Context Dispatch

Households across Metro Manila and nearby provinces will face slightly higher electricity bills this month as the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) raised its rates by P0.1520 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Shell Pilipinas Corp., the local unit of global energy giant Shell, announced that its board has approved a new policy—effective January 1—requiring key officers, including its president and CEO, to own a minimum of 100,000 company shares.

Typhoon Uwan weakened after slamming into the Sierra Madre mountains late Sunday but retained its fierce winds. PAGASA lifted Signal No. 5 yet maintained Signal No. 4 over parts of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Ilocos Sur, Mt. Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, La Union, and Pangasinan. Moving west-northwest at 20 kilometers per hour, Uwan’s center is expected to reach the West Philippine Sea by Monday night, where it may regain strength before veering toward Taiwan. The NDRRMC reported that about 836,000 people across eight regions have been affected, with roughly one-third now sheltering in evacuation centers. Damage and casualty reports are still being collated.