Saturday, 31 January 2026, 6:15 pm

    Top News

    January inflation seen steady at 1.8%, supporting case for rate cut

    Inflation likely stayed at 1.8 percent year-on-year in January, according to both the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), keeping price pressures well within the central bank’s target range and strengthening the case for an interest rate cut.

    Just in

    Context Dispatch

    Exclusive

    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.

    Agriculture

    DA widens P20 rice push in Manila, expands KADIWA

    The Department of Agriculture (DA) is widening access to affordable rice and basic food staples in Manila, scaling up the KADIWA ng Pangulo and the P20 “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” rice program as part of a broader push to strengthen food security in this densely populated Philippine capital.

    Corporate

    Lender backs contemporary art at Art Fair Philippines 2026

    The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is co-presenting Art Fair Philippines 2026, which will run from February 6 to 8 at Circuit Corporate Center One in Circuit Makati.

    Banking & Insurance

    Metrobank cuts transfer fee to P8, making digital transfers cheaper

    Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) will lower its InstaPay transfer fee to P8 per transaction starting February 1, 2026, marking the lowest rate the bank has offered for the service and replacing the previous P25 charge.
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    Markets

    UnitedHealth fall exposes Dow’s quirks

    A policy update out of Washington was all it took to send UnitedHealth Group into a tailspin—and drag the Dow Jones Industrial Average down with it.

    Travel

    Airfare Caps Target Symptoms, Not Aviation Ills

    As the government weighs tighter controls on rising domestic airfares, economists and industry stakeholders warn in an interview with Context.ph that headline-grabbing fixes such as price caps and fare transparency risk treating symptoms rather than the deeper structural issues keeping tickets expensive.
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    Energy

    PCC warns on auctions as DOE tweaks

    The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has flagged competition risks in the design of earlier Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) rounds, prompting the Department of Energy (DOE) to fine-tune its bidding framework as the government pushes to scale up renewable energy capacity.

    Transport & Communications

    Pact signed keeping Metro Manila connected during major disasters

    Globe Telecom Inc. and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have signed an agreement to make sure communication services stay up and running in Metro Manila even during large-scale disasters, including a worst-case earthquake.
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    Property

    DHSUD fast-tracks revival of Caloocan housing

    The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development has ordered the fast-tracking of three long-stalled socialized housing projects in Caloocan City, signaling a tougher stance on project delays and construction quality under the Marcos administration’s housing drive.

    Environment

    DENR moves to tighten rules, inspections after Cebu trash slide

    The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will push key changes to address waste disposal problems following the deadly trash slide in Binaliw, Cebu, which has killed 27 people as of January 16, 2026.
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    Technology

    Lenovo bets on Agentic AI to close the enterprise AI maturity gap

    Lenovo has announced a major expansion of its enterprise AI offerings with the launch of Lenovo Agentic AI and a new suite of platforms called Lenovo xIQ, aimed at helping businesses deploy and manage AI at scale more quickly and responsibly.

    Health & Science

    Recto urges new DAP graduates to always side with the people

    Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto urged the 857 new graduates of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) to always side with the Filipino people, saying it is never the wrong choice.
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    Opinion

    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.

    Regulatory stress test for PH aviation: The PR113 lavatory fiasco

    The reported handling of a lavatory system failure on Philippine Airlines Flight PR113 should not be treated as a one-off operational lapse.

    Demeter meets CRISPR: Self-replicating rice takes on the seed economy

    For decades, hybrid rice has been the most frustrating agricultural miracle: spectacular yields, structurally expensive. Farmers get abundance—then a bill. Because hybrids don’t reliably reproduce, the system forces growers onto an annual seed treadmill. Productivity, yes. Ownership, no.

    124 million dreams, limited elbow room

    The Philippines is not running out of people. It is running out of excuses.