“I’ve brought you there before,” my protesting husband declared after I told him I’d honor an invitation to witness and take part in the Bangus Festival in Pangasinan early this month. For some reason I couldn’t recall that experience. Instead, I have memories of a lechon festival in the same province, when I was mindful...
Category: Business
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₱7.78-B Boracay bridge project raises environmental, livelihood concerns
MALAY, Aklan — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has awarded the ₱7.78-billion Boracay bridge project to San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMHC), drawing opposition from local officials, transport groups, and environmental advocates. The contract for the proposed 2.54-kilometer bridge, a major infrastructure plan in Malay, Aklan, that would directly connect Barangay Caticlan to...
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Building an alternative regionalism from below for Southeast Asian peoples
As the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) marks its 59th year in 2026, its relevance remains disputable. Its guiding principles—mutual respect, noninterference, peaceful dispute settlement, and renunciation of force—are noteworthy from a nation-state perspective but ultimately self-absorbed. They suffer from an absence of any reference to how Asean relates to the peoples of its...
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The mirage behind Asean’s vision of free labor flows
When the Asean Economic Community was officially launched in 2015, the rhetoric was intoxicating. A single market and production base. The free flow of skilled labor. A region where a Filipino engineer could compete on equal footing with a Singaporean counterpart, where a Filipino nurse could work in a hospital in Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok...
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Survival math and margin math for young income earners
Most financial advice starts too late in the story. It assumes there is already margin, something left over after rent, food, transport, and family, and then prescribes where to put it. Open this account. Contribute this percentage. Start now. But for a significant number of young Filipinos earning ₱15,000 to ₱25,000 a month in Metro...
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Do you know your retirement number?
I avoided calculating my own retirement number for years. Not because I didn’t know how. I’ve been in asset management for most of my professional career, first as an analyst, then as a portfolio manager, and now as chief investment officer. I knew the math. What I didn’t want was the answer. There’s a specific...
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With new natural gas source found at Malampaya, energy expert raises need for long-term plan
As the Malampaya gas field, the Philippines’ largest source of natural gas, was projected to run dry by 2027, a major deposit of natural gas promising sufficient fuel to power millions of homes and schools for a year was found. But according to energy expert Alexander Ablaza, the Philippines needs a clear plan to meet its...
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High power bills? Filipinos can have cheaper energy if Manila can drill in Recto Bank despite China row
Recto Bank, an underwater reef in the West Philippine Sea, remains an enigma. Little is publicly disclosed about it beyond its geology, oil and gas potential, and the decades-long struggle between the Philippines and China for control of its surface waters and the rich hydrocarbon deposits in its depths. One thing is clear, industry experts...
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Data centers raise concerns for energy-burdened households
In a low-income community in the Metro Manila suburb of Fairview, a large rectangular structure is rising near a busy highway clogged with vehicles, commuters, and commerce. Few passersby realize that this building is one of four data centers that will be built in Fairview. Together, they will draw up to 124 megawatts (MW) of...
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Loans ‘R’ Us
The loaning culture has become diversified with the emergence of various platforms, ever-changing and increasing inflation rates, and immobility of households, among other factors. Loan sharks increase their visibility and accessibility by utilizing loan applications and guarantors, which are now institutionalized through registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s telling that according to the...