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Parts of Metro Manila, several provinces suspend classes on Friday as Storm Opong nears

Image from DOST-PAGASA

Several local governments in Metro Manila and more than a dozen areas suspended classes on Friday as Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi, locally known as Opong, threatened to bring torrential rains and strong winds, intensified by the Southwest Monsoon.

In separate advisories posted on Facebook, classes at all levels were suspended in the capital, including the cities of Las Piñas, Manila, Marikina, and Muntinlupa.

Several areas in CALABARZON also followed suit, including the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, and Rizal, covering cities such as Calaca and Bacoor.

Meanwhile, parts of the Bicol Region, where the severe tropical storm is likely to make landfall on Friday, also announced class suspensions. This includes Masbate and parts of Camarines Norte, such as Labo, Talisay, and Vinzons.

Suspensions were likewise declared in parts of Pangasinan, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, and Romblon. In Northern Samar, similar announcements were also made. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

EU trade chief seeks FTAs with Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand soon

European Union trade chief Maros Sefcovic — BLOOMBERG

Trade chief Maros Sefcovic said the European Union hopes to reach free trade agreements with Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand before the 50th anniversary of the bloc’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2027.

The EU only comprises 10% of ASEAN trade, even though it’s the second-largest foreign investor in the region, he said in Kuala Lumpur after talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is hosting ASEAN meetings of economic ministers.

“I believe that clearly the next year would be very, very decisive, so we will do our utmost to complete ratification process for the agreement,” Mr. Sefcovic said. “We hope that next year we will be pushing to the finishing line, these three outstanding countries of the region”

The EU has ramped up negotiations with various Asian countries including the Philippines and Thailand in a bid to diversify away from the US amid President Donald Trump’s tariff war. It has intensified talks with India and, elsewhere, concluded negotiations with the South American bloc Mercosur.

On Tuesday, Mr. Sefcovic signed a trade deal with Indonesia in Bali to eliminate tariffs on most goods traded between the EU and Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The agreement is expected to be fully implemented by January 2027.

The EU and Malaysia resumed negotiations on a free trade agreement this year. Kuala Lumpur paused its negotiations with the bloc in 2012 over what officials said was unfair treatment of its palm oil and other products in the negotiations.

“So we’ve been telling to the prime minister how hard we are working on our free trade agreement and then we hope the next year we could conclude it,” Mr. Sefcovic said of his talks with Anwar. “And his question was, why next year we still have quite time, quite some time until the end of the year.”

Mr. Sefcovic will also meet with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer this week in Kuala Lumpur to try and restart stalled talks to lower tariffs on steel and aluminum exports.

Underlining the extent of diplomatic activity aimed at improving trade ties, Hong Kong, China, Sri Lanka, Chile and Bangladesh have expressed interest in joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, according to a joint statement from ASEAN economic ministers Tuesday.

The 15-member RCEP is the world’s largest regional free-trade agreement, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN member states. — Bloomberg

UN chief tells countries new climate targets must go ‘further, faster’

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

WASHINGTON — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called on all countries that are party to the Paris climate agreement to set new climate plans for the year 2035 that achieve faster and deeper emission reduction cuts than they’ve already pledged.

Guterres is hosting a climate leaders summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, where he has asked countries to announce their new climate targets to drum up momentum for the global COP30 climate negotiations in November in Brazil.

The summit comes a day after US President Donald Trump used his UNGA speech to blast climate change as a “con job” and criticize countries like EU member states and China for embracing renewable energy technologies.

The world’s biggest historical emitter and second biggest greenhouse gas emitter behind China, the U.S. is currently withdrawing from the Paris agreement, the 10-year-old climate pact that aimed to prevent global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius through national climate plans.

“The Paris Agreement has made a difference,” Guterres said in prepared remarks, adding that since it was adopted in 2015, projected global temperature rise has dropped from four degrees C to 2.6 — if current national climate plans are fully implemented.

“Now, we need new plans for 2035 that go much further, much faster,” he said.

The European Union has not reached agreement on its new UN-mandated climate target in time for Wednesday’s summit, and has instead drafted plans to submit a temporary goal, which could change later, an EU negotiating document seen by Reuters showed.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on China, which has previously pledged to achieve net-zero before 2060, which would require a roughly 30% emissions reduction by 2035 below peak 2024 levels, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. — Reuters

TSMC, chip design software firms tap AI to help chips use less energy

THE TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) Museum of Innovation is located within Hsinchu Science Park, around 72 kilometers outside of Taipei. — CATHY ROSE A. GARCIA

SANTA CLARA, California — The computing chips that power artificial intelligence consume a lot of electricity. On Wednesday, the world’s biggest manufacturer of those chips showed off a new strategy to make them more energy efficient: Using AI-powered software to design them.

At a conference in Silicon Valley, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the contract manufacturer that fabricates chips for Nvidia, showed off a range of ways that it is hoping to boost the energy efficiency of AI computing chips by about 10 times.

Nvidia’s current flagship AI servers, for example, can consume as much as 1,200 watts during demanding tasks, which would be the equivalent of the power used by 1,000 U.S. homes if run continuously.

The gains TSMC is hoping to achieve come from a new generation of chip designs in which multiple “chiplets” – smaller pieces of full computing chips – using different technologies are packaged together to make one computing package.

But to make use of those technologies, the firms that design chips are increasingly relying on AI-powered software from providers such as Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys, both of which rolled out new products on Wednesday that had been developed in close coordination with TSMC.

For some of the complex tasks in designing chips, the tools from TSMC’s software partners found better solutions than TSMC’s own human engineers – and did so much faster.

“That helps to max out TSMC technology’s capability, and we find this is very useful,” Jim Chang, deputy director at TSMC for its 3DIC Methodology Group, said during a presentation describing the findings. “This thing runs five minutes while our designer needs to work for two days.”

The current way of manufacturing chips is hitting limits, such as the ability to move data on and off chips using electrical connections. New technologies, such as moving information between chips with optical connections, need to be made reliable enough to use in massive data centers, said Kaushik Veeraraghavan, an engineer in Meta Platforms’ infrastructure group who gave a keynote address.

“Really, this is not an engineering problem,” Veeraraghavan said. “It’s a fundamental physical problem.” — Reuters

Fitch revises Thailand’s outlook on fiscal risks amid political uncertainty

REUTERS

Ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday revised Thailand’s outlook to “negative” from “stable”, citing increasing risks to public finances amid ongoing political uncertainty.

Thailand’s Constitutional Court recently removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office over a leaked telephone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which was seen as a violation of ethics amidst heightened border tensions.

Anutin Charnvirakul took over as prime minister earlier this month after striking a deal with the opposition People’s Party to hold general elections within four months in exchange for its support.

Fitch said political uncertainty could drive short-term spending and deepen policy unpredictability in Thailand, while delayed tourism recovery and high household debts are adding to increasing fiscal risks.

Thailand’s tourism ministry said that foreign tourist arrivals from January 1 to September 21 fell 7.44% from the same period a year earlier.

A sharp drop in Chinese visitors, in particular, compared to 2019, raises concerns about the pace of Thailand’s tourism recovery, according to Fitch.

Fitch affirmed Thailand’s rating at ‘BBB+’ on the back of strong capacity to finance its government debt. — Reuters

US opens tariff probes into medical equipment, robotics, industrial machinery

CITIGROUP.COM

WASHINGTON – The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday it has opened new national security investigations into the import of personal protective equipment, medical items, robotics and industrial machinery.

The “Section 232” investigations, which were opened on September 2 but not publicly disclosed previously, could be used as a basis for even higher tariffs on a wide swath of medical and industrial goods including imported face masks, syringes, and infusion pumps as well as for robotics and industrial machinery like programmable computer-controlled mechanical systems and industrial stamping and pressing machines.

The probe asks companies to detail projected demand for robotics and industrial machinery and the extent to which “domestic production of robotics and industrial machinery, and their parts and components can meet domestic demand” as well as the role of foreign supply chains in meeting US demand.

The tariffs could also cover surgical masks, N95 respirators, gloves, gowns and other medical and surgical instruments and supplies including IV bags, gauze/bandages, sutures, wheelchairs, crutches and hospital beds.

The US Commerce Department wants companies to detail projected demand for personal protection and medical equipment and devices and the extent that domestic production can meet US demand, as well as the role of foreign supply chains, particularly of major exporters like China in meeting US medical needs and the “impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices.”

The probe also covers pacemakers, insulin pumps, coronary stents, heart valves, hearing aids, prosthetics, blood glucose monitors, orthopedic appliances, computed tomography scanners and magnetic resonance imaging machines.

Pharmaceuticals including prescription drugs as well as drones are part of separate 232 probes.

The robotics probe includes machine tools for cutting, welding, and handling workpieces, autoclaves and industrial ovens. Laser and water-cutting tools and machinery are also included.

The department has opened numerous probes into the national security ramifications of imports of wind turbines, airplanes, semiconductors, heavy trucks, polysilicon, copper, timber and lumber and critical minerals. — Reuters

Gov’t asked to let communities co-design public transport, spaces

Department of Transportation (DoTr) Usec. for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark Steven Pastor signs the “Mobility for All: Pledge of Commitment” during the first-ever “Philippine Mobility Summit 2025” in Makati City on Sept. 15, 2025. The Philippine Mobility Summit 2025 is presented by AltMobility PH and co-presented by the DoTr. It was supported by the Move As One Coalition; and sponsored and co-sponsored by Grab, Ayala and GIZ, and The Asia Foundation and Ayala Land, respectively.

Amid calls to improve road safety and accessibility in the Philippines, stakeholders urged the government to increase people’s participation in co-designing public transportation systems and urban spaces.
 
At the “Philippine Mobility Summit 2025,” advocates from the academe, civil society, nongovernment organizations, and private sector sought the commitment of government transport agencies to work with them towards a “safe, inclusive, sustainable, efficient, reliable, and people-first mobility.”
 
The Philippine Mobility Summit held Sept. 15 at One Ayala in Makati City is the culmination of the “Philippine Mobility Series,” which discussed road safety, inclusive urban public spaces, low-cost mass transit, and transport transformation from April to August.
 
The first-ever such summit in the country was presented by AltMobility PH and co-presented by the Department of Transportation (DoTr). It was supported by the Move As One Coalition; and sponsored and co-sponsored by Grab, Ayala and GIZ, and The Asia Foundation and Ayala Land, respectively.
 
During the summit, stakeholders and government officials such as DoTr Usec. for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark Steven Pastor, LTFRB Director Joel Bolano, and Quezon City Assistant Administrator Alberto Kimpo signed the “Mobility for All: Pledge of Commitment.”
 
The commitment pledge cited five key points:
 
1) Strengthen institutional and governance frameworks towards improving mobility and transport planning and management through stronger institutions, clearer policies, and more open collaboration.
 
2) Make roads safer through inclusive street design and climate-resilient infrastructure, especially for the most vulnerable: that prioritize children, elderly, persons with disabilities, pedestrians, and cyclists above all else.
 
3) Developing and promoting public spaces for leisure, walking, and cycling, and ensuring they are safe, accessible, and welcoming for all.
 
4) Enhance our transportation system by investing in, improving, and expanding public transport options and ensuring complementarity and connectivity across all transport modalities.
 
5) Uphold fairness and transparency in the use of public funds on transportation programs and projects, and embedding social protections in transportation policies.
 
“The Philippine Mobility Summit was a timely and pivotal gathering of stakeholders from across sectors,” said Grab Philippines’ Booey Bonifacio.
 
“The output of this summit is groundbreaking because it promotes a co-development framework, which means people’s involvement in the crafting and designing of the government’s transportation and mobility plans — providing not only alignment but also accountability,” she added.

 

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Gov’t plans to raise P437 billion from domestic mart

THE GOVERNMENT is looking to borrow P437 billion from the domestic market in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

In a notice on its website, the BTr aims to borrow P262 billion through the issuance of Treasury bills (T-bills) and P175 billion from Treasury bonds (T-bonds).

The borrowing plan for the fourth quarter is 36% lower than the P690 billion borrowing plan for the third quarter..

Of the third quarter borrowing program, the government was able to raise P637.448 billion.
Based on its notice, all T-bond auctions will be dual offers to account for the holidays during the quarter. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

Infrastructure spending declines in July amid weak DPWH disbursements

Work continues at the Sta. Cruz Pumping Station as part of the Department of Public Works and Highways-National Capital Region's flood control project in Quezon City, Aug. 21. PHOTO BY MIGUEL DE GUZMAN, THE PHILIPPINE STAR

Government infrastructure spending declined by 25% in July, weighed down by sluggish disbursements from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.

In its latest disbursement report on Thursday, the DBM reported that expenditures on infrastructure and other capital outlays fell by 25.3% to P93.3 billion in July from P124.9 billion in the same month last year.

Month on month, it dropped by 37.3% from P123.8 billion in June.

This was a reversal of June’s annual 6.5% increase amid lifting of the election ban in early May.

The DBM attributed the year-on-year decline in infrastructure spending to weak disbursements from the DPWH, which is currently embroiled in a controversy over anomalous flood control projects.

The Budget department noted the slow DPWH disburements were due to project implementation schedules, including the timing and phasing of infrastructure activities, as well as delays in procurement, incomplete submission of progress billings and required documents by contractors.

Spending in July was also affected by contractors’ compliance with the new tax clearance requirement of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for the release of final payments.

The BIR earlier said failure to present clearance will result in the suspension of contract settlements and the imposition of a tax line over the contract amount in favor of the government.

The updated clearance guarantees that every contractor has no outstanding tax liabilities and has duly filed and paid all applicable taxes.

“Disbursements for the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMP) of the DND were also lower in July 2025 attributed to the timing of releases, as big-ticket items were scheduled in August,” the DBM said.

At the same time, the DBM said lower spending was partly offset by higher disbursements from the Department of Transportation, driven by local counterpart funding for foreign-assisted projects and the settlement of outstanding payables.

For the January-to-July period of 2025, overall infrastructure and capital outlays disbursements stood at P713.5 billion, 3.2% down from P736.7 billion in the same period last year.

Based on the 2026 Budget of Expenditures and Sources, the government set its full-year infrastructure spending program at P1.51 trillion, equivalent to 5.3% of the GDP. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

Philippines sees corruption crackdown slowing state spending

BUDGET SECRETARY AMENAH F. PANGANDAMAN — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

Philippine government spending may slow amid ongoing probes into alleged corruption in flood-control projects, according to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

Investigations being carried out by lawmakers and an independent body created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as well as the decision by the new public works chief to briefly pause bidding for infrastructure projects could temper spending, she said.

Ms. Pangandaman made the comments on Wednesday on the sidelines of a forum arranged by international organization Innotech.

The scrutiny could also send a chilling effect on how other agencies utilize their budget, she added.

Allegations of widespread corruption in flood-mitigation projects in the Southeast Asian nation have triggered mass demonstrations and implicated some lawmakers who have denied any wrongdoing.

But Ms. Pangandaman said any slowdown in state spending is unlikely to be significant enough to affect output in the next quarters. Government spending has historically accounted for less than a fifth of the nation’s economic output.

She also expects Congress to pass the proposed 2026 national budget of P6.793 trillion ($118 billion) on time. — Bloomberg

Palace, LGUs suspend classes, work as Storm Opong nears

PAGASA.DOST.GOV.PH

Malacañang and more than a dozen local governments suspended classes and government work on Thursday as Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi, locally named Opong, threatened to bring torrential rains and strong winds.

In a memorandum circular, the palace ordered the suspension of classes at all levels and government work in Sorsogon, Masbate, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar and Biliran. Similar directives were issued in Quezon province, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Albay.

In Metro Manila, several local governments followed suit. Valenzuela City halted all face-to-face classes, while Caloocan, Malabon, Taguig, and Pateros suspended preschool levels. Quezon City canceled in-person sessions for public preschools only.

Across the Bicol region, classes at all levels were also suspended in Albay, Naga City, and parts of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon. In Eastern Visayas, Biliran, Tacloban City, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and other parts of Samar also suspended classes.

In Calabarzon, suspensions covered Laguna and parts of Batangas, Cavite, and Rizal, including the cities of Batangas, Calaca, Santo Tomas, Tanauan, Bacoor, Tagaytay, Lucena, and Antipolo. Other areas such as Dagupan City, parts of Pangasinan, Naujan in Oriental Mindoro, and Romblon also suspended classes at all levels.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 8 a.m. bulletin that Bualoi might intensify into a typhoon by Thursday. The cyclone could pass close to Northern Samar or make landfall over the Bicol Region by Friday morning or early afternoon.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 135 kph, Bualoi was last spotted 365 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, moving west-northwest at 20 kph.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government placed more than a dozen local government units on heightened alert following orders from President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

Ex-DPWH official tags more senators in flood-control scam

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

A former Public Works undersecretary has implicated more Philippine lawmakers in a multibillion-peso kickback scheme tied to flood-control projects.

At a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on Thursday, former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto R. Bernardo named Senators Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero, Ramon “Bong” B. Revilla, Jr., and former Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay as among those who benefited from budget insertions.

The lawmakers had demanded as much as 20% in commissions, he said, while also accusing Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co of getting a cut from project funds.

Mr. Bernardo admitted his role in the scam. “I made a mistake and allowed myself to be used as a tool in wrongdoing,” he told senators.

Mr. Escudero was replaced as Senate president earlier this month after he admitted receiving campaign donations from a contractor but denied influencing contract awards.

Mr. Revilla has also denied any hand in the flood control scam, while Mr. Co, who is overseas, has called the allegations against him “false and baseless.”

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla told reporters Mr. Bernardo has been granted provisional security as a “protected witness” while his application to the Witness Protection Program is under review.

Mr. Remulla urged senators to allow the Justice department to complete its assessment, citing the seriousness of the allegations. He said a protected witness is entitled to security and benefits while testifying, even before full admission to the WPP.

Becoming a state witness, however, requires a separate process and depends on the significance of the testimony in securing convictions.

The agency earlier provisionally accepted five others as protected witnesses: contractors Cezarah Rowena C. Discaya and her husband Pacifico F. Discaya and three former DPWH engineers — Henry C. Alcantara, Brice Ericson Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza. The engineers remain under Senate custody pending evaluation, though Mr. Remulla said they would also be given security.

The Philippine Senate is investigating irregularities in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) flood-mitigation projects, which have received about P500 billion since 2022.

Critics have warned that corruption undermines disaster preparedness at a time when the Philippines, battered by an average of 20 storms annually, is ranked the world’s most disaster-prone country in the world. — Adrian H. Halili and Erika Mae P. Sinaking — Adrian H. Halili and Erika Mae P. Sinaking

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