Philippine financial markets are heading into a pivotal week, with investors largely keeping their powder dry ahead of policy decisions from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the US Federal Reserve that could shape the direction of stocks, bonds and the peso in the weeks ahead.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is pushing for tighter enforcement, stronger inter-agency coordination, and targeted legal reforms as the country's counterfeit trade increasingly migrates from shopping centers to online marketplaces.

A call for family peace quickly gave way to fresh legal hostilities after businessman Federico “Piki" Lopez filed indirect contempt complaints against his cousins on the same day he appealed for reconciliation during First Gen Corp.’s annual stockholders’ meeting.