DOMESTIC TRADE in goods amounted to P562.76 billion in the last three months of 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in its Commodity Flow in the Philippines report, citing preliminary data. Read the full story.
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, February 20, 2026.
PHILIPPINE SHARES may move sideways this week as investors await companies’ financial results and developments between the United States and Iran.
On Friday, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.9% or 57.97 points to end at 6,465.12, while the broader all shares index went up by 0.65% or 23.36 points to close at 3,570.68.
Week on week, the PSEi climbed by 80.54 points from its Feb. 13 finish of 6,384.58.
“The local bourse reclaimed the 6,400 spot [last] week, buoyed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 25-bp (basis point) rate cut, a necessary catalyst to offset lingering growth concerns and cautious risk appetite,” 2TradeAsia.com said in a market note.
“The local market bounced back last week as the BSP’s anticipated rate cut fueled positive sentiment. However, the thin value turnover shows that investors are still keeping a degree of caution amid lingering uncertainties, especially towards the local economy’s outlook,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.
On Thursday, the BSP’s policy-setting Monetary Board slashed benchmark borrowing costs by 25 bps for a sixth straight meeting, bringing its key rate to an over three-year low of 4.25%, as expected by all 16 analysts in a BusinessWorld poll.
It has now reduced rates by a total of 225 bps since it began its easing cycle in August 2024.
BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said future easing will largely depend on how soon confidence will recover, as weak sentiment has affected demand, making the output gap bigger.
“We’re now in a situation where it’s more conditional on what happens to confidence and growth,” he said in a briefing after Thursday’s meeting. “We support growth, and we do want growth. But at the same time, our main mandate is still inflation. So, to the extent we can support growth without causing inflation, we will support growth.”
On Friday, he said that with inflation under control, they have room to help stimulate domestic demand, although they face a “large element of uncertainty.”
“We are at the point where monetary policy cannot do much more, but things are very uncertain,” the BSP chief said.
For this week, Mr. Tantiangco said investors will wait for leads.
“In particular, investors are expected to look out for upcoming fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 corporate reports. Strong results may help the market in advancing further,” he said. “Investors are also expected to monitor the developments between the US and Iran. An escalation of tensions mainly via military actions by the US is expected to weigh on the market.”
“Chart-wise, the local market has made it past the 6,400 level again. This week, the validity of this breach is expected to be tested. If the market holds ground above 6,400, this will be considered as its new support, while next resistance is seen at 6,550.”
For its part, 2TradeAsia.com placed the PSEi’s immediate support at 6,300, secondary support at 6,100, and resistance at 6,500. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno
Games on Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
9 a.m. – UST vs Ateneo (Men)
11 a.m. – DLSU vs UP (Men)
1 p.m. – UST vs Ateneo (Women)
3 p.m. – DLSU vs UP (Women)
THE souped-up University of the Philippines (UP) rose from the ashes to stay immaculate, ending an eight-year drought against Ateneo de Manila University with a 17-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 16-14 reverse sweep in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Fighting Maroons, who last won against the Blue Eagles in 2018, finally scored one on their Katipunan rivals thanks to a gutsy resolve from 0-2 down and in the extended decider.
UP, under new coach Fabio Menta of Italy, climbed to 2-0 as one of the early league leaders alongside the mighty and three-peat seeking National University (NU) (3-0).
It’s the first back-to-back wins for the Diliman-based spikers since 2022, ending an 11-game losing skid against Ateneo in the process.
Veteran middle blocker Niña Ytang led the way with 15 points on 11 hits, an ace and three blocks, including the clinching swat on Zey Pacia in the back-and-fourth fifth set.
Irah Jaboneta battled cramps and added 14 points while Nigerian spiker Fina Ali had 13 points highlighted by a thunderous crosscourt hit to break deuce and propel UP to match point, 15-14.
“Finally, we found a way to play our own game,” said Mr. Menta, a former mentor of the defunct pro volleyball team Foton.
“We were worrying too much about what was happening on the other side so when we found that kind of rhythm, that kind of game that we like more. We became more effective from there.”
Like diesel, the Fighting Maroons indeed needed a while to heat up despite a rousing opening win against the University of the East Lady Warriors, 25-12, 25-9, 21-25, 25-19.
After surrendering the first two sets, UP finally got a little going with a gritty third-set win that just snowballed to an 18-9 lead in the fourth to force a rubber match albeit not without a scratch after Ateneo clawed back to tie things up at 23-all.
Two consecutive errors by the Blue Eagles then paved the way to a fifth set, where the Fighting Maroons proved to be the steadier team.
A year after her ACL injury, JLo Delos Santos fired 21 while young guns Ana Hermosura and Donna de Leon chipped in 19 and 15 points, respectively, but Ateneo still remained winless in two matches after a debut defeat to Adamson University.
In the men’s side, University of Santo Tomas avenged its straight-sets debut against five-peat champion NU with a 25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19 win over La Salle for its first win.
Ateneo then beat UP four sets in the first game, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18, to create a three-way tie at 1-1 with Santo Tomas and UP. — John Bryan Ulanday
UP AGAINST formidable opponents New Zealand (NZ) and Australia, Gilas Pilipinas is banking on that powerful instinct as it makes its stand to protect our turf.
“I think that is really, really important to them. They want to show out well in the country, in front of their fans,” Gilas coach Tim Cone said in the Power and Play program on Cignal.
“And there’s always a certain pride about playing at home and so that makes this particular window extremely important to these guys. I think they’re really keyed up and ready to go,” he added.
The Nationals face the two titans back-to-back in the second window of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup — the Tall Blacks on Thursday and the Boomers on Sunday.
Both gigs are slated at the SM MOA Arena, giving Mr. Cone’s charges the benefit of having their “Sixth Man” in this acid test that comes after their two-game sweep of lightweight Guam in the opening window of Group A.
The Tall Blacks dropped their first two matches in the Qualifiers against the Aussies, making them motivated to get their bid on track. Moreso, there’s the revenge factor considering Gilas dealt the Tall Blacks an 89-93 stunner the last time they played at the Pasay venue in 2024 at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Even without Kai Sotto, one of the main heroes of that celebrated upset at home, Mr. Cone expressed confidence his crew can go toe-to-toe with their fancied rivals.
“They’re (NZ) no doubt one of the top teams in our region, always have been. We feel we can compete with them. But we, you know, we have to be at the top of our game,” he said.
“You can’t play subpar against them, a team like that, and expect to win. We have to be at the top of our game. And that’s where we’re hoping to be by the end of this week.”
Except for the 7-foot-3 Mr. Sotto, who is expected to be back in harness in the third window in July, and Jamie Malonzo, who is in the US, everybody in Mr. Cone’s 15-man pool is ready for active duty. This includes Quentin Millora-Brown, who finally rejoined the squad on Saturday, and Justine Baltazar, who impressed in his first sessions as newest member of the pool. — Olmin Leyba
THE PhilCycling will honor a young champion rider from Pangasinan who died recently when it stages its National Championships for Road 2026 unfurling on Sunday in Tagaytay City.
The race’s men’s juniors category will be named after Mark Arvin España Armendez, a two-time Batang Pinoy gold winner and a former national juniors champion who passed away while fishing back home in Urdaneta last Jan. 22.
He was 18.
The competition, presented by Standard Insurance and the MVP Sports Foundation and backed by Tagaytay City under Mayor Brent Tolentino, will have men and women’s criterium, individual time trial and individual road race in the youth and junior (12-13, 14-15 and 16-17-18), Under-23 and elite.
It will also have a masters’ section for the first time in the event that is expected to draw around 300 cyclists.
“This is grassroots development at work,” said PhilCycling chief and Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino. — Joey Villar
JALEN DUREN had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris scored 18 points apiece to lead the visiting Detroit Pistons to a 126-110 defeat of the skidding Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Detroit forced 23 Chicago turnovers while sending the Bulls to their season-worst eighth straight loss, surpassing a seven-game skid from Nov. 24-Dec. 7. The Pistons seized their largest lead of the night, 28 points, when Duncan Robinson connected on a trey with 7:16 remaining.
Robinson (17 points) and Paul Reed (15) also scored in double figures for the Pistons, who finished with a 68-38 edge in points in the paint. Cunningham dished 13 assists to go with nine rebounds.
Detroit outscored Chicago 44-26 in the third quarter to pull away. After making just three 3-pointers in the first half, the Pistons went 4-for-6 from deep in the third quarter. — Reuters
IN response to the persistence and increase in NBA teams allegedly tanking to ensure better draft-lottery odds, commissioner Adam Silver told all 30 general managers that the league will make rule changes to combat the practice starting next season, multiple media outlets reported on Thursday.
The league has owned up to the issue, with Silver saying at a press conference during All-Star weekend that the problem is “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory.” A meeting of the NBA’s competition committee in January reportedly also focused on tanking.
The Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers were fined $500,000 and $100,000, respectively, earlier this month for conduct detrimental to the league related to the player participation policy. Utah, in particular, sat its two best players, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson, Jr., for the entire fourth quarter of back-to-back games that were both winnable.
ESPN and The Athletic reported that several options were under consideration, including flattening the spread of the odds for all lottery teams; freezing those odds at the trade deadline or another date in-season; and no longer allowing a franchise to pick in the top four in consecutive years, or after consecutive bottom-three finishes.
Extending the lottery to include teams in the play-in spots (Nos. 7-10 in each conference) is also on the list, along with basing lottery odds on teams’ two-year records, which is currently the policy of the WNBA.
As the NBA resumes play on Thursday after the All-Star break, no team is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but five teams (Brooklyn, Indiana, New Orleans, Washington, Sacramento) have winning percentages below .290.
Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia said in a social media post earlier in the day that tanking was “losing behavior done by losers” and “much worse than any prop bet scandal.” — Reuters
The stretch run of a National Basketball Association (NBA) campaign is supposed to sharpen competitive instinct. Instead, it has increasingly underscored calculation, and not of the kind that produces better basketball. The league now finds itself confronting reality rarely acknowledged in such blunt terms: Losing, in some corners, has become a strategy. Not a byproduct of rebuilding, not a consequence of injuries, but a conscious plan of action.
Late last week, the NBA signaled it finally had enough. Commissioner Adam Silver informed general managers that new anti-tanking rules are coming next season. To give teeth to its most aggressive attempt yet to disrupt incentives that reward failure, the league is considering sweeping changes to the draft sweepstakes: freezing standings earlier, limiting repeated high picks, tying odds to multi-year performance, and even expanding lottery eligibility. The message is clear; the system that was designed to help struggling teams recover has instead incentivized them to lose more efficiently.
Silver has been unusually candid. He believes the behavior is worse now than in recent memory, and the league is searching for “fresh thinking” to correct inducements that have drifted badly off course. His reaction alone would have been significant, but what transformed the discussion from procedural to moral was the intervention of one of the NBA’s newest power brokers. Suns owner Mat Ishbia did not merely criticize tanking; he denounced it in no uncertain terms. He called it “losing behavior done by losers,” a deliberate corruption of competition. More provocatively, he said it is “much worse than any prop bet scandal,” framing intentional losing not as clever roster management but as a direct assault on the integrity of the sport itself.
The escalation of rhetoric was nothing short of remarkable. Match manipulation is typically discussed in the shadow of gambling investigations, legal risk, and criminal liability. Yet Ishbia argued that the normalization of openly engineered losing, in the form of deliberate shutdowns, scheduled absences, and performance management designed to fail, is more corrosive. It happens in plain sight, under the banner of “long-term planning.”
Unfortunately, dramatic reform carries complications. Even before formal adoption, the proposed anti-tanking measures have drawn criticism. Some observers argue the league is constructing a patchwork of deterrents that could well punish legitimately rebuilding teams or those undone by injuries or circumstances beyond their control. Others suggest the NBA is just responding to optics, particularly in an era of legalized sports betting, instead of addressing structural stimuli embedded in the draft itself.
In other words, the league may be trying to regulate symptoms rather than redesign the underlying mechanism that makes losing valuable in the first place. Which, in a nutshell, is the paradox professional leagues have never fully solved. Competitive balance requires helping weaker teams. On the flipside, helping weaker teams inevitably fuels motivation to become even more handicapped, or at least appear so at the right time. The draft lottery was meant to blunt that incentive. Instead, front offices learned to manage probability as carefully as they manage salary caps.
To be sure, tanking is not novel to front offices looking to get ahead in every possible way. It has always been an option. What is different is the scale, the sophistication, and the openness with which it is now discussed: ranked, modeled, and even admired in certain analytical circles. Losing is no longer merely tolerated; it is evaluated for efficiency. And because this is what the NBA wants to reverse, the success of the coming reforms becomes secondary to what they represent. The league is publicly acknowledging that its competitive framework has drifted far enough from sporting instinct to require structural correction. A commissioner is admitting the problem has intensified. An owner is declaring that strategic defeat undermines legitimacy.
The NBA has always thrived on the drama of promise: young stars rising, franchises reborn, fortunes reversed. Tanking, in its most aggressive form, rewrites the narrative. It replaces ascent with postponement. It turns hope into inventory. It transforms losing from hardship to asset accumulation. And that, more than any rule change, is what the league aim to eliminate. Bottom line, it does not want to lose the meaning of winning.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
THE first contract to redevelop a port dedicated to servicing offshore wind farms has been awarded, with Mercedes, Camarines Norte set for a P2.27-billion overhaul, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said.
The PPA said it awarded the contract to the joint venture of Khan Kon Chi Construction and Development Corp. and SB Construction Corp. The contract covers the first phase of the redevelopment project, Energy Undersecretary Giovanni Carlo J. Bacordo told BusinessWorld.
The auction was conducted by the PPA earlier this month.
Khan Kon Chi Construction is a Davao-based engineering and construction firm while SBS Construction is a general engineering contractor.
The second phase of the redevelopment is scheduled for bidding in the second or third quarter this year, putting Mercedes in position to become the first port capable of servicing the offshore wind industry, Mr. Bacordo said.
“Mercedes is the most advanced of the three identified ports and is fully funded by the PPA,” he said.
The PPA also designated Sta. Clara port in Batangas for redevelopment to service offshore wind farms.
Mr. Bacordo said Sta. Clara port is being structured as public-private partnership project due to its scale and cost.
“A feasibility study is currently being prepared, with technical support, and the port is envisioned primarily as a marshalling port with future manufacturing potential,” he said.
He said redeveloping the port may cost about P3.1 billion.
The Philippines is hoping to generate output from offshore wind by 2028 as it pushes to diversify the national power mix and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
AIR PASSENGER volume rose 4.06% to 62.34 million in 2025, exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the first time, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said.
Domestic passenger traffic rose 3.45% to 33.24 million in 2025, according to the CAB.
International passenger volume rose 4.75% to 29.10 million.
Last year’s total passenger traffic was 3.79% higher than the pre-pandemic volume of 60.07 million recorded in 2019.
Domestic passenger volume accounted for about 54.92% of last year’s total.
Budget carrier Cebu Pacific and its units carried a total of 16.20 million passengers, while its regional brand Cebgo flew 2.06 million, and AirSwift Transport, Inc. carried a total of 429,222.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines carried 1.35 million passengers, and its regional brand PAL Express logged 8.39 million.
Philippines AirAsia, Inc., operator of low-cost carrier AirAsia Philippines, reported 4.60 million passengers in 2025.
The CAB said foreign carriers logged a total of 15.01 million international passengers, while Philippine carriers reported a total 14.09 million. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
THE National Food Authority (NFA) said it auctioned nearly 90% of its ageing rice stocks on Friday, generating P936.5 million and freeing up warehouse space for fresh palay (unmilled rice) procurement.
“We are very pleased with the results, which allowed us to raise P936.5 million compared to the target amount of P912.4 million,” NFA Administrator Larry R. Lacson said in a statement on Sunday.
The NFA said it offered 737,339 50-kilo bags of milled rice that had been stored for three to 18 months. Of the 83 lots offered, 57 were awarded, equivalent to 604,364 bags or 88% of the total volume.
Mr. Lacson said the average price of the rice sold was P28 per kilo, exceeding the floor prices of P22.52-P25.16, depending on the age of the inventory.
“The strong average price of P28 per kilo, well above the set floor prices, signals firm demand despite the age of the stocks,” the NFA said.
It said 39 bidders purchased bid documents, and 19 expected to secure contracts, subject to post-qualification and validation.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr., who chairs the NFA Council, said the auction’s outcome will help the NFA expand procurement from farmers.
“More important than the revenue the auction raised is the space it cleared in warehouses that will allow NFA to buy more palay from our farmers at a fair price,” he said.
The NFA said it plans to use the additional warehouse capacity to store grain procured at a minimum price of P17 per kilo for wet palay and P21 per kilo for dry palay.
“With added liquidity and expanded storage capacity in the coming months, the NFA is positioning itself to step up market intervention as harvest season advances, aiming to support farmgate prices while keeping buffer stocks manageable,” it said.
Mr. Lacson has said that the NFA is also considering shifting from centralized to regional auctions of ageing rice to speed up inventory turnover and allow more bidders to participate.
He said holding regional auctions is expected to improve efficiency and reduce congestion at the NFA central office.
The NFA said it is also considering holding auctions on a regular cycle, possibly every two months, and lowering the minimum bid volume to attract more participants. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel
