News & Stories

VISITOR ARRIVALS in the Philippines fell by 2.16% in the first 11 months, amid a decline in tourists from South Korea and China, Tourism department data showed.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DoT) showed international tourist arrivals dropped to 5.235 million in the January-to-November period from 5.35 million in the same period in 2024.

Of the tourist arrivals, the bulk or 4.918 million were foreign tourists, while the rest were overseas Filipinos.

South Korea remained the biggest source of tourists in the first 11 months, accounting for 21.66% of the total.

While 1.134 million South Koreans visited the Philippines as of November, this was a 21% decline from the 1.436 million Korean tourists a year ago.

The US was the second-biggest source of tourists, at 894,835 or 17.09% of the total as of end-November.

This was 6.57% higher than last year’s 839,635 tourist arrivals from the US. Ja

pan was the third-biggest source of tourists, accounting for 406,794 or 7.77% of the total, 15.36% up from 352,630 a year ago. To

urist arrivals from Australia increased by 16.17% to 268,892 in the 11-month period. Me

anwhile, tourists from China fell by 16.55% to 248,339 as of end-November. Th

RAZON-LED International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

(ICTSI) will invest R$948 million (around P10.3 billion) to expand and modernize its Rio Brasil Terminal at the Port of Rio de Janeiro, the company announced on Monday.

The project, which will run until 2029, is expected to increase the terminal’s annual container-handling capacity by 70.5%, from 440,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to 750,000 TEUs, ICTSI said in an e-mailed statement. Th

e expansion will position Rio de Janeiro as a key logistics hub for Brazil’s Southeast and Midwest regions, it added. “Thi

s investment is essential for Rio to increase its efficiency, maintain its competitiveness, and absorb part of the demand currently concentrated in Santos,” Roberto Lopes, chief executive officer of Rio Brasil Terminal, was quoted as saying in the statement. “The pro

ject benefits not only the terminal but also the broader economy of the Southeast and Midwest of Brazil,” he added. ICTSI Rio of

fers maritime, road, and rail access and can handle the largest vessels calling the Brazilian coast. The investme

nt will fund R$414.4 million in infrastructure works and R$533.5 million in equipment acquisition, including expansion and unification of storage yards, rearrangement of buildings to optimize container flows, acquisition of modern container-handling equipment, upgrading utility systems and electrical infrastructure, and technology and automation improvements to enhance customer service efficiency. The terminal

will also implement advanced access control, cargo monitoring, and management systems to meet regulatory requirements, ICTSI said. The expansio

n will allow the terminal to operate large Panamax and post-Panamax vessels up to 366 meters long with over 13,000 TEU capacity. Two new cran

MANILA ELECTRIC CO.

(Meralco) has launched a competitive selection process (CSP) to procure 200 megawatts (MW) of baseload renewable energy (RE) to comply with its renewable portfolio standards (RPS) obligations, the company said on Monday.

The CSP aims to secure a four-year power supply agreement (PSA) that will cover Meralco’s baseload requirement starting Jan. 26, subject to approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), it said in a statement. Th

e launch follows the Department of Energy’s (DoE) issuance of a certificate of conformity on Dec. 4, confirming that the CSP aligns with Meralco’s latest DoE-approved power supply procurement plan. Power

generation companies can submit expressions of interest (EoI) to Meralco’s Bids and Awards Committee by Jan. 6. A pre

-bi

d conference is scheduled on Jan. 15, and the bid submission deadline is Feb. 16. “Thi

s CS

P is consistent with Meralco’s ongoing efforts to expand its supply portfolio from renewable energy while ensuring RPS compliance through a competitive and transparent bidding process,” said Jose Ronald V. Valles, senior

vice-president and head of regulatory management. Distribution u

THE US on Monday voiced support for the Philippines amid rising tensions with China in the South China Sea, condemning what it called Beijing’s increasingly coercive behavior after Chinese coast guard vessels injured Filipino fishermen in a Dec. 12 confrontation. In

a statement, the US Department of State said China’s actions in the strategic waterway were dangerous and destabilizing, citing an incident last week in which Chinese ships fired high-pressure water cannons at Filipino fishing boats. “The

se aggressive actions endangered Filipinos fishing for their livelihoods,” the State Department said. “We stan

d with our Philippine allies as they confront China’s provocative actions and increasingly dangerous tactics against its neighbors.” The Philippine

Coast Guard on Saturday said three Filipino fishermen were wounded and two fishing vessels sustained significant damage after ships from the China Coast Guard used water cannons near Sabina Shoal, a contested maritime feature in the South China Sea. The shoal is a

mong several areas claimed by both Manila and Beijing where confrontations at sea have become increasingly frequent. Philippine off

icials have described China’s activities as coercive and escalatory, while Beijing maintains that its patrols and enforcement measures are legitimate actions to defend its sovereignty. China’s Foreign

Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Philippine vessels targeted by water cannons had deliberately anchored at Sabina Shoal despite repeated warnings from the China Coast Guard. “The Philippines n

eeds to immediately stop its infringement, provocations and vilification, stop its endless self-directed stunts at sea, and refrain from challenging China’s firm resolve to safeguard our sovereignty and rights and interests,” he told a news briefing, based on a transcript published on the ministry’s website. Mr. Guo added that US “has

no

THE SENATE and House of Representatives canceled Monday’s scheduled bicameral conference committee meeting after lawmakers deadlocked over whether to restore funding for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, amid lingering concerns over corruption in flood control projects. Se

nator Sherwin T. Ga

tchalian, chairman of the Senate Finance committee, described the issue as “deadlocked” but said the chamber remains open to compromise. “The H

ouse had a different opinion. We had a

different opinion,” he told reporters, adding that the Senate is reviewing DPWH Secretary Vivencio B. Dizon’s ap

peal to reverse a P45-billion cut in the agency’s proposed budget. “This is a ver

y technical issue, and it will take time to talk with DPWH.” Nueva Ecija Rep. M

ikaela Angela B.

Suansing, who head

s the House Appropriations Committee, said no new bicameral meeting had been scheduled, urging lawmakers to act quickly to avoid a reenacted budget for 2026. She warned that ro

THE Philippines’ economic managers remain confident the peso will be underpinned by low and stable inflation, ample foreign-exchange reserves and an improving investment climate, Malacañang said on Monday, even as the currency continues to trade near the P59-a-dollar level. Pal

ace Press Officer Clarissa A. Cas

tro said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas continues to allow the peso to be determined by market forces, while maintaining what the central bank has described as “robust” foreign-exchange reserves. “The Ba

ngko Sentral ng Pilipinas allows the exchange rate to be determined by market forces,” she told a news briefing. “We continu

e to maintain robust reserves.” The peso has br

eached the P59-a-dollar mark several times since November and slid to a record low of P59.22 on Dec. 9. Analysts hav

e l

inked the weakness partly to soft investor sentiment amid a widening graft scandal that has weighed on local confidence. A weaker peso r

aises the cost of imports such as fuel, food and raw materials, adding pressure to inflation and squeezing household and business budgets. Still, authorit

ies said inflation remains subdued and is expected to stay within target over the next two years, helping support domestic demand. Inflation eased

THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Monday said that its armed wing would observe a unilateral holiday ceasefire, placing Maoist rebels on a defensive posture amid continuing clashes with government forces in the countryside.

In a statement, the CPP said units of the New People’s Army (NPA) would refrain from launching offensive operations from Dec. 25 to 26 and again from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 to mark the Christmas and New Year holidays, as well as the group’s anniversary celebrations. Desp

ite the truce, it said its fighters would remain on “high alert.” “This te

mporary ceasefire order is being issued in solidarity with the Filipino people as they conduct simple celebrations of their traditional holidays, amid grave social and economic conditions,” it said. During the c

easefire periods, NPA units were ordered to stay vigilant and ready to respond if necessary. “All Red com

manders and Red fighters must remain on high alert… and must be ever ready to maneuver or counter-attack, when necessitated by the situation.” The Department of

National Defense dismissed the announcement as a “sad propaganda stunt,” saying the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would continue its security operations throughout the holidays. “Military duties are n

ot subject to pause or seasons,” the Defense department said in a statement, adding that troops would remain focused on protecting communities and maintaining peace and order. The NPA has been fighting

the government for more than five decades, making it one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies. However, the movement has si

gnificantly weakened since its peak in the 1980s. Armed communist fighters hav

THE Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a measure that will boost transparency in government spending by establishing a digital budget portal accessible to the public.

With 17‑0-0 vote, the chamber passed Senate Bill No. 1506 requiring all government agencies to upload and regularly update budget documents, including contracts and procurement records, on a digital platform. “I

f you look at this transparency measure, if the current investigation were not happening, I think it would have no chance [of being approved],” Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, who authored the measure, said in a statement after its approval. The bill i

s among President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr

.’s legislative priorities, which he elevated last week alongside other transparency reforms as his government faces widespread allegations of corruption. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio var bw

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THERE were no confirmed Filipino casualties in a mass shooting in Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday following an incident that killed at least 15 people on Dec.

14.

The DFA said the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney is coordinating with Australian authorities to verify whether any Filipino nationals were affected by the incident at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, as emergency operations continued at the scene. “T

he Consulate is coordinating with Australian authorities to verify whether any Filipino nationals were affected,” it said in a statement. “As of

this time, there are no confirmed Filipino casualties.” The attack

, which occurred on Hanukkah, or the Jewish “festival of lights,” was called a terrorist attack by Sydney police. It was Austral

ia’s deadliest mass shooting in almost 30 years. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana var bwDfp =

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THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Monday led the simultaneous nationwide destruction of illicit vape products as part of its efforts to halt the illegal trade of excisable goods.

The agency began the destruction of 448,494 units of illicit vape products with an estimated excise tax liability of P1.34 billion, inclusive of penalties.

It will continue over the next three days.

“The government does not — and will not — tolerate the sale of vape and vapor products without the full and proper payment of excise taxes, as evidenced by the excise tax stamps that must be affixed to every vape product sold,” Commissioner of Internal Revenue Charlito Martin R. Mendoza

said in a statement. The BIR

said it has seized a total of 742,778 units of illicit vape products, translating to P2.73 billion in estimated tax liability, inclusive of penalties. These we

re found to be in violation of excise tax laws due to nonpayment of excise taxes, non-affixture of internal revenue stamps, and non-registration of vape brands. “… the a

bsence of excise tax stamps tells us that these distributors and sellers undermined and evaded government oversight of these sin products, including our authority to monitor, regulate, and control their sale and distribution,” Mr. Mendoza said.

BIR continues

to conduct enforcement operations as mandated by Section 6(C) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, and implemented through duly issued Mission Orders. The destructio

A LAWMAKER on Monday filed a resolution urging President Ferdinand R.

Marcos, Jr. to grant clemency to a Filipina drug convict who was narrowly spared from execution in Indonesia, citing humanitarian grounds.

House Resolution No. 583 seeks a clemency for Mary Jane F.

Veloso, who was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after being found with 2.6 kilograms of heroin concealed in a suitcase.

She said she was an unwitting drug mule, but she was convicted and sentenced to death.

She was repatriated to the Philippines in December last year after Indonesia and Manila signed an agreement transferring her custody.

“Granting clemency is not a disregard of the law. It

is a humanitarian act clearly recognized by our Constitution,” Party-list Rep. Sara

h Jane Elago, who authored the measure, said in a statement. Indo

nesia had indicated it would respect any decision made by the Philippines, including if she was given clemency. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basili

THE Philippines’ intelligence agency is still monitoring a mining company executive previously embroiled in an identity falsification charge on national security grounds. Th

e National Intelligence and Coordinating Agency (NICA) is keeping an eye on Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. Ch

airman Joseph C. Sy

, whose Filipino citizenship was questioned by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and was detained in August, its director Ferlu J. Si

lvio said. Th

e Court of Appeals (CA) ordered Mr. Sy

’s release in September, after it upheld a lower court ruling ordering his immediate release, recognizing him as a Filipino citizen. “Thi

s case was dismissed for lack of probable cause,” Mr. Silvio t

old senators. “[But] f

rom an intelligence standpoint, the existence of prior investigations remains relevant for longitudinal risk assessment and interagency awareness.” Senator Ana