WIN OR LOSE in the Miami Open Round of 16, Alexandra “Alex” Eala is projected to drop in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings upon its weekly update on Tuesday.
From No. 29 with 1525 points, projections have Ms. Eala dipping to No. 45 (1255) according to live rankings following the expiration of the 390 ranking points she gained from last year’s final four run in the same event.
Ms. Eala collected those points — her biggest harvest ever — after beating Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek of Poland, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Madison Keys of the United States in a stellar run from being a wildcard qualifier to becoming the first Filipina WTA semifinalist in history.
The 20-year-old Filipina has actually dropped all the way to No. 50 in the early goings of the 1000-level tour this year but scooped up some points to trim her deduction.
From the 390 lost points, Ms. Eala regained 120 of these after three wins and could jack it up to 215 with a win against world No. 14 Karolina Muchova of Czechia at press time.
Ms. Eala is 0-11 against Czech players in her budding career, making it a tall order to finally score one for a quarterfinal ticket that should move her closer to defending her coveted ranking points.
A win by Ms. Eala would set the stage against either fellow rising stars in No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada or No. 10 Mirra Andreeva of Russia.
And should she take care of business against either of them as well, that’s the only way to stay inside the Top 30 and get those 390 points back.
Given a continuous roll and another win against either her good pal in No. 4 Coco Gauff or No. 6 Amanda Anisimova, both from the United States, in the final four, Ms. Eala then is poised to crack Top 20.
A stark improvement from a wildcard in the qualifying round last year, Ms. Eala is seeded 31st in the main draw and gained a first-round bye.
She then hacked out a 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-3 Round of 64 win against No. 53 Laura Siegemund of Germany before re-asserting mastery of No. 50 Magda Linette of Poland, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), to reach the Last 16.
Ms. Eala also reached the Last 16 in the Indian Wells Open, dubbed as the “Fifth Grand Slam” last week, that catapulted her inside the Top 30 for a new career-best ranking. — John Bryan Ulanday
CAPITAL1 SOLAR SPIKERS — FACEBOOK.COM/PREMIERVOLLEYBALLLEAGUE
Games on Tuesday (FilOil Arena) 4 p.m. – Galeries Tower vs Capital1 6:30 p.m. – ZUS Coffee vs Choco Mucho
IT IS now or never for Galeries Tower, Capital1, ZUS Coffee and Choco Mucho as they tangle in a pair of stepladder play-in showdowns on Tuesday in the PVL All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil Arena.
The No. 8 Capital1 Solar Spikers clash with the No. 9 Galeries Tower Highrisers at 4 p.m. with the victors arranging another knockout duel, this time versus No. 5 Nxled Chameleon on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The No. 7 Choco Mucho Flying Titans and the No. 10 ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, for their part, collide at 6:30 p.m. with the winner setting up a clash with No. 6 Akari Chargers also played in a win-or-go home affair at the same day at Manila venue.
The Mandy and Milka Romero-owned franchise Capiatl1 was just fresh from its 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 26-24 win over Galeries Tower on Saturday that should give the former the needed edge, albeit a slight one, come their much-awaited encounter.
Same with Choco Mucho, which downed ZUS, 27-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19, in their preliminary face-off just last Thursday.
Last year’s top rookie pick Bella Belen should be the player to watch out for after the Alas Pilipinas and former UAAP MVP and champion erupted for 23 points in that win over Galeries Tower while presiding over their floor defense with match-highs 14 digs and 15 receptions.
But Ms. Belen stressed the need to play collectively as a team if they want to go far.
“It would need a total team effort for us to have a chance to go deeper,” she said.
It would be a long trek to the top not just for Ms. Belen and Capital1 but also to the other three clubs as they would need three more wins for them to gatecrash into the semifinals.
And it has to start with a victory on this one. — Joey Villar
WORLD NUMBER ONE Carlos Alcaraz was stunned by Sebastian Korda, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday, giving the American the biggest win of his career.
It appeared Korda had blown his chance to beat the Spaniard when he failed to serve out the match in the second set but he maintained composure, breaking for 4-3 in the third set and claiming the victory with an unreturnable serve on match point.
“It feels great. I took the scenic route, that’s for sure,” Korda said in an on-court interview.
“It was a little more stress than I would want but I’m happy with how I played, happy with how I stayed with it. I got myself into some nasty situations and I kept going, kept believing and I played really well at the end.”
Korda smacked one of his 12 aces to capture the first set and was on the doorstep of victory when serving for the match in the second with a 5-3 lead but was broken at love.
The momentum appeared to swing decidedly in Alcaraz’ favor from there and he overpowered Korda with a forehand to level the match at a set apiece.
But the 25-year-old from Florida refused to back down, going up a break in the decider when Alcaraz’ forehand went wide, consolidating the break for a 5-3 lead with an overhead and sealing the win on his second match point opportunity.
Korda, ranked world number 36, mixed up his game nicely, effectively using a serve and volley to notch his first win ever over a top-ranked player while also benefiting from an uncharacteristically sloppy Alcaraz.
Alcaraz began the year by winning his seventh major title and completing the career Grand Slam with a triumph at the Australian Open.
He did not suffer his first loss of the season until he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of Indian Wells and is now 17-2 on the year. — Reuters
SOUTH KOREA’S Hyo Joo Kim went wire to wire, holding off Nelly Korda to win the Fortinet Founders Cup by one stroke on Sunday in Menlo Park, California.
Kim became an eight-time winner on the LPGA Tour, including this event in 2015 in Phoenix, with a 1-over-par 73 for a total of 16-under 272 at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, which hosted the event for the first time.
The 30-year-old had led by two shots after the opening round, four through Friday’s play and five after three rounds.
Ranked No. 8 in the world, Kim saw her five-stroke lead evaporate after 10 holes. She bogeyed Nos. 2, 8, 12, 16 and 18 to make for a dramatic finish. She countered with birdies at Nos. 6, 7, 11 and 14.
“I don’t think I was necessarily shaken up or my emotions were all over the place,” Kim said through a translator. “I was just trying to keep my focus on my shots and what I was doing. So I think was just trying to keep and lock in on that.”
Kim hit nine of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens in regulation, taking 30 putts.
“I think just in the back nine, my two par saves were probably the things I’m proudest about today,” Kim said. “Just because my shots weren’t playing as well.”
Korda, ranked No. 2 in the world, entered the day in second place and stayed there after firing a 3-under 69 for 15 under for the tournament.
She bookended birdies at Nos. 2 and 17 with birdies at Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 to tie for the lead at 17 under, then carded a bogey at No. 12.
Korda missed a 3-footer on No. 17 for a three-putt bogey to drop to 15 under, which provided Kim with a two-stroke cushion as they went to the 18th hole.
“The front nine was great,” Korda said. “Kind of battled a little bit more on the back nine. Wasn’t really kind of producing as much as I was on the front nine. Obviously, something like 17 stings, so it is what it is. It’s golf. It’s a quick turnaround. There is next week. So, just going to take all the positives.”
Korda hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation while totaling 32 putts.
South Korea’s Jin Hee Im (69 on Sunday) and Sei Young Kim (67) tied for third at 11-under.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand shot 73 and tied for 14th at 8-under. — Reuters
BONES HYLAND scored 23 points and Jaden McDaniels finished with 19 to lead the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves to a 102-92 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.
Rudy Gobert added nine points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who won in Boston for the first time since 2005. Minnesota also received 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Ayo Dosunmu.
Minnesota outscored Boston, 26-15, in the final quarter, even though the Celtics scored the game’s final six points.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points and seven rebounds. Jayson Tatum added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot 35.8% from the field (34 of 95). The loss ended Boston’s four-game winning streak.
Minnesota’s Naz Reid returned to the court after missing the last two games with a right ankle sprain and had 11 points and seven rebounds.
A 9-0 run gave Boston an early 11-2 lead. Despite going one of nine from 3-point territory in the opening quarter, the Celtics led 23-14 after 12 minutes.
The Timberwolves trailed by 15 in the second quarter, but Dosunmu capped a 14-4 run with a 3-pointer that cut Boston’s lead to 33-28 with 6:59 left in the first half. Another Dosunmu 3-pointer tied the game, and a Dosunmu layup gave Minnesota its first lead at 35-33.
The Timberwolves outscored the Celtics, 33-21, in the second quarter and led 47-44 at halftime thanks to a Hyland 3-pointer in the final second of the half.
Boston scored the first 11 points in the third quarter to take a 55-47 lead. Tatum scored seven of the 11 points in the run after going scoreless in the first half. The Celtics were up 77-76 after three quarters.
KNICKS BEAT WIZARDS Karl-Anthony Towns posted a 26-point, 16-rebound double-double and seven Knicks scored in double figures as New York rolled to its sixth straight win with a 145-113 rout of the sputtering Washington Wizards on Sunday.
The Knicks (47-25) rebounded from an anemic offensive effort their last time out in a 93-92 win on Friday over Brooklyn, pouncing on the Wizards early en route to 68 first-half points and their second-highest scoring game of the season.
Washington (16-55) was already short-handed due to a spat of injuries, and was also down starting forward Justin Champagnie on Sunday for his involvement in an altercation in the Wizards’ loss to Oklahoma City.
Still, the visitors briefly forced a tie early in the second quarter when Sharife Cooper — playing on a two-way contract — connected on a 3-pointer. The 38-38 stalemate was short-lived, with New York going on a 16-2 run.
New York spread its scoring evenly among a corps of Towns, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges.
The Knicks’ trio of Villanova products — Brunson, Hart and Bridges — finished with 23, 16 and 14 points. Hart added six rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. — Reuters
Smoke rises after reported Iranian missile attacks, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Manama, Bahrain, February 28, 2026. — REUTERS/STRINGER TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON — Iran warned it would strike energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if US President Donald J. Trump follows through on his threat to attack its electricity grid, raising fears of mass disruption in a region heavily dependent on desalination for drinking water.
Mr. Trump set a Monday deadline of around 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT), warning late on Saturday that the United States would strike Iran’s power plants unless Tehran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
The prospect of tit-for-tat strikes on civilian infrastructure further unsettled oil markets, with prices opening choppy in Asia trading.
After more than three weeks of heavy US and Israeli bombardment that officials say has sharply reduced Iran’s missile capabilities, Tehran has continued to demonstrate its ability to strike back.
Air raid sirens sounded across parts of northern and central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, and the occupied West Bank overnight on Sunday, warning of incoming missiles from Iran.
The Israeli military said early on Monday it had begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure in Tehran.
Iranian news agencies said at least one child was killed and several people were injured in the bombing of a residential area in western Khorramabad city.
A residential neighborhood in the northwestern city of Urmia was damaged by an airstrike, Iranian news agencies reported. Iranian Red Crescent rescuers were shown in a video searching for survivors. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Mr. Trump’s warning came less than a day after he signaled the United States might be considering winding down the conflict, even as US Marines and heavy landing craft were heading to the region.
“If Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all energy infrastructure, as well as information technology…and water desalination facilities, belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted pursuant to previous warnings,” Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaqari said, according to state media.
While attacks on electricity could hurt Iran, they could be catastrophic for its Gulf neighbors, which consume around five times as much power per capita.
Electricity makes their gleaming desert cities habitable, in part by powering the desalination plants that produce 100% of the water consumed in Bahrain and Qatar. Such plants use seawater to meet more than 80% of drinking water needs in the United Arab Emirates, and 50% of the water supply in Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf doubled down, writing on X that critical infrastructure and energy facilities in the Middle East could be “irreversibly destroyed” should Iranian power plants be attacked.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards said it would also mean the shipping lane where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits along Iran’s southern coast would remain shut.
“The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be opened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” the Guards said in a statement.
The Saudi defense ministry said early on Monday two ballistic missiles had been launched towards Riyadh. One missile was intercepted while the other fell into an uninhabited area.
On Sunday, Iranian strikes on two southern Israeli towns injured dozens in what an Israeli hospital described as a major casualty event. The towns were located close to Israel’s secretive nuclear reactor and a number of military installations, including Nevatim Air Base, one of the country’s largest.
More than 2,000 people have been killed during the war the US and Israel launched on Feb. 28, which has upended markets, spiked fuel costs, fueled global inflation fears and convulsed the postwar Western alliance.
‘TICKING TIME BOMB OF ELEVATED UNCERTAINTY’ “President Trump’s threat has now placed a 48-hour ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty over markets,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore, who expects stock markets to fall when they reopen on Monday.
Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, causing the worst oil crisis since the 1970s. Its near-closure sent European gas prices surging as much as 35% last week.
“If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Mr. Trump posted on social media around 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT) on Saturday.
Iranian media quoted the country’s representative to the International Maritime Organization as saying the Strait remains open to all shipping except vessels linked to “Iran’s enemies.”
Ali Mousavi said passage through the waterway was possible by coordinating security and safety arrangements with Tehran.
Ship-tracking data show some vessels, such as Indian-flagged ships and a Pakistani oil tanker, have negotiated safe passage through the strait.
‘WEEKS MORE FIGHTING’ The war has been taking place alongside a confrontation on a separate front between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, backed by Iran.
Israel said on Sunday its troops had raided a number of the armed group’s sites in southern Lebanon.
Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin told reporters Israel expects “weeks more of fighting against Iran and Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah said it had attacked several border areas in northern Israel. Israeli emergency services said one person was killed in a kibbutz near the border. Israel later said it was checking whether the death was caused by Israeli fire.
Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel since it entered the regional war on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive that has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon. — Reuters
Tankers sail in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. — REUTERS
PERTH/SYDNEY — The International Energy Agency (IEA) is consulting with governments in Asia and Europe on the release of more stockpiled oil “if necessary” due to the Iran war, Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday.
“If it is necessary, of course, we will do it. We look at the conditions, we will analyze, assess the markets and discuss with our member countries,” Mr. Birol told the National Press Club in Canberra, at the start of a world tour.
IEA member nations agreed on March 11 to release a record of 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to combat the spike in global crude prices. The drawdown represented 20% of overall stocks.
There would not be a specific crude price level to trigger another release, Mr. Birol said.
“A stock release will help to comfort the markets, but this is not the solution. It will only help to reduce the pain in the economy.”
The IEA chief began his world tour in Canberra as the Asia-Pacific is at the forefront of the oil crisis, he said, given its reliance on oil and other crucial products like fertilizer and helium transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
After meeting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Mr. Birol will travel to Japan later this week before a Group of Seven meeting.
He described the crisis in the Middle East as “very severe” and worse than the two oil shocks of the 1970s, as well as the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on gas, put together.
The war on Iran had taken 11 million barrels of oil per day from global supply, more than the two prior oil shocks combined.
“The single most important solution to this problem is opening the Hormuz Strait,” he said.
“The depth of the problem was not well appreciated by the decision makers around the world,” he said of his decision to begin speaking publicly three weeks into the war.
Stockpile drawdowns are only a portion of what the IEA could do, he said.
Measures outlined by the IEA, such as lowering speed limits or implementing work from home measures, had reduced energy use when implemented in Europe in 2022, but each nation would need to decide how best to enact fuel savings, Mr. Birol said.
He said that while Australia’s liquid fuel holdings were lower than IEA regulations, the current government had done much to improve them and that 30 days of diesel was a “solid number.” — Reuters
SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reappointed as president of state affairs, state media KCNA reported on Monday, after the isolated nation convened the first session of its Supreme People’s Assembly a day earlier.
The meeting in Pyongyang will discuss amendments and supplements to the socialist constitution, as well as the election of the chairman of the State Affairs Commission and other state leadership bodies.
The assembly, North Korea’s rubber stamp legislature that formally approves state policy, typically meets following a ruling Workers’ Party Congress to turn party decisions into law.
The meeting will also review the country’s economic five-year plan announced at the ninth party congress held in February, KCNA said.
Attention has been focused on whether Pyongyang will revise its constitution to formalize leader Mr. Kim’s “two hostile states” policy toward South Korea.
In recent years, Mr. Kim has abandoned Pyongyang’s longstanding goal of peaceful reunification and redefined the South as a hostile state.
Mr. Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, was notably absent from KCNA’s list of members of the State Affairs Commission, the country’s highest leadership body, on which she had served since 2021.
South Korea’s unification ministry said it was looking into why she was no longer listed, but analysts said the move did not necessarily signal a loss of influence.
“Her absence suggests not a decline in status but a strategic division of roles,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, adding that the younger Ms. Kim continues to wield real power as a department director in the ruling Workers’ Party, where she may play a higher-level, party-centered role coordinating policy. — Reuters
HANOI — Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party started a week-long meeting on Monday that is set to make key state and government personnel decisions, the government said.
The plenum is widely expected to nominate the country’s top leadership posts for the next five years, including prime minister, state president and National Assembly chair. Party chief To Lam is widely expected to be nominated as state president, holding two posts.
“The plenum will review personnel matters for leadership positions in state agencies for the 2026–2031 term,” Mr. Lam said in his opening speech, according to a government statement.
It is unclear if the party will announce the nominees by the end of the meeting, which is scheduled to last until Friday. Parliament will need to confirm the nominees at a plenary session that starts on April 6.
The party’s anti-corruption drive and Vietnam’s socio-economic development plans for the 2026–2031 period will also be discussed at the meeting, the statement said.
“These issues are particularly important and of fundamental significance… as they directly relate to the quality of leadership and governance, as well as the country’s fast and sustainable development,” Mr. Lam said.
Vietnam targets economic growth of over 10% a year during the 2026-2030 period, and Mr. Lam said the urgent tasks for the country were to cope with the impacts of wars and conflicts and a possible global economic crisis.
“The global and regional situation continues to change very rapidly, very strongly, and is very difficult to predict,” Mr. Lam said.
Strategic competition among major powers is becoming increasingly fierce, he added, while conflicts over geopolitics, geoeconomics, technology, energy, supply chains, data, and markets are profoundly changing the development environment of nations.
Vietnam has faced surging fuel prices since the US-Israel war on Iran, with gasoline prices up 50% and diesel prices rising 70%. — Reuters
LONDON — Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organization in north London were set ablaze overnight in a suspected antisemitic hate crime, police said on Monday,
“An investigation has been launched after four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service were set on fire in Golders Green,” Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
“Officers remain on scene and the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime,” it said, adding that no injuries had been reported.
The ambulances belonged to Hatzola, a not-for-profit volunteer organization that responds to medical emergencies.
The London Fire Brigade said it had sent six fire engines and 40 firefighters to the scene. Calls from residents were recorded at 0140 GMT.
“Multiple cylinders on the vehicles exploded and caused windows to break in an adjacent block of flats. No injuries are reported.”
The London Fire Brigade said the fire was under control by 0306 GMT.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting called the attack “sickening” in a post on X, adding that “we must stand together against antisemitic hatred.”
Attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have risen worldwide since the October 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain’s estimated 290,000 Jews on security matters, said there was an “obvious parallel to similar recent anti-Jewish arson attacks in Liege, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam.”
Since the conflict, Britain has recorded significantly higher levels of antisemitic hate.
The most severe antisemitic incident in Britain last year was the Manchester attack that killed two Jewish worshippers during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. — Reuters
NEW YORK — The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet were killed after it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport late on Sunday, in an incident that closed the airport, authorities and US media said.
NBC News, which reported the deaths, said dozens others were injured in the incident.
The news channel said that the fire truck was manned by police officers, citing sources. It had earlier said a sergeant and an officer had broken limbs and were in stable condition at a hospital.
The Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane, operated by its partner Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members from Montreal, based on a preliminary passenger list that remained subject to confirmation. Jazz is owned by Chorus Aviation.
The aircraft struck the fire vehicle at a speed of about 39 kilometers per hour (24 miles per hour), said flight tracking website Flightradar24, which last recorded data at 11:37 p.m. ET (0337 GMT).
Photos taken by Reuters after the accident showed visible damage to the nose of the plane, which was tilted upward.
Authorities and emergency agencies did not offer any immediate comments on deaths or injuries.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the airport was expected to remain shut until 2 p.m. ET on Monday (1800 GMT). Flightradar24 said 18 flights had been diverted to other airports, mostly in the New York area, or returned to their point of origin.
Air Canada referred Reuters to Jazz’s statement and said it was aware of the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident when it was struck by the aircraft at the airport’s Runway 4.
New York City’s emergency notification system said people could expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays, and emergency personnel near the airport.
LaGuardia served over 30 million annual passengers in 2025, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a wide range of US airlines operate at the airport. — Reuters
By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran, Special Features and Content Assistant Editor, BusinessWorld
For many Filipinos, retirement planning is shaped less by financial products and more by social expectations. The country’s strong family culture has traditionally meant that aging parents could rely on their children or extended relatives for support in later life.
Formal retirement planning often takes a secondary role, with many workers depending primarily on state pensions such as those provided by the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), supplemented by whatever personal savings they could set aside during their working years.
“Traditionally, many Filipinos expect their children or extended family to support them in old age, reflecting strong family-oriented culture,” said Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP) Investor Relations & Education Director Patricia Lei S. Alvarillo, who is also First Vice-President and Head of the Retail Accounts Department at BDO Unibank’s Trust and Investments Group.
But that model is gradually shifting. Rising living costs, longer life expectancies, and economic shocks in recent years have pushed more Filipinos to reconsider how they prepare for retirement. Increasingly, workers—particularly among the middle class and younger generations—are seeking their own paths toward financial independence.
“More Filipinos now want financial independence in retirement to avoid becoming a burden to their children. This represents a cultural shift toward individual financial responsibility, especially among middle-class and younger workers,” Ms. Alvarillo noted.
Indeed, a growing number of Filipinos today are showing growing confidence in saving and making early financial decisions, in part due to the rise in accessibility of digital banks in the country.
According to a survey by the Digital Bank Association of the Philippines (DiBA PH), the country rose to 62 this year from 56 in 2024 on the Financial Health Index, which measures the four key areas of financial wellness—that is, financial proficiency, behavior, security, and freedom. This has moved the country into the “good” range of the index, from a previous “low”.
Pressfoto | FREEPIK
Financial confidence among Filipinos has risen along with it, as more Filipinos now report having emergency savings, with 73% saying they have money set aside. Most respondents, however, said their savings would last only up to one month.
Sun Life Asia’s latest Financial Resilience Index echoed similar results, showing increased short-term confidence among Filipinos, despite persistent challenges in long-term planning and resilience. The study found that 66% of Filipinos feel financially secure at present, jumping from the previously recorded 45%. Furthermore, confidence in managing monthly finances also rose from 57% to 69%, suggesting improved short-term financial resilience.
Looking long-term, however, confidence dipped, with only 64% feeling capable of meeting future goals, down from 72%. According to the survey, one in three Filipinos say that, in case of income loss or illness, they would not be able to sustain themselves for more than three months without external support. This vulnerability is more pronounced in younger respondents based in rural areas, as the demographic has limited emergency savings and lower access to financial tools.
Security seems to be the main issue on Filipinos’ minds. A separate survey conducted by Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. found that 21% of 1,200 respondents save mainly to build an emergency fund or prepare for future needs. In Metro Manila, 23% of Filipinos say financial stability is their top concern.
Ms. Alvarillo attributed this behavioral shift to significant shocks like the pandemic, which reshaped how many Filipinos thought about money, savings, and retirement.
“It acted as a financial ‘wake-up call’ changing behavior in both short-term survival decisions and long-term financial planning. Some Filipinos realized that they need to keep some liquid assets for emergency purposes,” she said.
Filipino Gen Z in particular are approaching money differently from their elders, with habits reshaped by technology, rising living costs, and exposure to global financial trends.
Organizations such as TOAP are playing an increasingly visible role in strengthening retirement planning in the country. Trust officers and fiduciaries serve as professional stewards of client assets, managing pension funds, investment portfolios, and retirement accounts in accordance with strict fiduciary standards.
Their work often involves designing diversified portfolios that combine traditional bank deposits with investment instruments such as bonds, equities, and managed funds, calibrated to a client’s time horizon and risk tolerance.
These services are especially important in a context where many workers are recognizing that state pension systems like the SSS and the GSIS may not be sufficient on their own to sustain retirement needs, as Ms. Alvarillo points out.
“Many Filipinos still hold misconceptions about retirement planning, which often leads to insufficient preparation for old age. These misconceptions are usually shaped by culture, optimism about future income, or lack of financial planning,” she said.
Trust entities work closely with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission to strengthen governance frameworks while modernizing financial services. These efforts include improving digital onboarding and administration for retirement products such as the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA), which allows Filipinos to build tax-advantaged retirement savings through professionally managed investment options.
“The financial literacy provided by various trust entities and the BSP is actually helpful in addressing these gaps,” Ms. Alvarillo noted.
As Filipinos increasingly seek financial independence in later life, the trust industry’s role as both asset manager and financial educator is becoming central to building a more resilient retirement landscape.
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