared platform, making E3 a marketplace where buyers find solutions and suppliers showcase expertise, share ideas, and create new opportunities.
Official partners are Jublia AI, Geyme, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Inquirer Business and Inquirer.net. Gold Sponsors include Tourism Promotions Board, Sound Check, Stage Riggers, Video Sonic, Maxione Production, PMX, Go Live Asia, Cityneon, Event Solutions, Ovation Productions, and Westlines Design Technologies. Silver Sponsors are Xstatic, Creativents, Wildsfire, Projection X Events, Starxpo, Confetti Effects, Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, Precision, IMMRVS Asia, and Straight Up Advertising.
Beyond exhibits, E3 offers business matching, buyer engagements, and masterclasses on new tech, trends, and planning best practices. It aims to become the Philippine events sector’s regular hub while expanding regional links.
Hosted and organized by WTCMM, the expo runs October 28–29, 2026. WTCMM brings over 26 years of experience, is the country’s first UFI-recognized venue, ISO-certified, DOT- and TPB-accredited, and a member of TCP and PACEOS.
Jollibee bags top marketing prize at the NEXT Awards
Move over, chickenjoy—Jollibee is now serving up a masterclass in digital dominance.
Comm&Sense marks 20th year with 2nd runner-up finish as Quill Agency Of The Year
Strategic communications agency Comm&Sense, Inc. is celebrating its 20th anniversary on a high note, taking home 2nd Runner-Up for Agency of the Year at the prestigious 22nd Philippine Quill Awards, hosted by IABC Philippines. This recognition extends the firm’s streak to six straight Agency of the Year nominations dating back to 2019.
Social Responsibility & Sustainability
Security Bank partners rally to build classrooms
The people who safeguard Security Bank every day are now helping build better learning spaces for Filipino kids.
S&P finds 96% of Maynilad investments green-aligned
Maynilad Water Services Inc. has secured a Philippine Green Equity Label after S&P Global assessed all of its 2025 revenue and 96 percent of its investments as aligned with green activities, even as the water concessionaire faces challenges from water losses, fossil-fuel use, and dependence on Angat Dam.
BSP gives P40M to health, humanitarian bodies
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has extended fresh financial support to four major institutions delivering critical healthcare and humanitarian aid across the country, donating a total of P40 million.
Meralco expands PWD internships through SHINE partnership
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is expanding its workplace inclusion efforts by partnering with Shine Special Education Center Inc. (SHINE) to give students with disabilities hands-on work experience.
Markets
Peso, stocks brace for volatile week ahead
The peso and Philippine equities enter Monday facing another potentially volatile week as investors weigh persistent inflation pressures, softer growth prospects and expectations of further monetary tightening.
Philippine stocks brace for oil, peso headwinds
Philippine equities enter Monday trading with volatility likely to remain elevated as investors weigh three competing forces: higher oil prices, renewed peso weakness and tightening domestic liquidity ahead of sizeable equity offerings.
Hawkish Fed, $100 oil keep peso, PSEi under pressure
The Philippine peso and stocks could remain volatile this week as a hawkish US Federal Reserve, crude oil prices above USD100 a barrel and heightened Middle East tensions keep investors cautious.
PSEi tests 6,100 as peso volatility clouds momentum
The PSEi is knocking on 6,100—but whether it can break higher may depend on how the peso holds up as geopolitical tensions, dollar demand and shifting rate expectations add to market uncertainty.
Energy
Oil tax relief triggered again as crude surges
The government has triggered its new fuel-tax relief mechanism for the second time in five months, as elevated global oil prices again push crude above the statutory threshold for temporary tax cuts.
Aboitiz Renewables named ASEAN’s top clean energy producer
Aboitiz Renewables Inc., the clean energy arm of Aboitiz Power Corp., has been voted Independent Power Producer of the Year at the Enlit Asia Power & Energy Awards 2026.
Fuel cost drops after weeks of steep hikes
Fuel prices will finally go down this week following three consecutive weeks of sharp increases, a top industry official confirmed Sunday.
Malampaya gas return cuts power costs
The return of indigenous Malampaya natural gas to the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan Power Plant in Batangas is expected to slash electricity generation charges by about 36 centavos per kilowatt-hour, offering much-needed relief to consumers while cutting foreign fuel dependence.
Property
Housing market softens as regional divergence hits record slowdown
Residential property prices across the country experienced a significant cooling period in the second quarter of 2026, registering their slowest year-on-year growth rate since tracking began in 2019, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). While property values in the National Capital Region continued to expand, this upward momentum was dragged down by a widespread price drop in regions outside the capital. The downturn, the BSP noted, was most pronounced in regions beyond Greater Manila, marking the first time overall prices outside the capital region have contracted on an annual basis and signaling a clear shift in the country's housing dynamics.
PSAC proposes tax shift, affordable housing to stem real estate slowdown
The Private Sector Advisory Council Infrastructure Sector, or PSAC-Infra, has laid out key recommendations to manage rising property costs, expand access to affordable housing, and protect jobs and investments as the real estate sector grapples with higher expenses for construction and financing. The proposals were presented during a special meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang on September 22, alongside updates on artificial intelligence and investment policies.
AREIT expands retail, hotel exposure with ₱17.3-B infusion
AREIT Inc. is broadening its retail and hospitality exposure through a P17.3-billion property infusion from Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), a move expected to diversify its income base and create additional room for dividend growth.
DHSUD eyes unsold condos to expand 4PH housing
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is preparing a new housing financing scheme that would tap unsold condominium units for the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program, giving private developers another channel to clear inventory while widening affordable housing options in Metro Manila.
Technology
Experience Rooms allow Globe Business execs test integrated tech at G Summit 2026
As businesses expand digitally, the focus has shifted from adding tools to uniting them. Companies now manage an average 120 applications across fragmented systems, making coordinated networks, APIs, security, and AI critical.
TP opens 1,000 jobs as AI reshapes Philippine outsourcing
Teleperformance (TP) is opening more than 1,000 jobs at its newest Pasay City hub, signaling continued demand for Filipino workers as artificial intelligence reshapes the country’s outsourcing industry.
Globe hits 2026 best network marks in DICT’s August report card
Globe Telecom Inc. turned in its strongest network performance of the year this past August, earning its highest overall rating and fastest average download speed in the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Telco Report Card.
NTC fines 3 Telcos over poor Metro Manila broadband service
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has launched enforcement proceedings against the country’s three major mobile network operators, imposing daily fines of P100,000 each over persistently poor mobile broadband performance in parts of Metro Manila.
Opinion
Everybody is a scout
There is a particular moment in every Filipino basketball game when somebody on the sidelines becomes a coach. It does not matter if the game is in the PBA, UAAP, NBA, or a barangay court with one hoop, a cracked backboard, and a dog wandering underneath it. Somebody always knows what the team should be doing. “Pass!” “Box out!” “Take the shot!” “Why is he still playing?” It is not necessarily criticism. It is participation.
Policies, not promises, build economies
In 1986, the Philippines stood at a historic crossroads. Fresh from the People Power Revolution, the country embraced a vibrant democratic morning with a distinct economic head start in Southeast Asia. Across the South China Sea, Vietnam was in dire straits—reeling from decades of war, international isolation, and hyperinflation. Yet that very year, Hanoi launched Doi Moi, an ambitious series of economic reforms meant to transition from a rigid command economy toward a more market-driven system.
Giving Context a Voice
At Context.ph, we have always believed that journalism should meet readers where they are. The way people consume news continues to evolve, and our responsibility as a digital publication is to evolve with them.
The most expensive thing in your car is time
A car can tell you many things. It can tell you that a door is open, a tire needs air, a passenger has forgotten to buckle up, or that you are getting dangerously close to the vehicle in front of you. What it cannot tell you is why you have been sitting in the same spot for 23 minutes. This is the peculiar economics of driving in the Philippines. We fork over a great deal of money buying cars that can go very fast, and then spend a considerable portion of our lives making sure they do not.
Exclusive
iPeople targets 200,000 students with global expansion push
iPeople, the listed Yuchengco-Ayala education joint venture, is pursuing an expansion strategy built around international partnerships, new campuses and facilities, sustainability-focused programs, and deeper artificial intelligence integration as it aims to nearly triple its student population to 200,000.
Vivant Water sees 2026 as launchpad for bigger growth
Vivant Water is treating 2026 as a pivotal year as it moves from building its presence across the water industry to scaling operations, investments, and its project pipeline.
Visayas roots, Singapore routes: Top Line redraws its map
Singapore is no longer just a distant dot on Top Line Business Development Corp.’s growth chart. It has become a very literal marker of how far the company has travelled in 12 years, from a Visayas-based real estate developer to an emerging energy player now thinking in global supply routes.
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.
