Denmark’s CIP readies P30.5-billion wind project in Nueva Ecija
Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) is planning to develop a 300-megawatt (MW) onshore wind farm in Nueva Ecija at an estimated cost of P30.5 billion.
In a filing with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, San Jose Onshore Wind Power Corp., a CIP subsidiary, said the project will cover 4,617 hectares across the municipalities of Lupao and Carranglan.
“With a potential total capacity of 300 MW, the project will not only add clean energy to the Luzon grid but also support the Philippine government’s broader objectives of enhancing energy security, diversifying the energy mix, and advancing the transition toward a low-carbon economy,” the company said.
Construction is expected to start in the second quarter of 2027 and be completed by the second quarter of 2029.
CIP is a global investor in renewable energy assets such as wind, solar, and bioenergy. It manages 13 funds and around €32 billion for more than 180 investors worldwide.–Sheldeen Joy Talavera
Separatist candidate wins presidential vote in Bosnia’s Serb region
BANJA LUKA/SARAJEVO, Bosnia — A close ally of Bosnia’s Serb Republic separatist leader Milorad Dodik won a snap presidential election in a tight race with opposition candidate, the election commission said on Sunday, citing preliminary results.
“According to preliminary, unofficial and incomplete results, Sinisa Karan won 50.89% of the votes,” Jovan Kalaba, the commission’s president, said at a news conference.
Mr. Kalaba said that opposition candidate Branko Blanusa of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) won 47.81% of the votes.
Turnout was low at 35.78%, compared with 53% during a general vote in 2022, he said. More than 1.2 million people were eligible to vote. The election commission announced results based on 92.87% of counted votes.
The presidential mandate will last for less than a year since a general election is scheduled next October.
The election was called after Mr. Dodik was stripped of his office and banned from politics for six years.
Mr. Karan, who currently serves as Serb Republic minister of scientific and technological development, pledged to continue Mr. Dodik’s policies “with ever greater force.”
“As always when the times were difficult, the Serb people have won,” Mr. Karan said after Mr. Dodik had announced his victory at the headquarters of their ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats party (SNSD) party in the town of Banja Luka.
The SDS said it would request the repetition of the vote at three polling stations, citing major election irregularities.
Postwar Bosnia comprises the Serb Republic and the Federation, shared by Croats and Bosniaks, linked via a weak central government.
Pro-Russian separatist Mr. Dodik was convicted in February of defying the constitutional court and an international peace envoy, leading to Bosnia’s biggest political crisis since the end of its devastating war 30 years ago.
He repeatedly rejected the verdict but in October unexpectedly appointed a loyal ally as his temporary replacement and annulled a series of separatist laws previously adopted in parliament.
Days later, the United States lifted sanctions imposed against him, his allies and family members, praising the move as a step towards the “stabilization” of Bosnia. — Reuters
China’s Premier pitches to German Chancellor closer collaboration in strategic industries
BEIJING — China’s Premier Li Qiang pitched closer collaboration to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in new energy, smart manufacturing, biomedicine, and intelligent driving during a meeting on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Xinhua reported.
Relations between the world’s second- and third-largest economies have improved significantly over the past month, after Chinese export curbs on chips and rare earths caused major disruptions for German firms and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to cancel a visit to Beijing last month due to China rejecting all but one of his meetings.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil made the first official visit of Mr. Merz’s premiership last week, stabilizing ties by meeting China’s top economic official Vice Premier He Lifeng, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on the two major exporters.
Mr. Merz is also expected to visit China soon.
Mr. Li said he “hoped Germany would maintain a rational and pragmatic policy toward China, eliminate interference and pressure, focus on shared interests, and consolidate the foundation for cooperation,” a state media readout released late on Sunday quoted China’s second-ranking official as saying.
For all the friction over Beijing’s support for Russia and its actions in the Indo-Pacific, and Berlin’s vocal criticism of China’s human rights record and state-subsidized industrial policy, the two countries remain bound by a vast and mutually advantageous commercial relationship.
“China is willing to work with Germany to seize future development opportunities … in emerging fields such as new energy, smart manufacturing, biomedicine, hydrogen energy technology, and intelligent driving, Mr. Li said in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is hosting the first G20 summit on the continent.
China bought $95 billion worth of German goods last year, around 12% of which were cars, Chinese data shows, putting it among the $19 trillion economy’s top 10 trading partners. Germany purchased $107 billion of Chinese goods, mostly chips and other electronic components.
But Berlin stands out for China as an investment partner, having injected $6.6 billion in fresh capital in 2024, according to data from the Mercator Institute for China Studies, accounting for 45% of all foreign direct investment into China from the European Union and the United Kingdom.
For Germany, China represents a practically irreplaceable auto market, and is responsible for almost a third of German automakers’ sales. German chemicals and pharmaceuticals firms also have a large presence in the country, although they are facing increasing pressure from domestic competitors. — Reuters
Philippine infrastructure spending slumps in September
PHILIPPINE INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING fell for a third straight month in September, as public works projects continued to undergo tight scrutiny amid a corruption scandal, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
In its latest disbursement report on Sunday, the DBM said expenditures on infrastructure and other capital outlays declined by 42.6% to P78.7 billion in September from P137.1 billion in the same month last year.
Month on month, it slipped by 7.2% from P84.9 billion in August. This marked the third consecutive decline in infrastructure spending since the 31.6% contraction in July.
“The spending performance of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) continued to register negative growth rate for the third straight month since July 2025,” the DBM said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. had flagged anomalous flood control projects during his State of the Nation Address in late July. This sparked several investigations into alleged corruption involving lawmakers, government officials, and private contractors.
The DBM attributed the sharp drop in infrastructure spending in September to the delays or non-submission of billings by contractors as the DPWH offices reviewed the implementation and completion of projects around the country. This affected the processing of payment claims and actual disbursements by the DPWH, it added.
“Heightened scrutiny from oversight agencies, such as the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Department of Budget and Management, (which) resulted in more conservative and cautious processing of payment claims,” it said.
The DBM said there was also a freeze order on some bank accounts of DPWH implementing offices, which were under investigation.
Bad weather in September also hampered the implementation of projects, it added.
“Nevertheless, payments for the local counterpart of foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Transportation and the RAFPMP (Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program) of the DND (Department of National Defense) partially tempered the decline in infrastructure disbursements,” the Budget department said.
Reinielle Matt M. Erece, an economist at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, Inc., said in a Viber message that “tighter ropes on public spending” may have contributed to the drop in infrastructure spending in September.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort attributed the sharp year-on-year decline in infrastructure spending to the government’s implementation of anti-corruption measures amid the anomalous flood control projects.
“Some of the funding for which (were) redeployed to other social spending such as for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Agriculture among others,” he said in a Viber message.
Mr. Ricafort also noted weather-related disruptions, such as typhoons and earthquakes, reduced the number of business days in September.
NINE-MONTH PERIOD
For the January-to-September period, the overall infrastructure and capital outlay disbursements stood at P877.1 billion, down 10.7% from P982.4 billion a year ago. This accounted for 87.4% of the P1.0036‑trillion full‑year program.
“(This) was largely due to the lower spending performance of the DPWH. This followed the stricter validation of the status of implementation, quality, and completion of infrastructure projects nationwide amid corruption issues,” the DBM said.
In the third quarter alone, disbursements fell by 30.7% to P256.9 billion from P370.6 billion in the same period in 2024. This was P125.7 billion lower than the P382.6‑billion program for the July-to-September period.
Data from the DBM showed overall infrastructure disbursements, which include infrastructure components of subsidy and equity to government corporations and transfers to local government units, slipped by 8.6% to P1.04 trillion in the end-September period from P1.14 billion a year ago.
The Budget department said the drop in DPWH disbursements shaved off 1.3 percentage points in the third‑quarter 2025 gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
The Philippine economy grew by 4% in the third quarter, the slowest growth seen in over four years or since the first quarter of 2021.
This brought the nine-month tally to 5%, falling short of the government’s 5.5% to 6.5% target.
Economic managers have insisted the spending slump will likely be temporary as reforms and investigations are underway.
However, analysts have warned the drag on economic growth could persist until 2026 unless the government pushes for governance reforms and those behind anomalous flood mitigation projects are jailed.
Mr. Erece said spending may remain subdued in the near future.
“It is difficult to say whether an improvement can be expected next year given the decline in public trust and slow approval of next year’s budget as they closely scrutinize every allocation, especially on infrastructure,” he said.
During plenary debates on the 2026 budget, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said infrastructure spending is expected to reach just 4.7% of GDP in 2026, down from the government’s 5.1% target amid a corruption probe.
Mr. Ricafort said the recovery in infrastructure spending would depend on governance reforms.
“Kung walang risk of corruption, tuloy ang infrastructure spending (If there is no risk of corruption, infrastructure spending will continue),” he said.
Meanwhile, the DBM said capital outlays are expected to partly normalize toward yearend as most public works resume.
“Capital expenditures are expected to partly normalize towards the end of the year with the implementation of most public works by the DPWH will resume before the year ends as governance measures and safeguards against corruption are put in place,” it said.
DPWH Secretary Vivencio “Vince” B. Dizon lifted on Sept. 16 the suspension of procurement for locally funded civil works, as the agency laid out stricter compliance rules.
These include livestreaming of bidding, geotagging of projects, and conduct of road and bridge information application validation.
Other measures cover encoding and verification of project data in the Project and Contract Management Application and Civil Works Application, a ban on contract splitting, and tighter reviews of bidders’ financial capacity under procurement law.
The DBM earlier said the government is banking on the release of P1.307 trillion in programmed spending in the fourth quarter to boost growth, with most funds earmarked for social services. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
Investor interest in nuclear energy remains high — DoE
INVESTORS are still keen on developing nuclear energy projects in the Philippines, the Department of Energy (DoE) said, as the government prepares to start accepting applications next year.
Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said there is significant investor interest in nuclear energy projects in the Philippines, as some companies have already presented their ideas.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Ms. Garin said companies want to go into nuclear energy as they see it as a possible solution to serve baseload capacity and to cater to the increasing demand from data centers.
“They’re very interested and are waiting for us to finalize the site selection and site evaluation,” she said in mixed Filipino and English.
The DoE plans to begin accepting applications for nuclear energy projects by 2026 as part of efforts to integrate nuclear power into the country’s energy mix by 2032.
Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the country aims to integrate nuclear energy into the power mix with at least 1,200 megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2032, increasing it to 2,400 MW by 2045 and to 4,800 MW by 2050.
“I understand, the companies are waiting for us to guide them on which are the areas that are more feasible. But some companies have already approached DoE to enter into a memorandum of agreement, non-exclusive, to explore the possible nuclear power plant development,” Ms. Garin said.
She said some energy firms have expressed interest in nuclear energy development such as power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and power generation firm Aboitiz Power Corp.
In a separate interview, Meralco Executive Vice-President Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho said that the company waiting to see the ongoing development of Romania’s first small modular reactor before proceeding on its own.
“There is a requirement from PhilATOM (Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority) that the first-of-its-kind technology must run of at least about two years without any incidents before we can adopt it here in the Philippines. So, we have to go through that two-year requirement,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
In September, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12305, the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act, which created PhilATOM.
PhilATOM is an independent quasi-judicial body tasked with overseeing all nuclear and radiation activities in the country.
Under the law, PhilATOM will hold sole and exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of nuclear energy and radiation sources in the Philippines, ensuring their peaceful, safe and secure use.
The new body will consolidate regulatory functions from other agencies and serve as the country’s official counterpart to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Ms. Garin said that the DoE is set to meet with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi this week to discuss ways on how to strengthen the nuclear program in the Philippines.
“IAEA is like our reference in order to make sure that (the deployment of nuclear energy technology) is safe, secure, and with safeguards. So, ang pagpapatayo ng (building of) power plant dito (here), we follow all their guidelines at the minimum,” Ms. Garin said.
Last year, IAEA conducted a Follow-Up Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review Mission to the Philippines, wherein it recognized the country’s progress in most of the recommendations and suggestions from the initial mission in 2018. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
New Finance chief says ‘realistic’ revenue collection targets are important
FINANCE Secretary Frederick D. Go said that setting a “realistic” revenue collection target is important, as revenue collection targets are at risk amid a corruption probe that has dampened economic growth.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, the Department of Finance (DoF) said Mr. Go “emphasized the importance of setting realistic revenue targets, noting that necessary budget adjustments need to be made.”
As of end-September, revenue collections climbed by 2.24% to P3.367 trillion, equivalent to 74.49% of the government’s P4.52-trillion full-year goal.
In 2026, the government is targeting to collect P4.98 trillion in revenues.
At a meeting with National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza, Mr. Go discussed the Treasury’s efforts to maintain a sustainable debt profile.
He said that “corrective actions must be taken to address current fiscal challenges and strengthen the government’s overall fiscal challenges.”
The Philippine sovereign debt stood at P17.46 trillion at the end of September, still above the projected year-end debt level of P17.36 trillion this year.
“I want to hear your team’s recommendations on key areas where we can optimize spending, because that’s often where discussions stall. We need to finalize the plan and determine the necessary adjustments,” he was quoted as saying to Ms. Almanza during the meeting.
Mr. Go also expressed full confidence in the Bureau of the Treasury’s expertise in identifying areas where savings can be achieved.
Executive Secretary and former Finance chief Ralph G. Recto earlier said the Development Budget Coordination Committee is likely to review its macroeconomic targets and assumptions in December.
This comes as the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs are likely to miss their targets amid weak economic growth, lower remittances from the Department of Public Works and Highways and slower global trade that curbed imports.
In a separate statement, the Finance department said Mr. Go met with Finance Undersecretary Euvimil Nina R. Asuncion, head of the Revenue Operations Group, to map out the revenue office’s goals in modernizing revenue administration.
During the meeting, the Finance chief stressed the need for digitalization and urged the team to pursue “small wins” that deliver quick, visible gains for taxpayers.
He also raised prospects for government-to-government assistance, including potential technology transfers from countries such as Japan, to fast-track reforms.
Mr. Go pledged close coordination with the group, backing its push to “foster a culture where taxpayers willingly fulfill their obligations.”
The Finance chief also sat down with World Bank officials to align government priorities and continue partnership through financing, technical support, and disaster-risk solutions.
He showed his appreciation for the lender’s financing support through the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophe-Deferred Drawdown Option, which the government can readily access in times of disaster.
The Philippines is preparing to withdraw $500 million (P29.27 billion) under this facility to support financing requirements for the immediate response and recovery following recent typhoons that hit the country, the DoF said.
He also met British Ambassador to the Philippines Sarah Hulton OBE to deepen Philippines-UK ties, with talks centering on the Luzon Economic Corridor, development cooperation, and trade and investment opportunities. — A.R.A.Inosante
MPTC kicks off P8-B Lapu-Lapu Expressway phase 1 bidding
METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has started the bidding process to select contractors for the first phase of its P8-billion Lapu-Lapu Expressway (LLEx) expansion, which is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2027.
“We are actually bidding it out now,” MPTC President and Chief Executive Officer Gilbert Gabriel F. Santa Maria said at a recent media briefing.
“We have an alignment already, but one of the things we need to do is that a lot of it goes over the same alignment with an existing road. The feasibility is done. We acquired the concession rights, and there was already an approval to do this… We are just bidding it out to see which EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contractors, or separate construction contractors, want to do this for us,” he added.
Mr. Santa Maria said the first phase of the LLEx is currently under detailed engineering design.
The estimated P8-billion cost covers construction, right-of-way acquisition, and concession rights, although final costs will be subject to further analysis and approval.
The project involves expanding MPTC’s Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEx), a toll road the company plans to extend to enhance traffic capacity and efficiency. The P33-billion CCLEx is an 8.9-kilometer toll bridge connecting the town of Cordova on Mactan Island to Cebu City via the South Road Properties.
“We have completed the Cebu-Cordova link bridge but in order to make the bridge more effective, and contribute to the economy of Cebu, it has to be connected to MCIA (Mactan-Cebu International Airport),” he said.
The project will also link the bridge to Metropolitan Cebu City, with ramps to Guadalupe currently being designed, Mr. Santa Maria added.
Last year, MPTC said it planned to expand both ends of CCLEx, connecting it to Bacalso and Lapu-Lapu.
MPTC also said it sought a P15-billion investment from Spanish infrastructure firm Acciona S.A. in 2024 to support the CCLEx expansion.
The company has previously been in negotiations with a European firm to support the project, which is part of its strategy to increase the expressway’s traffic, currently reaching only 30% of projected volumes and falling short of the 50,000 motorists-per-day target.
MPTC is the tollways arm of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), one of the three key Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., alongside Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
DigiPlus sees ‘gradual recovery’ after 51% earnings drop
DIGIPLUS INTERACTIVE Corp., the listed digital entertainment company behind BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, and GameZone, is seeing signs of recovery in the fourth quarter after a steep drop in third-quarter net income triggered by tighter regulations that prompted e-wallet providers to remove in-app access to licensed online gaming platforms.
“Our customer service team has been actively contacting some of these high-value players and trying to bring them back to our platform,” DigiPlus President Tsui Kin Ming told reporters on Wednesday last week.
He said the company’s improving outlook is driven by measures to ease the impact of payment access restrictions since mid-August.
While declining to disclose the extent of the improvement, Mr. Tsui said recovery is underway.
“We’re seeing a gradual recovery from the last two months,” he said.
DigiPlus posted a 51.41% drop in third-quarter net income to P1.71 billion following the implementation of regulations that led e-wallet providers to block in-app access to licensed online gaming sites.
At the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Strengthening Access and Reach (STAR): Investor Day earlier this month, Mr. Tsui said DigiPlus had upgraded its payment system to maintain player access through various channels and tapped additional payment partners to widen its funding network.
In September, DigiPlus partnered with PhilFirst to introduce a surety bond program offering up to P1 million in financial protection for BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, and GameZone users, covering in-game wallets without requiring separate policies.
The company in October teamed up with CIS Bayad Center to expand nationwide over-the-counter payment options, boosting transaction security and convenience.
For the January-to-September period, DigiPlus’ net income rose 15.59% to P10.11 billion from P8.75 billion a year earlier, supported by steady growth in its retail games segment and contributions from new product launches and operational improvements. Revenues climbed 29.61% to P66.83 billion from P51.56 billion in 2024.
Gross revenues in the third quarter edged up 0.26% to P19.05 billion from P19 billion a year earlier on the back of continued product development, enhanced user experience, and stronger corporate governance initiatives.
At the local bourse on Friday, DigiPlus shares rose 1.31% or 35 centavos to close at P27.05 apiece. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno
A lifelong mission of resilience, inclusion, and impact
SM Group’s Hans T. Sy is MAP Management Person of the Year 2025
By Jomarc Angelo M. Corpuz, Special Features and Content Writer
Other than perhaps the Malacañang Palace, there is no building universally recognizable to any Filipino than a mall built by SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), with its iconic blue and white SM signage. Such is the influence, excellence, and reach of a company that has constructed over 90 malls in the Philippines and abroad.
At the head of the beloved brand is the Founding President and Chair of the Executive Committee of SM Prime, Hans T. Sy. Stepping into the shoes of his father, the late Henry T. Sy, Sr., Mr. Sy has more than excelled in leading one of the most valuable public companies in the country with SM Prime, one of the best-managed, fastest-growing, and most profitable banks in the Philippines with Chinabank, and one of the top universities in the country with the National University (NU).
Due to this pedigree, combined with novel advocacies in sustainability, diversity, and disaster risk reduction, Mr. Sy was recently named “MAP Management Person of the Year 2025” by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).
The award, previously known as the “MAP Management Man of the Year,” is given to individuals in business or government who have displayed unquestioned distinction in the practice of management and have made valuable contributions to the progress of the country and in re-shaping national values.
Adding to the glamour of the accolade, it has only been conferred 49 times in the six-decade history of the award. The criteria for the award include integrity, leadership, and management qualities; contribution to nation-building and values formation; and effective stewardship within the confines of the highest standard of business and management practice; among others.
In Mr. Sy’s case, he was bestowed the award for his lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship, social inclusion, good governance, and resilience (ESG+R), which established SM Prime as a benchmark for sustainable and resilient urban development.
During his time as the founding president of SM Prime, he integrated ESG+R principles into the company’s core by instituting elevated structures, flood defenses, solar power generation, and water reuse across all of the company’s malls long before the features became industry standards. Under Mr. Sy’s leadership, ESG+R drove both growth and efficiency, making SM Prime a pioneer and a benchmark for resilient urban development.
He was also chosen for championing people-centered leadership and diversity by fostering a corporate culture that promotes employee welfare, professional development, and work-life balance, while building an organization that exemplifies the UN Global Compact Women’s Empowerment Principles.
Another factor for his recognition is his spearheading of innovative and sustainable retail development, which continuously provides growth opportunities for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), local government units, and the communities where SM malls operate.
These reasons were exemplified in Mr. Sy’s use of the SM platform to empower MSMEs and local government units (LGUs) along with his employees as he firmly believes that a company’s success is tied to the well-being of its community. He was also awarded as Outstanding Filipino Retailers President Award in 2024 for spearheading innovative and sustainable retail development, which provided countless growth opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Mr. Sy’s contribution in shaping global and local guidance on integrating disaster risk reduction into core business strategies by representing the Philippines in the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction and by founding ARISE Philippines also led to his selection for MAP Management Person of the Year.
“My firsthand experiences with disasters and rehabilitation pushed me to strongly advocate for disaster resiliency in everything we do across the SM group. I dream about having a resilient and sustainable society that the next generations can benefit from, where no one is left behind, and where everyone can experience a safer, better future,” Mr. Sy was quoted as saying.
Mr. Sy showcased his patriotism as well by raising the Philippine flag with pride in other countries like China, proving that Filipino companies can compete successfully with global big brands. This is showcased particularly in an expansion from four local branches to 60 across the Philippines and seven in China.
Mr. Sy is also credited for growing the company’s portfolio to include residences, hotels, convention centers, offices, and warehouses, establishing itself as the largest integrated property developer in the Philippines and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia.
This year’s MAP Management Person of the Year was also picked for broadening access to quality education and athletic excellence by nurturing NU and supporting other broad-based initiatives that shape future generations.
As the university’s chairman, Mr. Sy rebuilt NU from the ground up, restoring identity, credibility, and ambition through sports as he believed that producing sports champions would boost NU’s enrolment and academic standing. Since then, NU has produced board topnotchers with enrollment surging by 2,955% to 55,000 (2008 versus 2024) across 11 campuses.
Additionally, through Mr. Sy’s support, NU also deepened its commitment to inclusive education, offering nearly 800 scholarships as of 2025.
One more reason for his selection by MAP this year is his personal support for vulnerable children through Child Haus, which provides critical healthcare and hope to indigent children with cancer.
Mr. Sy’s advocacy led him to purchasing a house in Barangay Payahan out of his own funds for the organization, later financing and building a seven-storey Child Haus in Malate, Manila to improve medical access for the children. Monthly allocations of free diagnostic testing were secured, while the refurbishing of the original home continuing. These significant acts inspired a community of private individuals and businesses supporting dormitories, dining halls, play areas and therapy rooms within the two Child Haus facilities.
Finally, Mr. Sy was picked as MAP Management Person of the Year for his personal contributions to shaping national values and inspiring others through his unwavering integrity, exceptional managerial competence, and visionary leadership.
Widely known as a seasoned corporate leader with over 30 years of executive experience, he also earned distinction at the local, regional, and international levels for driving key initiatives, with impact spanning various sectors of Philippine society. Among his most distinguished awards prior to this recognition are the Tambuli Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, the Outstanding Filipino Award in 2022, Asia’s Most Influential in 2021, and Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy in 2019.
MAP is an exclusive organization that aims for management excellence and connects top management practitioners with each other. Previous winners of the prestigious award include titans in Philippine business, including Mr. Sy’s late father in 1999, Manuel V. Pangilinan in 2005, the late George S.K. Ty in 2006, Erramon I. Aboitiz in 2011, the late John Gokongwei, Jr. in 2017, Federico R. Lopez in 2020, Isidro A. Consunji in 2022, and Ernesto M. Tanmantiong in 2023.
T-bill yields may decline as BSP signals December policy rate cut
TREASURY BILL RATES may ease this week as investors position for a possible rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in December.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) will offer P22 billion in T-bills on Monday — P7 billion in 91-day securities and P7.5 billion each in 182- and 364-day debt.
Yields may track the small declines in the secondary market last week after BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. signaled that another 25-basis-point (bp) cut is possible next month, Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a Viber message.
The BSP chief has said that easing might extend into 2026 as widening corruption issues tied to state flood control and infrastructure projects threaten to slow government spending and weigh on growth.
The BSP trimmed rates by 25 bps last month, its fourth straight move, bringing the policy rate to 4.75%. Since August last year, the Monetary Board has lowered borrowing costs by 175 bps. Its final policy meeting for 2025 is set for Dec. 11.
At the secondary market on Friday, yields on the 91-, 182- and 364-day T-bills slipped 2.38 bps, 3.93 bps and 2.3 bps to 4.8676%, 5.0032% and 5.0852%, respectively, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service reference rates as of Nov. 21.
A trader said the absence of a bond auction this week could draw more bidders to the T-bill auction.
Last week, the Treasury raised P25 billion, above its P22-billion program, as demand surged. Total tenders reached P84.015 billion, more than four times the offer.
The 91-day tenor fetched an average of 4.842%, up 2.1 bps from a week earlier, with bids at P26.19 billion. Accepted yields ranged from 4.825% to 4.854%.
For the 182-day paper, the BTr increased the award to P10.5 billion from P7.5 billion after tenders climbed to P29.47 billion. The Treasury also doubled the noncompetitive bucket to P6 billion. The average rate dipped 1.1 bps to 4.97%, with awarded bids at 4.923% and 5%.
The 364-day T-bill raised P7.5 billion as planned, with demand at P28.355 billion. It averaged 5.017%, down 3.7 bps, with accepted yields at 5% to 5.028%.
The Treasury aims to raise P158 billion from the domestic market this month, including P88 billion in T-bills and P70 billion in bonds, to help finance a budget deficit capped at P1.56 trillion or 5.5% of economic output. — Aaron Michael C. Sy
SM Prime shares rise on targets, sector rebound
SM PRIME HOLDINGS, Inc. (SMPH) shares climbed last week following the company’s target announcements and a broader rebound in the property sector.
Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed SM Prime as the eighth most actively traded stock by Friday, with 67 million shares worth P1.44 billion changing hands over the week. The stock closed at P22.45 apiece, up 18.2% from the previous week’s P19, outperforming the property sector’s 10.4% gain and the PSE index’s (PSEi) 7.4% rise.
Despite last week’s gains, SM Prime remains 10.7% below its P25.15 close on the final trading day of 2024.
Christian Cabildo, equity analyst at The First Resources Management and Securities Corp., said the company’s recent announcements boosted investor sentiment.
On Wednesday, SM Prime disclosed its target to complete the redevelopment of SM City Iloilo by the first quarter of 2026. The P2.3-billion project will add 7,900 square meters (sq.m.) of gross leasable area (GLA) to the mall, enhancing dining, athleisure, and entertainment offerings. It will also feature upgraded infrastructure and expanded eco-friendly, sustainable facilities.
In addition, 23,670 sq.m. of GLA will be allocated to a new campus of the National University nearby, expected to further boost foot traffic.
“Positive developments like this definitely helped in lifting SM Prime from oversold territory,” Mr. Cabildo said.
The company also held a successful retail bond auction last week, with its P12-billion offering oversubscribed to P17 billion on Monday. Proceeds will fund various redevelopment projects and new lifestyle malls scheduled through 2030.
Mr. Cabildo noted that the news helped ease investor concerns following fears linked to flood control projects and weaker growth, demonstrating “the sector’s fundamental strength.”
The PSEi recently fell to pandemic-era lows amid a developing corruption scandal over alleged anomalous fund usage for flood control projects. The slump was compounded by political tensions and the country’s subdued economic performance, with third-quarter growth of 4% falling short of the 5.5% target for 2025.
In the nine months to September, SM Prime posted a 9.9% year-on-year rise in attributable net income to P37.24 billion from P33.88 billion in 2024. Revenues grew 3.6% to P103.4 billion from P99.76 billion in the same period.
For the full year of 2025, he forecasts SM Prime’s net income and revenues to reach P51-51.5 billion and P141.5-142 billion, respectively.
Regarding the stock, Mr. Cabildo said further upside may occur once it breaches resistance at P23.50, aligned with its 200-day moving average. Investors are also advised to monitor the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ monetary policy decision on Dec. 11.
For this week, he pegged support at P20.50-P21 and resistance at around P23. — Matthew Miguel L. Castillo
Understanding Philippine corruption and government finances
By Jesus Felipe and Gerardo Largoza
The hundreds of billions of pesos that were stolen from flood control projects have robbed the Philippine economy of protection and productivity. But to say, as many Filipinos do, that they have been robbed of their taxes betrays a misunderstanding of how government finances actually work. Correcting such misconceptions is crucial because Philippine development has been held back by decades of public underinvestment and self-imposed austerity, possibly even more than it has by decades of corruption.
People are spilling onto major streets and gathering around public monuments to protest corruption scandals. This time it’s about flood control. President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. first dropped hints as to the scale of malversation in his State of the Nation Address last July. Since then, events have taken on a life of their own. After three months of Senate hearings, the public has been able to confirm what it has long suspected: hundreds of billions of pesos salted away from thousands of overpriced, substandard, or nonexistent (“ghost”) projects. Nearly every level of government has been implicated, from district engineers to managers of government banks, to mayors, provincial governors, members of Congress, senators, including the Speaker of the House who has had to step down.
Estimates on the extent of graft in flood control vary; at present, official figures range from P42 billion ($715 million) to P118.5 billion ($2 billion) misappropriated since 2023, according to the Department of Finance. Greenpeace extrapolates a much larger figure of P1.089 trillion ($18.5 billion) over the same period, based on the total allocation for “climate-tagged” expenditures, with P560 billion ($9.5 billion) lost to corruption in 2025 alone.
If it’s true that over a trillion pesos have been plundered since 2023 (and more dating back to 2016), then why hasn’t the Philippine economy collapsed the way it did in 1983 when President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and his cronies set the Guinness World Record for “largest ever theft from a government”?
To explain why some episodes of corruption destabilize economies while others don’t, we make two claims about how monetary systems work.
First, is that governments spend fiat money (their own currency) by crediting bank accounts. This creates money into the system. Governments do this through their banker, namely the central bank (the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP in the Philippines). This means that a government that issues its own currency cannot run out of money, because it can always create more by crediting bank accounts. It implies that corruption denominated in the local currency (today’s) is not the same as corruption denominated in foreign exchange (like the 1980s episode).
Second, and a consequence of the previous point, taxes do not finance government spending. In standard economics and public discourse, taxes are viewed as the way governments collect money from citizens to fund spending. According to this view, citizens pay taxes, money goes into the Treasury, the government uses that money to pay for roads, schools, etc. If taxes are insufficient, the government must borrow, usually by issuing bonds. In short, taxes fund spending. This is what most people, including government officials and many economists (!), believe. This, however, is not how modern economies, including the Philippines, function.
Operationally speaking, government spending comes first — that is, the government must spend money in the economy before it can collect it back as taxes. It is government spending that creates the money (in the form of so-called “reserve balances”) that people then use to pay taxes. Governments do not need to “get” money from the private sector to be able to spend. They simply need the political authority and institutional coordination to do so. In the Philippines, government accesses its account at the BSP and this creates “reserve balances,” an accounting annotation on the government’s account at BSP. These are then transferred to the commercial bank where the recipient (household or firm) has the account (through Land Bank of the Philippines). Government spending is a transfer to the private sector. Taxes are not involved. This is shown in Figure 1. This is the process for every single payment the government makes.
Taxes do not fund spending the way a household’s earnings fund grocery purchases because households do not create money. Governments do. Instead, the state’s power to tax is what gives the local currency its value and demand, since people need the currency to pay taxes. When a sovereign government spends, it credits bank accounts electronically — essentially creating new money, as spending adds reserves to the banking system. When it taxes, on the other hand, it deletes or removes money from the system; that is, taxes subtract from reserves.
Put another way, when Filipinos pay taxes, they instruct their banks to transfer some of their deposits (claims on reserves) to the Treasury’s account at the BSP. The BSP then reduces the amount of reserves in the banking system by that amount. Tax payments are ultimately settled by a transfer from the bank to BSP, which then credited the government’s account at BSP. Important: your bank needs to settle your tax payment with the government through its account at BSP. The government’s tax receipts are merely an accounting record — the money does not go into some kind of jar, earmarked for building roads, schools and ports. Instead, the funds are, in essence, deleted from the system; that is, the reserves are extinguished. So, taxes, in fact, destroy money, i.e., they remove money from circulation. This is shown in Figure 2. There is no operational procedure through which the National Government uses tax receipts or borrowing for its spending. Taxing and spending are operationally independent procedures.
The fact that taxes do not fund government spending for public goods does not make them useless. Taxes help manage demand (they take away private sector purchasing power), and they penalize “bads” such as smoking.
Why does this matter at a time when the burning question is how to swiftly bring grafters to justice? Because ideas have consequences. We insist that widespread corruption is a disgrace to the Philippines. The nation does not have the public goods that it needs. Filipinos have a real opportunity today to understand that the government has always had much more scope to spend pesos to build infrastructure and to provide public education and health. Yes, the culprits got away with the purchase of million-peso luxuries and Parisian apartments, and must be caught. Yet, they did not steal taxes from the Filipino people because it is technically impossible to steal taxes, and because pesos, properly conceived, are not a scarce resource. What did they steal? Reserve balances created by BSP. This may sound strange to many but it is the reality.
Correcting such misconceptions is crucial because Philippine development has been held back by decades of public underinvestment and self-imposed austerity, possibly even more than it has by decades of corruption.
We end with an invitation: if anyone with knowledge of the actual government and BSP payment system disagrees with this account (obviously we have shortened the process), let us know.
A longer version of this article can be downloaded from here: https://tinyurl.com/2cxgr237
Jesus Felipe is a distinguished professor of Economics, De La Salle University (Manila, Philippines). Gerardo Largoza is an associate professor of Economics at the same university.