Baby bust economics: Filipinos hold button on pause
The Philippine baby boom has hit the snooze button. Parenthood, once almost automatic, is now treated like a major purchase—priced, budgeted, and often postponed. Diapers and infant formula increasingly feel less like essentials and more like luxury items with designer tags. Timing, finances, and ambition are all carefully calculated before committing to the ultimate life investment.
China recovery, e-Visa lift tourism outlook
The Philippines’ tourism rebound is still stuck in economy class, slowed by the weak return of China and South Korea—once the twin engines of foreign arrivals. Latest Department of Tourism (DOT) data show 5.606 million international visitors as of December 20, with arrivals from January to November slipping 2.16 percent year on year to 5.35 million.
PEZA smashes 2025 target with record growth
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has surpassed its 2025 investment target, approving P260.89 billion worth of projects and beating its P250-billion goal, while posting a 21.91 percent increase from the P214 billion recorded in 2024.p
Global rail giants, SMC vie for NSCR O&M contract
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Wednesday that strong interest from San Miguel Corp. and major local and international firms in the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) operations and maintenance (O&M) contract is “very encouraging.”
Audit spurs DA review of ill-funded goat breeding drive
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered a comprehensive review of an ambitious goat breeding program launched under the Duterte administration but left chronically underfunded, after state auditors flagged widespread animal deaths linked to poor care.
