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Agriculture
DA reopens door to Czech pork after ASF clearance
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted its temporary ban on pork and swine product imports from the Czech Republic after the European nation resolved its African swine fever (ASF) cases.
Roads, recipes and rural riches: farm tourism gets a lift
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to strengthen the connection between farming and tourism in the Philippines. The partnership aims to turn farms into tourist destinations while promoting local food and Filipino cuisine.
Japan grants ¥1.7B grant for high-tech rice hub in Isabela
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have signed a ¥1.7-billion grant to build a modern rice processing system in Isabela province to strengthen government rice buffer stocks.
DA, Australia step up talks on banana exports
The Department of Agriculture (DA), is continuing coordination with Australian authorities to open the Australian market for Philippine Cavendish banana exports.
Corporate
Jollibee acquires South Korea’s leading hot pot chain “Shabu All Day”
Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) announced Monday that subsidiary Jolli-K Co. Ltd. has acquired South Korea’s All Day Fresh Co. Ltd., the operator of the popular hot pot and all-you-can-eat brand Shabu All Day, for approximately ₱5.09 billion (KRW126.85 billion).
Globe delivers consistency, not just coverage in PH internet race
Globe has claimed the top spot in Ookla®’s 2025 Speedtest Verified rankings, earning recognition as the Most Consistent Mobile Network, Most Consistent Fixed Network, and the provider with the Widest 5G Coverage in the Philippines.
AUB profit soars on lending, digital expansion
Asia United Bank posted a record 12 percent rise in net income to P12.7 billion in 2025, driven by a stronger commercial lending portfolio and improved operational efficiency.
First Gen buys into Prime Infrastructure hydropower projects in P75B deal
First Gen Corp., controlled by the Lopez family, is acquiring a 40 percent equity stake in pumped storage hydropower portfolio Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., part of billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.’s infrastructure venture, for P75 billion.
Corporate Bulletins
Globe delivers consistency, not just coverage in PH internet race
Globe has claimed the top spot in Ookla®’s 2025 Speedtest Verified rankings, earning recognition as the Most Consistent Mobile Network, Most Consistent Fixed Network, and the provider with the Widest 5G Coverage in the Philippines.
Practical gifting at the heart of Hanabishi promo
Hanabishi Appliances has launched a Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year campaign encouraging shoppers to celebrate love and new beginnings through practical gifts.
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.
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
Profit-taking weighs down stocks; peso finish higher
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slid 1.3 percent to 6,384.58, extending profit-taking for a second session after touching seven- to nine-month highs. Even so, the benchmark remains comfortably above the 6,000 mark, keeping the broader uptrend intact and suggesting the pullback is more consolidation than reversal.
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.
Energy
Fuel price rally continues, transport costs seen rising
Fuel prices climbed again this week, marking the sixth straight week of increases for gasoline and the seventh consecutive week for diesel and kerosene in 2026.
Silicon Valley sparks Meralco grid push
Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Company (Meralco) went technology shopping in the US, and came home with more than just ideas.
First Gen buys into Prime Infrastructure hydropower projects in P75B deal
First Gen Corp., controlled by the Lopez family, is acquiring a 40 percent equity stake in pumped storage hydropower portfolio Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc., part of billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.’s infrastructure venture, for P75 billion.
Another Tuesday, another hike: Fuel costs keep rising
Fuel prices are set to rise again this week, marking what could be the sixth straight increase this year, according to Jetti Petroleum Inc..
Property
CLI, NTT UD Asia expand Metro Manila footprint
Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) is doubling down on its alliance with NTT UD Asia Pte. Ltd. (NTTUDA), a unit of Japan’s NTT Urban Development Corp., with a second joint venture that signals a bigger push into the National Capital Region.
Megawide scaled up for 4PH push
Megawide Construction Corp. is doubling down on industrialized housing, announcing plans to expand its precast facility to deliver on a 100,000-unit commitment under the government’s Expanded 4PH program.
Filinvest Park wins PEZA nod, targets
Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) has secured Philippine Economic Zone Authority registration for Filinvest Innovation Park – Ciudad de Calamba (FIPC), formally entering the country’s expanding ecozone network and positioning Laguna as a magnet for high-value, export-driven industries.
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.
Technology
Globe taps Confluent to accelerate enterprise AI shift
Globe Business has formed a strategic alliance with Confluent to help Philippine enterprises speed up artificial intelligence (AI) adoption through real-time data streaming.
Sipag at tiyaga turn into profit for Naga’s Surf2Sawa sellers
Hardworking sales agents in Naga are reaping big rewards as demand rises for the Surf2Sawa prepaid fiber plan of Converge ICT Solutions.
Half of Filipinos Still Stream Illicitly
The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) is pressing for swift passage of the proposed Online Site Blocking Act after reporting that online piracy in the Philippines remains stubbornly high, with half of Filipino consumers accessing pirated content in 2025.
NTC proposes strict service standards for new data players
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has proposed new service quality benchmarks for data transmission industry participants under the Konektadong Pinoy Act to ensure new telecommunications entrants meet national connectivity standards.
Opinion
Smoke Without Fire, Markets Without Rules
When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discards its own scientific “endangerment finding,” it does more than revise a memo from 2009. It performs a kind of regulatory alchemy: turning greenhouse gases from legally recognized threats into political inconveniences.
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.
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.
