MPIC Chief Finance, Risk and Sustainability Officer Chayte Cabal-Revilla

Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has increased its capital expenditure (capex) budget to over ₱200 billion this year from the around ₱190 billion spent in 2025, although this may be subject to review if the ongoing Middle East crisis is prolonged.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) sustainability forum on Monday, March 23, MPIC Chief Finance, Risk, and Sustainability Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla said this is the budget approved by the company last year.

“But, given the geopolitical conditions now, we feel that we might need to take a look at our budget again. But we haven’t really done that because it’s still in the early stages and we don’t really know. But, as far as we’re concerned, our capex plans are still in the pipeline. So, we still haven’t stopped anything,” she added.

MPIC has also not adjusted its targets, as it is still in the process of quantifying the impact of the Middle East conflict on the company’s businesses and is hoping that it will end soon. “In the next few months, we’re still going to be okay.”

Cabal-Revilla explained that MPIC’s 2025 and 2026 capital spending is its biggest, mainly due to massive investments in renewable energy (RE) through Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) and the firm’s Terra Solar project, which will be the world’s largest solar farm.

MPIC’s capex budget already includes its group-wide and subsidiary-level investments in sustainability since “we don’t separate sustainability anymore in terms of capex and opex [operating expenses]. It’s really embedded in our day-to-day operations. When we said that sustainability has been part of our DNA, we meant that... It’s part of everything that we do, ever since from the beginning,” she noted.

The conglomerate intends to continue investing in infrastructure despite uncertainties and challenges posed by the war in the Middle East to lay the groundwork for more growth after sustaining its record performance last year.

Pangilinan, MPIC chairman, president, and chief executive officer (CEO), recently noted that, “In times like this, our approach is to stay disciplined—manage our balance sheet carefully, focus on operational efficiency, and continue investing where the country needs infrastructure the most.”

He added that, “If we stay focused on execution and on serving the needs of the communities that depend on us, we believe the group will remain resilient. At the end of the day, our businesses exist to serve the country. If we do that well—quietly and consistently—the results will follow.”

MPIC sustained its strong growth momentum in 2025, posting record-high figures for the fourth year in a row, or since 2022, with consolidated core net income increasing by 15 percent to ₱27.1 billion, compared with ₱23.6 billion in 2024.

Improved financial and operational performance across MPIC’s portfolio drove a 13-percent increase in contribution from operations to ₱32.1 billion.

This was fueled by robust growth in Meralco’s power generation business, the implementation of higher tariffs at Maynilad Water Services Inc., and rising patient volumes across the Metro Pacific Health (MPH) hospitals network.

“Our results in 2025 reflect the steady demand for reliable infrastructure and the consistent work of our teams across the group. Power, water, mobility, and healthcare are essential services, and our focus has always been on improving how we deliver them to the communities we serve,” said Pangilinan.