Poll: Self-rated poverty down, hunger risesMANILA, Philippines — Fewer Filipinos considered themselves poor even as the hunger rate increased in the last quarter of 2025, an OCTA Research group survey showed. It was down by a record 17 points from 54 percent obtained in a similar OCTA survey in September 2025. Except in Mindanao, where it increased from 63 percent to 67 percent, self-rated poverty went down across areas nationwide. The survey found improvements in self-rated food poverty, or being poor based on the food they eat. Hunger risesStill, the OCTA survey found a higher percentage of Filipinos who experienced involuntary hunger in the last quarter of the year.

No ‘big fish:’ A strategy of delay and fatigueLast December, Filipinos were promised accountability. President Marcos Junior and the ombudsman gave assurances that the “big fish” behind the multibillion-peso flood control scandal would be arrested by Dec. 15. Yet nothing translated to the arrests of “big fish,” let alone systemic reforms. No matter how PBBM’s administration manipulates the truth, one fact remains: allowing the real “big fish” to evade accountability carries consequences far beyond this scandal. What we are witnessing is not an urgent pace of justice by President Marcos, but a pattern of deliberate delays.

Landfill collapse rescuer dies after retrieval opsLocal authorities continue their search, rescue and retrieval operations at the Binaliw landfill on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 after the deadly landslide buried several sanitation workers and killed 35. MANILA, Philippines — The collapse of a mountain of garbage at a landfill facility in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City has killed not only 36 workers, but also a rescuer who helped extract the victims under the rubble. Ramon Singson, 50, security guard and volunteer rescuer from Toledo City, died days after serving in the search and retrieval operation. Singson’s family said that a wound he suffered during the search and rescue operation got infected and led to septic shock. “He saved so many lives, now it’s time for him to rest.”The search and rescue operation at the Binaliw landfill was dangerous.

‘Choose now’We all have to make choices but what often determines success is if we are resolute in achieving our choices and just how good our sense of timing is. I myself have wondered, if VP Sara is impeached and PBBM was out of office by force of circumstance, who then would benefit the most? Then a businessman boldly suggested that the obvious choice for both the constitutionalists and business side was VP Sara Duterte. They could even be subjected to the same investigation that they did to VP Sara. Going back to choosing, we all find ourselves regularly having to choose who to follow, who to elect, who to idolize or who to believe in.

Graft, bribery trial of ex-Nayong Pilipino execs to proceedIn a resolution promulgated on Jan. 9, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division denied the motions filed by former NPFI officials, including its former chairperson Patricia Yvette Ocampo-Desiongco. MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has ruled to proceed with the trial of former Nayong Pilipino Foundation Inc. (NPFI) officials for graft and indirect bribery over an alleged junket trip in 2017 to Jeju Island shouldered by a Hong Kong-based resort and casino operator. In a resolution promulgated on Jan. 9, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division denied the motions filed by former NPFI officials, including its former chairperson Patricia Yvette Ocampo-Desiongco. They said the Office of the Ombudsman filed the charges before the Sandiganbayan on Oct. 3, 2025 or more than six years from the termination of its probe in 2019. The Fifth Division noted that ombudsman prosecutors filed the cases before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) in 2022.

SK official nabbed in stingThis photo shows a picture of a hand in handcuffs. BACOLOD CITY ­– Anti-narcotics agents arrested an official of the Sangguniang Kabataan and two others during a sting in this city on Monday. Police said they seized from the suspects 105 grams of shabu with an estimated street value of P714,000. Meanwhile, two drug suspects were also arrested in separate anti-narcotics operations in San Enrique and Silay City, Negros Occidental. The sting resulted in the seizure of shabu with an estimated street value of P54,400, probers said.

Sara on fresh impeach raps: All about moneyVice President Sara Duterte shares breakfast with personnel from the Office of the Vice President—Central Office and Pangasinan Satellite Office—after Mass at the Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag Church in Pangasinan in October 2025. MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday said moves to file a new impeachment case against her are “all about money.”Civil society groups earlier threatened to file a new complaint against her after the one-year ban expires in February. “As expected, because they are the ones who always say they will file impeachment complaints. Instead, the House, with 215 votes, approved a fourth impeachment complaint on Feb. 5, 2025, which was followed by the transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. Duterte, meanwhile, did not comment on the impeachment complaint filed against Marcos.

Marcos expects Bonoan to tell truth in flood probeMANILA, Philippines — President Marcos is confident former public works and highways secretary Manuel Bonoan will tell “only the truth” in the ongoing probe on the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, Malacañang said yesterday. Bonoan appeared before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Monday, a day after arriving from the United States. He denied there was ill-intent in his submission of misleading coordinates of flood control project locations to Malacañang. Lacson on Monday said testimony presented by two female witnesses during the Blue Ribbon hearing was insufficient to implicate Romualdez in the flood control mess. Marcoleta also said the minority released a report last Dec. 10 about the flood control probe when he was Blue Ribbon chair.

Another key driver of this resilience, they point out, is the continued surge in investment in the information technology sector — especially in artificial intelligence. The IT investment boom reflects businesses and markets’ optimism about the transformative potential of recent tech innovations — in automation and AI — to deliver sizable productivity gains and to lift profits. Hopefully, we don’t miss out on this AI tech boom, even as we seem to be quite late in adopting AI technology. The same efficiency is experienced upon departure, with computer machines facilitating the check-in process and even baggage handling. Once the traveller is familiar with the process, they can completely do the check-in process by themselves.

DOE sees more Malampaya gas discoveriesFor the first time in over a decade, a new gas supply has been discovered five kilometers east of the existing Malampaya field offshore Palawan, President Marcos said on January 19, 2026. This will be marked in history as the first 100 percent Filipino-led indigenous gas venture,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said. Based on initial testing, the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet daily, indicating high productivity comparable to the original Malampaya wells. MAE-1 is the first milestone under the $893-million Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign, which also involves the drilling of the Camago-3 and Bagong Pag-asa-1 wells. In 2023, President Marcos renewed SC 38 for an additional 15 years or until February 2039, allowing the continued production of the Malampaya gas field and the drilling of nearby prospects.

Philippines returns to global debt marketIn a statement, the Bureau of the Treasury announced the offering of dollar-denominated fixed rate securities consisting of 5.5-year, 10-year and 25-year tranches. MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines returned to the international capital markets yesterday with the launch of a triple-tranche dollar global bond offering, backed by fresh investment-grade ratings from major credit watchers that signaled sustained confidence in the country’s credit profile. The global bonds are expected to carry investment-grade ratings of Baa2 from Moody’s Ratings, BBB+ from S&P Global Ratings and BBB from Fitch Ratings. S&P Global Ratings said it assigned its “BBB+” long-term foreign currency issue rating to the benchmark-size dollar-denominated senior unsecured bonds that the Philippines proposes to issue. Moody’s Ratings, meanwhile, assigned senior unsecured ratings of Baa2 to the government’s global bond offerings to be drawn from its existing shelf program, including tranches maturing in 2031, 2036 and 2051.

ACEN allots P60 billion capex for Philippines expansionACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said roughly 75 percent of the company’s planned capital expenditures of over P80 billion would be directed toward projects in the Philippines. MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is doubling down on the Philippine market, ramping up its capital spending to at least P60 billion this year to fund ongoing and planned domestic projects. “Over P60 billion will go to the Philippines alone,” Francia told reporters yesterday, noting that the funding will be used to complete ACEN’s solar, wind and battery energy storage projects. “We’ll be more than five GW operational by the end of this year, and we should be close to seven GW operational by next year,” Francia said. Revenues also contracted, ending 18 percent lower at P23 billion from P28 billion on softer electricity prices and reduced power generation output.

BOP swings to $5.66 billion deficit in 2025MANILA, Philippines — The country’s balance of payments (BOP) position swung to a deficit of $5.66 billion in 2025, a sharp reversal of the $609-million surplus recorded in 2024, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. For December alone, the country posted a BOP deficit of $827 million, 45.2 percent better than the $1.51-billion shortfall recorded in the same month in 2024. The BOP is a record of the country’s transactions with the rest of the world for a specific period. The BOP position reflects a decrease in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level of $110.8 billion as of end-December, slightly lower than the $111.25-billion level as of end-November last year. It is also about 3.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

Witnesses point to Discaya as contractor of alleged Romualdez propertyWitnesses, using the pseudonyms "Maria" and "Joy," point to contractor Curlee Discaya during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Jan. 28, 2026. MANILA, Philippines — Witnesses have linked contractor Curlee Discaya to being the contractor for one of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s homes. The two witnesses said that Discaya was adamant about moving the old business out of the house, mentioning that it was “Romualdez” who bought the house. Discaya then asked if the two witnesses could remove their masks so he could identify them, a request that Lacson denied. Should the witnesses’ claims be proven, this would be the first time the Discayas have been concretely linked to Romualdez.

Visayas grid under yellow alertThe NGCP said that power reserves in the Visayas fell to low levels, affecting the grid from 5 to 7 p.m., following the unplanned shutdown of two major coal-powered plants. MANILA, Philippines — The Visayas power grid was placed under yellow alert for two hours yesterday, the first for this year, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines. The NGCP said that power reserves in the Visayas fell to low levels, affecting the grid from 5 to 7 p.m., following the unplanned shutdown of two major coal-powered plants. At least 20 power plants across the Visayas have been on forced outages, adding to the strain caused by 21 others that were operating at reduced capacities. This left around 681 MW of unavailable capacity to the grid, the NGCP said