Category: Philippines

Business

Filipino MSMEs Want To Hire More Workers—But Nearly Half Can’t Find The Right Talent

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino micro, small and medium enterprises are ready to expand their teams, but a stubborn talent mismatch is threatening to turn their growth ambitions into a hiring bottleneck. JobStreet by SEEK is stepping up its push among Philippine MSMEs through free job advertisements, artificial intelligence-assisted recruitment tools, business workshops and partnerships with local governments—part of a wider effort to make professional hiring more accessible to businesses that m

September 2, 2026

Philippines

JV Ejercito May Reassign Legarda’s 2027 Budget Hearings — But Her Absence Is Creating a Bigger Senate Problem

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Loren Legarda’s prolonged absence from the Senate could soon force a reshuffling of key assignments in the deliberations over the proposed ₱7.2-trillion 2027 national budget, as lawmakers race to keep one of Congress’ most important annual responsibilities on schedule. Senate Committee on Finance chairperson Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said the agencies assigned to Legarda for budget scrutiny may have to be distributed among other finance committee vice chairp

September 2, 2026

Philippines

Cebu City Suspends Face-to-Face Classes as Haze Pushes AQI Past 200 — But the Smoke May Not Be Gone Yet

CEBU CITY — Cebu City has suspended face-to-face classes as worsening haze from forest fires in Indonesia pushed air pollution across Metro Cebu into levels considered dangerous to public health, turning what initially appeared to be a hazy morning into a wider health and education concern. The suspension covers in-person classes at all levels in public and private schools in Cebu City as authorities move to reduce students’ exposure to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter. The d

September 2, 2026

Business

JOLLIBEE TAKES ITS GLOBAL EMPIRE TO HONG KONG: Why the Filipino Fast-Food Giant Just Ditched Its U.S. Listing Plan

MANILA, Philippines — Jollibee Foods Corp. is taking a major step toward transforming its overseas restaurant business into a separately listed global company, with Hong Kong now emerging as the preferred destination for the planned stock-market debut. The Philippine fast-food giant announced on September 1 that it is moving forward with plans to separate its international operations from its Philippine business and is now considering The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited as the listing venue

September 2, 2026

Philippines

Marcos Says the Philippines Had a Flood-Control Plan for Decades—So Why Was It Never Carried Out?

MANILA, Philippines — As millions of Filipinos count the cost of another devastating stretch of floods, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has made a striking admission: the Philippines has had flood-control plans for decades, but many were never fully carried out. Now, as communities across Luzon recover from weeks of relentless rain, damaged infrastructure and widespread flooding, the government says it is finally moving to put long-delayed plans into action. But there is a complication. The De

September 2, 2026

Business

SM Megamall Just Changed The Edsa Commute— But Is This The Future Of Metro Manila’s Malls?

For millions of Filipinos who rely on EDSA every day, a few hundred meters of walking can mean battling heat, rain, crowds and congested footbridges. That is precisely the problem SM Megamall’s new EDSA Busway Concourse is designed to address. Opened to the public in April 2026, the elevated, covered connection links SM Megamall Building A directly with the Ortigas station of the EDSA Bus Carousel. Instead of forcing commuters to navigate a lengthy and congested route across EDSA, the new walk

September 2, 2026

Business

SONNY DOMINGUEZ MAKES A MAJOR BOARDROOM RETURN: Ex-Finance Chief Named Megaworld’s Lead Independent Director — What His New Role Could Mean

Former Finance Secretary Carlos “Sonny” G. Dominguez is taking on a major new corporate role, joining the board of property giant Megaworld Corp. as its lead independent director. Megaworld confirmed the appointment effective September 1, 2026, bringing the veteran government official and corporate executive back into the spotlight at a time when the property developer is expanding its township, hospitality and recurring-income businesses. The appointment was also disclosed to the Philippine S

September 2, 2026

Business

Jollibee, UPLB Bring Agri-Tech to Filipino Farmers as ₱1-Billion Farm Program Enters Its Next Phase

MANILA, Philippines — Jollibee is making a deeper bet on where some of its food begins: the farm. Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) has joined forces with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in a new partnership designed to bring agricultural research, technology and more specialized training closer to Filipino smallholder farmers. But this is more than another corporate social responsibility agreement. The partnership could help answer one of Philippine agriculture's persistent

September 2, 2026

Philippines

Sandiganbayan Drops Bonoan From P573-M Flood Control Cases, Clearing Path for State-Witness Role

MANILA, Philippines — Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan has been removed as a co-accused in the plunder and graft cases involving detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, in a major development in the government's widening investigation into alleged corruption in flood-control projects. The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division voted 2-1 to grant the Office of the Ombudsman's request to amend the criminal informations and discharge Bonoan from the two cases before the d

September 2, 2026

Business

Maynilad Cut Water Losses Below 30%—But the Bigger Payoff May Be What It Means for Investors

MANILA, Philippines — Maynilad Water Services Inc. may have just collected five Philippine Quill Awards for communication campaigns, but the numbers behind those campaigns tell a much bigger story. The West Zone water concessionaire is increasingly turning one of the utility sector’s oldest problems—water disappearing through leaks, faulty meters, illegal connections and other system losses—into a potential source of additional supply, lower operating costs and stronger returns on billions of p

September 2, 2026