Context Dispatch
Flood-control fears hammer September building activity
Building activity sharply contracted in September as the number of approved construction permits plunged 25 percent to 11,746, Philippine Statistics Authority data showed, signaling mounting investor unease amid the ongoing flood-control controversy affecting several growth corridors.
PBBM accepts resignations of ES, Budget chief
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday accepted the voluntary resignations of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman after their implication in a flood control anomaly, signaling a swift shake-up in Malacañang. Press Officer Claire Castro announced that Finance Secretary Ralph Recto will step in as Executive Secretary, while Budget Undersecretary Rolando Toledo has been named Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Budget and Management. To fill the vacuum at Finance, Presidential Adviser on Economic Affairs Frederick Go will take over Recto’s former post, marking a rapid realignment of the administration’s top economic managers.
Government seizes millions in substandard steel
The government has confiscated more than P3.5 million worth of substandard steel products since the start of the year, tightening its crackdown on unsafe...
Australia offers AUS3 million in aid for typhoon-hit Ph
Australia has pledged AU$3 million (P115.9 million) in humanitarian assistance to support the Philippines’ response to Typhoons Tino and Uwan.
Juan Ponce Enrile, key Martial Law figure and EDSA rebel, dies at 101
Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who at 101 still served as chief legal adviser to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., passed away on Thursday, his daughter Katrina Ponce Enrile announced. “With profound love and gratitude, my father peacefully returned to his Creator on November 13, 2025, at 4:21 p.m., surrounded by our family at home,” she said, adding that it was her father’s wish to take his final breath in their residence. JPE, as he is known, was hospitalized earlier this week, battling pneumonia. The family requested privacy as they grieve, with details of public viewing to follow. Enrile served several presidents, including the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Corazon Aquino—both as Defense Secretary. The Senate expressed sorrow and, following tradition, suspended deliberation on the government’s 2026 budget following the passing of its former leader, a figure both vilified for his role during the Martial Law years and revered for EDSA People’s Power Revolution.
