News & Stories

By Chloe Mari A.

Hufana and Adrian H.

Halili, Reporters

ROUTINE use of presidential “urgent” certifications in the budget process risks weakening Congress’ institutional power and turning it into a “concurring office” rather than a co-equal branch, analysts said, as lawmakers rush to finish the record-high 2026 national budget. The urgenc

y label, which lets the Senate and House skip the constitutional rule requiring bills to pass readings on separate days, has become a powerful tool for compressing debate, rushing bicameral talks and shielding late insertions from scrutiny, they added. “If we tre

at ‘urgent’ certifications as routine for every General Appropriations Act, five to 10 years from now, Congress will look more like a concurring office than a co-equal branch,” Ederson DT. Tapia, a political

science professor at the University of Makati, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. Congress is finali

zing the 2026 spending plan, which President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. wants

enacted by Dec. 29. The bicameral

conf

VICE-PRESIDENT (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday said she is ready to respond to allegations in a potential impeachment complaint, but described any move to remove her as a “budget-driven” maneuver, coming as lawmakers prepare to finalize the proposed P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026. In a

statement, she accused legislators of using the budget as leverage to secure support for her impeachment, recalling last year’s process in which she alleged a pay-for-sign scheme influenced votes during the 2025 budget’s finalization. “The imp

eachment complaint against me was never really driven by principle but by price,” she said. “I have alwa

ys stood ready to answer any allegation grounded in fact and truth.” The vice-preside

nt’s conflict with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. — once

a close ally — escalated into a political feud last year, culminating in her impeachment by the House of Representatives, where most members are aligned with the Marcos administration. Ms. Duterte is the fir

st V

ice-President in Philippine history to be impeached. Her Senate trial, whic

h would have determined whether she could be removed from office and barred from public service for life, was aborted after the Supreme Court voided the proceedings. She faced multiple all

egations, ranging from budget anomalies to plotting the assassination of Mr. Marcos, his wife and h

COTABATO CITY — Soldiers killed Mohammad Usman Sulaiman, the top leader of the now-defunct Dawlah Islamiya, in a brief clash in the village of Satan, in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur on Sunday, local officials said on Monday. Mr

. Su

laiman, who authorities said masterminded at least a dozen deadly bombings across Central Mindanao since 2015, was wanted for 37 high-profile criminal cases. Du

bbed the group’s emir or chieftain, he was also linked to the May abduction and execution of three livestock dealers in Shariff Saydona Mustapha. Army

units from the 601st Infantry Brigade were dispatched after villagers reported sightings of Mr. Sula

iman and his followers. Offi

cials said the soldiers were ordered to arrest him peacefully, but a firefight broke out when Mr. Sula

iman’s group opened fire. His co

mpanions fled after he was killed. Mr. Su

laim

PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R.

Marcos, Jr. urged officials on Monday to pursue deeper institutional cleansing and anchor governance on integrity, wisdom and discernment as the bureaucracy faces mounting public pressure over the flood control corruption scandal.

In a statement marking the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in the predominantly Catholic nation, Mr.

Marcos said the celebration offers an opportunity for reflection on the life and example of the Virgin Mary.

He said her “purity, devotion and unwavering faith” should inspire public leaders to ground their decisions in principle and purpose. The

President said the feast underscores the importance of beginning any mission with sound intentions and ethical grounding. “Our

intentions shape our outcomes,” he said. “If we s

ow pride, we reap division; if we sow deceit, we reap distrust.” He said a na

tion built on “truth, humility and compassion for the least among us” could advance the administration’s Bagong Pilipinas vision — one that prioritizes integrity, service and the common good. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

BAGUIO CITY — The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (P

hilHealth) is investigating roughly 1,000 “ghost” patient claims, involving benefits already paid to healthcare providers for treatments never received in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the agency said on Monday. The ca

ses, spanning 2022 to 2024, include patients who died before the claimed services, and instances of double billing, such as one person undergoing dialysis at two facilities on the same day. Simila

r irregularities were detected under the Yaman ng Kalusugan Program. PhilHe

alth-Cordillera lawyer Eric Mandiit said about P680,000 in benefits were disbursed for questionable claims, some uncovered when members received text alerts for services they did not use. PhilHe

alth has ramped up monitoring, including surprise facility inspections, claim validation via home visits, and real-time text notifications. Facili

ties found guilty after due process face fines or suspension of accreditation, officials said. — Artemio A. Dumlao v

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A SENATOR has called for stronger support for students with disabilities and special needs in public schools, saying the government must ensure that these learners receive proper assistance.

In a statement, Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, who heads the Senate education committee, said public schools continue to lack the facilities, funding and resources required to adequately support these students. “The

facilities provided by the government are not enough,” he said on Monday, adding that funding for special needs education remains insufficient. Mr. Aqui

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ushed a review of existing systems and the creation of targeted solutions to ensure that persons with disabilities (PWD) can access essential services and quality education. He noted

that many families rely on government support because they can’t afford private care, while those who can pay often find that suitable programs are unavailable. One of fiv

e Filipino students has a disability or special concern that requires proper attention, he said, citing data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education. — Adrian H. Halili

THE first ports dedicated to servicing offshore wind farms are expected to be operational by 2027, according to the Department of Energy (DoE).

Energy Undersecretary Giovanni Carlo J.

Bacordo told BusinessWorld that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is set to auction the development contract this month for repurposing Pambujan Port in Camarines Norte.

“I understand that the opening of the bids will be this December. Th

ere’s no specific date yet,” Mr. Bacord

o said. He sai

d redeveloping Pambujan port will cost around P4.8 billion and involve expanding the site from an initial 40 hectares to about 160 hectares. Pambuj

an is one of the two ports identified by the PPA as suited for offshore wind services, along with Sta. Clara

Port in Batangas. “They’

re looking at a public-private partnership scheme of development for the Sta. Clara Port

THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) awarded a P618.93-million contract to expand Lucena Port to a Bulacan construction company.

In a notice of award dated Nov. 25, the port regulator said J.C.

Piñon Construction, Inc. was declared the lowest calculated and responsive bidder for the project. T

he expansion project has attracted a total of nine bidders. T

he others were SB Construction Corp.;

Goldridge Construction and Development Corp.;

Bemkar Construction and Supply; Luzviminda Engineering; Vicente T. L

ao Construction; WTG Construction and Development Corp.;

MRBIl Construction Corp.; and MRBIl Construction Corp. L

ucena Port is a commercial and passenger gateway for the Calabarzon region. T

THE GOVERNMENT expects up to P10 billion in revenue yearly from the proposal to impose an excise tax on single-use plastics, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said.

Commissioner Charlito Martin R.

Mendoza told BusinessWorld last week that the proposed tax measure is projected to generate between P6 billion and P10 billion annually, “depending on the rate and coverage.” The

plastic tax measure is among the priority bills of the Marcos administration listed in the Common Legislative Agenda of the 20th Congress. The

House of Representatives has nine pending bills proposing an excise tax on single‑use plastics, while the Senate has four. Financ

e Undersecretary Karlo Fermin S. Adrian

o has said that the proposal is primarily not a tax bill but an environmental measure to curb the use of plastics. Mr. Ad

rian

o said at a P100-per-kilogram excise tax, the resulting revenue will be P8 billion. He add

ed that plastic pollution costs the government about P70 billion per year, he added. Analys

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has temporarily banned imports of live pigs, pork meat, pig skin, and other pork-derived products from Taiwan following confirmation of an African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak there.

In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P.

Tiu Laurel, Jr. was quoted as saying: “We have to be vigilant in preventing further ASF infections to protect jobs and investments in the swine industry and ensure food security and consumers’ health.” On Oct

. 25, authorities in Taiwan reported an ASF outbreak in domestic pigs in Taichung City to the World Organisation for Animal Health. The ou

tbreak was confirmed after testing by Taiwan’s Veterinary Research Institute. Under th

e DA order, all previously approved Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances for pigs and pork-related products from Taiwan are automatically revoked, while applications for new import clearances for the affected items are suspended until further notice. Taiwan,

a relatively new supplier to the Philippines, shipped in 23.34 metric tons of pork products in the first nine months, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel

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THE Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) soared to its highest level in over a year as the central bank’s gold holdings reached a record high at the end of November. The

country’s dollar reserves amounted to $111.077 billion as of November, up 0.75% from the $110.249 billion seen a month ago, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. This w

as the highest GIR level in 13 months or since the $111.084 billion logged in October 2024. Year o

n year, the dollar reserves climbed 2.39% from $108.488 billion. GIR re

fers to the central bank’s foreign assets held mostly as investments in foreign-issued securities, foreign exchange, and monetary gold, among others. These ar

e supplemented by claims to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the form of reserve position in the fund and special drawing rights (SDRs). In a sta

tement released late on Friday, the BSP said that the level of dollar reserves as of November is enough to cover about 3.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity. According

to the central bank, a GIR level is deemed adequate if it can cover at least 100% of the country’s payments of public and private foreign debt due within the immediate year. The country’

s foreign reserves at end-November are also equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, more than double the three-month standard. “The latest GIR

level provides a robust external liquidity buffer,” the central bank said. Ample foreign exchan

THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) is likely to downgrade its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for this year and next year, as a graft scandal hurt investments and public spending.

“We were revising things downward,” ADB Country Director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Dec. 4. T

he

downward revision may likely cover both this year and 2026, he added. The

multilateral lender earlier gave a 5.6% GDP growth projection for the Philippines this year, still within the government’s 5.5-6.5% goal. Asked

if the revised projection will be lower than the government target for 2025, Mr. Jeffri

es replied: “Likely.” For 2026,

the ADB sees the Philippines growing slightly faster at 5.7%, but still below the government’s 6-7% growth goal. “By the way,

it still might change (this week). But it is tren

ding down from what we had earlier released for both years,” Mr. Jeffries said. T