State-run Social Security System (SSS) is earmarking roughly ₱60 billion in financial assistance and benefit support, accelerating the scheduled pension hike and loosening loan requirements to shield members from an energy-crisis-induced spike in living costs. Robert Joseph M. de Claro, SSS...
So much has been said about businesses bracing for a possible economic crisis ahead. But are we, as individuals, equally prepared? Everything begins at home—even if our businesses can withstand the crisis, how will we manage on a personal level? The right mindset, first of all, is not to panic....
The Philippine economy is currently in a strange, uncomfortable middle ground. While the numbers for the early part of the year looked okay on paper, the experience at the grocery store or the gas station today feels very different. Interest rates are holding steady at high levels, the peso is...
Motorists and transport operators are bracing for another double-digit spike in fuel prices next week, as volatile shift in Middle East geopolitical rhetoric continues to rattle global energy benchmarks. Based on four days of trading under the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS), the regional pricing...
This Lenten season is an opportunity for us to reflect on the challenges we’re facing brought about by the Middle East conflict and how it will shape our daily behaviors, thoughts, and relationships. Yes, Virginia, all of us—advanced and emerging economies alike—are feeling the pain and...
The Philippines and its emerging neighbors in Southeast Asia face deepening threat of physical fuel shortages and systemic economic paralysis as the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes off refined petroleum imports. According to Oxford Economics, the Philippines is among the most...
Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., the infrastructure arm of the billionaire Aboitiz family’s conglomerate, is overhauling its operational protocols and employee benefits to navigate the national energy emergency triggered by volatility in the Persian Gulf. Aboitiz InfraCapital joined the growing list of...
We have seen this pattern before. A crisis hits, and at first, people freeze. Then slowly, almost quietly, behavior starts to shift. What feels temporary begins to leave permanent marks. We saw it during the pandemic; we are seeing it again now with rising oil prices. The current oil shock is about...
The Marcos administration has secured commitments from five nations to bolster its fuel inventory, with the Department of Energy (DOE) preparing to import more than one million barrels of diesel this April to shield the economy from global market volatility. In a briefing late Monday, March 30,...
Philippines’ most influential business coalitions pledged on Monday, March 30, to ramp up investments in renewable energy and implement aggressive conservation measures as the government scrambles to insulate the economy from the global oil shock triggered by escalating Middle East hostilities....
Petron Corp., the Philippines’ sole oil refiner, has procured 2.48 million barrels of Russian crude oil to shore up the country’s fuel stocks following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the declaration of a state of national energy emergency. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock...
State-run Social Security System (SSS) is considering temporarily suspending loan payments and waiving or reducing penalties on unpaid contributions to provide relief to its members facing financial challenges amid the Philippine energy crisis. SSS said in a statement released over the weekend that...
