Logistics players mixed on 2026 growth prospectsBased on DP World’s Global Trade Observatory Annual Outlook Report, 50 percent of shippers in the Philippines are expecting trade to grow this year at the same rate as 2025. MANILA, Philippines — At least half of the Philippine logistics industry is looking at 2026 with growth prospects, betting against forecasts that global trade would slow down on the weight of policy uncertainties. Their confidence is unbothered by initial projections made by the world’s most reputable lenders like the International Monetary Fund, which expects trade growth to slow to 2.3 percent in 2026. Globally, the report pointed to technology as the industry with the highest growth prospects this year. The report, funded by DP World and developed with the Horizon Group, gathered the insights of about 3,500 executives from the logistics industry across eight industries and 19 countries.

Showtime at homeAlex Eala escapes the prying eyes of the fans during a short practice session on January 24, 2026. If Eala could draw her countrymen on foreign soil, the support that she’s bound to get at home is quite unimaginable. And, you know, this support in the end has led to milestones like this, a home tournament for the Filipinas,” she said. The Philippines had never hosted a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) event until Eala’s phenomenal rise at only 20 years of age. The support, in the end, has led to milestones like this, a home tournament for the Filipinas.

Last September, House Bill 4773 was introduced by House Rep. Maximo Dalog, which seeks to amend specific provisions of the IPC to address its limitations in addressing online infringement. But with widespread access to the web, there has been a stark rise in the consumption of pirated content online. Streaming, in fact, now accounts for almost 80 percent of pirated content in the entertainment industry. It pointed out that this impact on the creative industry has not only disrupted original creations and affected their livelihoods, but that rampant counterfeiting has also led to a cut in revenues and employment in the television and film industry. The creative industry is facing imminent demise unless adequate measures are put in place to stop online piracy.

Your social media postings could result in visa refusalThe US Department of State (DOS) announced that as of Dec. 15, 2025, US embassies will more intensely examine visa applicants’ “online presence” for H-1B, H4, F, M and J non-immigrants. However, this social media vetting could easily apply to applicants for immigrant visas as well. Visa applicants are instructed to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media profiles to “public” to enable the US government to review their postings. Screening a person’s social media postings is yet another part of President Trump’s “extreme vetting,” to search out and catch people who may be coming to the US, intending to engage in illegal activities, terrorism, etc. But there still is a reason to be concerned about social media postings.

When the Bar results speak beyond numbersThe 2025 Bar passers emerging from the environment of DivinaLaw carry with them more than fresh titles. When the results of the 2025 Bar Examinations were released, they did more than announce who had passed. When law schools perform well, they do more than produce passers; they replenish the ranks of those entrusted with these responsibilities. A generation that chose the hard wayListening to the new lawyers speak, a pattern emerges. Perhaps this is why the country still pauses when the Bar results are released.

After reform talks, BIR readies audit restartIn a public-private consultation held on Jan. 21 under the BIR Partnership with the Multi-Sectoral Group (BIR-PMSG), the agency presented proposed reforms and new guidelines that will govern the conduct of audits once operations restart. The discussion was led by the Technical Working Group Review Committee on Assessment Integrity and Audit Reform (TWGRC-AIAR), headed by Deputy Commissioner Marissa O. Cabreros. The BIR also outlined changes in audit selection, noting that non-mandatory audits will now be risk-based and system-assisted. BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said the audit reforms form a core part of BIR D.A.R.E.S., the bureau’s five-point priority reform and legacy agenda, which stands for Digital and Data Transformation, Audit Reform and Accountability, Revenue Collection and Base Protection, Employee Empowerment and Welfare Promotion and Service Excellence and Stakeholder Engagement. He stressed that audit reform is a key pillar of the institution’s broader, phased transformation.

Obiena resumes questMANILA, Philippines — EJ Obiena is bidding to reenter the world top 10 pole vault rankings after slipping from No. He started his drive at the ISTAF Indoor Championships, a World Athletics Tour Silver, in Dusseldorf, Germany, last night (early this morning, Manila time) with results not available at presstime. The start of the World Indoor Tour Gold for me is in Karsruhe, Germany, on Feb. 8. I’m invited to join the event but it conflicts with the Asian Indoor Championships in Tianjin, China, on Feb. 6-8. The Tour Gold has bigger points than Tianjin.”Obiena aims to qualify for the World Indoor Championships in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland, on March 20-22 and is building up points to make it.

Rape suspect nabbed at NAIAActing PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said personnel from the NAIA police station 1 arrested the foreigner at around 11:46 p.m.MANILA, Philippines — A South Korean wanted for rape in Manila was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City on Friday night, the Philippine National Police reported. Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said personnel from the NAIA police station 1 arrested the foreigner at around 11:46 p.m. He did not disclose the suspect’s name, but said the Korean is facing a rape case before a Manila court, which has not granted bail. He emphasized that the operation reflects the importance of police presence in airports to prevent wanted persons from eluding justice. “Our responsibility is to ensure that justice is pursued and that victims are given the protection they deserve,” Nartatez said.

Hotel101 Global eyeing $300 million from US share saleThe approximately P17.7-bilion capital raising initiative is the second major step of Hotel101 Global in tapping the US capital market since making history in June last year by becoming the first Filipino-owned company to be listed and traded on the US Nasdaq. MANILA, Philippines — Hotel101 Global Holdings Corp., the Nasdaq-listed subsidiary of DoubleDragon Corp., is preparing to raise as much as $300 million from the issuance of perpetual convertible preferred shares in the United States. Hotel101 Global has a market capitalization of $2.3 billion as of Jan. 16. Hotel101 Global is targeting to secure commitments for a substantial portfolio of rooms across multiple countries this year, primarily through joint ventures and licensing agreements with established local partners. The company is targeting to operate one million rooms across 100 countries worldwide under its global growth strategy.

It’s won mile after mile of consistent pacing, mental grit, strategic breaks and a relentless eye on the finish line. According to the 2025 Global Findex report, about 50.2 percent of adult Filipinos had financial accounts by the end of 2024. These targets are the major signposts for inclusion’s next mile. Design that speaks native languages, embraces local context, and minimizes fraud anxiety; the very features highlighted in the Mastercard-RCBC financial health research. As EVP and chief innovation and inclusion officer of RCBC, he has driven large-scale digital initiatives that advanced financial inclusion.

BIR seizes P516 million illicit cigarettes; Senate eyes probeArmed with mission orders, BIR and HPG personnel found truckloads of unregistered cigarettes in a storage facility in Barangay Gen. T. de Leon. MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Internal Revenue and Highway Patrol Group operatives seized smuggled cigarettes valued at P516.79 million in Valenzuela on Friday. Armed with mission orders, BIR and HPG personnel found truckloads of unregistered cigarettes in a storage facility in Barangay Gen. T. de Leon. “It signals the BIR’s renewed and intensified commitment to combating tax evasion and illicit tobacco trade,” the agency said in a statement. Senate probeMeanwhile, Senate finance committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian believed politicians are in cahoots with rogue law enforcers to smuggle illicit cigarettes and cheat the government of sin taxes.

Philippines tourism expects ‘big boost’ from ASEAN chairmanship – DOTMANILA, Philippines — After a lackluster 2025, the tourism industry is expected to get a “big boost” from the country’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, according to Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. “Historically, our numbers are not that big, that’s why we look on having a more visible presence in the ASEAN,” Frasco told reporters last week. She noted that tourist arrivals from other ASEAN member-states were not as high as those from other countries. Based on Bureau of Immigration records of tourist arrivals in 2025, Singapore posted the biggest among ASEAN but only ninth among the Philippines’ 10 top sources of tourists, at 115,341 travelers. She noted that the Philippines has recovered “less than 50 percent” of the pre-pandemic tourist arrivals from China.

‘Receipt of impeach complaint not a walk-in transaction’MANILA, Philippines — Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong yesterday defended the decision of the Office of the Secretary General not to receive an impeachment complaint in the absence of secretary general Cheloy Garafil, stressing that the action is required by House rules and long-standing parliamentary practice. “The receipt of an impeachment complaint is not a casual or clerical transaction. It is a formal constitutional act that must strictly comply with House rules. “The secretary general is required, upon receipt, to determine whether the complaint is complete and whether it complies with constitutional and rules-based requirements on form, including verification, endorsements and accompanying documents,” Adiong said. He further explained that the consequences of official receipt are significant.

MRT-7, PNR commuter project may open in 2027Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) train cars were seen parked inside a depot in Quezon City on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation hopes to launch two rail projects – Metro Rail Transit Line 7 or MRT-7 and the Philippine National Railway (PNR) North-South Commuter Railway – by next year, the DOTr announced. The MRT-7 is composed of 12 stations from North Caloocan to North Avenue in Quezon City and could carry a daily average of 500,000 passengers. Meanwhile, Lopez said a segment of the PNR North-South Commuter Railway project from Valenzuela City to Malolos City in Bulacan would be open by 2027. He noted that the project is 90 percent complete with the remaining 10 percent slowed by right of way issues, which the DOTr would resolve “by the second quarter of 2026.”

Survivors unlikely in New Zealand landslide, police sayThe portion of cliff that gave way at the scene of a landslide triggered by heavy rains on January 23, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, January 24, 2026. REUTERS/David Rowland/Pool