REFLECTIONS TODAY There are many places in the world, especially where Catholics are the majority, where the clergy and the religious are held in high esteem. People treat Church people with extraordinary kindness. This comes with our association with Jesus. Nevertheless, there is also always...
Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has secured financial backing from the US government's private-sector lending arm to increase lending to small businesses. In an Oct. 2 statement, the US International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) said its board of directors approved a $75 million...
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero (Escudero's Facebook page) Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero expects the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or national budget to be approved either by the first or second week of...
Vice President Sara Duterte (Noel Pabalate/ MANILA BULLETIN) Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero says he would rather say nothing on whether or not Vice President Sara Duterte will attend the Senate’s upcoming budget hearings. This, after...
Despite the "heavy lifting" that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is undertaking by slashing interest rates to support economic growth, lingering structural challenges in the economy like the lack of infrastructure and prevalent corruption continue to dampen near-term Philippine prospects,...
Song Kye-hyo’s mother in the hit Netflix drama “The Glory” was laid to rest. The funeral for actress Park Ji-ah (Park Ji-A) was held on Oct. 2 at the Asan Medical Center funeral hall in Seoul. The burial site was Kapsan Park in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Park Ji-ah...
OFF THE BEATEN PATH Early in this brief eight-day window for the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COCs), Filipinos cannot remain oblivious to the motions, from premature to profound, leading to the 2025 electoral exercise. Our Commission on Elections (Comelec) and advocates from the private...
THE VIEW FROM RIZAL President Bongbong Marcos Jr. bared last week the administration’s complete line-up of candidates for senator in the 2025 elections. While there were mixed reactions in social media on the line-up, most political pundits have expressed that most of the names on the list would...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Whenever we profess the Nicene Creed and say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible…” we are reminded that God created not only the material world, but also the spiritual world, that is, the invisible, the...
Government debt decreased by P139.8 billion at the end of August, primarily due to recent appreciation of the peso and net repayments of foreign debt. As of August 2024, the national government's total outstanding debt stood at P15.55 trillion, reflecting a 0.9-percent decline from the end of July....
The national government fully awarded Treasury bonds (T-bonds), driven by strong investor interest, lower interest rates from recent reserve requirement cuts, and slowing inflation. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) successfully raised P15 billion through the auction of reissued...
A high-ranking official of the Australian Embassy in Manila had a taste of the famed Ilocos empanada during a recent trip to the northern region to discuss economic development projects. (Photo courtesy of Australian Ambassador Hae Kyong Yu via X post) In a recent post on X (formerly...
