“Our subsidiary, we are focusing on socialized housing, affordable and horizontal housing (projects) such as the Southscapes. We will be launching more new projects in the southern part area like Cavite and also in the Bulacan area,” Megawide Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Edgar B. Saavedra said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting last week.

Through its property unit, PH1 World Developers, Inc., Megawide last year earmarked P1 billion for Southscapes, a residential development in Trece Martires, Cavite.

Located in Barangay Lapidario, Trece Martires, the five-hectare (ha) project will have 343 housing units featuring modern design and energy-saving features.

Mr. Saavedra also said the company plans to develop additional projects under the government’s expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program in other cities and municipalities.

“The priority of the company is to focus on Metro Manila. Obviously, you have the southern part, Cavite; and the northern part will be somewhere in Bulacan. This is primarily to focus on the Metro Manila market,” he said, adding that Megawide is pursuing developments near Metro Manila to help reduce travel time.

Megawide is currently building about 11,000 housing units under the expanded 4PH Program.

For 2026, the company is targeting a net income of P1.2 billion, expecting lower borrowing costs following debt reduction and continued growth in its construction and real estate businesses to support earnings.

In the first quarter, Megawide’s attributable net income rose 24% to P265.35 million, driven by stronger real estate operations and sustained performance in its construction business. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

“For now, we have a few acquisition targets in the pipeline. Hopefully, we’ll be able to announce something within the year,” AC Health Chief Strategy and Investment Officer Rafael Jaime V. Recio told reporters on the sidelines of an event last week.

“But if you’re asking whether we want to build greenfield projects, I think we’re focusing first on making sure the Cancer Hospital ramps up. Then everything else, for the foreseeable future, will be through acquisition,” he added.

Mr. Recio said the company is evaluating hospitals with at least 100 beds, Level 2 classification, and locations in densely populated urban areas.

“We look at the quality of the facility, make sure that it’s not a super fixer-upper. It’s important that there’s a good doctor base associated with it that remains even after we come in. I think those are the important building blocks,” he said.

Alongside its acquisition strategy, AC Health plans to expand its clinic network by opening three to five facilities annually over the next three to five years.

“The target is to expand to three to five clinics per year in major areas where we feel that it’s important for us to be in. I think that’s the target for the next three to five years,” Mr. Recio said.

While many of its clinics are located in shopping malls, AC Health is also considering other formats, including roadside commercial locations.

“It just so happens that the malls sometimes provide us the best location with the most foot traffic that’s most accessible,” Mr. Recio said. “It could be that at some point we have locations in commercial areas that are more roadside also. But we’ll see. It really depends on what opportunities are presented to us.”

As part of its medium-term growth strategy, AC Health aims to expand its network to 1,150 retail pharmacies, 300 clinics, and 10 hospitals through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.

Earlier this month, HMN expanded its multi-specialty outpatient network to 18 centers nationwide with the opening of its flagship facility at One Ayala in Makati City.

Following the launch of the One Ayala facility, HMN said it plans to open a standard-sized multi-specialty center in Batangas in August and another at McKinley West in Taguig before yearend.

Separately, AC Health, through its pharmaceutical arm AC Health Pharma, entered into a partnership with Japan-based Taisho Pharmaceuticals in June to distribute healthcare products in the Philippines.

Under the agreement, AC Health Pharma will distribute Taisho products through AC Health’s network of pharmacies, clinics, medical centers, and hospitals.

Mr. Recio said the company remains on track to meet its long-term expansion targets despite industry challenges.

“I wouldn’t say we’re ahead. I’d say we’re making good progress… It looks like we’re on track. It’s been an encouraging 2026 so far, despite all the challenges we’ve seen lately,” he said. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

As of the end of June, accumulated PERA contributions soared by 45.3% to P757.554 million from the P521.363 million recorded in the same period last year.

Of the total, the bulk or 59.33% came from employee contributions, which grew by 24.08% year on year to P449.45 million from P362.239 million.

Contributions from self-employed Filipinos also more than doubled (179.85%) to P207.901 million at end-June from P74.29 million in the prior year, while those from overseas Filipinos climbed by 18.12% annually to P100.203 million from P84.833 million.

Meanwhile, the total number of PERA contributors as of the first half ballooned by 385.31% to 30,055 from 6,193 a year ago.

Most of the enrollees during the period were self-employed Filipinos at 23,529, surging by 2,398% from the 942 logged a year earlier.

The tally of PERA-enrolled employees also went up by an annual 22.63% to 5,441 from 4,437, while Filipinos abroad with PERA rose by 33.29% to 1,085 from 814.

PERA, created under Republic Act No. 9505 in 2016, is a voluntary retirement saving program which supplements benefits from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, and employer-provided plans.

Contributors aged 18 and above with a tax identification number are allowed to open a PERA. Self-employed and locally employed contributors may contribute P200,000 annually, while overseas Filipino workers may invest up to P400,000.

The PERA law also offers incentives to contributors, such as tax exemptions and credits.

BSP Deputy Governor Lyn I. Javier said they aim to expand overseas Filipino contributors through partnerships with the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

The central bank has likewise tapped employers to boost the share of employees in the total PERA enrollees, with other banks also seeking to offer the product in their respective platforms.

“(So, with more banks) adopting, then opening also their platforms for easy access to PERA, we hope that we could reach more Filipinos enrolling to have a PERA account,” she told reporters on the sidelines of an event last week.

This came after East West Banking Corp. began offering in May a voluntary PERA contribution program for its employees, with DragonFi Securities, Inc. as the administrator.

Ms. Javier also noted that digital banks have also signified interest to follow suit.

Under the program, private employers can contribute to the employees’ PERA as part of its compensation package, which may be reflected in the employer’s income tax return as a deductible expense from its gross income.

The Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act also allows private employers to acquire an additional 50% tax deduction to a total of 150% by contributing an amount equal to or greater than their employees’ PERA contributions.

Meanwhile, Ms. Javier said they are working to further boost public awareness of PERA as they hope to hit “more than double” growth in PERA accounts.

“Well, the promise, I mean, the product itself is very attractive. So, it should speak for itself. Awareness would help it,” Ms. Javier said.

“As to the pace of growth, there are several factors that would affect that, but everybody wants (double-digit growth), more than double in fact,” she added.

Last year, the BSP also launched the Open Finance for PERA Pilot to encourage more Filipinos to open accounts by streamlining the onboarding process as well as improving access to the program.

Under the framework, customers of Land Bank of the Philippines; Maya Philippines, Inc.; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Corp.; Philippine National Bank; Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.; Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc.; and G-Xchange, Inc. can open a PERA account in the respective financial institutions’ platforms.

Their investments will be managed by the PERA administrators ATRAM Trust Corp.; BDO Unibank, Inc.; and BPI Wealth – A Trust Corp. — Katherine K. Chan

THE BOARD of Investments (BoI) has approved P461.84 billion worth of investments in the first half of 2026, mainly in renewable energy and real estate sectors.

In a statement on Sunday, the BoI said approvals in the six-month period jumped by 21% from the P382.24 billion recorded last year.

As of end-June, the BoI had greenlit 124 projects, which are expected to create 14,415 local jobs.

The January-June pledges account for nearly half or 46% of the BoI’s P1-trillion investment target for 2026.

The energy sector, particularly renewable energy, accounted for the largest share of approvals at P343.47 billion or 74.25% of the total.

This was followed by investments in real estate activities (P36.55 billion); air and water transport (P36.25 billion); mining and quarrying (P14.64 billion); hotel, tourism and accommodation projects (P7.58 billion); and manufacturing (P7.22 billion).

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary and BoI Chairman Maria Cristina A. Roque said the increase in BoI-approved projects in the January-to-June period reflects investors’ sustained confidence in the Philippines amid geopolitical uncertainties.

“The strong growth in DTI-BoI-approved investments reflects investors’ confidence in the Philippines and in the government’s reform policies,” she said.

“The country’s recent attainment of upper-middle income country status highlights the positive impact of sustained investments and sound economic reforms,” she added.

Earlier this month, the World Bank classified the Philippines as an upper-middle income country after it posted a record gross national income per capita of $4,850.

DTI Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo noted that policy support and facilitation measures are in place to guide investments from approval to implementation.

“With the implementation of the CREATE MORE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy), the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), and the Green Lane for Strategic Investments, the BoI is ensuring that investors have both the policy support and facilitation mechanisms needed to bring projects from approval to operation,” he said.

Domestic investments surged by 41% to P447.32 billion as of end-June, with the Cordillera Administrative Region posting the highest level of investment pledges at P150.4 billion.

This was followed by the Ilocos Region at P144.13 billion, National Capital Region at P48.78 billion, Central Luzon (P33.55 billion), CARAGA (P16.93 billion), and Central Visayas (P13.97 billion).

Meanwhile, foreign investments stood at P14.16 billion as of end-June, with Singapore as the top foreign source at P3.15 billion.

Other foreign commitments came from China (P1.13 billion), United States (P1.06 billion), Australia (P961 million), and Japan (P873 million).

“The robust investment performance builds on the BoI’s broader efforts to strengthen the country’s investment ecosystem and position the Philippines as a preferred destination for strategic and high-impact investments,” BoI said.

Mr. Rodolfo also noted that the updated SIPP is critical in ensuring that the BoI meets its P1-trillion target in investment approvals this year.

Approved in June, the 2026 SIPP expands the scope of fiscal incentives under Republic Act No. 12066 or the CREATE MORE Act to cover frontier industries like artificial intelligence and high-value manufacturing.

The surge in the BoI’s first-half investment approvals amid geopolitical risks show that investors are prioritizing projects with long-term prospects, said Diana R. Rueda, an economics professor at the University of Asia & the Pacific.

“Most BoI-approved projects have long investment horizons, and investors tend to focus more on economic fundamentals, policy consistency, and the ease of doing business,” she said in a Viber message.

However, Ms. Rueda cited the need to intensify efforts to attract more investments in high-value manufacturing to cushion the economy against external shocks.

“Expanding the country’s manufacturing base would strengthen economic resilience, diversify sources of growth, and reduce vulnerability to external shocks,” she said.

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) could extend its tightening cycle as the widening pass-through effects of energy shocks stemming from the Middle East war are expected to keep core inflation elevated, analysts said.

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) Chief Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said the faster pace of core inflation, despite easing headline inflation, supports the BSP’s hawkish but measured policy stance.

“With headline inflation receding and core inflation heating up, we are witnessing now what the BSP had been warning us about: second-round effects,” Mr. Mapa told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

“Even with the initial energy shock dissipating somewhat, firms have passed on the costs for items indirectly related to the first round of price spikes. And thus, the recent uptick in core inflation represents a broadening increase in prices across the CPI (consumer price index) basket,” he added.

In June, core inflation accelerated for the sixth month in a row even after the headline print eased for a second straight month.

Core inflation, which discounts volatile food and fuel prices, quickened to 4.4% in June, the fastest pace seen in nearly three years or since the 4.7% in November 2023.

Core inflation removes the impact of temporary disruptions and shocks on price changes, independent of economic or monetary policy.

For Security Bank Chief Economist Angelo B. Taningco and University of Asia and the Pacific economist Marco Antonio C. Agonia, core inflation will likely stay sticky throughout the year.

“Core inflation is seen to remain sticky throughout the year given… that recent price hikes made by restaurants, healthcare institutions, personal care providers, and schools will not adjust downward immediately given that global energy prices have not gone (down) fully to pre-Iran war levels,” Mr. Taningco told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.

Mr. Agonia also noted that underlying price pressures may linger due to higher aggregate demand from the government’s infrastructure spending catch-up and the upcoming minimum wage hike in the National Capital Region (NCR).

“While crude oil has softened recently, pricing and wage adjustments in secondary and tertiary sectors have likely been pushing underlying price pressures,” he told BusinessWorld. “This may persist for the rest of the year, especially as the National Government’s infrastructure spending revival raises aggregate demand and the recent minimum wage adjustment feeds into prices.”

The first tranche of the P85 daily minimum wage hike in NCR, or P60, will be implemented on July 25. The second tranche of P25 will take effect in January 2027.

Second-round effects refer to the impact of initial price shocks on the costs of other commodities. This is often realized when businesses pass on the burden of higher costs to consumers by raising the prices of commodities and services, including food, utilities, and transport.

By measuring core inflation, economic managers like the BSP can determine whether prevailing consumer price movements reflect short-lived disruptions or a long-term trend.

FURTHER TIGHTENING
Metrobank’s Mr. Mapa and Security Bank’s Mr. Taningco expect the BSP to deliver a final 25-basis-point (bp) hike at its next policy review in August to cap its tightening cycle this year.

“With headline falling amidst core inflation increasing, BSP would be correct to carry on with its data-driven approach and measured pace of tightening,” Mr. Mapa said.

“We expect another 25-bp increase at their next meeting. If headline inflation continues to fade and fall quickly, the next rate hike may be BSP’s last for the year,” he added.

However, Mr. Taningco said there could potentially be more hikes if price pressures worsen due to a re-escalation of the Middle East war, the looming El Niño phenomenon, and higher minimum wage and transport fare hikes.   

Under its inflation-targeting framework, the BSP uses monetary policy tools to prevent inflation spillovers and keep inflation expectations anchored, particularly by tempering the second-order effects of price shocks on wage- and price-setting behavior.

This includes the central bank raising its key interest rate to make borrowing more expensive, which helps cool down inflation through lowering aggregate demand by dampening spending.

At its June 18 meeting, the Monetary Board lifted its benchmark rate for a second straight meeting by 25 bps to 4.75%. This brought its total hikes since April to 50 bps.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has left the door open for another 25-bp hike, with expectations of an economic rebound by the second half giving them space to tighten further.

The central bank has also remained hawkish on the back of still “strong” inflationary pressures, evidenced by the heated core inflation last month.

The BSP noted that it will continue to pursue price stability and hope to bring inflation back to their 3% target through monetary policy rate adjustments.

Meanwhile, Nomura Global Markets Research slashed its Philippine inflation forecast to 5.1% from 5.5% for 2026 and to 3.1% from 3.2% for 2027 as it noted that the headline print has likely peaked.

However, expectations of heated core inflation may still warrant an additional 50 bps in hikes to bring the key policy rate to 5.25% by yearend.

“We lowered our CPI inflation forecasts due to our latest oil price assumptions. In terms of the trajectory, we believe headline inflation has already peaked, but core inflation has not, reflecting second-round effects,” Nomura research analysts Euben Paracuelles and Nabila Amani said in a report.

EL NIÑO RISKS
The Philippines, alongside India, stands as the most vulnerable to the impact of El Niño given its position as a net food importer and the heavy weight of food in its CPI basket, according to Nomura.

“The Philippines and India are most exposed to an El Niño shock, followed by Indonesia and Thailand,” it said. “(The) Philippines is particularly vulnerable to higher rice prices: it is a net food importer (2% of gross domestic product), and rice accounts for 8.9% of its CPI basket.”

Food and nonalcoholic beverages account for 37.75% of the country’s total basket of goods, with rice making up around 9%.

The state weather bureau earlier said emerging El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific has an 80% chance to develop into a full-fledged El Niño, with the Philippines likely to encounter a “strong” El Niño season between September and November, and a “very strong” one between October and January next year.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the looming “super El Niño” can bring high temperatures that will harm crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, potentially slashing agricultural output by 20%-30%.

“Lower oil and fertilizer prices can also help keep the lid on food inflation, although with 2026 an El Niño year, medium-term risks to food inflation remain,” Nomura also said.

For Mr. Agonia’s part, the Philippines risks facing a fresh round of supply shock and from the upcoming “super El Niño,” which could weigh on the cost of other commodities.

“The looming El Niño threat may also invite another supply shock that could ripple once more through different industries,” he noted.

Mr. Agonia said the central bank may tighten by another 50 bps before standing pat in 2027, with pressures from the El Niño event and worse second-order effects to open room for more hikes.

“BSP may be more aggressive than this if second-round effects and the El Niño phenomenon prove to materially alter the inflation outlook,” he said.

“However, more rate hikes may disproportionately weaken medium-term economic growth prospects. As such, we think BSP will tighten by 50 bps more this year while going on pause for 2027.”

The Monetary Board is scheduled to hold three more regular policy reviews this year on Aug. 27, Oct. 22, and Dec. 17.

That was fast.

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-13-26 promise that Alex will quickly realize that he missed Joy’s voicemail — but will he put two and two together?

Stephanie isn’t the only one with an explosive secret, but considering her history with Alex, this one needs to come out ASAP.

Stephanie Couldn’t Forgive Alex When He Engaged In This Behavior, So…

It’s bad enough that Stephanie decided that she had the right to delete a voicemail from Joy just because she believed Joy was manipulating Alex.

She had no evidence whatsoever — just her gut feeling that Joy’s emergencies couldn’t possibly be important, and an offhand, likely unfair comment from Chanel about how Joy is a backstabber.

She didn’t know, of course, that Joy had a car accident with the baby in the back of the car, but that doesn’t excuse her behavior. Even if Joy is being manipulative, she is also the mother of Alex’s child and needs to be able to communicate freely with him about their baby.

But Stephanie’s behavior is even harder to stomach, knowing that she raked Alex over the coals for a long time when he did the same thing.

Several years ago, Alex grabbed Stephanie’s phone while she was in the shower and deleted a voicemail from Chad because he had decided Chad was interfering with the relationship and trying to win Stephanie for himself — and it was from Kayla, supposedly dying.

Stephanie (rightfully) was furious when she found out, because she felt she had missed out on seeing her mother one last time.

Of course, it was a false alarm — Kayla was only temporarily dead so she could be part of a ridiculous storyline involving an orchid and the world’s longest, stupidest dream sequence, but that’s beside the point.

Stephanie took months to forgive Alex. She was brutal toward him during all that time, accusing him of being controlling, and the fact that Kayla was eventually resurrected didn’t change how she felt.

Now, the roles are reversed. Stephanie deleted Joy’s voicemail because she felt Joy was interfering with the relationship and didn’t realize it was actually urgent. That’s not only wrong, but absolutely hypocritical.

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-13-26 promise that Alex will realize that he missed a voicemail — but will he realize Stephanie was to blame?

According to the spoiler video, Joy will tell Alex she left him a panicked voicemail, and he’ll realize he never received it.

He likely won’t want to believe that Stephanie deliberately erased it. Not only does he love her, but he undoubtedly remembers how she treated him when he did the same thing, so it won’t make sense to him to suspect that she could do such a thing.

Plus, Days of Our Lives is not reluctant to make characters stupid when it suits the plot, so Alex could very well realize his voicemail was deleted but not have a clue that Stephanie was the only one with access to his phone.

After all, Alex not figuring this out could lead to Joy accusing Stephanie, and Alex believing she’s only saying that to interfere with his marriage.

I hope not, though.

Stephanie needs to be caught, and Alex needs to confront her for being a total hypocrite. Sorry, but her PTSD doesn’t excuse this.

Trauma responses aren’t an excuse anyway — they’re an explanation. And this particular choice wasn’t related to her trauma. It was an impulsive move borne out of jealousy, just like when Alex did it.

Do you think Alex should forgive Stephanie once he finds out what she did?
Let us know in the comments. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends.

I’m also interested in Kayla’s reaction. Stephanie is supposed to confess to her, and there’s no telling how her mother will react.

Kayla is often a lot like Caroline was. She tends to have strict ethical boundaries and doesn’t accept shady behavior (yes, we’re looking at you, EJ!).

But most of Salem makes exceptions for their kids, no matter how much of a moral absolutist anyone is otherwise, and Steve and Kayla have been worried about Stephanie since the abduction.

Kayla might rationalize that Joy has pushed too many of Stephanie’s buttons and Stephanie fought back the only way she could. I’d hate it, but I could imagine her doing that.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and… Theo?

I figured either Stephanie or Alex would sleep with someone else while their marriage was on the rocks, but I didn’t expect Alex to think there was something going on between her and Theo.

For once, the show is being unpredictable, at least for now — I was sure she would re-establish a relationship with Philip since he’s starting to replace Jeremy as her non-Alex source of support.

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-13-26 have Theo and Stephanie bonding over something unexpected. On Theo’s end, he likely feels betrayed by Abe, while Stephanie feels the same about Alex.

And of course, the spoiler video ends with Alex coming home and finding Theo asleep on his couch.

That’s likely a false alarm or a misunderstanding, but it’s still a strange pairing choice since these two have rarely interacted.

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Elsewhere in Salem, Other Secrets Explode…

Kayla informs EJ that the board has voted to remove him as owner of the hospital, but I’d bet anything he’s not giving up without a fight, and no one fights dirtier than EJ.

I’m curious what his next move is, and whether it has anything to do with the pills that Tate finds in Holly’s hospital room.

I’m really not happy with this story, which makes a mockery out of real addiction issues, although I suppose Holly really could decide to use because she believes that everyone thinks the worst of her anyway.

But it’s more likely that someone is planting those pills to take the heat off of EJ for the Coreseal disaster, and I don’t want to sit through months of Holly being punished for something she didn’t do — even if it is her karma for letting Tate take the rap for her original overdose.

What do you think? Is Holly going to relapse for real?

Head to the comments with your thoughts about that and everything else coming up on Days of Our Lives, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join the conversation.

Vote in our poll below to tell us which Days of Our Lives spoiler for the week of 7-13-26 is your favorite.

If you enjoyed this article, check out Laura Nowak’s recent thoughts about Stephanie’s storyline.

These Days of Our Lives spoilers will stream on Peacock during the week of 7-13-26. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.    

• 

  Stephanie made a headscratching decision, but Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-13-26 suggest she may already get caught.

• 

  Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-06-26 promise more angst ahead for Chanel, and we hate what that might mean.

• 

  Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 promise plenty of summer heat, but something is missing from these stories.

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Games Done Quick/Count Gooby

Summer Games Done Quick is officially over after a marathon week of speedrunning games for a good cause, and the organizers say it raised a total of $2,408,701 for Doctors Without Borders in that time (again!). The annual event in Minneapolis kicked off on July 5 and wrapped up early Sunday morning. Roughly 2,500 people showed up in person, in addition to the thousands of viewers who watched from home.

This year’s Summer Games Done Quick brought a new speedrunning world record: streamer Bluekandy completed a No Dupes run of Kirby Air Raiders with a final time of 37 minutes and 54 seconds. Other highlights include “a Balatro run that beat all odds, and impromptu beatboxing during the Resident Evil: Requiem run,” the organizers noted in an announcement. Everything was streamed on Games Done Quick’s Twitch and YouTube channels, where you can find the full archive of videos now if you missed anything while the event was live.

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Pulp played an epic closing set at Mad Cool 2026 last night (Saturday July 11), with their performance also doubling up as a celebration for England fans.

The escalations of the World Cup have been a focal feature of the Madrid festival, particularly the day before when Spain beat Belgium. Not only was the home country’s match shown on a big screen in the middle of the Iberdrola Music arena site, but their 2-1 victory was celebrated by Kings Of Leon and Interpol from the stage.

Then on the closing Saturday, the England match clashed with the latter part of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ headline set, as well as those from David Byrne and Pulp. The line-up drew a large number of British fans and many in England shirts, who could be seen celebrating when goals were scored as they kept up to date on their phones. The blowing of the whistle on England’s 2-1 win coincided with Pulp kicking into set closer ‘Common People’, with many taking to their friends’ shoulders to celebrate.

During the song, Jarvis Cocker also got guitarist Mark Webber (who’d been previously watching the match backstage with drummer Nick Banks) to share news of the score, before the frontman wryly told the crowd: “But we don’t care about football because we’d rather play a concert for you people.”

Reviewing the set in NME‘s highlights from the day, we wrote: “Running into the early hours of Sunday morning, their set also saw classics like ‘Babies’ and ‘Do You Remember The First Time’ come in thick and fast, as well as a euphoric rendition of newer single ‘Spike Island’ and an elaborate performance of ‘Farmer’s Market’ — which the frontman fittingly introduced by throwing some grapes into the crowd.

“Fluttering between intense theatrical performances of deeper cuts and straightforward, feel-good versions of their biggest hits, the closing set was a pure visual spectacle from start to end.”

Pulp’s Mad Cool 2026 setlist was:

‘Sorted for E’s & Wizz’
‘Disco 2000’
‘Spike Island’
‘Razzmatazz’
‘Farmers Market’
‘This Is Hardcore’
‘Sunrise’
‘Begging for Change’
‘Do You Remember the First Time?’
‘Mis-Shapes’
‘Got to Have Love’
‘Babies’
‘Common People’

Pulp’s 2026 summer tour is almost at an end up with upcoming shows including a Rough Trade 50th anniversary celebration show at London’s Southbank Centre and headline appearances at All Together Now in Ireland, Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park and End Of The Road Festival as they wrap up the campaign for 2025’s acclaimed comeback album ‘More‘. Visit here for tickets and more information.

NME is the official media partner of Mad Cool.

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Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

For Raq to go nuclear, her back truly had to be up against the wall.

We’ve seen her in various positions that seemed insurmountable, and she’s always found a way out. But to give up Kanan to Marvin in a moment of sheer panic?

Raq’s officially reached the point where she’s realized her son is a bigger problem than she ever could have imagined.

After the failed hit on Stefano during Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 Episode 4, Raq and Marvin knew they were in trouble, and it’s clear how much Lou-Lou is missed as the two siblings continuously butt heads over things.

Raq always wants to assess every situation from every angle, while Marvin is a reactor.

He sees a problem, and he follows his instincts to solve it. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s not always the wrong decision.

But in this scenario, Raq was banking on her connection with Pino and the money she was making him to help keep her safe, which was a safe bet, albeit a little shortsighted.

If there’s anything we’ve learned about Stefano since we met him, it’s that he carries a grudge. He’s vindictive, and he’s clever, and there was never a universe where he was going to turn the other cheek after Raq tried to get him whacked.

Raq choosing to just act as if she had nothing to do with the hit on Stefano when talking to Pino was comical because it’s not as if she thought Pino was buying it, but she still had to stick to the story that she wasn’t behind it.

What’s worrisome about Raq’s position right now is that everything depends on her business flourishing. If she’s not producing for Pino and Flossie, she’s of no use to them and has no protection.

Pino’s been an interesting addition thus far, and Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 Episode 5 felt like the first time we got to see how he operates.

There’s obviously no love lost between the two bosses, but while Stefano is outwardly menacing, Pino’s a little more casual with it. There’s no doubt he’s a killer, same as Stefano, but he’s a little quieter about it.

Stefano is quick to cut people down and issue threats, but Pino is a little less bold and hides behind a smile.

Considering we only have a few more episodes left, I’d love for the focus to be on Raq and Kanan, but there’s something inherently fun about seeing Tony Danza and Joe Pantoliano go up against each other every week.

Stefano making the rounds to all of Raq’s enemies shows just how much she’s gotten under his skin, and that was before she wanted him dead. He’s always felt like he’s above Raq, as many of these men do, and when she didn’t give in to his demands earlier this season, he decided she was persona non grata.

When Pino didn’t budge, he pulled Kanan, Breeze, and Flossie to get them to do his dirty work.

Breeze was the only one who bit, and I do wonder if Stefano will eventually keep pressing Raq enough that he ultimately pushes everyone else away.

Either way, it’s very unlikely that Pino and Stefano both make it out of this season alive.

It’s always fascinating to see how people approach Kanan about Raq, because no matter what he says, how does one trust that he’d ever truly go against his mother?

Of course, we know there is no love lost between them, but from the outside looking in, how does Stefano believe that Kanan would truly side with him when push came to shove? He has no allegiance to him outside of the shared business, and why would that be enough?

Breeze is smart enough to recognize that, to truly get Kanan, he needs to hammer home the idea that they are long-lost brothers bonded by their dead drug-dealing superstar daddy.

Kanan knows it’s all crap, but there’s no reason to let Breeze in on that when they’ve got a good thing going.

The dynamic between Breeze and Kanan has been growing steadily, but you can still tell these are two alphas learning how the other works. They’re a good team, and they can sense that, but it still feels like there’s a wall between them.

They aren’t in competition with each other, but they’re still figuring the other one out. And it’s a fun little cat-and-mouse game they’re playing right now. But how long will that last?

This hour proved to be a bit of a defining moment in the series as things played out, with Raq becoming increasingly overwhelmed by her situation.

It wasn’t like the walls were closing in on her just yet, but she could tell she wasn’t in a comfortable position at all. And pulling one of Kanan’s messenger boys off the streets felt a little desperate, but also showed she was finally taking Kanan seriously as a threat.

Both she and Marvin have failed to see the kind of man Kanan has become, or more likely, they’re unwilling to. Kanan’s still a kid in their eyes, and definitely still making kid mistakes, but he’s far from some incompetent new player in the game.

And that’s to say nothing of the people who have gathered behind him.

We’re seeing Kanan become increasingly violent and menacing, and it’s such a treat to see MeKai Curtis fully embody and embrace this side of Kanan.

Kanan’s reached a point where he’s setting himself up to be completely opposite of his family, even if it may not seem like it on the surface.

Kanan’s side is in Queens, and Raq’s is in Manhattan, but there’s overlap, history, and a lot of animosity. Stefano coming to him was as much about gauging his feelings as it was further reiterating that the side he’s on is firmly plotting against Raq, and thus his family.

Kanan’s okay with that because he’s made it very clear how he feels about his mother. And I’m inclined to believe him at this point.

Raq’s a different story.

She’s done a lot of cleaning up for Kanan and a lot of protecting, but she’s also done a lot of lying and a lot of looking out for her own interests before looking out for her son.

It’s very fair to say that, in some ways, she’s getting what’s been coming to her, but in other ways, you can see that she’s done so much for Kanan that Kanan has repaid her with venom and judgment.

Their relationship has always been a slippery slope, and you’ll talk yourself in circles trying to justify why one is “better” than the other, or why one deserves more compassion than the other.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan has done a masterful job over the years of fleshing out these two deeply imperfect characters, giving them the space and nuance to be complicated and to exist within that complexity.

I constantly find myself warring with understanding Raq and agreeing with her, then feeling confused or disappointed by her choices. That emotional push and pull is the hallmark of truly great character writing and one of the reasons she’s always been so compelling.

She’s now at a point where she sees that while she’s not losing, she’s also not winning. And she’s been pushing Kanan to the back of her mind, focusing on the work and only the work, but she could only ignore Kanan for so long.

When she shot the poor boy, I knew that she’d officially come unglued in a way we hadn’t seen from her in a while. Even when Raq loses herself, you can hardly tell, because she will parlay it into making sense one way or the other.

There was no reason to kill that boy, and there was no reason to tell Marvin about Kanan outside of her realizing that she was losing her grip on the situation, Marvin, and everything around her.

Raq can exist within the chaos, but she has to feel she controls it. That’s not what’s happening right now, and in many ways, it hasn’t been for some time.

By telling Marvin that Kanan killed Lou-Lou, she knew Kanan would be dealt with, and she could feel in control again. Control of Marvin and, by extension, everything else, because she knew that Marvin was going to leave a mark on Kanan that he would never forget.

But we then circle back to the fact that no one understands just what kind of monster Kanan has become.

I wonder if this will be the real turning point for Kanan Stark. The moment when everything shut off, and he turned into the kind of man who would murder his own child in cold blood.

Marvin gave him the beating of a lifetime, and he should have finished the job if we’re being honest.

I wonder if Jukebox ever regretted stopping her father that day, because it’s very likely that it changed the trajectory of their lives.

It certainly changes Power Book III: Raising Kanan and prepares us for the final days of this piece of the universe.

Everything Else You Need To Know

• I’m loving this side plot of Jukebox entering the business and seeing how she starts to break away from her family. Marvin’s trying, weakly, to steer her away, but everyone in that family was doomed from the start.

• Justice for Famous! At least there’s someone out there still trying to avenge his murder.

• When did Garcia get so tough? He’s really doing the most when nobody told him he had to become a dirty cop!

• Jarita is soft-launching her departure from Flossie to become Kanan’s full-time girlfriend. I wish someone would tell her to run!

• Joaquin coming back for one week only to be taken out the next. And that foreshadowing of Breeze’s own demise? Perfection.

• Submit that confrontation between Patina Miller and London Brown for every award possible.

Everything changes from here on out, and the series continues to reach new heights, gifting us with one of the greatest scenes in the entire Power Universe.

There’s much to discuss with this one, so don’t be shy! Let me know in the comments where you see things going over the final hours!

You can watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan at midnight on the STARZ app. On linear, it airs on STARZ at 8:00 pm ET/PT in the U.S.

• 

  Whether it’s isolation, history, trauma, or systems that fail people, the fear always comes from something deeper, and The Terror: Devil in Silver continues that tradition in unsettling ways. Dan Stevens stars as Pepper, a man who finds himself trapped inside New Hyde psychiatric facility while trying to understand whether the horrors unfolding around him…

• 

  The Terror: Devil in Silver uses horror to explore the unsettling reality of institutional life. Christopher Cantwell and Victor LaVelle talk about it.

• 

  IT: Welcome To Derry has been sensational in terms of storytelling, but has to stop relying on age-old crutches.

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Sam Fender and Olivia Dean‘s ‘Rein Me In’ has made history by becoming the longest-running British Number One single of all time.

The two artists officially released the collaborative version of the ‘People Watching’ track last summer, after they performed it live together at Fender’s shows in London and Newcastle.

• READ MORE: Olivia Dean live in Glasgow: a new popstar’s victory lap

In May, the pair celebrated nine non-consecutive weeks at the top spot on the UK singles chart by delivering a joint rendition during Dean’s headline concert at London’s O2. The collab earned Fender his first UK Number One single, and gave Dean her second following ‘Man I Need’.

Its 35-week climb broke the previous record of 19 weeks in the UK top 40, set by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ in 2014. Fender and Dean’s team-up bagged them the Song Of The Year award at the BRITs 2026, too.

Now, it’s been revealed that the track has spent a record-breaking 16th week at Number One in the UK. The feat sees ‘Rein Me In’ overtake Wet Wet Wet’s ‘Love Is All Around’, which held the British record for more than 30 years after spending 15 weeks at the top spot in 1994. Fender and Dean had tied with the Scottish group last week.

The single now also equals Bryan Adams’ ‘(Everything I Do) I Do It For You’ (1991) as the joint second-longest-running Number One single of all time, behind Frankie Laine’s ‘I Believe’ from 1958.

Ben Mortimer, President, Polydor Label Group, said: “From the beginning, we knew that ‘Rein Me In’ had a rare quality, so it was important to give it the space and support needed to grow.

“Watching it build has been incredibly rewarding – that kind of sustained success doesn’t happen by accident, it takes brilliant artists and a dedicated team.”

He added: “Breaking a record that has stood for more than 30 years is a remarkable achievement for Sam and Olivia, and we are incredibly proud to have played a part.”

Jo Charrington, President, Capitol UK, commented: “This is the duet of the decade. What Olivia and Sam have achieved with ‘Rein Me In’ is incredibly special.

“To see Olivia’s voice and artistry connect with people on this scale, alongside an artist as brilliant as Sam, has been wonderful to watch.”

Fender and Dean’s duet took 35 weeks from its first UK chart entry to reach Number One, breaking the record for the longest climb to the top when it first hit the summit this February.

At the time, Dean occupied three of the top four spots on the UK singles chart, with ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’ rising to Number Two and her previous chart-topper ‘Man I Need’ coming in at Number Four.

‘Rein Me In’ is the longest-running UK Number One of the 2020s, and the only single in UK chart history to climb back to the top position four times during the same chart run.

As well as its 16 weeks at Number One, the track has now spent 55 consecutive weeks in the UK top 40, 28 consecutive weeks in the UK top 10, and 38 weeks in total inside the UK top 10.

These figures make it the longest consecutive top 40 run in history, the longest top 10 run in 73 years, the second-longest consecutive top 10 run ever, and the outright record-holder for the most weeks in the UK top 10 for any non-Christmas single.

The collab is also only the second single in history to spend a full calendar year in the UK top 40.

Earlier this year, Fender was the recipient of the Songwriter Of The Year award at the Ivor Novellos. Elton John presented the artist with the prize, describing him as “one of the greatest lyricists Britain has ever produced”.

Nodding to the ongoing success of ‘Rein Me In’, John joked: “The only thing I’ll say is, for Christ’s sake, you’ve been at Number One for 12 weeks now, bugger off!”

Meanwhile, Olivia Dean won the Best New Artist statue at the BET Awards last month. She cleared up at this year’s BRITs in February, with her wins including Album Of The Year for ‘The Art Of Loving’.

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Madison Square Garden’s current on-site technology includes cameras that scan for facial recognition, allowing the arena to track every person who enters the building. But according to a recent Wired report, the historic New York City venue is keeping a far more extensive database on celebrities than previously known, with entries noting a supposed risk level, and, in some cases, an individual’s sexual orientation and racial identity. Among those listed are Phoebe Bridgers, Freddie Gibbs, and Geese’s Emily Green.

Wired journalists Noah Shachtman and Maddy Varner combed through Madison Square Garden documents that were published last month by the criminal hacker collective ShinyHunters and first covered by 404 Media. They found 39,539 entries in the Garden’s “talent” database, including politicians, athletes, business figures, and more.

Of the nearly 40,000 people in the database, 93 have been marked as “LGBTQIA,” such as Bridgers, Green, and Ricky Martin. Some celebrities’ race and gender identity were also noted, but not everyone’s was labeled. Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Martin, Green, and Bridgers for comment.

Roughly 400 celebrities were also reportedly assigned a “risk” score. According to one source who spoke to Wired, Madison Square Garden’s security assigns a score if the person has “done something in the publicity world, the social media world, that has caught the attention of the wrong people.” Those deemed a “low risk” include Ice Spice, Selena Gomez, and Benson Boone, while a “medium risk” tag has been assigned to Morgan Wallen, Lily Allen, and Jadakiss. Then there’s the “high risk” label, which is used on Gibbs, Lil Jon, DaBaby, and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, among others.

Per Wired, Madison Square Garden’s security actively searches the internet and social media for anything threatening or negative said by its guests, especially celebrities and VIPs. They keep a particularly watchful eye for anything negative about James Dolan, the executive chairman and chief executive officer of Madison Square Garden Sports and Entertainment. Rap producer and longtime Knicks fan DJ Pete Rock is currently marked as “DO NOT HOST” in the database—which Rock believes is due to his call for a boycott of Dolan after former Knicks enforcer Charles Oakley was forcibly escorted from the venue. “You can’t stop me from being a Knick fan, but your controlling behavior towards people is very unprofessional,” Rock told Wired.

The surveillance practices implemented by Dolan are also enforced at his company’s other venues: The Sphere in Las Vegas and Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Madison Square Garden is currently facing several class-action lawsuits that claim this private data leak was the result of Dolan’s increasing surveillance. People whose information may have been compromised are encouraged to change their passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and contact each credit bureau to freeze their credit.

Update: In a statement shared with Pitchfork the morning of Friday, July 10, a representative for Madison Square Garden wrote “Wired’s reporting is inaccurate and false. MSG is pursuing legal remedies.”

Going Analog at Phoebe Bridgers’ Phones-Free MSG Show

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THE United States has identified its Pax Silica-related initiatives in the Philippines as one of its top priorities, with Manila looking to generate hundreds and thousands of jobs from a “generational investment,” the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go, who met with US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton on July 9, noted the project’s importance to Washington.

“He expressed that on the economic side, the Pax Silica project is on top of the priority list of the Americans,” he told reporters on Friday.

Citing his talks with Mr. Lipton, the Finance chief said the US is keen to fast-track developments related to Pax Silica in the Philippines.

“If we’re going to do this, we might as well do it as fast as possible so that we can provide jobs and be a significant player in the technology of the future,” Mr. Go said.
He added that the Philippines’ inclusion in Pax Silica is expected to generate “hundreds and thousands of jobs” for Filipinos, as the country seeks to become a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) and chips manufacturing.

“If we want to be a player in the AI industry in the future, we need to start somewhere,” he said. “This is really a great start because once you have the ecosystem, one thing leads to another.”

In April, the Philippines joined Pax Silica, a US-led initiative to secure global AI supply chains and counter China’s growing tech manufacturing sector.

As part of Pax Silica, the Manila and Washington are developing a 1,618-hectare AI-native hub in New Clark City in Tarlac, which is expected to attract AI and chip manufacturing investments.

“I think both sides are very excited to get this moving along, because I really believe this could be a generational type of project,” Mr. Go said.

The Philippines is one of 23 signatories under the Pax Silica, which includes Argentina, Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Go earlier said the Philippines is hoping to sign a framework agreement under the Pax Silica initiative before the year ends.

Mr. Teodoro said that the government would need to realign its budget to support higher defense spending, noting that resources are finite.

“We definitely need to realign,” he told reporters on the sideline of the Stratbase Institute conference, “More for one means less for another.”

Asked if where the funding can get, he said, “It is up to somebody, all I’m saying is we need to increase.”

Mr. Teodoro also confirmed that the planned transfer of five Japanese warships has been accepted “in principle” and is being worked out, although he declined to provide a timeline.

He said that the vessels would be transferred at no costs, but the Philippines would shoulder expenses for transport, crew training and system integration, as well as invest in new naval facilities to support future acquisitions.

Mr. Teodoro also backed calls for a stronger response to China’s latest claims involving Batanes, saying that the country’s pushback should be firm as such assertions violate international law and Philippine sovereignty.

“Naturally, our pushback should be strong because, number one, this is not only a violation of international law… it is also a violation of the normal thinking of the people,” Mr. Teodoro said.

Former Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio, meanwhile, challenged China to bring its reported claim over the Batanes Islands before an international court, saying Beijing should prove its assertions through legal channels instead of public statements.

“My challenge to China is why don’t they bring that issue to the International Court of Justice that they own the Batanes Island,” Mr. Carpio told reporters.

“Go ahead, bring a case in the International Court of Justice. We will meet there. We will abide by the ruling,” he added.

Meanwhile, Batanes Rep. Ciriaco B. Gato Jr. rejected the claims, calling the assertions an affront to Philippine sovereignty and the identity of the Ivatan people.

“Batanes is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The Ivatans are Filipinos,” Mr. Gato said in a statement on Friday, “We treat any insinuation that seeks to question or undermine the absolute sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines over our islands with utmost gravity.”

Adding, “Any challenge to our statues is not merely a geopolitical provocation; it is an affront to our identity that we will not tolerate.”

The Chinese Embassy to the Philippines did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comments.

Meanwhile, Mr. Teodoro said that the Philippines should leverage its growing defense partnerships to deepen economic and political ties with like-minded countries, arguing that security cooperation alone would not be enough to sustain the country’s long-term strategic objectives.

“These defense alliances will not be sustainable if these are strictly defense alliances, but should be the foundations for more extensive economic and, at the end of the day, political relations,” he said at the Stratbase Institute conference marking the 10th anniversary of the 2016 arbitral ruling.

Mr. Teodoro said that the government is shifting its defense strategy from one centered on internal security and land-based operations to a multi-domain approach that includes the country’s exclusive economic zone, the Philippine Rise and other maritime areas under Philippine jurisdiction.

He said that the review of the country’s defense posture identified significant gaps in infrastructure, logistics, defense industries, and military capabilities, underscoring the need for sustained investments.

The defense secretary also called for stronger cooperation among government, businesses, and civil society in building a credible deterrence, saying that the country’s security depends not only on military spending but also on resilient supply chains, telecommunications networks, critical infrastructure, and strategic industries.

“Without that commitment, then we cannot build a credible deterrence posture, which at the end of the day is necessary for us to assert our rights,” Mr. Teodoro said.

He also described the 2016 arbitral award as a catalyst for the Philippines’ shift toward external defense, saying the ruling has strengthened international support for a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.

“It is not an award for the Philippines, it is an award for the world because it institutes the primacy of UNCLOS and guards it against revisionist attempts,” he said.

AFP Chief of Staff Romeo S. Brawner Jr. said that the military’s experience over the past decade has shown that the Philippines must continuously exercise the rights affirmed by the 2016 arbitral ruling.

“Rights endure only when they are exercised,” Mr. Brawner said, adding that the ruling provides a strong legal foundation that must remain meaningful “not only in legal discourse but also in our actions.”

He said that the AFP’s objective is to prevent conflict through credible deterrence posture.

“Credible deterrence is much more than military hardware,” Mr. Brawner said, “It is built through capable forces, operational readiness, trusted partnerships, resilient institutions, and above all, the national resolve to stand firm in defense of what is rightfully ours.”

He also stressed the importance of maintaining a sustained presence in the West Philippine Sea, saying every patrol, resupply mission, and joint exercise reinforce the country’s sovereign rights. — Pexcel John Bacon

“The University has a legal duty to protect and utilize its land for the UP community,” the academic institution said in a statement.

“UP can not turn a blind eye to the substandard living conditions in its own backyard – it is morally bound to help its most vulnerable community members,” it added.

Tensions sparked at Pook Malantic in Barangay UP Campus, UP Diliman, on Wednesday after residents formed a human barricade out of fear of demolition, preventing a private truck and security personnel from entering the community.

The university clarified that no house demolitions were ordered that day and that it intended only to fence the perimeter of the on-site transition housing area.

“UP is indisputably the owner of the land on which rental housing will be provided to UP staff and ISF (informal settler families),” the institution said. “The courts have affirmed many times that UP owns the land in its Diliman campus.”

UP is also committed to providing ‘secure’ and ‘dignified’ shelter to at least 26 ISFs who may be affected by the construction of its housing project. “With on-site relocation, no ISFs will be displaced from their community,” it added.

The UP Southern Diliman Gardens Rental Housing Project is a socialized rental housing project under the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program. It is one of the flagship housing components envisioned for the UP Sustainable Development Goals Park.

The project comprises eight walk-up buildings totaling about 1,000 housing units, each measuring 27 square meters. It targets construction completion in 2027.

The rental housing initiative will be undertaken by Megawide Construction, the contractor for the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

“UP’s rental housing initiative is specifically designed to provide affordable, decent, secure, and accessible shelter for UP staff and ISFs,” the university said. “Protecting them from displacement or exploitation by individuals or groups falsely claiming ownership of or control over UP land.”

“Beyond housing, UP has committed to providing livelihood training and support, sustainable communal urban farming, education and university readiness programs, and other initiatives for the welfare of community members,” it added.

UP earlier unveiled the model unit for its pilot rental housing project that is expected to benefit over 3,000 individuals. Apart from the Diliman campus, DHSUD is also implementing a rental housing project for UP-Los Baños. — Almira Louise S. Martinez

Net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines plunged to a near 10-year low of $250 million in April, as heightened global uncertainty dented investor sentiment, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Based on central bank data released on Friday, FDI net inflows declined by 58.8% to $250 million in April from $607 million in the same month last year.

April saw the lowest monthly level seen since the $244 million in June 2016, and the steepest year on year drop since the 76.1% in December 2022.

Month on month, FDI net inflows slumped by 59.1% from the $611 million in March.

“The sharp decline in FDI net inflows to $250 million in April likely reflects a combination of weaker intercompany borrowings, slower reinvestment activity, and continued investor caution amid an uncertain global environment,” Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said via Viber.

The latest FDI level was dragged by the 91.7% drop in net investments in debt instruments to $44 million in April from $522 million a year ago.

Reinvestment of earnings likewise slipped by 1.9% to $80 million from $81 million in April 2025.
Meanwhile, investments in equity and investment fund shares more than doubled (143.5%) to P207 million in April from $85 million the prior year.

Foreign net investments in equity capital other than reinvestment of earnings also ballooned (3,041%) annually to $127 million from $4 million previously.

Equity placements jumped by 21.4% to $136 million from $112 million a year earlier, while withdrawals plunged by 91.7% to $9 million from $108 million.

For Mr. Asuncion, the softer FDI inflows in April likely came as firms and investors deferred investments amid highly uncertain global conditions compounded by weak domestic growth.

“At the same time, heightened global uncertainty stemming from trade tensions, lingering geopolitical risks, and episodes of financial market volatility may have prompted multinational firms to defer expansion plans and adopt a more conservative stance toward capital deployment,” he said.

“Domestically, relatively subdued economic growth in the early part of the year may have also tempered investment decisions,” he added.

FOUR-MONTH FDI DOWN
In the four months to April, the country’s FDI net inflows totaled $1.968 billion, falling by 26.5% from the $2.675 billion in the same period last year.

This was the 15th consecutive month that the cumulative FDI level dropped year on year.

“The decline was driven by lower foreign net investments in debt instruments and reinvestment of earnings, which more than offset the increase in foreign net investments in equity capital (other than reinvestment of earnings),” the BSP said in a statement.

BSP data showed nonresidents’ net investments in debt instruments sank by 40.3% to $1.218 billion in the January-to-April period from $2.042 billion the previous year.

Reinvestment of earnings, on the other hand, dropped by an annual 14% to $285 million in April from $332 million a year ago.

However, net equity capital investments excluding reinvested earnings surged by 53.7% to $464 million as of April from $302 million a year ago.

This as equity capital placements edged up by 3.3% to $526 million from $509 million, with bulk of the flows coming from Japan, the United States, and Singapore.

“These were channeled largely into the manufacturing, financial and insurance, and real estate industries,” the BSP added.

At the same time, withdrawals plunged by 70.5% to $61 million in April from $207 million a year ago.

Investments in equity and investment fund shares also climbed by 18.3% to $750 million during the period from $634 million last year.

According to Mr. Asuncion, the Philippines may continue to see subdued foreign investment flows over the near term, with recovery expected as the global financial climate and domestic growth improve.

“That said, while FDI may remain soft in the near term, we do not expect a sustained collapse in inflows,” he said, noting gains from long-term investment fundamentals, enhanced infrastructure, ongoing investment liberalization measures, and growth opportunities across multiple sectors.

“As global financial conditions stabilize and domestic growth gains traction, we expect FDI inflows to gradually recover, although the pace will likely remain uneven given the lingering uncertainties in the global economy,” Mr. Asuncion added.

FDIs refer to cross-border investments in which a nonresident investor holds at least 10% equity in a resident enterprise. These may take the form of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings and intercompany borrowings.

The BSP’s FDI data reflect actual investment flows. This differs from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s approved foreign investment data, which represent investment commitments that may not necessarily be realized within the reference period.

The central bank sees FDI net inflows falling to a total of $7 billion this year from the estimated $7.8 billion recorded in 2025.

“We are working tirelessly to ensure these classrooms are built with efficiency and transparency as this infrastructure is the bedrock of a quality learning environment,” Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said in a news release.

“We will continue to hold our partners and our internal systems to the highest level of accountability to ensure these projects remain on track,” he added.

According to the agency, 72 provinces, 73 cities, and 23 municipalities have signed Supplemental Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) for the localized classroom building program.

The enhanced monitoring framework aims to ensure that local infrastructure projects align with national timelines, digital validation, and strict quality protocols. All LGU-implemented projects are ordered to strictly adhere to DepEd’s technical standards, safety protocols, and the New Government Procurement Act.

DepEd said that 130 of the 149 monitored LGUs are currently conducting pre-procurement activities, including pre-bidding, posting, opening of bids, preparation of the Program of Work (POW) and Detailed Architectural and Engineering Design (DAED), and market scoping. These activities cover construction requirements for 358 schools nationwide.

Three LGUs have also advanced to the procurement award stage for 22 school sites.

The agency noted that it continues to use INSIGHTED, a real-time digital validation and monitoring system, to track construction progress and monitor the remaining LGUs.

“Our goal is not merely to construct buildings, but to ensure that every peso spent translates into quality and safe classrooms for our learners,” Mr. Angara said in Filipino.

“Under the directive of President Marcos, we continue to strengthen monitoring to ensure that every project meets our high standards,” he added.

The localized classroom construction program complements the agency’s other infrastructure initiatives to address the current classroom gap of over 144,000.

DepEd has allocated P65.9 billion from its P1.015-trillion 2026 budget for the construction of 24,964 new classrooms, and P7.7 billion for the repair and rehabilitation of 11,886 classrooms. — Almira Louise S. Martinez

Well, this is a new one.

Big Brother Season 28 hasn’t even premiered yet, and spoilers are already escaping from the most famous house on television.

Hours before Big Brother Season 28 Episode 1 airs, the first Head of Household of the summer has reportedly already been crowned.

Survivor alum Dee Valladares is the first Head of Household of the season.

@Hamsterwatch shared the update on Thursday afternoon on X.

Considering Dee was a competition beast during her time on Survivor, it’s no surprise that she would translate well to the Big Brother house.

The most surprising part of this spoiler is that CBS hasn’t even confirmed Dee is part of the Big Brother Season 28 cast.

Shortly after the 14 houseguests were revealed earlier this week, rumors surfaced that polarizing Big Brother Season 26 contestant Angela Murray had joined the cast alongside Survivor standout Rick Devens.

With the season not yet underway and the live feeds still offline, we don’t know exactly how the reality TV veterans will factor into the game.

Big Brother Has a Habit of Bringing Back Players

Last season, Rachel Reilly returned as part of a twist, so it’s widely believed that the “Time Trip” theme will explain why some familiar faces are entering the house.

It could be that only Angela, Dee, and Rick competed for the first Head of Household win, or it’s possible the other houseguests threw the competition to a veteran player.

Either way, Dee immediately enters the game with a major advantage.

Dee was part of one of the most dominant alliances in Survivor history, and I don’t expect her to have much trouble building relationships and finding allies inside the Big Brother house.

The bigger question is whether she’ll want to work with Angela.

Angela remains one of the most controversial faces of modern Big Brother.

The reaction to her rumored casting alone proves that fans still have strong opinions about her return.

Some viewers love the chaotic energy she brings, while others are already dreading another unpredictable summer.

It will be fascinating to see how Angela adapts to a return season as she navigates relationships with 14 new houseguests and two Survivor legends.

The biggest question is whether these reality TV veterans can coexist or whether their personalities will collide before the game even gets going.

Because if Dee and Angela end up on opposite sides, Big Brother Season 28 could have fireworks from the very beginning.

Looking ahead to Big Brother Season 28 Episode 1, it’s expected that Dee won’t be a part of the opening episode.

Earlier reports this week indicated that Dee’s participation will only be revealed on Friday evening on Big Brother: Unlocked, right before the live feeds open.

It’s certainly surprising that CBS didn’t just expand the premiere to feature every contestant, since everyone is finding out the spoilers anyway before the episodes air!

What are your thoughts on these first spoilers from the Big Brother house? Are you excited about Dee potentially steamrolling another CBS hit?

Hit the comments.

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.

• 

  Big Brother Season 28 hasn’t even premiered, but the first Head of Household winner has already been spoiled. Get the details!

• 

  Reality TV shows like Big Brother recycling players is a big problem. Repeat players are becoming the new norm, and we’re frustrated!

• 

  Big Brother has finally unveiled the cast of Season 28, and you better believe we have some thoughts. Let’s discuss!

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For 48 hours in Ankara, Turkey, it felt as though the world was moving on Donald Trump’s timetable.

Markets lurched. NATO allies braced for confrontation. Ukraine searched for reassurance. Iran threatened to upend the agenda. One moment, leaders were preparing for diplomatic crisis; the next, they were describing a “love-in” with the very president many had feared would leave the alliance more divided than ever.

I’ve covered hundreds of major international events over my 25 years at CNBC — G7, G8 and G20 summits, OPEC meetings, climate conferences and multiple trips to Ukraine. But I’ve never witnessed such dramatic reversals of fortune, affecting so many global players, compressed into just 48 hours.

The NATO Summit wasn’t simply another diplomatic gathering. It became a real-time demonstration of how quickly the geopolitical landscape can shift when President Trump is at the center of it.

While major summits involving the U.S. inevitably revolve around Washington, this one felt different. It revolved not just around one country, but also around one individual.

Think about everything that was in play. Iran. Russia’s war in Ukraine. Greenland. European security. Spain’s refusal to meet NATO’s military spending targets. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s uncertain standing with Washington. Every major issue seemed to converge on one summit — and every one of them ultimately revolved around the U.S. president.

To recount, every European NATO member — plus Canada — was effectively on trial coming into this gathering. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had again been aggressively criticizing NATO for its lack of support over Iran and for failing to spend anywhere near enough money on its own security.

In addition, the president took aim at Denmark yet again over its refusal to hand over Greenland for the greater good — whose greater good being a mildly contentious point — and, of course, Spain was getting both barrels for being even worse than the other 30 NATO partners in its military spending.

Zelenskyy was in town, once again to drum up NATO support. And let’s be honest, he never really knows what kind of reception he’s going to get from the Leader of the Free World.

Then came the absolute bombshell from Mr. Trump that he was done with dealing with the Iranians, done with the memorandum of understanding and the ceasefire. Markets went south and oil went north.

At that point, the summit appeared to be heading toward confrontation.

And yet, then the optics changed on a dime. The mood changed just like that, and suddenly love was in the air.

Even before the big final Trump press conference, world leaders were telling me in quiet asides that the meeting with Trump had gone brilliantly, that he had been very happy, that he had listened — actually listened — to every leader in the big closed-door confab and had left in a good mood.

Hang on, was this the same Donald Trump who had been berating partners only hours earlier?

Yes, apparently so.

I wasn’t so sure, but I heard it myself from the horse’s mouth only hours later when, in front of a thousand journalists at his summit-closing press conference, the U.S. president confirmed the love-in was real.

Standing alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Hegseth and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the president spoke of the “tremendous love in the room” during the leaders’ meeting. “The unity was amazing,” he said. “The love was pretty wild.”

It was a remarkable turnaround from the public criticism Trump had directed at many of those same allies only hours earlier.

CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick speaks with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Michael Green

The summit produced some clear winners and losers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emerged stronger after hosting a smooth summit and appeared to move closer to securing U.S. approval for F-35 fighter jets.

Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, kept up the praise for Trump and, in doing so, helped keep the U.S. engaged with NATO, at least for now. Spain and Denmark, despite early assaults, came away without any major rebuke from the U.S. in Trump’s closing press conference.

Another big winner must be Zelenskyy, who appears to have risen in the U.S. president’s estimation as Ukraine has stabilized the battlefield and taken the fight deep into Russia despite the odds. The Ukrainian leader may even have secured a deal to produce Patriot missile systems — something Kyiv has long viewed as a priority.

Losers? Well, clearly Putin would have been unhappy with both the show of unity from NATO, its huge progress on defense spending and Ukraine’s warmer reception from Trump.

And Iran? Well, that remains the big unknown.

I asked the U.S. president directly when I got the chance to fire a question at him: “What happens next if you really have given up on the ceasefire?”

His answer, I’m afraid, was opaque. He simply returned to the point that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon on his watch.

And perhaps that’s the lasting takeaway from these extraordinary 48 hours.

The atmosphere inside NATO changed dramatically over the course of the summit, but the biggest questions remain unanswered. What happens next with Iran? Can the improved mood between Trump and NATO allies last beyond this meeting? And what does it ultimately mean for Ukraine?

Those questions matter far more than the political theater. But if this summit demonstrated anything, it is how quickly the geopolitical landscape can shift when Donald Trump is at the center of it. Allies, adversaries and markets alike are learning to adjust in real time.

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The US Federal Reserve has announced the industry leaders who will head up its various task forces guiding monetary policies. The country’s central bank has made some baffling appointments to its productivity and jobs team, which will “Assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to inform the Federal Reserve’s policy judgments.”

One of the advisors will be new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. After moving to gaming from Microsoft’s Core AI group, in the first few months of her tenure, she’s overseen yet another price hike for the gaming hardware and most recently announced to the company that it would be cutting 3,200 jobs across its studios. Microsoft has been gutting its staff across many divisions for awhile, so this isn’t a new policy she’s personally brought in. But the timing here could not be worse, especially as so much of the game industry is struggling to keep people employed and to figure out a responsible way to use AI.

Joining her in this strange advisory trio are Marc Andreessen, who doesn’t have the best track record on talking intelligently about AI, and Charles I. Jones, a Stanford University economics professor who is currently on leave to work at the Anthropic Institute. Jones aside, it’s not necessarily the most reassuring group when it comes to being critical of artificial intelligence and the job market.

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The property developer formally introduced the arena to trade, industry, and corporate partners on Thursday.

“Cebu has long been one of the country’s most dynamic markets. With this arena, we can bring more Filipino and international acts to the Visayas and strengthen the region’s place in the live entertainment circuit,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said in a statement.

The arena has direct access to SM Seaside City Cebu and the upcoming SMX Convention Center Seaside Cebu, Park Inn by Radisson, and Radisson Hotel.

“More importantly, this investment will generate economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs and nearby communities,” Mr. Lim said.

Designed by global architecture firm Arquitectonica, the arena spans more than seven hectares (ha) of gross floor area and can accommodate up to 25,000 guests.

It features a center-hung display system for sports, concerts, and other live events.

The venue also has 30 Premier Suites above the VIP sections. Each suite can accommodate 13 to 31 guests and includes dedicated VIP lounges, a café, and an exclusive entrance.

SM Prime said the arena will open its major events calendar with the BINI Signals World Tour on July 11.

Other scheduled events include performances by IV of Spades, TJ Monterde and KZ Tandingan, Hillsong Worship, and LANY.

“This arena is part of our long-term vision for Cebu. By creating a world-class platform for live entertainment and large-scale gatherings within SRP, we give local and foreign tourists another reason to visit and stay longer,” Mr. Lim said.

SM Prime shares fell 1.74% to P18.10 apiece on Thursday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

In a statement on Thursday, the Finance department said the country was selected for the MCC Threshold Program, which helps countries address key policy and institutional constraints to economic growth.

“The approval of the $60-million MCC Threshold Program affirms the Philippines’ commitment to good governance, transparency, and sound economic management,” Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said.

“It reflects the confidence of our international partners in the reforms we are pursuing to strengthen institutions, improve the ease of doing business, and create more opportunities for Filipinos,” he added.

The DoF was designated as the lead agency for engagement with the MCC and will work with relevant government agencies to develop and implement the program.

The grant will support the Energy Development Governance Efficiency project, which seeks to improve governance and operational efficiency in the country’s electricity sector.

The initiatives are expected to reduce delays in project implementation, improve the reliability of electricity supply, and encourage greater private investment in the sector.

“This grant comes at an opportune time and provides a significant boost to our efforts to strengthen the country’s energy security,” Mr. Go said.

“We thank the MCC for its continued partnership with the Philippines as we pursue reforms that deliver more reliable services, attract greater private investment, and sustain faster, more inclusive economic growth,” he added.

The MCC Board approved the program on June 24 to help the Philippine government address the high cost and unreliability of electricity.

“The approval of the Philippines Threshold Program reflects the strength of the US-Philippines partnership and our shared commitment to expanded economic opportunity and mutual prosperity,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a June 25 statement.

“By strengthening energy security, this program will help unlock US private sector investment and support lasting, broad-based growth across the Philippines,” he added.

The Philippines qualified for the Threshold Program after meeting the MCC’s scorecard standards on economic freedom, ruling justly, and investing in people.

Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa, executive director of the think tank IBON Foundation, said that the grant could help improve regulatory processes but is unlikely to significantly strengthen long-term economic resilience without broader structural reforms.

“It might support incremental improvements but is unlikely to have a transformative impact on the country’s long-term economic resilience or investment climate,” he told BusinessWorld.

Mr. Africa said the country’s vulnerability to energy shocks stems more from its reliance on private investment and market incentives than from regulatory bottlenecks.

He said reforms should instead focus on making state-owned energy firms dominant in power generation, transmission and distribution, citing countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

The MCC is an independent US foreign assistance agency that provides time-limited grants to support reforms that promote economic growth, reduce poverty, and strengthen public institutions.

Over the past two decades, the MCC has invested more than $17 billion across 76 programs in partner countries. — J.I.D.Tabile

Data from the DBCC showed it cut its overall revenue projection for 2026 by 0.33% to P4.807 trillion, equivalent to 15.78% of gross domestic product (GDP), from the P4.823 trillion or 15.8% of GDP approved during its 192^nd meeting in December.

The revised projection is also 3.5% lower than the P4.983-trillion program under the 2026 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing.

Tax revenues are now expected to account for P4.442 trillion or 92.4% of total revenues this year, 0.7% lower than the P4.474 trillion projected in December.

For the BIR, its collection target for this year was lowered by 1% to P3.393 trillion from P3.43 trillion previously. However, BIR collections are still expected to account for about 76.4% of total tax revenues.

Finance Undersecretary Rolando T. Ligon, Jr. said the lower target mainly reflected the ambitious goal set last year.

“Actually, if you look at the year-on-year collection, the BIR collections have increased. Unfortunately, the set target was 25% more than the last year,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Last year, the BIR collected P3.109 trillion in revenues, up 9% from the previous year. If the revised projection is realized, BIR’s collection will increase by 9% this year,

In the first five months, BIR collections rose by 5.5% year on year to P1.434 trillion, and 0.7% above the P1.424-trillion target for the period.

The DBCC had tweaked its revenue collection targets after it lowered the GDP growth projection to 3.5-4.5% this year from 5-6% previously.

“Growth is expected to moderate this year amid heightened domestic and external uncertainties, including the lingering effects of governance-related issues, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and other global developments affecting business and consumer confidence,” the DBCC earlier said.

Meanwhile, the DBCC raised the Bureau of Customs’ (BoC) revenue collection target by 0.7% to P1.011 trillion this year from P1.003 trillion previously.

Mr. Ligon said the higher BoC revenue projection reflected the agency’s efforts to boost collections, as well as the weaker peso against the US dollar.

In the first half, BoC collections rose 7.2% to P491.75 billion, and exceeded the P480.27-billion target for the period by 2.4%.

The local currency has been trading above the P61-per-dollar mark since June 22. On Thursday, the peso closed P61.605 against the greenback, weakening by 10 centavos from its P61.505 finish on Wednesday.

Mr. Ligon also said the BoC also remained on track to hit its target this year, despite the three-month suspension of excise taxes on kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The government suspended excise taxes on kerosene and LPG beginning April 17 to provide relief for consumers after oil prices surged due to the conflict in the Middle East. The Department of Finance (DoF) estimated the measure reduced revenues by about P2.5 billion over the three-month period.

The government lifted the suspension this week after the Department of Energy certified that the average Dubai crude oil price in June fell to $79.45 per barrel, below the $80 threshold that triggers the temporary tax relief.

Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said the DBCC could again recommend suspending the excise taxes should average Dubai crude prices rise above $80 per barrel.

“We can again make a recommendation (to the President) to reduce or suspend the excise taxes,” he said.

While tax revenue projections were revised downward, the DBCC raised its nontax revenue forecast by 4.3% to P365.1 billion from P349.9 billion previously. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

“The arbitral ruling was significant,” Mr. Cuaresma, who heads a fishermen’s association in Zambales province, said by phone in Filipino. “However, even though we won the case, it did not help our livelihoods.”

Defense economist Rocio Salle Gatdula said the arbitration victory remains legally significant but has produced little practical benefit for fishermen.

“However politically impactful the arbitration was, the ruling has not improved access for Filipino fishermen to traditional grounds like Scarborough Shoal, with Chinese forces continuing to harass and restrict entry despite the legal invalidation of China’s claims,” she said via Facebook Messenger.

The Philippines brought China before a United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal in 2013, challenging Beijing’s sweeping “nine-dash line” claim over most of the South China Sea.

On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s expansive maritime claims had no legal basis under international law and that Beijing had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone.

The ruling also found that China unlawfully prevented Filipino fishermen from accessing Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground shared by the Philippines, China and Vietnam. Beijing has consistently rejected the decision.

Known locally as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal, Scarborough lies about 220 kilometers west of Zambales. The coral atoll has long sustained fishing communities in western Luzon with its abundant marine resources.

“Bajo de Masinloc is very important for us because in times of need, we know that there is a place where we can catch fish,” Mr. Cuaresma said. He described the shoal as so rich in fish that they appeared “like grains of unhusked rice scattered across the water.”

That abundance has become increasingly difficult to reach.

China has maintained effective control over the shoal since a 2012 standoff with Philippine government vessels. Chinese coast guard, navy and maritime militia ships have since maintained a near-continuous presence around the atoll, regularly driving away Filipino fishermen.

“They always tell us not to approach Bajo de Masinloc and drive us away,” Mr. Cuaresma said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via Viber.

China has strengthened its presence around Scarborough despite the arbitral ruling. Chinese coast guard vessels accumulated 933 ship-days around the shoal during the first seven months of 2026, nearly matching the 1,099 ship-days recorded for all of 2025, according to a July report by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI).

AMTI said several coast guard vessels coordinated patrols around a perimeter roughly 30 nautical miles from the shoal, while six to eight Chinese maritime militia vessels maintained a persistent presence closer to the lagoon.

Philippine maritime agencies have also stepped up patrols. AMTI estimated Philippine vessels averaged 43 ship-days a month near Scarborough in the first half, a 43% increase from the previous year.

‘CLOSE EYE’
The increased patrols have also resulted in more confrontations. AMTI tracked 112 days of interaction between Philippine and Chinese vessels near the shoal in the first six months, averaging 19 days each month.

The think tank also noted that China has adopted additional measures to reinforce its presence. Last year, Beijing established a 3,500-hectare marine reserve around part of the shoal, and floating buoys have since appeared near the feature, prompting Manila to file diplomatic protests.

“As Beijing pushes the boundaries of just how much control it can assert over the shoal, Manila and Washington would do well to keep a close eye on Scarborough,” AMTI said.

Ms. Gatdula said the Philippines should continue expanding joint patrols with allies such as the US and Japan while sustaining transparency efforts documenting Chinese activities in contested waters.

She also urged the government to accelerate the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program by acquiring more offshore patrol vessels, frigates, anti-submarine capabilities and maritime surveillance radars, while investing in domestic shipbuilding to strengthen long-term maritime presence.

Matteo Piasentini, a senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines and analyst for China and Indo-Pacific region at Italian think tank Geopolitica, said Manila should complement military modernization with investments in maritime infrastructure that strengthen coastal communities and economic activity.

“There are many measures that could be adopted, such as developing maritime infrastructure in the area,” he said. Such projects would improve the country’s maritime capacity without necessarily requiring large-scale development of disputed features.

Mr. Piasentini added that China tends to intensify maritime coercion when the geopolitical costs remain low, making credible deterrence essential.

He said relatively inexpensive assets such as drones, small patrol vessels and subsea monitoring systems could significantly boost Philippine maritime capabilities.

For Mr. Cuaresma, the Philippines should not stop asserting its rights even if Beijing continues to ignore the tribunal’s ruling.

“It’s important to file another case so our neighboring countries and allies will take notice,” he said. “It will show that we are not simply giving it away.”

For fishermen who once relied on Scarborough Shoal for their livelihoods, the 2016 arbitration victory remains more a legal milestone than a practical one.

Nearly a decade later, access to one of the country’s richest fishing grounds is still measured not by international law, but by the ships waiting at its entrance. — KCLB

Headline inflation could stay above the Philippine central bank’s target for longer if price pressures worsen amid the looming El Niño season, renewed Middle East conflict, and a potential de-anchoring of inflation expectations.

In its latest Monetary Policy Report following its June meeting, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said its “high-inflation scenario” sees the headline print moving further away from its 3% target over the medium term.

“The high-inflation scenario pushes headline inflation further above the 3% target over the medium term,” it said. “This suggests the need for a tighter monetary policy stance to contain sustained cost-push shocks. The negative output gap widens further under a more restrictive monetary stance.”

Under this scenario, the central bank said risks will stem from potential oil supply shortages in the country, renewed escalation in the US-Israel war on Iran, costlier rice amid El Niño, and de-anchoring of inflation expectations.

Its low-inflation scenario, on the other hand, shows inflation will be elevated only in the near term as price pressures fade by next year.

This may be realized if global oil prices drop to a full-year average of $80 per barrel in 2026 before falling further to $70 per barrel in 2028 backed by a Middle East war de-escalation and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Expectations of sluggish consumption and investments amid weak sentiment could likewise ease price pressures, the central bank added.

“The low-inflation scenario shows elevated headline inflation in 2026, followed by a gradual decline to within the inflation target tolerance ceiling in 2027,” the BSP said.

“While weaker demand and lower oil prices help ease price pressures, some policy tightening in 2026 remains necessary. However, the required tightening is less than that implied by the central projection,” it added.

The central bank expects inflation to accelerate sharply to 6.4% this year from 1.7% last year, before easing to 4.5% in 2027 and 3.1% in 2028.

The first season of Prime Video’s prequel series to the Legally Blonde movies, Elle, has hit all the right notes for nostalgia and humor, with a quirky Scooby-gang vibe to boot.

A key character in the series is Shannon Walker, a senior at Rainier West High, Elle’s new school in Seattle, who proves that being popular doesn’t exclude being kind and optimistic.

Landing the role of Shannon Walker was actress Danielle Chand’s first big booking, and, speaking exclusively with TV Fanatic via Zoom from Vancouver, Canada, she shared how amazing the whole experience was.

Tell us about how you landed the role on Elle. This is your first major job you’ve booked, is that correct?

Yeah, my first booking! I got the self-tape request sent to me via my agent just through email. I was at my restaurant job at the time when I looked at my phone and saw that I had an audition. “Okay, cool.”

At this point, all of my auditions had just been smaller ones. I had only been with my agent for not even a year yet, so we were still trying to do smaller auditions, nothing too big, nothing too crazy.

Then, after my shift, I opened my phone and was like, “Wait, what is this?” because the description said it might be a good idea to watch the Legally Blonde movie.

After that, I taped the audition and, two days later, my agent told me that Vancouver casting was going to be sending it to L.A. and I was like, “That’s crazy, okay.”

Two days after that, I had just shown up to my restaurant job — it was 10 am, I was opening — said hi to my managers, went to the office, and my agent called me. “They want to do a Zoom interview with you at 2 pm!”

At 2 pm? “So, I’m going to go back out to my managers and say, ‘I actually can’t work my full shift.’ [laughs] They were so supportive. I was so grateful because they had just done all of their call-offs for the day, and then they called someone back in.

They said, “No worries, as soon as this person comes in, you can totally go.” I think I served two tables, and then I was outta there.” Did the Zoom callback. That night is when I heard the news. I was in acting class at the time. The turnaround was so fast!

After booking the role, what happened next?

For some reason, March 17 is ingrained in my mind. That was either the table of the table read or something like that. We did the table read, and then I remember being on set for April 5.

I don’t even think all the scripts were actually finished yet. I think I only had maybe two or three Shannon scripts. It was very exciting, and it all happened very fast.

What was the vibe like among the cast?

The cast was fantastic. Everyone was super nice. I remember at the table read, we all created a group chat right away.

Then, because they were in my neck of the woods, I was like, “All right, welcome to Vancouver! Cactus Club [restaurant] is really close by.” I kind of think that’s a Vancouver staple, and none of them had gone to a Cactus Club before.

So I took them to Cactus Club, and we got to know each other a little bit. It was fantastic working with everybody.

[Full disclosure: Cactus Club is NOT Danielle’s restaurant job, although she did work there as a hostess in 2018. It was her first job.]

Did you get to attend some of the premiere events?

I was included in the premiere, and there was an afterparty after that that I went to. The premiere was fantastic. It was such a dream come true. And so wild.

There were so many press opportunities there on the carpet. So many microphones everywhere! I was just like, “What is happening?” and in awe that the cast… that was not their first time doing that. It was a lot, but it was very fun.

The premiere was in New York. It was my first time in New York, so I ended up staying a little longer. Just wanted to tour the city, saw a Broadway show, had to do the whole thing.

I saw Death Becomes Her. It was so much fun. I hadn’t seen a live show in such a long time. It was really nice to just be a theater kid. Sit with my Sour Patch Kids and just enjoy the show.

Had you seen the Legally Blonde movies before they were assigned as homework?

Yes, I saw the Legally Blonde movies in high school. I definitely had to go back to it just because it had been a while. I remember re-falling in love with it, watching it.

It was also crazy because watching the Legally Blonde movie — taking [note of] tone, trying to figure out where Shannon would fit into that type of world — then seeing Lexi at the table read and being like, “Woah, she is literally Elle Woods.” Perfect casting.

With Elle as a prequel, we see the proto-Legally Blonde version of Elle Woods navigating cliques and other high school issues. What was your personal experience navigating that environment?

I would say elementary school is when I experienced the more cliquey behavior among students — the mean girls, the people who are a little bit more on the outside. I was a little bit more on the outside.

And then, in high school, I was at a very small high school. Maybe only 750 or something like that. I related to Shannon not because she’s the most popular girl at school, but just because she knows everybody and is friends with everybody.

Yeah, I was kind of the floater at school, where I did have my core group of friends — I still talk to a lot of them today — but I just remember being at school and kind of bopping around, being able to work with anybody when it came to class projects.

At the caf or at a school event, everything was pretty chill. But also, because I was a floater, I don’t think I knew much about each specific friend group, since I wasn’t so close with each one.

What were your touchstones for how Shannon relates to the people in her life?

When it came to Shannon and Miles’s relationship, Jacob [Moskovitz] and I sat down at a coffee shop and talked about this two-year-long relationship that we had barely gone through, and then a few episodes in, we broke up.

So he and I said, “Let’s build this relationship. What did their relationship look like?”

It was a lot of Jacob feeling like Miles was always trying to do the right thing. He would do whatever for Shannon, and she would do the same for him, but as for the intentions behind it, he wanted to be the good boyfriend.

For me, thinking of Shannon and her wanting the world, loving her boyfriend, but her boyfriend wasn’t her identity. Miles felt like the identity was the “Shannon-Miles” relationship.

She ultimately breaks up with him, and we thought, “Yeah, Miles wouldn’t be the one to break up with Shannon because of the relationship dynamic.” It was safe. It was comfortable. They were really close. They had known each other all their lives.

So, yeah, [Jacob] and I did a deep dive of their day-to-day, what the routine was like. Study sessions. They’d go out for runs because he’s on the cross-country team.

When Chandler [Kinney] and I talked about Kimberly and Shannon’s dynamic, they grew up together, so Shannon saw Kimberly’s home life.

There’s a lot of empathy and compassion for Kimberly because of her harshness at school, since Shannon knows her home life isn’t great and that she lives this double life.

We all have friends who aren’t everybody’s cup of tea, but you love them so much because you know everything about them.

In terms of drawing from real-life experiences, I’ve definitely had friends where someone’s all, “Oh, I don’t know about this person,” and I’m like, “Just get to know them. They’re awesome. They’re a little bit intense, but they’re great people to the core. These are the people you want in your corner.”

I really had to work on character development and on building relationships between Shannon and Kimberly, and between Shannon and Miles.

And then, after that, a lot of my scenes were with Elle, which was nice because we were new friends. There didn’t have to be a lot of backstory there, but more just things they related to: fashion, both being bubbly, and being very optimistic.

There’s a genuine mother-daughter vibe between you and Sharon Taylor, who plays Shannon’s mother, Robin. Was that something that came naturally for you two?

When we met, everyone in Hair and Makeup was like, “Okay, Casting. You guys look really similar!” It was really funny because she was my first TV Mom!

I was intrigued as to who they were going to go with. I’m very mixed — I’m Indigenous, I’m Indian, and I’m Swiss — so I was wondering what my mom was going to look like. They could’ve hired anyone. I had no idea what they were going to do.

It was also so easy to work with Sharon. She was very lovely to work with. I just remember being on set and everyone commenting, “You guys look related.” It was wild!

I drew a lot from me and my mom’s relationship. My mom hasn’t written a book, but we’re really, really close. We have a close dynamic. Also, my mom and dad never stayed together either. Unlike Shannon, I’m really close with my dad.

But I drew on the idea of a mom and daughter who love and want to support each other, which was great because that’s my mom and me.

My mom and I also have a small age gap. My mom was 22 when she had me, and Sharon looks so young. It all made sense.

The book Robin writes in the show is all about overcoming adversity and surviving. Do you think Shannon’s optimism and ability to find the good in people and situations stemmed from her mom’s can-do attitude?

Yes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Shannon did find her mom very inspiring. Even when Shannon puts the book in Elle’s gift basket. She’s very much saying, “My mom’s the best! I’m so proud of her. You don’t have to read it, but…”

A lot of Shannon’s positivity, being super heartfelt, and wanting to see the best in others… that’s definitely from her mom.

Even in the bookstore scene, when Eva [Elle’s mother] is saying, “Your book reminded me of my husband’s botched nose job,” the way that Robin reacts is, “Well, I’m so glad that you found something in there.”

She realizes this is a bit much, but Robin’s not the type of person to say, “Wow, you get the book.” No ego there. It’s more, “I’m really happy that you enjoyed it.”

Now that the show’s dropped and you’ve seen it in its entirety, is there anything that stood out for you from this experience?

It was such a nice treat to see it all put together. Because I was mostly in scenes with just Elle, I didn’t get to see everyone else’s talent and everyone else’s characters.

So it was really nice to watch everyone and feel so proud to see the whole thing come together.

When we were on set, there were two months where I was super busy. I was there a lot. Then there were two other months when I was here for just five days and there for five days.

I wasn’t always watching the monitor, where I could see everyone’s scenes. And that’s not even the same as sitting down and watching the show.

What stood out to me was seeing it as a whole, how they put everything together.

I’m not in it, but the Breakfast Club episode [Elle Season 1 Episode 6, “Whoever Said Orange is the New Pink Was Seriously Disturbed”] I LOVED Episode 6! It was so cute.

Also, a shout-out to the teachers! I didn’t see any of the teachers’ performances until watching it. I just loved the dynamic of the teachers who are just clueless and then the principal! He’s just reacting however he feels he needs to react.

Basically, everything that I didn’t see [while shooting] was a very nice surprise.

What’s next for you?

Right now, I’m just auditioning. There’s nothing else at this time, but we’re still early in the year. I’m really hopeful. That’s always how I like to think: there’s something coming. I don’t know when, but there’s always something coming.

Shannon and I are similar in that way. I’m a huge optimist, very optimistic by default. You have to be. It’s an industry where you really don’t control much. I don’t want to focus too much on waiting to be picked.

It’s going to happen. Not sure when, but that’s how I’m going to look at it because it can get so grim and so dark otherwise.

Also, I’m doing classes right now. Scene study classes. I love the community of people that I work with. It’s also so positive because people are constantly booking in class all the time. I love to be around that.

It’s all manifestation. Even if it’s not my success, it’s about thinking about other people’s success and being happy for them.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Be sure to catch Danielle as Shannon Walker on Elle Season 1, now streaming on Prime Video.

Over to you, Fanatics! With Elle Season 2 already in production, is Shannon’s return on your wishlist?

Could she be Elle’s mentor at F.I.T.? Will she return for Kimberly’s graduation? Hit our comments below with your best ideas for her triumphant — or at least celebratory — return!

Interviews like this take time and care — and we hope it shows.
If you liked hearing from me, please comment or share the article. That’s how we keep conversations like this going.

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  In this exclusive interview, Danielle Chand describes landing her first TV role as Shannon, the girl whom teenage Elle Woods yearns to be besties with.

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  It’s International Kissing Day, and we wanted to celebrate with 15 of the sexiest TV kisses that’ll get your hearts racing.

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  Joseph Chiu opens up about creating Jordie, his complex love triangle, and what he wants for Jordie’s future in Every Year After Season 2.

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  With shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty and Off Campus, Prime Video is bringing back the iconic soundtracks that define YA television.

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Volkswagen has some woolly new unofficial employees flocking to one of its European facilities. There are now 100 sheep grazing at the solar farm that powers the car company’s manufacturing plant in Poznań, Poland. Electrek reports that in addition to replacing lawn mowers, the critters are part of a bigger research project to study agrivoltaics, where agriculture and energy are farmed in the same space in a symbiotic relationship. Poznań University of Life Sciences is handling the study of the flock, exploring how the grazing activity impacts animal welfare, biodiversity, soil quality, vegetation and the microclimate at the site.

“Today, the photovoltaic farm delivers much more than green electricity. It has also become a place that supports biodiversity, local agriculture, and scientific research. The sheep grazing project demonstrates that modern industry can work in harmony with nature,” Marzena Pillich-Grońska, director of Volkswagen Poznań, said. A video posted by Quanta Energy, which built Volkswagen’s solar farm, shows some of the sheep in situ: 

Agrivoltaics has become a compelling subject for the energy industry, allowing hybrid use of land. We’ve seen experiments with crops grown under solar panels, but the introduction of livestock seems both smart and adorable.

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Wavves and Say Anything are merging their respective takes on coastal pop-punk for a new collaborative album called Cherry Soda. It’s out September 18 via I Surrender. The lead single, “Deathx1k,” gets a cheeky stop-motion video directed by Jelly Eyes, featuring claymation versions of Nathan Williams, Max Bemis, and a handful of other critters who get up to no good. Check it out below.

Produced by Aaron Rubin, Cherry Soda is 10 songs long and co-written entirely by Williams and Bemis. In a press release, Williams revealed that he was inspired to collaborate with the Say Anything frontman after digging through Bemis’ catalogue and being surprised at the range of his sound. “I wanted to see what an early 2000s Wavves emo record would sound like,” said Williams. “That was the idea: to make a mall emo record.”

Bemis adds: “We kind of wrote to each other’s situations. We’re both very different people, but we get along really well. As writers, we pushed ourselves. He became more emo and I became more Wavves-y. I think we brought out some of the stuff that isn’t most obvious in each other. I may be singing stuff that sounds kind of bleak, but that’s kind of like Nate’s whole shtick, although he’s actually a very sweet, sensitive guy.”

Read about Wavves’ classic surf-punk record King of the Beach in The Top 50 Albums of 2010.

Cherry Soda:
01 Keep What Hurts
02 Deathx1k
03 Gone Away
04 So Low
05 Still Alive
06 Cherry Soda
07 Sell You Hope
08 Litterbug
09 Pretend Again
10 Pinesol

Wavves x Say Anything: Cherry Soda

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PHILIPPINE AIRLINES (PAL) announced on Wednesday that it had priced its inaugural $300-million (P18.45-billion) international bond offering after receiving more than $1.4 billion (P86.11 billion) in investor orders, about 4.5 times the amount offered.

In a statement, PAL Holdings, Inc., the listed parent of Philippine Airlines, Inc., said its wholly owned subsidiary Primero Agila Ltd. priced the fixed-rate five-year senior notes at a 7.75% coupon on July 7.

The notes, which will be unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines Corp., are expected to settle on July 16, subject to customary closing conditions, and will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd.

Toby Allan C. Arce, head of sales trading at Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc., said the successful pricing demonstrated the airline’s ability to access international debt capital markets after rebuilding its balance sheet following the pandemic.

“PAL’s successful pricing of its inaugural $300-million international bond is a significant milestone because it demonstrates the airline’s ability to access the global debt capital markets after years of rebuilding its balance sheet following the pandemic,” he said in a Viber message.

Mr. Arce said demand for the issuance was likely driven by high-yield and emerging-market credit investors seeking attractive returns.

“From a credit perspective, the issuance is unlikely to result in an immediate ratings upgrade on its own, but it could support a more stable or positive rating outlook if the proceeds strengthen PAL’s liquidity profile and improve its debt maturity schedule,” he said.

In June, Fitch Ratings assigned Philippine Airlines a BB issuer default rating with a stable outlook, citing the flag carrier’s position in the Philippine aviation market, diversified route network, financial flexibility, operating efficiency, and fleet expansion strategy.

PAL Holdings President Lucio C. Tan III said the transaction would allow the airline to strengthen its network and enhance the travel experience for customers.

“This landmark bond offering is a powerful affirmation of Philippine Airlines’ transformation and the confidence that global investors have in our long-term vision and growth ambitions. This allows us to strengthen our network and continue to elevate the travel experience for our customers. It reinforces Philippine Airlines’ role in promoting tourism, trade, investment and economic growth for the Philippines,” he said in a statement.

Philippine Airlines President Richard Nuttall described the transaction as a milestone for the airline.

“This inaugural international bond offering marks a defining milestone in Philippine Airlines’ ongoing transformation. We are grateful for the overwhelming support we received from investors globally, which we see as a vote of confidence in PAL’s long-term strategy, market position and growth outlook,” he said.

PAL said the transaction marked the first rated high-yield bond offering by a Philippine issuer in more than a decade, the first unsecured rated high-yield bond issued by an Asian airline, and the first rated airline bond issuance from South and Southeast Asia.

The bond offering comes as PAL continues to expand its international network and modernize its fleet.

On Tuesday, the airline announced plans to increase flight frequencies to Japan and Australia ahead of the winter and year-end travel seasons.

The carrier is also expecting the delivery of about five Airbus A350-1000 aircraft this year and is refurbishing 18 Airbus A321ceo aircraft as part of its fleet modernization program.

Mr. Arce said investors should remain mindful that the issuance increases the airline’s fixed financial obligations at a time of elevated borrowing costs, while the aviation industry remains exposed to exchange rate movements and geopolitical risks.

THE PHILIPPINES’ unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in May as job losses in agriculture, driven by bad weather, outweighed employment gains in services and other industries, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.

The May unemployment rate jumped from 3.9% a year earlier and 4.7% in April, while the number of jobless Filipinos rose to 2.5 million from 2.03 million in May 2025 and 2.41 million a month earlier.

This was the highest jobless rate in two months or since the 5% in March.

“There was a significant drop in the number of employed persons in agriculture and forestry. This is likely the impact of weather conditions in May,” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa told a news briefing.

PSA data showed the agriculture sector shed 905,000 jobs from a year ago, extending its decline for a seventh month in a row.

Mr. Mapa said employment in paddy rice farming declined by 734,000 workers in May from a year earlier. The weather bureau only confirmed the start of the El Niño weather event in June.

A year-on-year drop in jobs was also seen in other service activities (-442,000), public administration and defense (-213,000), and wholesale and retail trade (-141,000).

For the first five months of 2026, the average unemployment rate rose to 5.1% from 4% a year earlier.

On the other hand, job quality improved as the underemployment rate fell to 12.2% from 13.1% a year earlier and 15.2% in April.

This was the lowest underemployment rate — or the proportion of those with jobs seeking additional work hours or having an additional job — in three months or since 11.8% in February.

Mr. Mapa attributed the improvement in job quality to fewer workers seeking additional hours, noting that average weekly hours worked increased to 41.1 hours from 39.8 hours a year earlier and 40.2 hours in April.

“More people worked more than 40 hours per week this May,” he said, adding that about 34.36 million workers logged more than 40 hours during the week.

The average underemployment rate for the January-to-May period was recorded at 12.9%, unchanged from a year ago.

Data from the PSA showed the labor force participation rate (LFPR) — the proportion of the working-age population (15 years old and over) that is part of the total labor force — stood at 63.8% or equivalent to 52.13 million Filipinos aged 15 and over.

This was lower than the 65.8% seen in the same month in 2025, and a slight uptick from the 62.7% participation rate in April.

The youth LFPR dropped to 32.3% from 33.6% a year ago, but slightly higher than the 31.8% seen in April.

In May, the employment rate slipped to 95.2% from 96.1% a year earlier and 95.3% in April. Total employment reached 49.63 million, up by 738,000 from the previous month but down 663,000 from May last year.

The average employment rate from January to May stood at 94.9%, slipping from 96% a year ago.

Services remained the country’s biggest employer, accounting for 61.8% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 19.9% and industry at 18.3%.

Administrative and support service activities posted the biggest annual employment gain in May with 329,000 jobs, mostly in call centers and private security services.

Other sub-sectors with a significant annual increase in employment in May include administrative and support services (329,000), mining and quarrying (184,000), human health and social work activities (173,000), fishing and aquaculture (170,000), and construction (168,000).

CHALLENGES
Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino said in a statement that the latest labor data show the need to sustain reforms to create better jobs.

“We must create quality jobs that provide decent incomes, encourage productivity, and prepare Filipinos for the jobs of tomorrow. This is the direction that the department is pursuing as we strengthen our education-to-employment pipeline and build a future-ready workforce,” he said.

In a note, Chinabank Research said the labor market remained soft but performed “better-than-expected” amid uncertainties and price pressures arising from the Middle East war.

“Improving business sentiment as global tensions ease could support stronger economic activity and hiring in the coming months. However, downside risks also remain, particularly from the potential impact of El Niño on the agricultural sector and the effects of minimum wage hikes on labor-intensive industries, such as food services and wholesale and retail trade,” it said.

Chinabank Research noted that a sustained dry spell could hurt the agriculture sector and lead to more job losses.

Josua T. Mata, secretary-general of Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, expressed concern over the continued loss of agricultural jobs, especially since there is no clear evidence that displaced workers are absorbed by other sectors.

“Job losses in agriculture are being driven by a combination of mechanization, worsening climate impacts, and mounting economic pressures that make farming increasingly unsustainable for many Filipinos,” he said in a Viber chat.

“The challenge is not simply to move workers out of agriculture, but to ensure they transition into stable, productive, and decent jobs. Otherwise, we are merely shifting workers from one form of insecurity to another,” he added.

The implementation of the P85 minimum wage hike in Metro Manila is also expected to cloud the outlook for the labor market in the coming months.

John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies noted that while the wage hike should help improve workers’ purchasing power, its impact on the labor market data will vary.

“Labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture, retail, and other services may face greater cost pressures, particularly among micro, small and medium enterprises, which could slow hiring or encourage productivity improvements,” Mr. Rivera told BusinessWorld over Viber.

He argued that higher wages are most sustainable when accompanied by measures that raise productivity and lower the cost of doing business.

“A meaningful wage increase will immediately improve the conditions of workers and their families by increasing their purchasing power. The second-round impact on businesses catering to workers spending on more goods and services is also going to be meaningful,” Jose Enrique “Sonny” A. Africa, executive director of the think tank IBON Foundation, told BusinessWorld.

Mr. Africa said higher wages are a “critical element” in solving joblessness but needs to be accompanied by a strategy for agricultural modernization and industrialization.

THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) cut its growth forecasts for the Philippines for this year and next year, citing delayed investments and weaker household consumption.

In its Asian Development Outlook July 2026 report, the Philippine-based multilateral lender lowered its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 3.8% from the 4.4% previously.

The latest forecast is within the Philippine government’s recently revised 3.5-4.5% GDP target for 2026, but is slower than the 4.4% growth posted in 2025.

The ADB also trimmed its 2027 growth forecast to 5.3% from 5.5% previously, placing it at the lower end of the government’s revised 5-6% target.

“The Philippines saw a downward adjustment in growth projections due to delayed investments, softer private consumption amid higher commodity prices and climate-related risks,” the ADB said in the report released on Wednesday.

In the first quarter, the Philippine economy unexpectedly grew by 2.8%, its weakest growth since the coronavirus pandemic, due to spiraling oil prices due to the Middle East war and the lingering effects of last year’s corruption scandal.

The ADB’s 2026 growth forecast for the Philippines is also below its revised 4.6% outlook for developing Southeast Asia, which was trimmed from 4.7% previously.

“The 2026 forecast for developing Southeast Asia is trimmed following downward revisions for Cambodia and the Philippines as higher energy prices weigh on domestic demand and tourism,” the multilateral lender said.

Based on ADB’s 2026 projections, the Philippines’ growth will be the fourth slowest in Southeast Asia, tied with Timor-Leste at 3.8%, and ahead of Myanmar (2.4%), Brunei Darussalam (1.8%), and Thailand (1.8%).

The Philippines is expected to trail Vietnam (7.2%), Indonesia (5.2%), Malaysia (4.6%), Cambodia (4.1%), and Laos (4%)

For 2027, the Philippines is expected to post the second-fastest growth in developing Asia, after Vietnam (7%).

The Philippines’ heavy reliance on Middle Eastern oil imports has left the economy particularly exposed to the global oil shock that began in March.

The ADB raised its Philippine headline inflation forecast to 5.9% this year from 4% previously. This is well above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2-4% tolerance range but below the central bank’s inflation projection of 6.4%.

For 2027, the ADB hiked its headline inflation forecast to 3.9% from 3.5% previously. This is at the upper end of the BSP’s 2-4% tolerance range but below  its 4.5% projection.

Also, the ADB has raised its inflation forecasts for developing Southeast Asia to 3.9% this year from 3.2% previously, and 2.9% for 2027 from 2.8% previously.

“The upward revisions reflect higher global energy and food prices linked to the Middle East crisis, as well as exchange rate pressures that have raised import costs across the subregion,” it said, citing that the largest upward revisions were recorded for the Philippines.

The ADB said disruptions in energy markets have pushed up fertilizer costs, leaving developing Asia and the Pacific economies with low fertilizer self-sufficiency vulnerable to price volatility and supply-chain disruptions.

“Absent policy intervention, rice production could fall sharply in 2026, especially in economies reliant on imported fertilizer. The effect is best measured against the no-shock, business-as-usual scenario, under which output was otherwise projected to grow,” it added.

The ADB said Philippine rice output could decline by 14% this year under the most severe scenario where crude oil prices rise 75% above the baseline assumption of $69 per barrel. Under the same scenario, farmgate prices could rise by as much as 20%.

ADB SUPPORT
Meanwhile, ADB Philippines Country Director Andrew Jeffries said the Philippines’ recent reclassification as an upper-middle income economy is unlikely to alter the multilateral lender’s support in the near term.

“There are no immediate implications for ADB financing, or other forms of support including technical assistance, because of the Philippines’ recent classification as an upper-middle income economy,” he told BusinessWorld.

“ADB will continue to support the government’s development priorities, as well as the reforms and investments needed to build on and sustain this achievement,” he added.

His remarks came after the World Bank reclassified the Philippines as an upper-middle income country after its gross national income per capita rose to $4,850 from $4,470 last year.

While no immediate changes are expected, Mr. Jeffries said the ADB’s sovereign lending terms could change if the Philippines remains above the upper-middle income threshold for three consecutive years.

“ADB will continuously align its engagement to respond to the Philippines’ transition needs, and to sustain development gains,” he said.

The Philippines was in the World Bank’s lower-middle income category since 1987 before its latest reclassification.

THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY could post its weakest growth this year since the pandemic, as the Middle East war drives up prices and dampens economic activity, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Wednesday, the IMF trimmed its 2026 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the Philippines to 3.9% from 4.1% previously. This is still within the government’s 3.5%-4.5% target.

“This reflects a weaker-than-expected outturn in the first quarter of 2026 (2.8%) alongside a larger-than-expected effect of the war in the Middle East on prices and activity in the Philippines,” an IMF spokesperson said in an e-mail.

Oil price shocks and the lingering impact of the flood control fallout dragged first-quarter Philippine GDP growth below market and government expectations at 2.8%. 

Since the United States and Israel first launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, spiraling oil prices fed into the costs of other key commodities and squeezed consumers’ pockets.

If the IMF’s projection holds true, the country’s full-year expansion will be weaker than the 4.4% recorded in 2025, when a massive flood control corruption scandal dampened public spending, investments, and sentiment.

It would also mark the economy’s worst performance since the 9.5% contraction during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.   

Excluding the pandemic, it would match the 3.9% expansion in 2011 and would be the worst in 17 years or since the 1.4% in 2009.

The multilateral lender’s Philippine growth estimate is below its projection for ASEAN-5, which it kept at 4.1% for this year. ASEAN-5 is composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

The Philippines is expected to lag Indonesia (5%) and Malaysia (4.7%) but outpace Thailand (1.9%) this year.

At the same time, the IMF trimmed the Philippine growth projection for 2027 to 5.5% from 5.8% previously, on the back of base effects and a potential improvement in sentiment.

This is within the government’s 5%-6% target for the year. It is also above the IMF’s 2027 growth projection of 4.3% for ASEAN-5.

“The rebound in 2027 is driven mainly by favorable base effects, alongside a gradual pickup in investment as confidence improves and supply-side effects related to the war ease,” the IMF spokesperson said.

According to the multilateral lender, risks to domestic growth may come from extreme weather disturbances, as well as a slower-than-projected normalization of public investments and reform momentum.

However, faster adoption of reforms, alongside lower oil and food prices, may provide relief to the economy.

“On the upside, accelerated implementation of structural and governance reforms can boost investment and FDI (foreign direct investment), increase fiscal multipliers and boost potential growth,” the IMF spokesperson said. “A faster decline in energy and food price provides additional upside risks.” 

INFLATION RISKS REMAIN
Meanwhile, the multilateral lender said the Philippines still faces inflationary pressures from volatile global conditions and elevated food prices, among others.

“Inflation risks are tilted to the upside, reflecting the risk of renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and higher food prices, de-anchoring of inflation expectations, tighter global monetary conditions, and lower remittances,” the IMF spokesperson said.

The latest WEO does not include an update on the IMF’s inflation forecasts, but its projections as of April show it expects Philippine inflation to average 4.3% this year and 3.2% in 2027.

If realized, headline inflation will breach the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 3% target for two straight years, marking a sharp acceleration from the 1.7% reading in 2025.

These are, however, slower than the central bank’s projected 6.4% and 4.5% inflation for the next two years.

As of June, Philippine inflation stood at 4.8%, with the headline print remaining above target for four months in a row.

On the other hand, Pantheon Macroeconomics downgraded its inflation forecast to 5.2% from 5.5% for 2026 and to 3% from 3.2% for 2027.

This came after June inflation came in softer than market expectations at a three-month low of 6.4% amid easing pressures from food and fuel prices.

“We continue to believe that the postwar surge in the headline rate is in the rear-view mirror, and that a sustained spell of disinflation should take it back within the BSP’s 2-to-4% target range by March next year at the earliest, barring any unexpected shocks, externally or domestically,” Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief Emerging Asia Economist Miguel Chanco and Asia Economist Meekita Gupta said in a separate report on Wednesday.

Mr. Chanco and Ms. Gupta said the slowing inflation could prompt the BSP to cut its tightening cycle short with a likely pause in August.

The Monetary Board began to hike its policy rate in April as a preemptive measure to contain inflation risks from the energy crisis.

It delivered a second straight rate increase in June, bringing its total hikes to 50 basis points (bps). The benchmark rate now stands at 4.75%.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has said that the economy can still absorb another 25-bp rise as they expect growth to start rebounding in the second half.

“The Board is banking on fiscal policy to cushion the impact of higher rates on economic growth; specifically, a revival in public infrastructure spending, after it was hammered by last year’s anti-corruption drive,” Mr. Chanco and Ms. Gupta said.

“But our chart below highlights that such expenditure is still collapsing; it fell in April — the latest data — to its lowest level since the pandemic, after seasonal adjustment,” they added.

The latest government data showed that its spending inched up by 4.81% to P2.6 trillion as of May from P2.48 trillion a year earlier. This was slower than the 9.71% growth seen in the same period last year.

The Philippines’ unemployment rate rose to 4.8% in May as job losses in agriculture, driven by bad weather, outweighed employment gains in services and other industries, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.

The unemployment rate increased from 3.9% a year earlier and 4.7% in April, while the number of jobless Filipinos rose to 2.5 million from 2.03 million in May 2025 and 2.41 million a month earlier.

“There was a significant drop in the number of employed persons in agriculture and forestry,” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa told a news briefing . “This is likely the impact of weather conditions in May.”

Mr. Mapa said employment in paddy rice farming declined by 734,000 workers from a year earlier, while corn cultivation lost 428,000 jobs.

The employment rate slipped to 95.2% from 96.1% a year earlier and 95.3% in April. Total employment reached 49.63 million, up by 738,000 from the previous month but down 663,000 from May last year.

Services remained the country’s biggest employer, accounting for 61.8% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 19.9% and industry at 18.3%.

Administrative and support service activities posted the biggest annual employment gain, adding 329,000 jobs, driven mainly by call centers and private security services.

Despite higher unemployment, job quality improved as the underemployment rate fell to 12.2% from 13.1% a year earlier and 15.2% in April.

Mr. Mapa attributed the decline to fewer workers seeking additional hours, noting that average weekly hours worked increased to 41.1 hours from 39.8 hours a year earlier and 40.2 hours in April.

“More people worked more than 40 hours per week this May,” he said, adding that about 34.36 million workers logged more than 40 hours during the week.

For the first five months of 2026, the average unemployment rate rose to 5.1% from 4% a year earlier.

“Doesn’t Hollywood have any original ideas?”

It seems like that’s the first thing people say whenever a beloved television series or movie gets a reboot or reimagining.

Fans immediately question why Hollywood can’t leave a classic alone.

Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie is no exception.

Since the project was announced, many longtime fans have wondered why anyone would want to revisit something that already felt perfect.

I’m one of those people.

I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie.

It was one of my favorite shows as a kid, and all these years later, I still watch the reruns whenever they’re on. I’ve probably seen every episode at least 10 times, maybe even more.

For many of us, Little House isn’t just another classic television series. It’s a cherished childhood memory.

It was good, wholesome television that brought families together and taught valuable lessons every week.

Whether it was about kindness, forgiveness, faith, or helping your neighbor, the series always left viewers with something to think about.

The original was also more progressive than many people give it credit for.

The Ingalls family welcomed people into their home and community regardless of race or religion.

They stood beside African American families, Native Americans, and Jewish neighbors, even when others in Walnut Grove didn’t.

Compassion was always at the heart of the series, and that’s one of the reasons it continues to resonate with audiences decades later.

Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Little House without talking about Michael Landon.

For many fans, he wasn’t just playing Charles “Pa” Ingalls. He was Pa Ingalls.

His warmth, humor, and heart became the foundation of the series, and that’s a big reason so many viewers struggle with the idea of anyone else taking on the role.

That’s the biggest challenge Netflix faces.

It’s not simply introducing a new cast. It’s asking generations of fans to look at a cherished childhood memory through a different lens.

From everything we’ve seen so far, though, this series doesn’t appear to be trying to recreate the original. 

Instead, it looks like a fresh adaptation inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books with a greater emphasis on the realities of frontier life.

Visually, it looks beautiful.

The cinematography is stunning, and the sweeping landscapes capture both the beauty and the hardship of life on the American frontier.

It already feels like a series families can enjoy together.

What also impressed me is that the new series appears to carry forward the inclusive spirit that made the original so special.

The cast includes Indigenous and African American series regulars.

The production also worked closely with the Osage Nation to help tell a more complete story of the people who lived on that land.

That feels less like changing Little House and more like expanding it.

Another encouraging sign is that I’ve seen comments from members of the Ingalls family who have publicly expressed support for the direction Netflix has taken.

If the family behind Laura Ingalls Wilder’s legacy believes this adaptation honors the source material, that’s certainly worth noting.

Will this series ever replace the original? No. And it shouldn’t.

Nothing will ever replace Michael Landon’s version of Little House on the Prairie.

That series has earned its place as one of television’s greatest family dramas, and generations of viewers will always treasure it.

But maybe that’s not the point.

Maybe the real question isn’t whether Netflix can recreate the magic of the original.

Maybe it’s whether old school fans are willing to give this new version a fair chance.

This old school fan is.

The trailer was impressive. The cast looks promising.

The story appears to honor the heart of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books while bringing new perspectives to a new generation of viewers.

I have a feeling I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

And if Netflix gets it right, there may be room for both versions of Little House on the Prairie to hold a special place in our hearts.

Over to you, Little House on the Prairie Fanatics. How do you feel about this reboot? Let’s discuss it below!

Little House on the Prairie streams in full on July 9 on Netflix.

• 

  Big Brother has finally unveiled the cast of Season 28, and you better believe we have some thoughts. Let’s discuss!

• 

  Ride or Die stars Waddingham & Spencer share what drives their characters, while showrunners Coates & Miller talk about the need for grit.

• 

  Would an all-returning-players season be a good idea? We discuss the chances of this casting twist on Big Brother Season 28.

• 

  Netflix’s all-new Little House on the Prairie has one challenge ahead of it, and we break down what, and if it can succeed. Check it out!

• 

  I was wary of All American Season 7, but the retrospective lured me into the heart, family dynamics, and dreams that’s still center stage.

• 

  It’s International Kissing Day, and we wanted to celebrate with 15 of the sexiest TV kisses that’ll get your hearts racing.

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Slayr, the Philadelphia rapper who’s been making a name for himself in the underground hip-hop scene, is gearing up to release a new EP this Friday. It’s called Avant Nova, perhaps in connection to another project he’s been teasing titled Fabula Nova. The EP’s opening track, “Promise,” features production from Underscores. Check out the cover art and tracklist below.

Avant Nova comes out the same day as new records by Slayr’s rage-rap predecessor Ken Carson and trap superior Future. The 19-year-old rapper spent the past few months leveling up his own game, though, with performances at Rolling Loud Orlando and Summer Smash, and plans to kick off his first North American headlining tour this August. Scroll down to see all of Slayr’s upcoming shows.

Slayr dropped his seventh mixtape, Half Blood, this past November. It was re-released in March as the expanded edition BloodLuxe, boasting 10 new songs. For those tracks, Slayr roped in a number of producers including Prettifun, 808toofly, Jackwya, M8I, Waera, Doxxmade, Kay Boba, and Marek.

Read Mano Sundaresan’s review of Half Blood (BloodLuxe).

Avant Nova:
01 Promise
02 Switch My Swag [ft. Prettifun]
03 Nova
04 I Got Taste
05 Anxiety Does Suck Sometimes
06 Raise My Voice

Slayr:
07-10 Warsaw, Poland – Lotnisku Bemowo
07-30 Seattle, WA – Showbox
08-01 San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
08-03 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory OC
08-04 San Diego, CA – House of Blues
08-06 Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco
08-07 Phoenix, AZ – The Nile
08-10 Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
08-13 San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre
08-15 Dallas, TX – The Echo
08-16 New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
08-18 Miami, FL – Midline Miami
08-20 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
08-22 London, England – O2 Forum Kentish Town
08-27 Boston, MA – Royale
08-28 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
08-30 Richmond, VA – The National
08-31 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
09-01 Philadelphia, PA – Brooklyn Bowl
09-03 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
09-05 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
09-06 Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
09-08 Montreal, Quebec – Théâtre Beanfield
09-09 Toronto, Ontario – The Concert Hall
09-12 Detroit, MI – The Majestic Theatre
09-15 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave Bar

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“From what I understand, this is a priority. So, I hope we can get something signed within the year,” Department of Finance (DoF) Secretary Frederick D. Go said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

The Philippines joined Pax Silica in April, a US-led initiative aimed at strengthening technology supply chains and countering China’s growing technology manufacturing sector.

According to the US State Department, the Pax Silica initiative has 23 signatories, including the Philippines.

Under the initiative, the Philippines is developing a 1,618-hectare AI-native industrial hub within New Clark City in Tarlac to support the country’s bid to join the AI supply-chain ecosystem.

The facility will host the Pax Silica Coordination Office for technology firms, research institutions, and government agencies.

Mr. Go said Clark’s designation as a Pax Silica site could pave the way for the establishment of facilities that manufacture semiconductors, chips and other advanced technology products.

“I think why they want to locate in the Philippines is always because of our workforce,” he said.

Asked about private sector interest, Mr. Go said Taiwan-based Foxconn is to serve as the anchor investor for the planned technology hub.

Foxconn is one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers and is best known as a major supplier for companies such as Apple and Sony.

Mr. Go said the Pax Silica initiative also complements the development of the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC).

The LEC is a trilateral initiative among the Philippines, the United States and Japan aimed at improving connectivity across Luzon’s key economic areas, particularly Subic Bay, Clark, Metro Manila and Batangas. The partnership has since expanded to include Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

“Eight countries have already signed up, including Canada. And then Canada also announced that they’re giving us a $2 million grant to support this whole initiative of the Luzon Economic Corridor,” Mr. Go said.

In late April, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said it expects to break ground for the first phase of the development within the first two years. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

At the same time, the SEC raised the capital and disclosure requirements for financing and lending companies, as it seeks to improve the regulatory oversight of the sector and boost consumer protection.

The corporate regulator on Tuesday issued Memorandum Circular No. 20, which sets the guidelines prescribing prudential, disclosure and market conduct requirements for financing companies (FC) and lending companies (LC), as well as lifts the moratorium on new OLPs.

“The commission recognizes the need to lift the moratorium… in order to promote responsible innovation, stimulate economic activity among FCs and LCs, and ensure the operation of OLPs is aligned with consumer protection, market integrity, prudential objectives, financial inclusion, ease of market access, and alignment with the global trend of digitalization,” the SEC said.

The moratorium on new OLPs has been in place since November 2021 as the SEC developed new rules to address predatory lending and abusive debt collection practices.

“The lifting of this moratorium shall not be construed as an automatic or unconditional approval of any OLP. All FCs and LCs, whether existing or newly incorporated, shall remain subject to the disclosure, business plan, minimum paid-up capital, operational, consumer protection, data privacy, and supervisory requirements,” the SEC said.

Under the new circular, FCs and LCs seeking to operate OLPs will be required to maintain higher paid-up capital depending on the number of platforms they own, operate, control, or utilize.

An OLP is defined as any borrower-facing digital platform, app or system that is used for financing and lending activities such as loan applications, credit evaluation and loan repayment.

Financing companies with one OLP are required to have a minimum paid-up capital of P20 million, P40 million for two OLPs, P60 million for three OLPs, P80 million for four OLPs, and P100 million for five OLPs.

Lending companies with one OLP should have a paid-up capital of P10 million, P20 million for two OLPs, P30 million for three OLPs, P40 million for four OLPs, and P50 million for five OLPs.

New financing firms are required to have a minimum paid-up capital of P15 million, while new lending firms should have P5 million in paid-up capital. Existing ones are not required to adjust their capital immediately unless they expand operations.

The Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007 sets the minimum paid-in capital for lending companies at P1 million but allows the SEC to impose higher capitalization requirements when warranted.

The SEC also capped the number of OLPs that can be owned and operated by financing and lending firms to five as a “prudential limit to ensure effective supervision, adequate governance and manageable consumer risk exposure.”

Existing FCs and LCs with one or more OLPs should comply with the paid-up capital requirements corresponding to the number of platforms within 12 months.

Those that do not intend to comply with the capital requirements should reduce their OLPs and disclose only OLPs supported by their existing capital levels. If an OLP is not disclosed, it may no longer be operated.

Also, the SEC rules state that new financing and lending firms will be issued with only one certificate of authority, regardless of the number of branches or location. No separate certificates will be issued for OLPs.

The SEC is also imposing an annual licensing fee (ALF) at the entity level “to reflect the cost of continuing supervision, monitoring, and regulatory oversight of FCs and LCs, including those operating through digital or platform-based channels.” This is computed based on the total assets reflected in the latest audited financial statements.

CONSUMER PROTECTION
The SEC also tightened consumer protection standards in the industry, including preventing financing and lending firms from releasing loan proceeds without borrowers’ “explicit and informed” confirmation of final loan terms.

Under the new guidelines, companies must provide complete loan disclosures and allow borrowers reasonable time to review them before obtaining confirmation. Loan approvals and confirmations must also be properly recorded and traceable to the transaction.

“In collecting payments from borrowers, the FCs and LCs shall ensure that all collection communications… are conducted in a manner that is fair, transparent and not misleading and consistent with applicable laws, rules and regulations,” SEC said.

The borrower will have the right to disregard any collection communication that fails to reasonably identify the FC, LC or OLP.

“In no case shall any person appearing in the borrower’s contact list, character references, or similar personal information be treated, represented, or contacted as a guarantor, surety, co-maker, or person liable for the borrower’s loan obligation, unless such person has separately and expressly agreed in writing to assume such legal obligation,” the SEC said.

For unfair debt collection practices, LCs face a P60,000 fine for a first offense and P250,000 for a second offense, while FCs face a P100,000 fine for a first offense and P500,000 fine for a second offense.

For succeeding offenses, the SEC may impose a fine of not less than twice the fine for the second offense but not more than P1 million and suspend the firm for 60 days or revoke their certificate of authority. — A.G.C.Magno

PHILIPPINE headline inflation eased for a second straight month in June on lower transport and food prices, but pass-through effects pushed core inflation to its fastest pace in 31 months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Based on PSA data released on Tuesday, headline inflation slowed to 6.4% from 6.8% in May, but accelerated from 1.4% a year ago.

The June inflation print came in below the 6.6% median forecast in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts, but within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 6%-7% projection for the month.

This was the slowest headline inflation in three months or since 4.1% in March.

As of the first half of the year, inflation averaged 4.8%, still above the BSP’s 4% ceiling. The BSP expects the headline print to settle at 6.4% by yearend.

“Inflation slowed in June as easing oil price pressures and continued government measures to strengthen food supply helped temper price increases,” the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development  said in a separate statement, likewise noting easing tensions in the Middle East. 

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said inflation in transport cooled to 12.8% in June from 16.2% in May, while food and nonalcoholic beverages eased to 5.2% from 5.7%.

Local fuel retailers cut the price of gasoline by as much as P7.50 per liter and diesel by as much as P21.19 per liter last month. On the other hand, kerosene climbed by P1.98 per liter.

This led inflation for gasoline to ease to 39.2% in June from 51.6% in May, and diesel slowed to 39% from 58.5%.

Food inflation cooled amid lower meat and fish prices as easing oil costs helped boost fishing activity in the country, the BSP said.

The price of meat products declined at a faster pace of -4.2% in June from the 2.5% drop a month ago. Inflation for cereals and cereal products slowed to 12.1% from 12.6%, while fish and other seafood eased to 7.8% from 8.8%.

Rice inflation likewise slowed to 15% in June from 15.6% in May as prices declined month on month, which the BSP attributed to the arrival of imports and temporary price ceiling set during the period.

The price of regular milled rice slipped by 2.67% to P49.67 a kilo in the second half of the month from P51.03 in the same period in May, while well-milled rice was nearly 3% cheaper at P56.15 a kilo from P57.88 in the prior month.

“Nonetheless, higher vegetable prices due to limited supply during the off-season tempered the slowdown in headline inflation,” the BSP added.

STICKY CORE INFLATION
Meanwhile, core inflation, which discounts volatile fuel and food prices, bucked the headline trend as it quickened for a sixth consecutive month to 4.4% in June from 4.1% in May and 2.2% last year.

This matched the December 2023 reading and was the fastest pace in 31 months or since 4.7% in November 2023.

In a separate statement, the Philippine central bank said still elevated global oil and fertilizer prices continue to feed into the cost of fuel and food in the Philippines, showing “inflationary pressures remain strong.”

“Rising core inflation indicates broadening price pressures and second-round effects, including higher inflation expectations,” the BSP said.

According to PSA’s Mr. Mapa, faster price increases in utilities, restaurants and accommodation services, and education services, among others pushed the core print to an over two-year high.

In June, inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels picked up to 8% from 7.8% in May, largely driven by the 12% electricity inflation from 8.8% in the prior month.

This came after Manila Electric Co. hiked its electricity rate by 14.88 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P14.4833 per kWh last month, which meant households consuming 200 kWh monthly had to pay P30 more in their total electricity bills.

Meanwhile, inflation for restaurants and accommodation services quickened to 7% from 6.7% a month earlier, while inflation for education services accelerated to 3.9% from 2.9%.

Mr. Mapa said they will monitor price movements in the National Capital Region (NCR) in relation to the upcoming wage hike in the region this month, as the labor component also weighs on the country’s inflation.

The minimum wage in NCR is set to increase by P60 on July 19, bringing it to P755 for nonagricultural workers and to P718 for agricultural workers and employees of retail, service, and small manufacturing establishments. The second tranche of the wage hike or P25 will be implemented in January next year.

PSA data also showed inflation in NCR was slower at 4.9% in June from 5% in May, but picked up from 2.6% a year ago.

Outside NCR, it eased to 6.7% from 7.1% in the previous month, but was faster than 1.1% last year.

For the bottom 30% of income households, inflation cooled to 8% in June from 8.4% in May. However, this was significantly faster than  -0.4% recorded in June 2025.

BSP TO REMAIN HAWKISH?
The BSP said the latest local and international developments, particularly in the oil market, will guide their decision for their next monetary policy review on Aug. 27.

“The Monetary Board will continue to be guided by incoming data and is prepared to take further monetary action as needed to ensure that inflation returns to the 3% target,” it added.

The BSP has raised its benchmark rate by a total of 50 basis points (bps) since April, bringing it to 4.75%.

ING Regional Head of Research for Asia-Pacific Deepali Bhargava noted that looming inflationary risks from the recent wage hike and the upcoming El Niño season give the BSP reason to continue tightening.

“Taken together, while headline inflation has eased, we don’t believe the BSP has enough evidence yet to declare victory,” she said in a report.

“Persistent core inflation, rising wages and lingering food price risks should keep policymakers focused on ensuring inflation expectations remain anchored, supporting our expectation of further rate hikes by the BSP.”

Chinabank Research also sees a third straight BSP rate hike in August as the faster core inflation reflects that the Middle East war’s impact on energy prices is “becoming more entrenched.”

“Key upside risks to inflation remain, which could keep the BSP on a hawkish footing,” it added.

Meanwhile, HSBC Global Investment Research Senior ASEAN Economist Aris D. Dacanay expects the BSP to be more hawkish and deliver 75 bps more in hikes by end-2026.

“Due to the upside surprise in wage hikes, we expect the BSP to stay on a hiking path for the rest of 2026 despite inflation being below expectations over the past two months,” Mr. Dacanay said in a separate report.

“We expect the BSP to increase rates to 5.5% by the end of the year,” he added, noting that the central bank may reverse its path to ease borrowing costs by the second half of 2027.

In a separate commentary, Citigroup, Inc. (Citi) said moderating headline inflation and prospects of gradual economic recovery by the second half of the year signal weaker threats of stagflation for the Philippines, although risks remain.

Citi economists Wei Zheng Kit and Helmi Arman noted that the Philippine economy may slightly rebound starting in the second half of the year until 2028, but with growth to remain weaker than its performance in recent years.

“The Philippines is likely to achieve only a gradual, below-trend growth recovery in the second half of 2026 and into 2027-28,” they said. “The recovery will be uneven: Public construction resuming gradually, consumption recovering as inflation moderates, and investment cautious pending political resolution.”

Citi also noted that an August hike remains likely, with a pause in October to come only if lower oil prices prompt the BSP to materially cut its inflation and growth estimates.

Bavi entered the PAR at around 3 a.m. and was formally assigned the local name Inday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 5:00 a.m. briefing.

The super typhoon was last located 1,405 kilometers east of Northern Luzon. It retained its strength, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 230 kph. It is moving westward at 25 kph.

Following its entry, Storm Signal No. 1 has been hoisted over several areas in Luzon.

This includes areas such as Batanes; Cagayan, including the Babuyan Islands; Apayao; and the northern and central portions of Isabela, including Santo Tomas, Aurora, Santa Maria, Quezon, San Mariano, Naguilian, Dinapigue, Roxas, Luna, Delfin Albano, Cauayan City, San Pablo, Ilagan City, Benito Soliven, Tumauini, Cabagan, Reina Mercedes, San Manuel, Palanan, Cabatuan, Quirino, Divilacan, Gamu, Mallig, Maconacon, Burgos, San Guillermo, Angadanan, Alicia, and San Mateo.

It is likewise in effect in the eastern portion of Kalinga, including Pinukpuk, Tabuk City, and Rizal; Dilasag in Aurora; and the northern and central portions of Catanduanes, including Pandan, Caramoran, Bagamanoc, Panganiban, Viga, Gigmoto, Baras, and San Miguel.

PAGASA said that under Signal No. 1, minimal to minor threats to life and property due to strong winds are possible within the next 36 hours.

The bureau also emphasized that the super typhoon has yet to directly affect the country during the forecast period.

The heavy rains that drenched Metro Manila and nearby areas early Wednesday were caused by localized thunderstorms.

“The heavy rains that we experienced in Metro Manila and nearby areas were not caused by the super typhoon… and southwest monsoon,” Chenel Dominguez, PAGASA weather specialist, said during the briefing in Filipino.

“Based on satellite images, the storm is too far from Metro Manila,” she added.

However, the super typhoon is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon by Friday, bringing scattered rains over large parts of the country, Ms. Dominguez said.

“We remind the public to take caution and be prepared for rains that will be caused by the southwest monsoon,” she said.

As for Bavi’s forecast track, it is expected to remain over the Philippine Sea and may be nearest to Extreme Northern Luzon by Friday. It is then forecast to exit the PAR by Saturday as it moves toward China.

Bavi is expected to maintain its super typhoon strength until Thursday before weakening into a typhoon by Thursday afternoon or evening. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

Philippine banks’ loan growth posted its fastest pace in over a year in May amid faster lending for residents’ business activities, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Universal and commercial banks’ total outstanding loans, net of reverse repurchase agreements, grew by 12.1% year on year in May to P14.989 trillion from P13.37 trillion.

This was faster than the 11.4% expansion in April.

It was also the quickest lending growth seen in 15 months or since the 12.2% in February 2025.

“This reflects banks’ expectations of steady loan demand from businesses and households in Q2 2026,” the central bank said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Most or 53.8% of banks polled by the BSP expected businesses to sustain steady demand for credit in the second quarter of the year, while 52.9% saw steady loan demand from households, the central bank’s latest Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey showed.

BSP data showed outstanding loans to residents climbed to P14.692 trillion in May from P13.046 trillion a year ago, reflecting a faster 12.6% jump versus April’s 11.8%.

This accounted for the bulk of the sector’s total outstanding loans during the period, with the remainder composed of loans to nonresidents.

For nonresidents, bank lending declined quicker by 8.3%, from 7.9% in April, to P296.887 billion in May from P323.828 billion last year. This includes loans by big banks’ foreign currency deposit units to nonresidents.

Based on BSP data, loans extended for residents’ production activities reached P12.67 trillion, up 11.7% annually from P11.347 trillion. This was an improvement from the 10.7% increase posted in April.

This came amid increased lending to major industries, the BSP said, with loans to the electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply sector surging by 32.9%.

Lending for transportation and storage also jumped by 21.4%, wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles by 10.1%, real estate activities by 7.3%, and manufacturing by 6.4%.

Meanwhile, big banks disbursed a total of P2.022 trillion in consumer loans, 19% higher than the P1.699 trillion lent out a year earlier.

“This is slightly slower than the previous month’s 19.6% growth, reflecting softer expansion in credit card and motor vehicle loans,” the central bank said.

In May, credit card loans rose by 26.3% year on year to P1.269 trillion, while motor vehicle loans increased by 10.2% to P540.9 billion, and salary-based general purpose consumption loans by 6.4% to P171.79 billion.

The central bank monitors banks’ lending activities to track the transmission of monetary policy.

MONEY SUPPLY

Meanwhile, continued growth in private and public sector borrowings drove the country’s liquidity (M3) to climb by 12.8% to P20.604 trillion in May from P18.265 trillion the prior year.

This was faster than the 12.2% increase logged in April, and marked the fastest money supply growth in nearly six years or since the 13.7% expansion in August 2020

“Domestic liquidity growth was driven mainly by the sustained expansion in borrowings by both the private and public sectors,” the BSP said in a separate statement. “The increase in domestic liquidity supports economic activity by facilitating consumption, lending, and investment.”

M3 is a measure of the amount of money in the economy that includes currencies in circulation, bank deposits, and other financial assets that are easily convertible to cash.

Based on preliminary BSP data, domestic claims picked up by 13.3% from 12.7% in April as it rose to P23.672 trillion from P20.891 trillion in May last year.

Claims on the private sector, which is largely composed of loans to production sectors and households, rose faster by 13.2% in May to P15.204 trillion, improving from 12.6% in the previous month.

“Credit to production sectors and households, mainly in the form of bank loans, continued to grow and support economic activity,” the BSP said.

Net claims on the central government likewise increased by 16.2% annually to P6.41 trillion in May. This was faster than the 15.1% in April.

The central bank noted that this was driven by “the National Government’s issuance of debt securities and withdrawal of deposits from the BSP and banks to finance its spending.”

Claims on a sector refer to that sector’s liabilities to depository corporations such as banks and the central bank.

Meanwhile, net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms went up by 9.1% to P7.153 trillion in May from P6.559 trillion in the same month in 2025.

Banks’ larger holdings of foreign currency-denominated debt securities boosted their NFA position by 16.4% to P776.001 billion.

The central bank’s NFAs also rose by 8.2% year on year to P6.377 trillion.

NFAs reflect the difference between depository corporations’ claims and liabilities to nonresidents.

On the other hand, M1 — which is considered a narrower measure of money supply comprising currency in circulation and current account deposit liabilities — was 9.5% higher at P7.982 trillion from P7.287 trillion a year ago.

The BSP said it will ensure that local bank lending and domestic liquidity conditions “remain consistent with its price and financial stability objectives.”

Based on PSA data released on Tuesday, headline inflation slowed to 6.4% in June from 6.8% in May, but was still much faster than the 1.4% pace logged a year ago.

The June inflation print came in below the 6.6% median forecast in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts.

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said inflation in transport cooled to 12.8% in June from 16.2% in May, while food and nonalcoholic beverages eased to 5.2% from 5.7%.

“Inflation slowed in June as easing oil price pressures and continued government measures to strengthen food supply helped temper price increases,” the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said in a separate statement, likewise noting easing tensions in the Middle East.

As of the first half of the year, inflation averaged 4.8%, still above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 4% ceiling.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which discounts volatile fuel and food prices, quickened to 4.4% from 4.1% in May and 2.2% last year.

This matched the December 2023 reading and was the fastest pace seen since the 4.7% in November 2023.

Mr. Mapa noted that faster price increases in utilities, restaurants and accommodation services and education services, among others pushed the core print to an over two-year high.

PSA data also showed inflation in the National Capital Region (NCR) was slower at 4.9% in June from 5% in May, but picked up from 2.6% a year ago.

Outside NCR, it eased to 6.7% from 7.1% the previous month, but was faster than the 1.1% last year.

For the bottom 30% of income households, inflation also cooled to 8% in June from 8.4% in May. However, this was significantly faster than the -0.4% recorded in June 2025. — Katherine K. Chan

“What we have done is we have made our platforms extremely flexible so you can customize by tweaking the products inside or you can write your own software and modify or extend the capabilities of the products… Like how you have applications in the Apple, Android ecosystem, our customers and our partners can build applications on top of our platforms, extend the capabilities, modify behavior of our products and publish it in a marketplace,” ManageEngine Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Ganesan said in a media roundtable here on Monday.

The marketplace is a symbiotic ecosystem connecting partner-developers, customers, and the ManageEngine platform teams to co-innovate and accelerate enterprise IT outcomes.

Since its launch last week, the platform has hosted over 17 partner-developer organizations who have built more than 170 turnkey extensions, driving more than 10,000 downloads so far.

The solution rapid-deploys ManageEngine’s artificial intelligence (AI) agent Zia across the company’s platforms and third-party solutions to lift enterprise workloads.

Mr. Ganesan said their customers and partners can build an AI agent using the Zia Agent studio, where they can type in prompts to manage data.

He added that they are investing heavily in the solution as it will also build a developer ecosystem around ManageEngine.

“How many partners would we have in Southeast Asia region alone? There are distributors and then resellers that run in a few hundreds — 250 just in the Southeast Asian region. That is ecosystem for us,” Mr. Ganesan said.

“Now we are entering, building the developer ecosystem for ManageEngine, where ManageEngine is not just developed by our own people. It will be developed by the ecosystem in a very controlled fashion,” he added.

Across Southeast Asia, ManageEngine has more than 7500 customers, with revenues growing by an average of 25% predominantly coming from its cloud solutions, ManageEngine Asia-Pacific Regional Vice President Arun Kumar said.

“We offer both on-premise as well as cloud applications for ManageEngine and still Southeast Asia the major revenue comes from on-premise, particularly from banking, government, public sector because of the strong regulations. But cloud is picking up a lot of momentum, our cloud growth is around 35%,”

He said growth in the region will also be driven by existing customers buying more products as well as their security solutions.

The company has over 1,000 customers each in Indonesia and Singapore, some 800 in Malaysia, more than 750 in the Philippines, about 700 from Thailand, and over 500 in Vietnam.

In terms of revenue growth, Vietnam had the fastest expansion at 35%, followed by the Philippines at 30%, Thailand and Malaysia both at 25%, Singapore at 23%, and Indonesia at 20%. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

It’s International Kissing Day, and we wanted to celebrate with 15 of the sexiest TV kisses that’ll get your hearts racing.

It doesn’t matter if these couples were short-term or long-term. They shared some of the sexiest kisses in the last 10 years.

You know the kind, when you can’t look away because it’s so steamy it might fog up your television.

You’ve sometimes waited weeks, if not years, for those longing looks to become a passionate kiss.

Some of these steamy kisses are iconic and won’t surprise anyone, like Jamie and Claire’s reunion kiss or Kate and Anthony’s first kiss, but you may be introduced to other new couples, too.

Check out our full list of romantic, sexy, hot, and steamy smooches below.

Thomas and Kat — The Way Home Season 2 Episode 10

The show may be over, but The Way Home’s fieriest kisses came from a couple separated by time and commitments — Kat Landry and Thomas Coyle.

Thomas made Kat feel more alive in less time than anyone else on The Way Home.

Kat liked to believe her heart belonged to another, but when faced with the possibility that Thomas might be killed in the past, she walked right out of Elliot’s life with the hope of either thwarting Thomas’s death or, at least, saying goodbye.

She didn’t know at the time that he planned to look dead so that Cyrus Goodwin wouldn’t steal his life. The fear for his life and the passion she felt for him were real.

They met on the beach. He was on the run from Cyrus, and she was fresh from the future. Their eyes met. Her face crumbled. He showed he would go to the ends of the earth for her. 

He asked her one more time if he could carry a piece of her heart in his, and she said yes. Thomas pressed a coin into her hand that would save the Landry family farm, but before he urged her to run, to save herself and him, they locked eyes again.

They shared a kiss so passionate that the memory of it lived for centuries and captured the hearts of fans, so much so that many of us couldn’t let them go, long after their time had passed.

Helen and Erik — Sweet Magnolias Season 4 Episode 5

Netflix’s comfort series may be on hiatus.

Still, Sweet Magnolias‘ hottest kisses came from a couple who had been broken up for over a season and appreciated the second chance they’d been given.

There is nothing sexier than a rain kiss, and Erik Whitley and Helen Decatur served up the sexiness.

Helen was stuck in a horrible storm when a tree fell on her car. When Erik feared she was in danger, he drove out in the storm to rescue her.

He appeared like a white knight, drenched, soaking wet, but he managed to lift her car off the tree and get Helen out safely.

It seemed as if all their problems slowly melted away when he risked his life to save her. Erik grabbed her in relief, and they passionately kissed as the rain poured down.

It was a moment many fans couldn’t stop talking about as they longed for their reunion, but we never imagined it would be that steamy.

Lucy and Wyatt — Timeless Season 2 Episode 3

Lucy and Wyatt tried to fight fate for so long, even though fans knew as soon as Timeless started that those two were destined to end up together.

When Wyatt and Lucy were separated at the beginning of Season 2, it crushed them because they depended on each other.

After they reunited, their relationship shifted, and you could see it when they were in Hollywood. Lucy looked terrified as she serenaded him to “You Made Me Love You.”

That moment changed everything as the two stared into each other’s eyes and realized the time had come to talk honestly.

Wyatt finally admitted he was ready to move on and that Lucy had saved him as many times as he’d save her.

When they finally kissed for real, it was so much sexier than when they pretended to be a couple. It included longing and passion; now they could admit their feelings for each other.

The version of them in the pool was even sexier than them alongside the pool. They couldn’t contain their passion, so they jumped into the water to try to cool off.

Max and Ellis – Wild Cards Season 2 Episode 6

Max and Ellis may have hit some frustrating bumps in the road during Wild Cards Season 3, but the second season’s high is euphoric.

Speaking of “high,” the episode saw the two accidentally consuming drugs while working a murder case that had them trapped in a mansion.

But we got so much vulnerability between the two, especially when Ellis opened up about losing his brother Daniel, and what it has been like no longer having his “person.”

He regaled Max with a heartfelt story about his brother and how an initial fear of a cricket became a symbol of their devotion to each other.

Ellis’ emotion in that moment lures you in, and Max’s sincere “I’ll be your cricket” carries so much weight that it leaves you holding your breath.

The intimacy of that scene, given the vulnerable emotions, is underscored by the two being nearly a hair’s breadth apart the whole time.

We have the sound of thunder in the background, shadows and light dancing across their faces from the fireplace, and a genuinely steamy, sultry kiss after Max’s quiet pledge. It’s a moment you want to stay suspended in forever.

Brady and Brie – Virgin River Season 6 Episode 5

We have two words for you, my friends. Pool. Table.

Brady and Brie have been the hot/cold couple who practically rival Jack and Mel at this point on Virgin River. One thing that’s undeniable about Brady and Brie is their scorching-hot chemistry.

So when Brie has to relay news about how Brady’s current girlfriend has been lying to him, it didn’t go over too well for a man who admits in that scene that he must’ve deserved it.

Brady notoriously doesn’t ever feel like he’s worthy of anything good, which is why Brie literally voicing to him that he’s worthy of love is enough to make you tear up, gasp a bit, too.

And Brady telling her that the only reason he even knows love at all is because of her, well, it’s no wonder that this heated moment led to a passionate, steamy kiss that had you leaning into the screen, enraptured.

That steam intensifies when the two carry that passionate makeout session to the pool table and really take things to a steamy level. Yup. We’re definitely going to need a cold shower after reliving that.

Belly and Conrad – The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3 Episode 8

Whether you’re a Belly & Conrad shipper or a Belly & Jeremiah shipper, steamy kisses are steamy kisses.

Belly and Conrad, having a much-needed talk under the Parisian moonlight, one that had been years in the making, was such a satisfying moment.

Things that were left unsaid finally came out, and Belly heard what she needed to hear from Conrad about how his grief over his mother caused him to push her away, and the things that ultimately led to the downfall of their relationship.

Belly was as wrapped up in the romantic tension of that moment as the viewers, leading to a kiss that had her asking him to come home with her.

It resulted in a non-stop, smoking hot and sexy makeout session that went from the taxi they took, to the stairwell on their way up to her apartment, and finally to the bedroom.

It was the prelude to what is inarguably the sexiest, steamiest scene of The Summer I Turned Pretty. And it definitely makes the list of the steamiest kisses of the past decade, hands down.

Doug and Tina – Minx Season 1 Episode 7

Minx remains an underrated gem that should’ve been on air for seasons to come, and so much of that is rooted in the great characters who buoyed the series.

One of them is Jake Johnson’s Doug.

At this point, it’s sort of an unspoken thing that Jake Johnson is often behind some of the best onscreen kisses in existence, and the Minx kiss between Doug and Tina is no exception.

After celebrating that they sold out their magazine everywhere, the pair has a giggle fit.

Doug humbles himself enough to put some respect on his Girl Friday’s name by conceding that she was right about his behavior, how in over his head he was, and for basically calling him out as she’s so adept at doing.

Humility is sexy.

Tina thanks him for an apology and also whispers in his ear that he was right, too.

It culminates in an unspoken moment of sexy tension that nails quiet consent when he clearly signifies with all body and facial reactions and no words that he really wants to kiss her, and she does the same.

His slow stand-up, which leaves him hovering over her as she looks up at him, is hot enough.

Still, he wraps his arms around her, pulling her into a steamy kiss wherein he’s practically devouring her, and it truly is one of the hottest kisses EVER.

Lucy and Tim – The Rookie Season 7 Episode 6

Chenford has had a few steamy kisses that made us swoon over the years. Their first one was thrilling, and it was followed by another airplane kiss while undercover that truly revealed just how deeply those emotions ran for both of them.

But if we have to choose just one that’s the steamiest, then it’ll have to be The Rookie Season 7 Episode 6‘s “We shouldn’t” steamy smooch after the gala.

They couldn’t keep their hands off each other, changing up the rules of their previous agreement to make just this one exception, and it was well worth it, because whew!

Their chemistry is so undeniable, and it’s easily one of their hottest kisses to date. But surely, they’ll raise the bar again come next season.

Technically, they were on a break and trying to be good about it, but sometimes a girl can’t resist.

Magnus and Alec – Shadowhunters Season 1 Episode 12

The story of Magnus and Alec is inseparable from Freeform’s adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments book series.

They quickly became fan favorites thanks to the performances of Matthew Daddario and Harry Shum Jr. Shadowhunters delivered numerous iconic Malec moments throughout the show’s run.

However, none arguably beats their first public lip lock in the 12th episode of the first season. 

This was the turning point that defined Malec’s future because, for the first time, Alec followed his heart’s desire and chose Magnus before everyone else.

It’s not like all the praise goes only to Alec because Magnus took a huge emotional risk by crashing that wedding without any guarantees.

The tension in that room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. From Magnus’ anxious anticipation to the permanence of Alec’s choice and his mother’s opposition, there were so many moving parts.

Yet it all came together beautifully as Alec went on autopilot and marched across the room to give Magnus a kiss that screamed: “I choose us!” And not one peck on the lips – a long, present kiss.

Add Ruelle’s “War of Hearts,” and that moment will remain iconic forever.

Kate and Anthony – Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 6

Apparently, we have a thing for steamy kisses and declarations of love as a wedding is abruptly halted.

Bridgerton features many sizzling, romantic kisses, but Kate and Anthony’s forbidden romance was hard to beat. He was engaged to her sister, Edwina, yet Anthony and Kate’s chemistry spoke volumes.

Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley quickly became fan favorites and delivered many romantic moments, including sultry looks and warm touches, such as the infamous bee sting scene.

But nothing beats their first kiss in Bridgerton Season 2 Episode 6, on Anthony and Edwina’s wedding day.

Edwina finally noticed the chemistry between her sister and Anthony since he couldn’t stop staring at Kate during the vows, and called off the wedding. Kate’s humiliation prompted her to hide in the chapel closet.

Kate wanted to do the proper thing, but Anthony wouldn’t let her walk away, and the two finally shared the sizzling lip-lock fans had been waiting for.

Jamie and Claire – Outlander Season 3 Episode 6

We can’t write a list of the sexiest TV kisses without mentioning Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe).

They’ve shared some of the most sizzling moments, and it was challenging to choose only one. 

While their wedding night was extremely memorable, their reunion 20 years later proved to be even sexier and more emotional.

Outlander Season 3 Episode 6 remains a fan-favorite among Jamie and Claire shippers. It showed their growth because Claire chose to return to him from the future, while Jamie seemed more humbled and grateful around Claire.

While they were initially hesitant around each other, what followed was hot, passionate kissing and sex since Jamie admitted he couldn’t keep his hands off Claire.

He still thought his wife was the most beautiful woman ever.

Shane and Ilya – Heated Rivalry Season 1 Episode 1

Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander shared several passionate kisses during Heated Rivalry, but their spontaneous and steamy rooftop kiss was unforgettable.

Shane was angry and drunk over losing the hockey award and over Ilya celebrating his win by hiding on the roof. 

He started arguing with Ilya, and as Ilya grew frustrated with it, he grabbed Shane, pushed him against a wall, and kissed him with pent-up longing and passion.

What started as an angry reaction melted into a passionate kiss as they both gave in to their physical desires.

That kiss resonated not only for the sexual tension but also for its emotional nuances. You can see the moment Shane realizes what he’s done and panics.

He realized he was attracted to his rival and didn’t want to show it in front of anyone, while Ilya was even more certain of his feelings after that kiss. It jump-started their relationship.

Eve and Villanelle – Killing Eve Season 4 Episode 8

Killing Eve’s series finale was an homage to Eve and Villanelle’s relationship as they finally let their walls down and shared an intimate road trip.

When they became stranded, they shared a sleeping bag at a couple’s shelter. Villanelle took the first step by stroking Eve’s back, elevating their physical touch.

The two stole the couple’s van, and their escapades reminded us of a romantic getaway, from spontaneous dancing to sharing curly fries at a truck stop.

It showcased how well they knew each other, and Villanelle took another risk by kissing Eve on the cheek.

The kiss that followed was the moment fans had been waiting for. It was both emotional and unscripted as Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer strived to highlight the raw emotion they felt.

As Eve pulled Villanelle towards her and they made out, you could feel how happy they were that those feelings were finally out in the open. They looked positively giddy.

Conrad and Nic – The Resident Season 2 Episode 1

The Resident’s Conrad and Nic shared many romantic kisses, but their shower kiss at Chastain was definitely the steamiest.

Things were so chaotic that the couple had barely any alone time, so Conrad borrowed the keys to a colleague’s private office, which included a glass shower.

Within minutes, Conrad and Nic were making out, fogging up the glass door with their passionate kisses. It was so sexy how they kept pushing each other against the shower walls.

While they’d made out in supply closets before, this was the first time they’d done that in a work shower, and it was hot!

That steamy kiss got our hearts racing.

We wish it could have gone on even longer, but then their pagers went off.

Joe and Georgia – Ginny & Georgia Season 3 Episode 8

We still don’t know how Georgia resisted a shirtless Joe earlier in Ginny & Georgia Season 3, but all bets were off in Episode 8.

Loyalty was sexy, so when she saw his bruised knuckles from punching Gil, she kissed him. 

Joe then realized Georgia was contemplating running away. Georgia begged him not to become like everyone else and judge her, saying she needed him.

That hit a nerve since he was finally the right guy for her, and it was finally their time. Before he lost his nerve, he passionately kissed her.

It became hot and heavy quickly, as the kiss grew deeper. Joe was shirtless again and peeled off Georgia’s shirt as she undid his belt.

While we didn’t see what happened next, many fans hope that the intense, passionate scene led to Georgia’s pregnancy and that Joe is the father.

We couldn’t include every kiss from the last 10 years. It’s now your turn. Please vote on your favorite, or write in the comments if we missed any.

You made it to the end — and that means a lot.
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This week will see a shift in the calculations Google uses for account storage. Beginning July 7, all data in your Android backups will count toward the storage limit on your Google account. Under the company’s previous approach to backups, only media uploaded to Google Photos and photos or videos within MMS data were counted against that storage cap. This rule will apply right away to new Android users, while current users will see the change roll out in the coming months.

“Android backup lets you save the data on your phone to your Google Account so you can easily restore it or set up a new device,” a spokesperson from the company told Engadget. “We’ve updated our policy so that all Android backup data now counts toward Google Account storage. We expect this to only add 40MB on average. We’re also giving you more transparency and new controls that let you select which data and apps you want to back up.”

Those controls will be accessible under the hardware’s backups menu. You can skip device settings, call history, or SMS and MMS messages from the backup process alongside the usual toggles for whether individual app data is included. 

This is the latest adjustment to Google’s policies around storage. In May, the company began testing a reduced default free storage limit for new accounts, cutting the max from 15GB to 5GB unless the user linked their phone number.

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Carmen Villain has announced a new album. The ambient dub producer and clarinetist will release Memoria on September 4 via Smalltown Supersound. She’s also shared the album’s first single. Listen to “Entre Nosotros” below.

Villain’s follow-up to 2022’s Only Love From Now On, Memoria borrows its title from Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s 2021 film. She also drew inspiration from pioneering electronic composer Pauline Oliveros’ “writings on internally recalled sounds,” according to press materials.

Read about Only Love From Now On in The Best Electronic Music of 2022.

Memoria:
01 Labour of Imagination
02 Entre Nosotros
03 Memoria
04 Hope Synapses
05 Blue
06 Holding a Shape
07 Omriss

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In a regulatory filing on Monday, Unlimited Renewables Holdings B.V. (URH), ACEN’s wholly owned subsidiary, said it had entered into a securities sale and purchase agreement with DIRO covering up to a 49% stake in Diyos Renewables India Project Private Ltd.

“The transaction is expected to close in stages, with DIRO acquiring an initial 10% voting interest in Diyos,” the company said.

Diyos is developing a 100-megawatt (MW) utility-scale wind project in Karnataka, India.

The transaction follows ACEN’s agreement last month to sell up to a 49% stake in Tejorupa Renewables India Project Private Ltd. to DIRO, allowing the Dutch investor to participate in the development of a 250-MW solar project in Rajasthan.

Earlier this year, an ACEN subsidiary acquired the remaining 50% voting interest in URH from UPC India Pte. Ltd., giving the Ayala-led renewable energy company full ownership of more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy projects in India.

URH is developing three renewable energy projects across Rajasthan and Karnataka with a combined capacity of 1,059 MW.

As of end-2025, India accounted for 26% of ACEN’s net attributable capacity from its international operations. The company operates three solar power projects in the country with a combined capacity of 1,344 MW.

ACEN had about 7 GW of attributable renewable energy capacity across operational, under-construction, and committed projects in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, and the United States as of end-2025.

Shares in ACEN rose 3.55%, or 11 centavos, to close at P3.21 each on Monday. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) expects government reforms and stronger economic activity in the second half to lift the Bureau of Customs’ (BoC) revenue collections for the rest of 2026.

“I am optimistic. With the reforms we have put in place and the expected strength of the economy in the second half of 2026 will drive the performance of the agency,” Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go told BusinessWorld.

His remarks came after the BoC exceeded its June revenue target despite the government’s temporary suspension of excise taxes on kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The BoC collected P86.07 billion in June, surpassing its P83.22-billion target by 3.4%. The figure was also 11.7% higher than the P77.04 billion collected in the same month last year.

The June outturn marked an improvement from May, when the agency fell short of its target following the suspension of excise taxes on kerosene and LPG.

Soaring global oil prices amid the Middle East conflict prompted the government to place the country under a one-year state of national energy emergency until March 2027.

To cushion the impact of higher fuel prices, the government suspended excise taxes on kerosene and LPG for three months beginning in mid-April.

In the first half, BoC collections rose 7.2% to P491.75 billion from P458.77 billion a year earlier. The amount also exceeded the P480.27-billion target for the period by 2.4%.

The first-half collections accounted for around 49% of the BoC’s P1-trillion revenue goal for 2026.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee recently lowered its revenue projection for 2026 to P4.81 trillion from P4.82 trillion previously.

In an earlier interview with BusinessWorld, DoF Revenue Integrity Protection Service Undersecretary Rolando T. Ligon, Jr. said the BoC remains on track to meet its full-year target, with import volumes expected to pick up starting in September.

In a July 3 report, Nomura Research Analyst Harrington Zhang said the country’s core inflation may have quickened to 4.5% last month from 4.1% in May and 2.2% a year ago.

“We also expect core inflation to continue to rise further to 4.5% from (4.1%), reflecting pass-through effects from still-elevated energy prices,” Mr. Zhang said.

If realized, this would be the fastest core print in two-and-a-half years or since 4.4% in December 2023.

It would likewise mark the second straight month that core inflation breached the central bank’s 2%-4% target.

Core inflation strips out volatile oil and food prices, allowing policymakers like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to determine whether prevailing consumer price movements reflect short-lived disruptions or a long-term trend. 

Oil prices have eased further in June, with the global oil benchmark price falling by 21%, the largest decline recorded since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, to below $100 per barrel. This was also faster than the 19% drop seen in May.

Fuel retailers implemented price rollbacks, with gasoline down by as much as P7.50 per liter and diesel cut by as much as P21.19 per liter.

However, the price of kerosene climbed slightly last month, posting a net increase of P1.98 per liter.

As of the last week of June, a liter of gasoline was sold for P68 to P96.60, while diesel cost P62.60 to P79.99 per liter, and kerosene at P94.60 to P125.50 per liter.

While pump prices have recovered from the over P100-a-liter peak during the war, it still remained above the prewar range of P50 to P60 per liter. 

In terms of headline inflation, Mr. Zhang projects it to ease for a second straight month at 6.4% in June from 6.8% in May.

“We expect CPI (consumer price index) inflation to ease further to 6.4% y-o-y (year-on-year) in June from (6.8%) in May, helped by a further drop in crude oil prices as well as stable rice prices, although upward adjustments to electricity generation charges provided some offset,” he said.

This was slower than the median estimate of 6.6% in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts conducted last week. 

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank Research sees inflation at 6.8% as high electricity rates offset the expected relief from softer transport prices during the month.

“Philippines’ headline inflation is forecast to remain unchanged at 6.8% year on year in June,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a separate report on Monday. “While private transport inflation likely eased further alongside the fall in oil prices, this is likely to be offset by higher electricity rates — 19% year on year higher in June 2026 vs 17% in May.”

In June, Manila Electric Co. hiked electricity rates by 14.88 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P14.4833 per kWh from P14.3345 per kWh. This translated to a P30 increase in the overall monthly electricity bill of households consuming 200 kWh.

MUFG Global Markets Research also projects inflation to stay above 6% in June, which would give the BSP reason to remain hawkish.

“Meanwhile, we think inflation in the Philippines will likely remain elevated at more than 6% year on year, and with risks of El Niño and food price pressures moving forward, we see the BSP remaining hawkish for now,” MUFG Senior Currency Analyst Michael Wan said in a report on Monday.

For Mr. Wan, the BSP may raise the benchmark rate further by a total of 50 basis points (bps). 

“We are forecasting BSP to hike rates two times more, bringing the policy rate to 5.25% by the end of 2026, which should over time provide some support for the currency,” he said. 

The central bank has tightened by a total of 50 bps as it increased the key interest rate by 25 bps for a second straight meeting in June, bringing benchmark borrowing costs to 4.75%. 

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. told reporters on Monday that the economy can still handle another 25-bp hike as it expects domestic growth to recover by the second half of the year following three consecutive quarters of slowdown.

He also earlier said that they still have a lot of room to tighten, especially as they want to contain price risks and bring inflation back to their 3% target using monetary policy.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release the June inflation report on Tuesday (July 7).

Meanwhile, the Monetary Board will have three more rate-setting meetings this year on Aug. 27, Oct. 22, and Dec. 17. — Katherine K. Chan

“For us to achieve the 3.5% (growth) target for the year, the average for the last three quarters must be 3.7%,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said at a press briefing on Monday.

“And for us to achieve 4.5%, the average for the last three quarters must be 5.07%,” he added.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee recently revised its 2026 gross domestic product growth target to 3.5%-4.5% from 5%-6%, citing the possible escalation of the Middle East conflict, weak consumer and business confidence, and intensifying El Niño.

The economy expanded by just 2.8% in the first quarter, slowing from 3% in the previous quarter and 5.37% a year earlier.

“The first half of 2026 has been challenging. The economy faced a combination of domestic and external shocks that slowed growth and pushed inflation higher,” Mr. Balisacan said.

Weak public infrastructure since late 2025 and the escalation of the Middle East conflict has slowed economic activity, fueled inflation, and dampened business and consumer confidence, he said.

Despite these headwinds, Mr. Balisacan said economic conditions are expected to improve in the second half of the year, even as the second quarter likely remained weak.

“We expect much improvement in the second half. The second quarter will be a challenge because that’s the peak of the Middle East conflict,” he added.

The DEPDev chief said he expects government spending to pick up in the second half as agencies accelerate infrastructure implementation after delays earlier this year.

“We have been working closely with these agencies and we see that the second half will be a much more improved situation as far as infrastructure and government spending is concerned,” he added.

To support the recovery in the second half, Mr. Balisacan said the government is prioritizing the restoration of business confidence and accelerating growth through faster infrastructure implementation and stronger private investment.

The government will also focus on containing inflation; strengthening food and energy security; investing in education, healthcare, digital transformation and workforce development; and improving governance to sustain long-term productivity and inclusive growth.

“These priorities reinforce one another. Together, they will help us build an economy that grows faster, withstands shocks better, and creates more opportunities for every Filipino,” Mr. Balisacan said.

However, he said inflation remains a downside risk, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expecting inflation to stay above its 2%-4% target for the rest of the year.

“So, we’ll still be challenged by inflation, but we are determined to get that inflation come down as fast as we can. But there are, of course, factors that are sometimes outside of our control, the government’s control,” the DEPDev chief said.

A BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts yielded a median estimate of 6.6% for June inflation, easing from 6.8% in May but much faster than 1.4% a year earlier. This falls within the central bank’s 6%-7% projection for the month, but will mark the fourth consecutive month that it breached the 2%-4% tolerance range.

Mr. Balisacan also warned that weaker economic growth could put the Philippines’ newly attained upper-middle income country (UMIC) status at risk.

“As any of the countries under that list, the World Bank list, countries can go up or down depending on how they perform after the reclassification,” he said.

To maintain its upper-middle income classification, Mr. Balisacan said the government must bring inflation under control, pursue fiscal consolidation, improve competitiveness, and ensure productivity drives economic growth.

“If we are able to do that, then the risk of falling below the threshold again is much lower,” he added.

The World Bank’s latest country income classification showed the Philippines posted a record gross national income (GNI) per capita of $4,850, which is within the UMIC category for economies with GNI per capita ranging from $4,636 to $14,375.

Prior to this, the Philippines was in the World Bank’s lower-middle income bracket since 1987. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY can still absorb another rate hike as growth is expected to rebound in the second half of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said he hopes the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow over 3% in the latter half of 2026 as the government ramps up spending.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event on Monday, he noted that the economy can still manage if the BSP extends its tightening cycle to deliver another 25-basis-point (bp) rate hike.

Asked if the economy can still handle another rate hike, the BSP chief said in a mix of Filipino and English: “It can, because 25 bps is small. It’s nominal” 

“If you deduct inflation from that, it’s still low,” he added.

However, Mr. Remolona did not answer when asked how much space they still have for additional 25-bp increases.

In the first quarter, the Philippine GDP growth slowed to 2.8% from 3% in the previous quarter and 5.4% a year ago, amid the Middle East war-driven energy shocks and lingering effects of last year’s flood control scandal.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has already lowered its growth target this year to 3.5-4.5% from 5-6% previously.

Mr. Remolona noted that the economy is still grappling with tepid public spending due to the flood control mess fallout.

“The problem this year is there was a lack of government spending.  So, we expect to recover strongly in the second half of the year. Because of the flood control (scandal) they became strict with spending. But that might be okay by the second half,” he added.

As of May, government spending grew by 4.81% year on year to P2.6 trillion from P2.48 trillion a year ago. The DBCC has set a P6.46-trillion disbursement program for this year.

Mr. Remolona said the government has to be more disciplined in spending to help the economy recover in the July-to-December period.

“The catch-up plan is to start spending what we should have been doing, what we should have been spending if not for the flood control,” he said.

The BSP chief said there should be a rebound in the government spending in the second semester.

Despite the sluggish economy, the central bank capped its easing cycle in April to raise key borrowing costs for the first time in over two years amid emerging price pressures from the energy crisis.

Mr. Remolona said the Monetary Board’s decision came as they are banking on fiscal policy to support growth while they focus on containing inflation risks.

Last month, the BSP delivered its second straight 25-bp hike to bring the benchmark rate to 4.75% as it flagged broadening spillover effects of elevated oil prices.

Mr. Remolona at that time said they still have a lot of space to tighten but will likely stick to 25-bp hikes unless second-order price effects worsen further. 

In May, headline inflation eased to 6.8% from the over three-year high of 7.2% in April, bringing the five-month average to 4.5%.

For June, a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts showed the headline print likely continued to breach the BSP’s 2%-4% goal as it yielded a median forecast of 6.6%.

The central bank sees inflation settling above its target over the next three years at 6.4% in 2026, 4.5% in 2027, and 3.1% in 2028.

The Monetary Board is scheduled to hold three more policy reviews this year on Aug. 27, Oct. 22, and Dec. 17.

“If the super typhoon’s movement and direction do not change,” Aldczar D. Aurelio, weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said during a 5:00 a.m. briefing in Filipino.

“It is expected to enter PAR between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning,” he added.

Upon the super typhoon’s entry into PAR, it will be assigned the local name Inday, the country’s ninth tropical cyclone this year.

As of 4:00 a.m., Bavi was located 2,365 kilometers east of Southeastern Luzon, PAGASA said.

It intensified based on the latest monitoring, packing maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 265 kph.

“There is a low chance of it making landfall in the country. The super typhoon’s center may pass near the Batanes area before making landfall in Taiwan,” Mr. Aurelio said, adding that Bavi was moving west-northwest at 15 kph toward PAR.

As for its effects, the super typhoon, along with the effects southwest monsoon, is expected to bring strong winds to large parts of the country from Tuesday to Wednesday, Mr. Aurelio said.

By Thursday, the enhanced southwest monsoon may bring scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, particularly over the western portion of the country.

Fair weather is expected across the country on Monday as the effects of Bavi and the southwest monsoon have yet to be felt. However, localized thunderstorms may develop in the afternoon or evening. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

4.3

People in the Power Universe are notorious for making bad decisions.

Sometimes those decisions are so bad they’re comical, while other times, they’re so bad they make you angry.

It was poor decision after poor decision on Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 5 Episode 4, and even that feels generous.

This battle between Kanan and Raq has been brewing for years now, and while it’s had many peaks and valleys, you can tell this time it’s different because Kanan is different.

When Power Book III: Raising Kanan first started, Kanan Stark was nothing like the adult we knew. And of course, he’s changed as the series has gone on, but we’re now seeing the closest version yet of the Kanan we met in Power.

Adult Kanan was a sociopath, and he didn’t care about anything or anyone.

If you want to debate whether or not he “cared” about Tariq, feel free to plead your case in the comments, but the more we learn about Kanan’s past, the more apparent it’s become that he lacks the capacity to truly care about people.

Somewhere between watching his mother kill his father and killing his uncle—maybe even before that—Kanan lost the ability to truly care about anyone.

He’s about himself—and himself alone. I’d say it sounds a lot like Raq, but that’s not entirely fair to her, since we know that Kanan will always be her Achilles’ heel.

Kanan doesn’t have one of those.

In this hour, Kanan was on a path of destruction, making statements wherever he could. First with his mother and then with Taz.

If anyone embodied this episode’s terrible decision-making, it was Taz. I could do a whole dissertation on Taz because what exactly was he hoping to accomplish?

There’s a certain air of superiority and confidence you have to possess when you live your life on the streets, and it works for a lot of people. Tommy comes to mind when I think of someone who doesn’t even know the meaning of humility.

But not everyone has the smarts and abilities to get away with saying anything and acting any way they want.

Taz walked around with a massive chip on his shoulder, constantly challenging Kanan in public and private as though Kanan was going to react rationally.

Genuinely, what was his problem?

Taz’s beef was mainly with Breeze, and he knew what he was doing in pitting him against Kanan, and he fell right into the trap almost gladly. Then he paid the price for it, and he had no one to blame but himself.

It’s fairly obvious that Breeze plays games, and he does things to see how people will react. It’s a dangerous game to play, because people don’t like being used as real-life pawns in someone else’s chess match, but when you’re moving around silly people like Taz, then it can work.

Taz’s death was a guarantee from the first surly look he levied at Kanan this season, but it was a little surprising to see the chopping up of his body because so often in Power, people don’t go out of their way to hide their misdeeds like that.

It’s very interesting to see the early evolution of the Kanan and Breeze dynamic, given the distrust that still exists between them. Or maybe not distrust, but caution.

They’re still getting to know each other and feel each other out, which is why Breeze met up with Raq without saying anything. And also why Kanan didn’t tell Breeze immediately that he knew he was lying about the Taz situation.

Perhaps the biggest sign that these two are still learning about each other was the Defcon admission, because huh?

I’m going to take the Kanan voiceover about truth and lying and blah blah blah to infer that Breeze just made up that lie because he assumed that Kanan didn’t know anything about his supposed father, and he could use their supposed connection as a way to get Kanan further aligned with him.

Or should we assume the lies in question were really from Kanan’s end, since he knew Defcon wasn’t his father, but he couldn’t very well tell Breeze that!

Either way, their early dynamic is now characterized by deceit, and if that isn’t true for literally EVERY male dynamic throughout the Power Universe.

Just men everywhere claiming to be brothers and lying when it suits them.

Speaking of lying, I never thought I would see the day when a young Kanan would turn into Don Juan, but that day arrived, and I was not prepared for it.

Kanan’s mission with Tiana was to gather information about Raq’s new business, which he did, but there was something else beneath it.

We’ve seen Kanan fall for a few girls throughout the series, and when we got that extended clip of the two of them in bed together, it didn’t give the impression that he was just after information. It felt like he genuinely wanted to get to know her.

I’ve been wondering whether we’d meet Shawn’s mother in this series, and it finally happened with only a few episodes left.

On the one hand, I thought Jarita would be a bigger part of Kanan’s story, but then again, she didn’t exactly play a major part in Power either.

Knowing that she was working for Raq and entered into an arrangement with Kanan under false pretenses makes you think about how terribly strained that adult relationship was, and why Kanan always had such disdain for his own son.

Jarita’s arrival is a very intriguing little side plot to look out for, especially if he uses that relationship to hurt Raq, because that’s clearly one of his main agendas this season.

The whole plan to get one of Flossie’s customers to overdose was a smart move, and Kanan making it clear it was him, so Raq wouldn’t think otherwise, was lowkey a power move, because you can tell he’s reaching a point where he’s not scared of anything.

Raq’s face when she found out Kanan was messing with her was the complete opposite of unbothered. One thing about Raq is that she’s always prepared, and what Kanan did caught her off-guard.

There is no way she could have ever predicted that Kanan and another kid named Breeze would wind up being something she’d have to contend with, and that’s to say nothing of Stefano, who’s a thorn she can’t get rid of.

The conversation between Raq and Breeze was a highlight of the hour because Raq was running circles around him, but in the same breath, you could start to see why Ghost and Tommy held Breeze in such high regard.

Breeze has a firm grasp of the game, and as I mentioned earlier, he’s clearly a master at maneuvering. Raq’s someone he knows he will never be able to maneuver around the way he wants because of his proximity to Kanan, but his mention of her as a woman was reductive, a product of the times.

We’ve had to hear that Raq doesn’t belong because she’s a woman, and people can keep underestimating her all they want. When she says she’s about her money and that no one will know what she’s thinking, believe her!

Raq had a busy hour, and the decision to go after Stefano was one of those horrendous decisions I was talking about earlier.

I understand why Raq wasn’t trying to cut Stefano off a piece because he was the one who came at her to begin with. He’s only circling back around because he’s greedy, and he thought that he was hitching his wagon to the winning horse with Snaps and Pop, only to realize Raq was never going to lie down and die.

But while I applauded Raq for not giving in to Stefano, getting into a war with him feels like the wrong move at this point, when she’s just getting her business off the ground.

Bringing in those Memphis men smelled rotten from the jump, though I suspected Stefano was going to sniff them out more than I thought the one guy was going to go rogue.

All it accomplishes is sending Stefano onto the warpath, which means that as we move into the final four episodes, Raq has haters coming at her from every angle, and it’s likely to be a bloodbath at the end of the day.

The tension is escalating exactly as it should as the series enters its final stretch, and if this episode proved anything, it’s that people aren’t really thinking long-term.

They’re making emotional, impulsive moves, and in this universe, that’s usually a death sentence.

Everything Else You Need To Know

• Marvin’s faith journey is making me incredibly nervous. You couple that with these heart-to-hearts with Raq, and I fear he’s not making it through this season, and THAT will be the catalyst that pushes Jukebox into being a dirty cop.

• That man dancing around, snorting cocaine, and then dying was so jarring.

This was a decent hour in a season that’s shaping up to be pretty slow-moving. It really does feel like this season is getting us ready for the latest spinoff more than anything, and I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Let me know in the comments how you felt about this one!

You can watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan at midnight on the STARZ app. On linear, it airs on STARZ at 8:00 pm ET/PT in the U.S.

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In a statement over the weekend, APECO said it will mount an investment mission to Malaysia on July 7-9.

The mission will also gauge interest in seaport development, with APECO positioning itself as a rising port on the Philippines’ Pacific coast.

“APECO will also explore potential partnerships in the halal industry, especially in food and beverage, tourism and related services, as it positions Aurora as a strategic investment destination connected to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and Pacific markets,” APECO said.

It plans to promote the Casiguran International New Port and other flagship projects at the 24^th ASEAN Ports and Logistics 2026 Conference on July 8-9 in Kuala Lumpur.

During the event, APECO President and Chief Executive Officer Gil G. Taway IV will join a forum that will discuss the future of ASEAN and global trade routes.

“The session provides APECO with a strategic platform to present Casiguran as a future Pacific-facing gateway for cargo consolidation, storage, processing and redistribution, as shipping lines, logistics firms and port developers look for new routes and resilient trade nodes in the region,” it said.

Participants are estimated at 300 business leaders from the shipping, cargo, import and export, and logistics industries.

APECO will also conduct port benchmarking activities at Port Klang, Malaysia’s primary maritime gateway, it added.

The Aurora ecozone is located 357 kilometers northeast of the Philippine capital.

The ecozone also boasts direct access to the Pacific Ocean, making it an alternative shipping hub for major Asia-Pacific and North American markets, APECO said.

Mr. Taway has said that APECO has attracted P18 billion worth of investments in renewable energy, defense, tourism, agri-processing, cold storage, and skills training. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

PHILIPPINE chief executive officers (CEOs) are confident in using artificial intelligence (AI) in major company decisions, but workforce readiness and infrastructure deficiencies remain key bottlenecks, according to advisory services firm Deloitte Philippines.

“The CEOs want to adopt, but the people below or the infrastructure is not ready,” Deloitte Philippines Country Manager Ramon Chito F. Ramos, Jr. said in an interview with BusinessWorld on June 25.

“People are resisting change, they’re not upskilled to know how to use AI,” he said.

Mr. Ramos also noted that many AI users in the Philippines are still in the “pilot stage,” which yield limited benefits instead of enterprise-wide efficiency.

To move beyond the experimental use of AI, companies should focus on what outcome or business problem it’s trying to solve using their AI tools, he said.

“There should be a mindset shift in the way you do it. Otherwise, everybody’s just rushing to adopt the latest tool and they don’t know what to do, Mr. Ramos noted.

Some Filipino firms do not have the necessary infrastructure to scale their AI use, and the unstable internet connectivity in several areas remain a challenge.

“Among the companies I’m working with, some big ones are not even on newer technology. They’re maybe on AS/400, those very old mainframe computers,” he noted.

Mr. Ramos cited the Philippines’ young population as an advantage over its Southeast Asian peers but called on the government to implement a national strategy for AI adoption.

The Department of Science and Technology is spearheading the National AI Strategy for the Philippines, a framework to guide the development, deployment, and governance of an AI-powered economy by 2028. The strategy focuses on four key pillars: infrastructure, workforce, technology, and policy.

Mr. Ramos said students should be trained on AI and digital literacy early to ensure that they are equipped as the workforce grows more tech-driven.

While AI is not replacing humans, the Deloitte executive said it is redefining workforce roles.

“Whoever can work with AI has an advantage. The people whose jobs will get replaced are the ones who cannot cope and do not use AI,” he said.

As an example, Mr. Ramos pointed out that computers made the role of a traditional typist obsolete, forcing it to evolve into higher-value positions such as editing and content creation.

“No longer is it enough to just have a CPA (certified public accountant) license. Now, you need to be a CPA and AI-enabled,” he said.

The AI boom has also seen the rise of new roles like prompt engineers and AI workflow designers, he added.

However, he reminded companies to establish strict policies on the responsible use of AI to avoid data leaks when using public AI models.

“TECH-ENABLED” ADVISORY
The rise of AI and automation has also pushed Deloitte Philippines beyond its tax, accounting, and auditing functions to specialize in consulting services, Mr. Ramos said.

“We’re certainly gung-ho about growing the Philippines,” he noted. “Even our own mindset shifts within Deloitte. Now, we want to be known as a tech-enabled advisory firm.”

“We will do a lot of… technology implementations, whether it’s AI or ERP (enterprise resource planning) software. We are at the forefront of that globally, and we want to bring that expertise into the Philippines as well,” Mr. Ramos said.

He added that geopolitical tensions like the Middle East war have pushed corporate clients to tap advisory services.

“Whenever there is a crisis or volatility, that’s when advisory actually grows, because more people need advisors to answer [questions like] ‘How do I get out of this crisis? How do I make sure my company continues to grow despite what is happening locally or in the Middle East or with AI?’”

In the Philippines, Deloitte’s audit services are provided by Navarro Amper & Co., while its assurance, tax and related services are provided by Landicho Abela & Co.

Deloitte’s clients span industries like consumer products, banking, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, and energy.

At a media briefing on Saturday, PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said the revised forecast is backed by applications received to date for initial public offerings (IPOs), preferred share offerings, and private placements.

“Our projected capital raising for 2026, as of this date, based on the applications that we have received, is about P204 billion. So, we exceeded our optimistic target of P170 billion that we gave at the beginning of the year. And that’s a very good sign for the exchange,” Mr. Monzon said.

The PSE had earlier set a capital-raising target of P170 billion to P175 billion this year despite market turmoil arising from the Middle East conflict and flood control mess. This was higher than the P144.14 billion raised in 2025.

For the first half of 2026, Mr. Monzon said the PSE raised about P39.4 billion through two private placements and follow-on offerings of preferred shares.

“I’m happy to report that for the first half of the year, we raised about P39.4 billion from two private placements and some follow-on offerings of preferred shares,” he said.

Mr. Monzon said the exchange has so far received applications for two IPOs this year, namely, VITRO, Inc. and Mynt Inc.

VITRO, PLDT Inc.’s data center arm, has filed an application for what could become the country’s first digital infrastructure real estate investment trust (REIT). It is targeting to raise up to P24.2 billion.

Mynt, the operator of e-wallet giant GCash, filed for a proposed IPO that could raise as much as P92.3 billion. It is looking to debut on the PSE in the fourth quarter.

According to Mr. Monzon, a P30-billion preferred share follow-on offering by San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is also in the pipeline this year.

Mr. Monzon said there is also a P9-billion preferred share listing by a company whose common shares are not listed on the exchange, as well as another P4-billion private placement of preferred shares.

For 2027, Mr. Monzon said the PSE is monitoring a potential merger of the toll road businesses of SMC and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC).

“What do I look forward to in 2027? I keep hearing — and I’m hearing this from the principals; this is not a rumor — that there are ongoing talks to merge the San Miguel and the Metro Pacific tollways. And when that happens, I think they will be going to the market to raise capital,” he said.

MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in June that he expects Metro Pacific Tollways Corp.’s merger with SMC to be completed by the third quarter. SMC is likely to emerge with a majority stake in the combined tollway business.

Mr. Monzon also said four companies under the PSE’s Listing Engagement and Assistance Program (LEAP) are expected to be ready to conduct their IPOs next year.

“We have four there that we have been meeting regularly, and I think they’re ready and prepared to do an IPO next year,” he said.

LEAP is the PSE’s listing assistance program for companies considering an IPO. It provides advisory sessions, pre-listing assessment tools, and connections to IPO advisers at no cost.

PSE BOARD
Also on Saturday, the PSE Board elected three new directors, and re-elected Mr. Monzon as president and CEO and Jose T. Pardo as its chair.

Asian Institute of Management (AIM) President and Dean Jikyeong Kang and Dutch technology expert Niek Johan van Veen were elected as independent directors. Lorenzo Andres “Randy” Roxas, president of Philippine Equity Partners, Inc., was elected as regular director.

Mr. Monzon said Ms. Kang’s international expertise will bring some “good parts of governance to the Exchange,” while Mr. van Veen’s over 20 years of expertise in information technology and artificial intelligence across Southeast Asia and Europe would support the PSE’s information technology and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.

“We really sought out a director who could guide PSE in its IT and AI journey, and I think Niek van Veen will fill those shoes,” he said. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S (NG) debt service bill jumped by over 21% in May amid higher interest and amortization payments, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

The latest Treasury data showed payments made by the government for its obligations surged by 21.4% to P97.18 billion in May from P80.05 billion in the same month a year ago.

Month on month, however, debt service slumped by 69.1% from P314.89 billion in April.

Debt service refers to payments made by the NG for its domestic and foreign debt.

The bulk or 87% of debt payments in May consisted of interest payments, while the rest were amortization payments.

The government’s interest payments rose by 20.9% to P84.6 billion in May from P69.95 billion in the same month a year earlier.

Interest payments for domestic debt stood at P66.51 billion in May, up by 27.1% from P52.31 billion in the same month in 2025.

Of this total, P41.68 billion went to interest payments for fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P21.09 for retail Treasury bonds, and P3.74 billion for Treasury bills.

Meanwhile, interest payments for foreign borrowings inched up by 2.5% to P18.09 billion in May from P17.64 billion a year prior.

On the other hand, NG’s repayment of its loan principal increased by 24.6% to P12.58 billion in May from P10.09 billion a year ago.

These only consisted of amortization on foreign obligations as it did not make principal payments on domestic debt in May this year and last year.

FIVE-MONTH BILL
For the first five months, the government’s debt service bill surged by 63.5% to P1.15 trillion from P702.97 billion in the same period last year.

Amortization payments in the January-to-May period jumped by 110.7% to P728.21 billion from P345.57 billion a year ago.

Broken down, principal payments for domestic debt soared by 269.9% to P630.37 billion, while payments for external borrowings declined by 44.1% to P97.85 billion.

Meanwhile, interest payments stood at P421.26 billion in the five months ending May, up 17.9% from P357.4 billion in the same period a year ago.

Interest payments on domestic debt jumped by 22.7% year on year to P320.8 billion in the first five months from P261.34 billion a year ago.

This consisted of P227-billion fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P68.41 billion for retail Treasury bonds, P20.83 billion for Treasury bills, and P4.55 billion in interest payments for other domestic borrowings.

Interest payments on foreign obligations increased by 4.6% year on year to P100.46 billion in the January-to-May period from P96.06 billion a year ago.

“The increase in debt service in May and during the first five months of the year likely reflects a combination of higher principal repayments and larger interest payments as the government continues to service a growing debt stock,” Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion told BusinessWorld via Viber.

“The repayment schedule of maturing obligations can also create significant swings in monthly debt service figures, particularly when large domestic or external debt maturities fall within a given period,” he added.

In the coming months, Mr. Asuncion said debt service could remain elevated due to the government’s ongoing financing requirements and the rollover of maturing debt.

“Interest payments may also stay relatively high as portions of the debt stock continue to reflect the higher interest rate environment seen in recent years,” he said.

He added that foreign exchange rate movements could affect servicing costs for foreign currency-denominated obligations.

On Friday, the peso closed at P61.415 against the greenback, strengthening by 15 centavos from its P61.565 finish on Thursday.

University of Asia and the Pacific economist Marco Antonio C. Agonia attributed the increase in debt servicing to a larger debt stock and elevated interest payments.

“Borrowing for the government’s normal operations and its response to higher oil prices mechanically increased principal repayment,” Mr. Agonia told BusinessWorld via e-mail.

“Meanwhile, elevated interest rates from larger risk premia arising from the flood control scandal and the oil price crisis materially pushed up interest payments thus far,” he added.

The NG’s outstanding debt stood at P18.55 trillion as of end-May, inching up by 0.41% from the prior month’s level of P18.47 trillion.

Year on year, outstanding debt went up by 9.62% from P16.92 trillion at end-May 2025.

PHILIPPINE INFLATION likely eased for a second straight month to a three-month low in June as lower oil and rice prices offset higher electricity rates, analysts said.

A BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts yielded a median estimate of 6.6% for June inflation, slower than 6.8% in May but faster than 1.4% a year ago.

This falls within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 6%-7% projection for the month.

If the median estimate holds true, this would be the second month in a row that inflation cooled. It would also be the slowest headline print in three months or since the 4.1% in March.

However, June may also mark the fourth consecutive month that it breached the central bank’s 2%-4% target.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release the June inflation report on Tuesday (July 7).

Radhika Rao, a senior economist at DBS Group Research, said the headline print likely cooled to 6.6% amid lower global and domestic energy prices as well as cheaper key food items.

“We expect Philippines’ inflation to moderate to 6.6% (year on year) in June 2026 from 6.8% in May, but stay above the 2-4% policy target,” she said. “Price pressures likely slowed on the back of a decline in global oil benchmarks (consequently domestic pump prices) and easing food (rice, meat, etc.).”

In June, global oil prices eased below the $100-per-barrel level seen during the height of the Middle East war. It dropped by 21% from 19% in May, marking the steepest monthly decline since the 55% seen in March 2020, according to Reuters.

Local fuel retailers also cut pump prices by as much as P7.50 per liter for gasoline and up to P21.19 per liter for diesel, while kerosene prices posted a net increase of P1.98 per liter during the month.

“However, the pace of disinflation is decelerating sharply: May’s outsized -19.6% (month-on-month) pump price decline narrows to an estimated -5.9% in June, as most of the rollback room may have already been realized,” Bank of the Philippine Islands Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. noted.

Rice prices, alongside other key food items, also continued to decline month on month in June, which helped ease pressure from the heavily weighted food and nonalcoholic beverage index.

“Despite El Niño conditions, rice prices also fell month on month for a second straight month, likely reflecting relief from last year’s import ban,” China Banking Corp. Chief Economist Domini S. Velasquez said. “Other key food items, including meat, fish, fruits, eggs, and sugar also posted declines.”

A kilo of regular milled rice averaged P49.67 in the second half of the month, down 2.67% from P51.03 in May but up 16.79% from P42.53 in the same period last year, while well-milled rice was also sold for an average of P56.15 per kilo, nearly 3% lower than P57.88 in the prior month but 14.29% costlier year on year from P49.13.

Meanwhile, the price of special rice fell by 1.9% month on month to P64.44 a kilo from P65.69 but climbed by 10.1% from P58.53 a kilo a year ago.

OFFSETTING FACTORS
Meanwhile, four of the 18 analysts polled by BusinessWorld expect a slightly faster headline clip in June, citing costlier electricity and vegetables as well as the lagged spillover effects of high oil prices in recent months.

For Alvin Joseph A. Arogo, chief economist and research head of the Philippine National Bank, inflation likely hit 7% last month, “mainly due to the increase in prices of electricity and vegetables.”

Last month, Manila Electric Co. raised the overall electricity rate by 14.88 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P14.4833 per kWh from P14.3345 per kWh. This was equivalent to a P30 increase in the total monthly electricity bill of households consuming 200 kWh.

University of Asia and the Pacific economist Marco Antonio C. Agonia said the year-on-year uptick in the cost of rice and other commodities could keep inflation past the BSP’s tolerance range.

“Oil price normalization from the productive Middle East peace talks and lower food prices for select items may have contributed to the slight easing,” he said. “However, elevated rice and vegetable prices compared to a year ago, along with utilities adjustments and second-round inflation effects, will likely keep inflation above target again.”

Mr. Agonia projects headline inflation to settle at 6.5% in June.

“In addition, lagged pass-through effects from earlier shocks, including peso weakness and elevated import costs, continued to support price pressures across goods and services,” Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion also said.

The local unit remained above the P61-a-dollar mark for two straight months, averaging P61.2513 versus the greenback in June. However, it strengthened by 23 centavos to close at P61.36 on June 30 from its P61.59 finish on May 29.

Mr. Asuncion also noted rising inflation expectations as households turn cautious, which could keep core inflation sticky.

For Chinabank’s Ms. Velasquez, the core print may have quickened to stay above the central bank’s target for the second consecutive month.

“Meanwhile, core inflation likely rose to 4.3%, breaching the BSP’s 4% tolerance ceiling for the second month,” she said. “This reflects price pressures in services, with education costs also picking up amid the back-to-school season.”

LOOMING PRICE RISKS
Meanwhile, BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said they are monitoring El Niño conditions and its potential effects on consumer prices.

The central bank projected inflation to average 6.4% this year, which Mr. Remolona earlier noted has yet to account for the expected impact of the El Niño event.

He told reporters last week that the upcoming wage hike poses a “significant” inflationary pressure but is unlikely to warrant an outsized policy rate hike.

The Department of Labor and Employment announced last week a dual tranche P85 rise in the minimum wage in Metro Manila, with a P60 hike set this month and the other P25 increase to come in January 2027.

Aris D. Dacanay, senior ASEAN economist at HSBC Global Investment Research, noted that the spillover effects of energy shocks, high fertilizer prices, and the approaching El Niño season could amplify one another and likely drive food prices higher.

“Looking ahead, we expect inflation to accelerate further in the second half of the year as the energy shock feeds through into food prices,” he said. “The lagged impact of fertilizer prices on food supply will likely come into the picture in the next few months, aggravating the potential damages the El Niño season may have on global food supply.”

For Miguel Chanco, chief emerging Asia economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, a softer June inflation could signal waning inflation risks, giving the BSP reason to cut its tightening cycle short.

“If we’re right about another deceleration in headline inflation, then this should give the Monetary Board more evidence that the big jump in inflation since the war started is now firmly in the rear-view mirror, potentially then opening the door for the end of its mini-tightening cycle, which is becoming more costly given the still-weak state of the economy,” he said.

However, Maybank Investment Bank economist Azril Rosli said expectations of slower inflation last month will unlikely deter the BSP from tightening further to anchor inflation expectations amid emerging price pressures.

“With inflation remaining well above target and core inflation continuing to rise, the BSP is likely to maintain a higher-for-longer monetary policy stance to ensure inflation expectations remain anchored,” Mr. Rosli said.

“We continue to expect the policy rate to reach 5% by end-2026 and 5.25% by end-2027, although future policy decisions will remain data dependent,” he added.

Last month, the Monetary Board tightened for a second straight meeting, raising the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%.

Mr. Remolona has left the door open for further “measured” hikes to temper broadening second-round price effects of the energy shocks.

The Monetary Board has three more rate-setting meetings this year on Aug. 27, Oct. 22, and Dec. 17.

Soap characters always have it rough, and Days of Our Lives isn’t holding back, especially when it comes to Chanel.

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-06-26 promise all sorts of heartbreaks and betrayals, but the Chanel spoilers scare me.

The fact that she has an emotional setback and needs Johnny and Paulina to comfort her makes me think she might lose the baby so close to her due date, and that is one storyline I don’t want to deal with.

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-06-26 say that Chanel and Theo will bond over feelings of betrayal, and later Johnny and Paulina will comfort Chanel.

That second spoiler is the one that makes me nervous. It makes sense that Chanel would feel betrayed if she finds out Johnny was doing something related to cleaning up EJ’s mess and lied to her about it.

But if that were the case, Johnny wouldn’t be one of the people comforting Chanel.

That later spoiler only makes sense if something huge happened, and the only two such things I can think of are a setback with the cancer or something happening to the baby.

I hope I’m wrong. I’m not in the mood for either of those ideas.

Chanel’s cancer advancing would be incredibly depressing, especially if she becomes terminal at such a young age.

I was a kid when Isabella died of pancreatic cancer on-screen, and I’ve never forgotten it because it was so painful. As an adult, I had to temporarily stop watching Neighbours when Sonya died of ovarian cancer because I could not deal with this a second time.

If Chanel succumbs to her disease, it will be as bad as Isabella’s death. She is a young woman who should have a whole life ahead of her and is supposed to be giving birth soon after one miscarriage and a dramatic fight to adopt Trey.

If she loses that second baby, it’ll also be incredibly painful. I lived through this with Nicole and that was sad enough — let’s not have a repeat with Chanel, please.

Days of Our Lives Spoilers For The Week of 7-06-26 Promise A Tale of Two Betrayals

I know what Theo’s betrayal is likely to be about, based on the spoiler video.

One clip has Kristen telling Theo that his beloved Nonno caused Lexie’s brain tumor and original death — something that will hit Theo harder if he learns that the resurrection drug is failing and Lexie is hiding the fact that she is dying again.

I have no idea what possesses Kristen to inform Theo of this fact. Her entire life is built around getting revenge on EJ, but her words hurt Theo more than they do his uncle.

Sure, it makes it look like Lexie never should have died in the first place, but Theo will likely see EJ as the hero who righted that wrong by bringing his mother back from the grave — how does that help Kristen’s cause?

I’m more interested in what betrayal Chanel is talking about.

The Johnny and Joy almost-affair was a long time ago, and there’s no reason to dredge it up now, and the only people who Chanel has ever felt betrayed by are Paulina and Johnny — both of the people who comfort her later.

I suppose Sophia betrayed her by becoming a would-be murderess who tried to kill Johnny, but there’s no point in ranting about that a month or more after the fact.

Who do you think betrayed Chanel now?
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There is one other possibility: Chanel could learn that Lani told Kristen about the aquarium outing, which is what made the attack on Johnny possible.

I guess that Chanel could feel that Lani betrayed her, but Lani wasn’t actively helping Kristen attack Johnny, so that would seem a bit misplaced.

I am looking forward to Chanel/Theo time, though, although the rest of these Chanel spoilers seem like a convoluted mess that threatens unnecessary heartbreak.

They are a great brother/sister duo, and I enjoy them together, so the more of that we see, the better!

Meanwhile, Maybe Johnny DIDN’T Do EJ’s Dirty Work…

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-06-26 say that Sarah will receive a mysterious clue about Holly’s poisoning: an article about arsenic poisoning left on her desk.

I’ve been gearing up to rant about Johnny’s behavior after he sneaked into Sarah’s office, but maybe I’ve read it all wrong.

It didn’t make sense that Johnny would help EJ cover up that he dumped tainted drugs in the Horton Cabin’s well… not that anything in this story makes any sense whatsoever.

Johnny is usually far more moral than his father and stands up to him a lot, so it seemed out of character for him to cave.

But could Days of Our Lives have done a Matlock-like twist and made it that Johnny was actually trying to alert Sarah as to the correct diagnosis while making it look like he was helping his father out?

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Either way, I don’t know why Sarah accuses Holly of using drugs again, since there is currently zero evidence other than the fact that tainted drugs were in her system. So I’m guessing the water sample is somehow tampered with so it comes back clean.

Meanwhile, Alex and Stephanie continue to struggle because of the existence of Joy and her baby, Paulina loses her cool with Abe, and Lexie lashes out at EJ for bringing her back to life without any guarantee that she could stay alive for more than a few weeks.

Which Days of Our Lives spoilers are you most looking forward to this week?

Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to share this article with your DAYS-loving friends so they can join the conversation.

Vote in our poll below for your favorite Days of Our Lives spoiler for the week of 7-06-26.

If you enjoyed this article, check out our recent thoughts on Sarah’s current story.

These Days of Our Lives spoilers will air on Peacock during the week of 7-06-26. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.    

• 

  Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 7-06-26 promise more angst ahead for Chanel, and we hate what that might mean.

• 

  Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 promise plenty of summer heat, but something is missing from these stories.

• 

  It’s hard to believe, but Deidre Hall first joined Days of Our Lives 50 years ago next week. These nostalgic episodes celebrating long-term characters and actors are one of the best things about the long-running soap, and Marlena’s is coupled with some huge returns. Unfortunately, we can’t purely enjoy it because Days of Our Lives…

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This week marked the beginning of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time, a massive effort to observe the sky that comes more than two decades in the making. It could help us to better understand our own solar system and the mysteries of the cosmos, from dark energy and dark matter to the expansion of the universe. Read on to learn more about that, plus other science news that grabbed our attention this week.

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory gets to work

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which contains the largest digital camera in the world at 3,200 megapixels, has begun its 10-year survey of the universe. Its campaign kicked off on June 30, and for the next decade it will capture a new image roughly every 40 seconds, observing the entire southern sky every few nights. A press release announcing its commencement said its observations will “create an ultrawide, ultrahigh-definition time-lapse record of the universe.”

“Today, we begin filming the greatest cosmic movie ever made,” Brian Stone of the National Science Foundation said in the announcement. The observatory captured its first images last summer in a test run of its capabilities, producing a remarkable look at millions of galaxies and stars, along with thousands of previously unseen asteroids. Over the course of its decade-long survey, called the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), it will revisit each point in the sky roughly 800 times, allowing it to record changes and cosmic events. Rubin will take about a thousand images per night, amounting to about ten terabytes of data daily.

RubinObs/NSF/DOE/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/T. Lange

“It is embarking on a mission that will redefine modern cosmology and astrophysics,” said Darío Gil, Under Secretary for Science at the US Department of Energy. Gil added, “By seeking to understand the enigmatic phenomena of dark energy and dark matter, we are not just observing the stars; we are striving to grasp the fundamental laws that govern our existence.”

Diving suits for swimming cyborg cockroaches

This week in Research That Makes My Skin Crawl, scientists from Nanyang Technological University Singapore and Waseda University announced that they’ve developed a tiny diving suit that allows cyborg cockroaches to survive swimming underwater for hours at a time. If you’re wondering why, exactly, roaches need to be borg-ified and forced to swim underwater at all, I’m right there with you. 

According to the team, cyborg insects have potential for use in search and rescue operations, as they can access spaces that would be inaccessible to humans, animals and larger robots. Cyborg roaches were recently deployed in the field for the first time to assist with search and rescue efforts after a devastating earthquake in Myanmar this spring.

NTU Singapore/Waseda University

A flooded environment would normally prove a no-go for the cyborg roaches, which are living Madagascar hissing cockroaches fitted with electronic controllers. The flexible diving suit consists of an oxygen-generation tank, a flexible shell and four silicone supply tubes that are attached to the roaches’ spiracles, or the openings that they breathe through. The team says these tubes can be removed painlessly afterward without harming the roach. In a paper published this week in Nature Communications, the researchers report that the cyborg robots were able to swim underwater for up to 3 hours with this setup in tests.

NASA picks three companies for 2028 Moon Base deliveries

Earlier this year, NASA overhauled its plans for lunar exploration, announcing that it was hitting pause on building an orbiting Lunar Gateway space station and would instead build a $20 billion Moon Base. The first three missions to deliver payloads to the lunar surface for the eventual Moon Base are scheduled to happen before the end of 2026. This week, NASA announced four more missions heading to the moon, these ones scheduled for late 2028. The space agency says it’s awarded contracts totaling nearly $600 million to Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines to deliver science payloads for the Moon Base.

Astrobotic will make two trips to the moon, while the other two companies will each make one. All of these deliveries will rely on updated versions of each company’s lander designs, building on insights from previous missions under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. The payloads will be the same for each delivery: a Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) to collect landing data, a Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) for precision in determining the location of spacecraft in lunar orbit or landing on the surface, and a Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS) for measuring the energy of incoming space radiation. If it seems redundant, well, that’s the point.

NASA/Astrobotic/Intuitive Machines/Firefly

“By flying the same science instruments on multiple landers, we will better understand potential hazards during landing and build out a global network of environmental data and location markers on the Moon,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA Headquarters. “It’s akin to having weather stations in different locations on Earth. These three payloads are flight-proven and their data is critical to supporting safe human exploration of the lunar surface.”

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Chicago PD is losing one of its original series regulars, and to say this girl isn’t taking it well would be an understatement.

LaRoyce Hawkins’ Kevin Atwater was a TV Fanatic favorite, and based on how fans are reacting to the news of his departure, it’s evident that he was a fan favorite, too.

And that’s what makes the news accompanying his departure so infuriating, the longer it truly sinks in.

The fact of the matter is that we’ve been here before.

We’ve lambasted One Chicago for all the cast-cutting that’s been going on for years, as they toss everything from “budget cuts” to “creative reasons” at us to explain why that’s come to be.

One Chicago has notoriously become a revolving door of characters. As the years progress, they start to feel more like plot vehicles than actual, deeply developed, well-rounded, well-written characters with any semblance of depth.

That’s not to say that some additions haven’t been great, but, overwhelmingly, depending on whether the network, writers, or whoever else are properly inspired and motivated, they’ve fostered an environment where characters can flit in and out without leaving much of an impact.

And that’s why it hurts so deeply when we lose characters that have made a lasting impact. Kevin Atwater is one of those characters.

As an original series regular, we’ve had the opportunity to know this character and watch his evolution for 13 years. To the point where it’s difficult to imagine what the series will be without him.

It seems unusual to say that, I’m sure, given that I was also explaining how Chicago PD has done the character a disservice for years, sidelining him and pushing him to the fringes of the series, treating his arcs as obligatory rather than opportunities for a steady character to truly thrive.

When you reflect on that, it makes very little sense.

How does a series run out of inspiration for a character they stopped exploring in the first place?

There’s plenty of interest in seeing any number of arcs for him, which is precisely why viewers were always vocal in expressing their frustration over the series simply not tapping into any of its potential when it comes to him.

Kevin Atwater was a steady, consistent character; it’s the writing that never was, and that’s where things get frustrating.

Aside from maybe Trudy, there’s no other character on the show that has the universal appeal of Atwater.

He possessed a quiet strength that grounded the series, and always permeated through even when underused. Atwater’s presence was always felt even at the periphery of scenes.

In many ways, he was the heart of the series, and in other ways, Intelligence’s moral center, without making it his entire personality.

When so many of the other characters have characteristics that start to merge into one another, he is a refreshing change of pace.

So hearing about the loss of what he has to offer the team, only for the series to tease more of the same, makes his departure all the more enraging.

In addition to Chicago PD treating Atwater, a legacy character in the franchise, as expendable, they’re acting as though replacing the show’s only Black series regular with another Black character somehow fills the void Atwater leaves behind. It doesn’t.

And frankly, that’s just gross. By now, there’s a habit of trying to mitigate the outrage and get ahead of the criticism of booting a character of color by teasing what their replacement will be like.

We saw it two seasons ago when they announced Kiana Cook’s departure but also teased the addition of Eva Imani, a multiracial woman, to assuage viewers.

This time, Atwater is departing, but we’re immediately told that we’ll get another Black cop as an “agent of chaos.”

They know enough to understand that when you get rid of the only Black character of a series, and one who has been a constant presence for 13 seasons, they’d need a new addition to offset that in some capacity.

But it’s so reductive, too, as if that’s all Atwater had to offer to the series in the first place. He was never just the Black cop — he was a fully realized character who also happened to be Black. Viewers see right through that.

It’s not fair to everything Atwater was for 13 years. Nor is it fair to the new addition who already feels like the embodiment of a box ticked.

Of course, the other irritation is the “agent of chaos” descriptor, which already puts me on edge.

Chicago PD doesn’t need more “chaos” within its characters.

It needs more consistency and cohesion, for the show to do right by the characters it already has, for Intelligence to feel like a unit, not just separate pieces moving around a board or shelved when it’s not their time to shine.

Nearly every new character for the past five years has had some version of “chaos” attached to their description — some reference to them being an outsider in some capacity.

Someone, anyone, grab a thesaurus!

Or, better yet, diversify the options for what characters can bring to the show so they don’t feel like pale ghosts or carbon copies of what we’ve already had.

It’s evident that the series is constantly chasing the same character concept, some amalgamation of the same two or three characters from yesteryear.

As if they can hit this same button enough times, it’ll magically work. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t; hell, maybe it’s just a desensitization tactic, and it’s not that it’s working; it’s just that they’ve beaten a concept into submission.

It feels like the series is stuck in a loop regarding its characters; that’s not a reflection of the characters but rather those telling their stories.

To say it’s uninspired is an understatement at this point.

“Chaos” has become the catch-all terminology for the same characteristics that these shows think can initiate the conflict, drama, and action they believe the series needs.

It’s an oversimplification, or rather a poor substitution for actually taking the time to delve into proper storytelling, characterization, and more importantly, interpersonal interactions.

I don’t want Imanis, Uptons, and Rojas generating from the essence of Erin Lindsay in some endless loop, or Torres, Halstead, and Dawson as jigsaw puzzles in new forms.

Viewers have been crystal clear about their desires for the series, even as they understand the limitations that naturally come with a long-running show in this day and age, when networks feel the squeeze and the industry as we know it feels more like myth than reality.

At the very least, we want the very heart of a show to remain intact enough where we can still recognize and connect with it.

And the heart of a show is its characters.

They’re more than just a collection of archetypes stomping around a scene, or plot devices only valuable in a select few episodes a season.

We want more of the characters we love getting to be the characters we’ve gotten to know over the years — for them to get the due and respect they deserve and have earned, for storylines to reflect their growth and champion their evolution, not teased and discarded.

Hell, we want the unique value each character brings to the table to be celebrated, not thrown away or smothered out, because the safest and most uninspired thing is to keep producing more of the same.

Good characters aren’t expendable or interchangeable.

Even when Chicago PD underused or misused Kevin Atwater, he was still a good character. And another bout of “chaos” in a new form will not do him any real justice.

Yeah, I’m underwhelmed right now, so I’m turning it over to you. What are your thoughts on all of this, Fanatics?

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“A fresh takeaway from this first meeting is that each girl actually represents a province or a town, and they’re very, very knowledgeable about what is a charming feature of the town,” Tourism Secretary Maria Bernardita “Dita” Angara-Mathay told reporters on the sidelines of BINI’s courtesy visit at the Tourism office.

“I thought that input was very refreshing, and each girl member has that to bring to tourism,” she added.

The Tourism department noted that the proud representation of the country’s culture through music on the global stage has cemented the group’s role as a tourism ambassador.

“They’re ambassadors already, but it behooves the government [to recognize] what they’re doing,” Department of Tourism (DoT) Assistant Secretary Ren V. Sapitan told reporters in an interview.

“It would be remiss of the government if we don’t recognize the pride that they themselves are pushing for,” he added.

The decision comes after the girl group’s historic performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California earlier this year.

“The very first statement that the Secretary made on our platforms was to congratulate BINI. We saw the traction that it generated, and we read the comments as well,” Mr. Sapitan said.

“What we want the people to take away from that experience is that the Department of Tourism, the government, is listening,” he added. “And of course, only Filipinos can say what’s best for the Philippines, and that is BINI.”

As the new tourism ambassadors, the agency plans to engage the octet in regional and provincial events to boost the local tourism economy amid the ongoing oil crisis.

“We recognize the power of BINI, the influence that they have in bringing viewers, not just within the Philippines but also from abroad,” Mr. Sapitan said. “That’s the reason why we want them to be recognized as ambassadors.”

Other Filipino talents, including P-pop boyband SB19 and professional tennis player Alex Eala, are also eyed to promote the country’s local destinations.

“We want to highlight people who’ve made marks like BINI, SB19, Alex Eala, and others that are doing it,” Ms. Angara-Mathay said. “We don’t want to exclude anybody who’s making the country proud.”

BINI, known as the “Nation’s Girl Group,” is the hitmaker behind viral songs “Pantropiko,” “Salamin, Salamin,” “Cherry On Top,” “Blink Twice,” and “Karera”. Members of the group are Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena. — Almira Louise S. Martinez

The Philippines could exhaust its healthcare resources if the rapid rise in chronic kidney disease (CKD) cases is left unchecked, a leading nephrologist has warned.

Speaking at the Hisgutan Ta media forum in Cebu, Dr. Juliet Chua Chong-Noel said the growing burden of kidney disease is already straining the system, particularly through the high cost of dialysis.

“If we don’t do anything about it, we’re going to deplete our resources,” said Dr. Noel, who is the treasurer of the Philippine Society of Nephrology.

In the first five months of 2025 alone, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) paid P161 million for hemodialysis procedures at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute. In 2024, hemodialysis was the state insurer’s top paid medical procedure in the country.

Dr. Noel’s warning comes as CKD cases continue to climb nationwide. As early as 2021, data showed that more than seven million Filipinos were living with the disease, with at least one new case recorded every hour.

Beyond dialysis, government spending has also expanded to cover kidney transplantation, with PhilHealth benefit packages reaching over P2 million. And because of the continuous increase in patients, Parañaque Rep. Brian Yamsuan recently filed a bill seeking to expand CKD coverage even further.

Dr. Noel stressed that treatment alone is not sustainable.

“What we want is prevention. There should be more people going to doctors before they even get sick. We need to be proactive in getting check-ups,” she said.

CKD develops when kidneys are damaged over time, impairing their ability to filter waste and excess fluids. The disease is particularly dangerous because it often shows no symptoms in its early stages.

Who are most at risk

Dr. Noel identified diabetes and hypertension as the leading causes of CKD worldwide. She said that the moment a person is diagnosed with diabetes, they should already be having their kidneys checked.  Other risk factors include obesity, smoking, a family history of kidney disease, heart disease, older age, and being born small for gestational age.

Lifestyle factors further worsen the situation. Poor diet and lack of physical activity are contributing to the increasing number of cases — including among younger Filipinos.

Latest data from the Philippine Renal Disease Registry show that adults aged 20 to 59 now make up majority of CKD patients (57%), overtaking senior citizens (41%).

Hidden risk of supplements

Dr. Noel also warned against the widespread and often uncritical use of food supplements, which she said may pose hidden dangers to kidney health.

“The mind-set is that if it’s a supplement, it’s safe and has no side effects. That is not true,” she said. Unlike prescription medicines, supplements are not subjected to the same level of rigorous testing and regulatory scrutiny. Many are not required to prove their safety or effectiveness through clinical studies.

“A drug goes through years of research. Every component is measured. But supplements don’t go through the same process because they don’t claim to cure anything,” Noel explained.

She noted that while some natural ingredients like ampalaya may have health benefits, their effects can change when concentrated into pill form. “When you extract it into a pill, we don’t know anymore. Too much can cause toxicity; too little may not have any effect at all.” She added that potential impurities introduced during manufacturing may also harm the kidneys and liver.

Dr. Noel said the popularity of supplements has been fueled by social media influencers, often without scientific backing. “In science, testimony is the lowest form of proof. But it’s difficult when we’re up against influencers who are more popular than us doctors.”

She reminded the public to follow the eight golden rules of kidney care:

1. Control blood pressure
2. Control blood sugar
3. Have a healthy diet
4. Exercise regularly
5. Drink adequate water
6. Stop smoking
7. Don’t abuse pain relievers and supplements
8. Get regular checkups

With CKD cases continuing to rise and many patients remaining undiagnosed until they reach advanced stages, Dr. Noel emphasized that prevention — through early screening, healthier lifestyles, and informed medical decisions — remains the country’s best defense.

“The launch of RYPIC here in Ilocos Norte represents a transformative milestone, one that will undoubtedly reach far beyond the borders of this province, catalyzing regional growth and national progress,” DoST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said during the launch event in mixed English and Filipino.

The new micro-scale yarn-spinning facility processes natural textile fibers (NTFs), such as abaca, banana, pineapple, bamboo, and cotton, into high-quality NTF-blended yarns. It also has in-house dyeing and finishing capabilities and houses a basic yarn testing laboratory for product quality assurance and compliance.

The facility’s infrastructure was funded by the municipal government of Vintar, while the advanced textile technologies used to produce the yarns were provided by the DoST-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DoST-PTRI). It will be operated by a pool of textile engineers, technicians, and scientists.

Since its soft launch in November last year, the facility has already produced 1,000 kilograms of cottonized yarn, which will be distributed to local weavers in the region.

The facility, which is the largest among the four RYPICs in the country in terms of building size and production capacity, can produce around 50 to 75 kilograms of yarn per day. It is projected to generate between P25 million and P72 million in annual revenue, DoST-PTRI said.

DoST-PTRI Director Julius L. Leaño Jr. said the establishment of the facility could support at least 860 weavers and 56 handweaving communities in the Ilocos Region, the second-largest weaving hub in the country after the Cordillera.

During the launch, several key government officials from the region expressed their support for and gratitude over the construction of the RYPIC.

Vintar Mayor Richard A. Degala noted that the facility strengthens the municipality’s sustainable livelihood initiatives.

“The RYPIC is a great blessing that will help us realize our goals and aspirations,” Mr. Degala said in his keynote speech in Filipino, referring to the municipality’s sustainable livelihood initiatives.

“The RYPIC will serve as a bridge to a brighter future for our production of high-quality yarn and textiles, not only for the municipality of Vintar but also for the entire Ilocos Region and Luzon,” he added.

The RYPIC also supports Republic Act No. 9242, or the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law, which mandates the use of natural fiber-based fabrics in government uniforms.

Following the facility’s launch, it is expected to undergo succeeding phases, including technology system validation and business incubation (Phase 2), full commercialization or licensing (Phase 3), and expansion and scaling up (Phase 4). — Edg Adrian A. Eva

“Connecting the country is a responsibility that we all share as Philippine telcos,” PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement.

“This agreement reflects that, even as we compete in the marketplace, we can collaborate where it matters the most: accelerating digital inclusion, helping connect every Filipino, and creating greater opportunities for our people and our nation,” he added.

The collaboration between industry rivals allows companies to cut digital infrastructure expansion costs by establishing a reciprocal resource-sharing framework.

Under the non-monetary agreement, companies will share the use of eligible tower sites, telecommunications infrastructure within commercial buildings and other indoor locations, and submarine cable capacity for existing international connectivity assets.

The companies noted that the partnership will allow them to maximize the use of existing macro sites and in-building infrastructure, expand network coverage, and avoid duplicative investments.

“This partnership that we are forging today is a modest one,” DITO Telecommunity President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Alberto said in a statement.

“This allows both companies to deliver much better services for all our respective customers,” he added. “May this partnership usher and blossom into many more things so that we can have meaningful results for our companies, and more importantly, for the betterment of services for all our respective customers.”

The Philippines currently has a total of 137 million active cellular mobile connections and 98 million internet users as of 2025, according to a report by DataReportal. — Almira Louise S. Martinez

The Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) is the agency’s flagship program for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), providing financial and technical assistance to help them acquire appropriate technologies.

DoST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. told BusinessWorld that eligible MSMEs can receive up to P5 million in assistance. The amount is repayable over three years, with repayment beginning after the first year and carrying 0% interest.

“With the SETUP program, our real goal is to help MSMEs become bigger,” Mr. Solidum said during a project site visit in Ilocos Norte on Thursday. “If they started as small, we want them to become medium.”

AutoNorte, an auto parts and accessories trading business based in Batac, Ilocos Norte, is among the beneficiaries of the SETUP program, having received P1.1 million in assistance to acquire additional equipment.

The equipment includes a four-post lifter, tire changer, wheel balancer, and high-precision computerized wheel alignment machine.

The DoST said the business has recorded productivity improvements, including cutting service time in half, increasing its number of clients by 30%, expanding its service volume by 50%, and creating three additional jobs.

“Through the equipment, they can already offer faster service while ensuring that they continue earning and expanding their product offerings on their own,” Mr. Solidum said in Filipino, citing the benefits of the program for the company.

The DoST Secretary also said that the agency is helping MSMEs expand beyond the support provided under the SETUP program through its recent partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines, enabling qualified beneficiaries to access additional financing after undergoing the agency’s evaluation and endorsement process.

Apart from the metals and engineering sector, the DoST’s SETUP also supports MSMEs in priority industries such as food processing, agriculture and aquaculture, furniture manufacturing, textiles, health products, information and communications technology (ICT), among others.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, it has assisted more than 100,000 MSMEs, DoST said. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

Just because some news is expected doesn’t mean it’s welcome.

Variety officially confirmed that LaRoyce Hawkins will exit Chicago PD after 13 seasons, and as a diehard Atwater fan, I couldn’t be more frustrated.

One Chicago’s revolving cast door has conditioned us to expect these departures. Budget cuts. Creative decisions. Contract negotiations. Whatever the reason behind Hawkins’ exit, one thing is undeniable: Chicago PD failed Kevin Atwater long before it wrote him out.

According to Variety, Hawkins will be in Chicago PD Season 14 just long enough to wrap up his storyline in an episode or two.

They’re vague about what that is and how long that will be, but it perfectly encompasses what’s been so frustrating about the series’ treatment of Atwater this entire time.

News of the series writing him out, whether it was a network or show decision or Hawkins himself, doesn’t come as much of a surprise when you consider the fact that the series hasn’t properly used the character since Chicago PD Season 8.

One of the primary criticisms of the series thus far has been that they have severely sidelined Atwater, who could go entire episodes without anything beyond a single line.

His character-centric arcs, you know, the ones that are killing the momentum of the series slowly and painfully, are always treated like an afterthought.

Nothing highlighted this more than Chicago PD Season 13‘s arc, which was essentially him finally getting a semi-decent romance after a few failed, half-assed attempts, and impregnating the compelling Tasha Fox.

But Atwater had the most disconnected personal arc of the season, with his episodes operating as standalones and no references in between. Atwater, who is best friends with both Ruzek and Burgess, didn’t even tell them that he was expecting a child.

They found out in blink-and-you-miss indirect moments damn near at the end of the season. It wasn’t even logical, nor did it honor the dynamics that have been essential to the show for so long.

The past couple of seasons have been just barely remembering that Burgess and Atwater were former partners and best friends, and the endearing Ruzwater bromance that dominated a large chunk of Hawkins’ tenure on the series has dwindled to nothingness for no sound reason.

It’s those friendships and their absence that have largely contributed to the constant criticisms about how disjointed the team feels as a whole.

The sad reality is that Chicago PD hasn’t known what to do with Atwater for a long time. But the frustration lies in the fact that there were a plethora of options afforded to them; the series just never really seized them.

Ultimately, after coasting on seasons of demanding more and better for the character, treatment that he deserves, kicking him to the curb leaves us mourning the loss of potential.

Chicago PD could’ve done better with Atwater; they just never really cared to, and that’s infuriating.

One of the issues is how often the series rested almost exclusively on the same plot beats for the character.

For Atwater, who spent the majority of the season not only as one of the few characters of color but as the only Black one, the series never shied away from exploring how race affected him on the job.

The summation of Atwater’s plots can often circle around a similar theme of Black versus Blue: the difficulties he often faced as a Black cop where policing as an infrastructure has a race issue, and neighborhoods and communities Atwater is part of are wary of his position as a cop.

At the height of the series, they orchestrated an entire arc that explored just that, with Atwater essentially taking on CPD, drawing a line between him as one Black officer stepping outside the Blue Line for a bigger purpose, and facing the potential wrath of the policing institution.

And then they just dropped that.

An arc that took real roots at a time in society when policing and race were put under a microscope, fell to the background, unfinished, unpacked, and unexplored like Black Squares of Solidarity on Instagram.

But Atwater was always so much more than just Chicago PD’s resident Black character, even when his identity was a major factor in how he navigated spaces within the stories.

He was also an older brother who served as a caretaker for his siblings, his neighborhood, his friends, and more.

He operated a space as one of the more morally driven but not morally righteous characters on Intelligence, where others mostly operated in the gray.

And he had a real knack for undercover work, which made him one of the more compelling characters to watch in the field, especially since he often got to navigate parts of Chicago that other members of the unit couldn’t always access.

Soft heart. Good soul. And a man ruled by sympathy, Atwater has always been a stalwart character on the series.

One of the most likable, brimming with potential unreached, which is why the series sidelining him so much has been such a source of frustration.

It’s no surprise that the character is leaving the series.

Chicago PD Season 13 was simultaneously one of his worst yet in regards to being treated like an afterthought, while also setting up a potential exit as he starts a new chapter of his life as a husband and father.

And even his tried-and-true arcs that delved into race, culture, community, and the badge were no longer siloed; they were exported to Torres alongside his faith arcs.

The reality is that, given all of that, there wasn’t much left for Chicago PD to do with him.

Because apparently, the next chapter of his life as a man starting his own family and thriving is of no narrative value, presumably because that’s what Ruzek is for.

And the possibility of him climbing the ranks in the job isn’t possible onscreen when they barely manage to show that with Burgess.

Kevin Atwater is a good character, inspiring, valuable, an essential piece of a police procedural for everything he represents, not just physically, but in his values, motivations, and characteristics.

But for a while, Chicago PD has treated Atwater as the place where creativity, motivation, and interest go to die when it comes to character building.

As one of the standout actors of the series, LaRoyce Hawkins has deserved more, so in that sense, like a caged bird, I’m fine with him flying and reaching new heights elsewhere if that’s what he desires.

But as an Atwater fan, I’m disappointed. He’s a character who has been there since the beginning. We’ve watched him grow and evolve.

Like Hailey, he too deserved a full season of exploration to properly send him off, not to be on the fringes while newer characters dominate.

That’s what makes this exit sting so much. Kevin Atwater isn’t leaving because the character had nowhere left to go. He’s leaving because Chicago PD stopped imagining where he could go years ago.

The saddest part isn’t losing Atwater. It’s knowing the show never came close to reaching his full potential.

Writing Atwater out feels uninspired, and that’s the biggest blow of all.

Maybe you’ll see me around Chicago PD Fanatics. Maybe you won’t. I’m hanging on by a thread these days, but I’m curious to see your thoughts about this. So let’s discuss!

• 

  Chicago PD’s character-centric format is severely impacting the series and stripping it of what we love most. Season 13 highlights this flaw.

• 

  Imani’s connection with her sister takes alarming turns, leaving her reflecting on Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 21.

• 

  Imani relentlessly searches for her sister after a major lead on Chicagp PD Season 13 Episode 20, and the result isn’t what she expected.

• 

  Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 19 breaks from form with a quietly devasting Ruzek-centered hour.

• 

  Tasha Fox joins Atwater and the team on a case during Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 18, and they navigate their next steps as a couple.

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President Donald Trump speaks with CNBC’s Joe Kernen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 2, 2026.

CNBC

1. Trump feels bad for his kids over investment scrutiny

The president defended his family’s business and said he feels bad that the presidency creates a conflict of interest in any of his children’s investments.

“Anything they do, because the presidency is so powerful … if they buy a cupcake company, well, the energy to make the cupcakes, is you know, sort of like, how’s my energy policy?” Trump said during the interview.

The president added, “Almost anything they do, if they want to buy a truck … if they buy an energy efficient truck, they have insider information.”

The investments of the president’s children have been heavily scrutinized, especially as their portfolio has aligned with the strategic goals of the elder Trump’s administration. The Trump administration has approved deals or contracts with multiple companies that the younger Trumps have invested in, from drone manufacturers to mining ventures.

Those investments have raised eyebrows in Congress, with some Democrats aiming to scrutinize the younger Trumps’ deals for potential insider trading or conflicts of interest.

2. Trump says his son Eric handles his money

Donald Trump Jr., left, and Eric Trump speaking on “Squawk on the Street” on Feb. 18, 2026.

CNBC

Fresh off the release of a massive financial disclosure showing the president made more than $2 billion in 2025, Trump said his son, Eric Trump, handles his finances along with large financial institutions.

“It’s given to big firms … my son Eric handles it,” Trump said. “I don’t talk to him about things such as this. I think I’d be allowed to, I’m not sure even what the status is, but I don’t.”

Trump said Eric Trump “gives it into these like semi-blind trusts or blind trusts where people invest.” The White House has previously said Trump’s finances are managed by his children, and the president specified one of his five children.

Trump’s financial disclosures have sparked immense scrutiny over potential profiteering off the presidency. The White House has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Trump’s disclosure also listed about $515 million from Trump-aligned World Liberty Financial token sales and $65 million from sales of equity in WLF’s holding company. Trump in the interview said there was “nothing illegal” and “nothing wrong” with the crypto venture.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

3. The president still wants to fire Lisa Cook

Trump doubled down on his desire to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, even after the Supreme Court barred him from doing so for now.

The high court ruled earlier this week that Trump could not fire Cook for now because her legal challenge against her firing is still playing out. But the justices, in a 5-4 decision, left the door open to Cook being fired on the merits.

Trump wasn’t deterred by the decision, saying in the interview that he would oust Cook by “winning the case.”

“They sent it back, not based on the merits” but on “process and procedure,” Trump said.

Trump is attempting to fire Cook over alleged mortgage fraud, which was dug up by Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who is now also the acting director of national intelligence.

4. Trump is milquetoast on the housing bill; still wants SAVE Act

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) returns to his office after speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on June 11, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

The president offered a lukewarm answer on whether he would sign a bipartisan housing bill that cleared Congress last month, a week after he torpedoed a triumphant signing ceremony on Capitol Hill hours before it was to begin over the stalled SAVE America Act voter-ID bill.

“There’s a lot of Democrat points in there that I don’t even think are good, but it’s fine,” Trump said when asked if he would sign the housing bill. “But I’ve made the case I’d rather not sign anything until we sign the SAVE America Act.”

Trump has been pushing for the SAVE Act for months. The bill that would require voter identification at polls for proof of citizenship to register to vote and could make it more difficult to vote, especially for low-income and minority communities. The president also wants other conservative wish list ideas attached to the bill, like a ban on mail-in voting, which has only limited support in Congress.

But the president’s signature blockade has now delayed the overwhelmingly bipartisan housing bill, which both parties were hoping to use as an example of resolving the affordability crisis.

The SAVE Act push has also shut down the House floor, as certain Republican members of Congress threaten to continue to vote down other pieces of legislation until the SAVE Act is passed.

The Senate does not have the votes to pass the measure, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and his caucus do not appear to have the appetite to get rid of the 60-vote filibuster.

“What I’d really like is for them to kill the filibuster, terminate the filibuster,” Trump said.

The housing bill will become law with or without Trump’s signature, unless he vetoes it. He has not said he will veto it and did not say so in the interview.

5. ‘Our’ justices

Trump complained during the interview that the three liberal justices of the Supreme Court vote as a bloc, while the conservatives often splinter.

“Very, very seldom do they not vote as a bloc,” Trump said of the liberals. “Whereas our people, and we have six, but they move around a little bit.”

“Republicans want to show everybody how they’re not controlled, how they’re so honorable,” Trump said.

Supreme Court justices are technically nonpartisan, though they do tend to be appointed based on their ideological tilt. However, a lifetime appointment shields them from partisan politics, and they often buck the party of the president who appointed them.

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Meta

Meta appears to have soft-launched a new app called Pocket that’s aimed at getting people to vibe-code their own minigames. Mobile developer and reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi spotted Pocket and posted about it to X today, but reporting platform AppFigures told TechCrunch that the app has been available on both iOS and Android since June 29. Though the app is listed publicly, it’s not available in the US on any of the half dozen phone models associated with our Google accounts, and a help page on Meta’s site says “the Pocket app is not yet available everywhere.” 

The company has not made any public announcement yet about the launch or where the app is being trialed. We’ve reached out for comment and will update this post if we receive a response.

#Meta is working on a new app called Pocket

A new creative platform to make and share gizmos. pic.twitter.com/zFjMU5jj1U

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) July 2, 2026

From cosmetic tweaks to a standalone app for AI slop, Meta has been going gangbusters on getting artificial intelligence into its services in the past year. TechCrunch suggested that Pocket may be the result of the company wholesale hiring the team behind of Gizmo, an app that used AI to create interactive experiences based on prompts from users, earlier this year. Pocket uses that exact same nomenclature, dubbing itself “a creative platform for making and sharing gizmos” in the app listing, and the Play Store shortcode of “com.facebook.gizmo” does little to dispel the notion either.

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Jorja Smith has set a release date for her third album. What Are The Odds lands on FAMM on August 21, and Smith previewed it today with a new song with Wizkid, “Alive.” A music video, which follows the singers as they dance, sweat, and flirt their way through a Paris summer night. Watch it below.

Smith’s frequent collaborator P2J produced the 12-track What Are The Odds, which marks Smith’s first new album since 2023’s Falling or Flying. Per a press statement, the pair began discussing making a dance record shortly after finishing their 2023 hit “Little Things.” Besides Wizkid, the LP’s only other feature comes from grime rapper Devlin; he appears on “This City,” a reimagining of his 2010 track “London City.”

So far this year, Smith has contributed an original song to the soundtrack for Riz Ahmed’s Prime Video series Bait, played on the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live UK, and celebrated the tenth anniversary of her breakout hit “Blue Lights.” Smith will spend her next album release day co-headlining London festival All Points East with Tems.

Revisit Kristin Corry’s 2017 Rising profile Jorja Smith Has a Voice That Could Heal the World.

Jorja Smith: What Are The Odds

What Are The Odds:
01 For Life
02 What Are The Odds
03 What’s Done Is Done
04 This City (feat. Devlin)
05 Pretend
06 The Way It Was
07 I Lied, You Lied
08 Dancing
09 Alive (feat. Wizkid)
10 Young Heart
11 Make It Your Home
12 When It Gets Like That

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AT LEAST 26 Japanese firms have expressed interest to invest in the planned Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) public-private partnership (PPP) project, according to the Department of Transportation (DoTr).

“The MRT-3 PPP is more than an investment opportunity — it is an invitation to potential investors to help reshape how millions of Filipinos can swiftly move every single day,” Transportation Secretary Giovanni Z. Lopez said in a statement on Thursday.

“We are committed to building a railway system our people rightfully deserve, and we look forward to partnering with the private sector to help make this vision a reality,” he added.

DoTr said several “reputable” firms made expressions of interest during the market sounding activity it conducted with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Tokyo, Japan last June 23. The ADB is the project’s transaction adviser.

There have been at least 74 local and foreign firms that have expressed intent by participating in market consultations for the operations and maintenance (O&M) of MRT-3.

MRT-3 is a 17-kilometer elevated passenger rail line with 13 stations that follow the alignment of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), a major thoroughfare in Metro Manila.

The Philippine government is seeking to privatize the O&M functions of MRT-3, with awarding of the contract targeted by early 2027.

DoTr previously said the winning bidder is expected to take over MRT-3 operations by October next year.

Nigel Paul C. Villarete, a senior adviser on PPPs at Libra Konsult, Inc., said the interest from Japanese firms is a welcome development as Japan is a leader in railway systems.

“In terms of railways, very few other countries can compare with Japan,” Mr. Villarete said in a Viber message. “They have always been the first to develop railways in Asia and remains one of the leading users of rail transportation.”

However, he noted that Japan’s trains are more expensive because they are built to a much higher standard.

“We still have our procurement procedures to follow which requires open bidding — meaning open to all suppliers, Japanese or otherwise, and they have to compete openly,” Mr. Villarete said.

Transportation Assistant Secretary for Railways Eduardo Danilo F. Macabulos said the MRT-3 PPP project represents only one part of “a growing pipeline of opportunities” that the private sector can participate in to help shape the future of the transportation sector.

“At the end of the day, our goal is actually very simple: to help people save precious time. It may sound like a simple objective, but if we can give millions of Filipinos even one or two hours back in their day, the impact on their lives can be enormous,” he said.

In the near term, the department hopes to open more O&M opportunities to private companies, such as the North-South Commuter Railway, Metro Manila Subway Project, as well as the upcoming Light Rail Transit-2  and Philippine Automated Fare Collection System PPPs.

These projects form part of the broader 30-year Railway Master Plan, which serves as the government’s long-term blueprint for building and improving the country’s train system.

THE PHILIPPINES could gain access to lower tariffs and secure a bigger role in global supply chains if it gains a seat in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

However, the government must push for reforms to boost domestic firms’ competitiveness and lower logistics costs to ensure local firms can compete globally, they said.

Former Tariff Commissioner George N. Manzano said the Philippines would gain much-needed predictability in trading rules by joining the CPTPP as geopolitical tensions stress the need for market diversification.

“A rules-based trading arrangement gives businesses more confidence to invest, build long-term supply chains, and expand production,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

Being part of the CPTPP would also help the Philippines attract more foreign direct investment and could deepen its participation in regional and global value chains, Mr. Manzano said.

The 12-country CPTPP is composed of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the UK. The trade pact represents a combined population of over 500 million and a gross domestic product of $13.5 trillion.

The parties to the CPTPP last week agreed to begin preparatory talks for accession of the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Indonesia into the trade bloc.

“We’ve strongly supported the Philippines’ application. If the Philippines completes the process and joins the agreement, businesses in our countries would benefit from lower tariffs, simpler trading rules, and stronger supply chains,” UK Deputy Trade Commissioner for Asia-Pacific (Southeast Asia) Rhiannon Harries was quoted as saying in a statement released by the British Embassy Manila on Tuesday.

The CPTPP earlier said the Philippines, the UAE, and Indonesia align with the Auckland Principles or the criteria used by the bloc to evaluate applicant countries.

The preparatory discussions seek to advance engagement and understanding between the Philippines and the CPTPP parties on the agreement’s standards. However, the talks do not guarantee accession or the launch of formal negotiations.

“The UK looks forward to working together with CPTPP Parties and the Philippines through this process,” British Ambassador to the Philippines Sarah Hulton said in a statement.

As global trade grows more uncertain, the Philippines is pursuing entry into the trade bloc to expand market access and reduce trade barriers. As part of CPTPP, the Philippines would be able to access one of the world’s most comprehensive trade networks, potentially benefiting from lower tariffs and streamlined trade rules across different markets.

Management Association of the Philippines President Donald Patrick L. Lim said the Philippines must keep up with its regional neighbors in improving cross-border trade through agreements like the CPTPP.

“As our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors deepen their trade integration, the Philippines must remain competitive in attracting investments and expanding export opportunities,” he said in a Viber message.

However, the Philippines must implement domestic reforms to reduce trade barriers to meet the CPTPP’s entry standards and ensure that local industries are not left behind, experts said.

“The CPTPP is a high-standard agreement that goes beyond tariff reduction and has beyond-the-border commitments. Complying with these obligations will require domestic policy reforms and stronger institutional capacity,” Mr. Manzano noted.

To ensure that domestic firms can compete in export markets, Mr. Lim cited the need to improve the ease of doing business, upgrade infrastructure, lower logistics costs, support digitalization, and upskill the local workforce.

“Trade agreements like the CPTPP create opportunities, but our businesses must be equipped to take advantage of them,” he said.

Jonathan L. Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said there is a need to reduce export costs and modernize the agriculture sector to ensure that domestic firms are export-ready.

“Without stronger competitiveness — better logistics, infrastructure, and ease of doing business — we could see imports rise faster than exports, putting pressure on local industries, particularly agriculture and small and medium enterprises,” he said in a Viber message.

Philippine membership in the CPTPP could encourage more British firms to invest and trade in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia, British Chamber of Commerce Philippines Executive Director and Vice Chairman Chris Nelson said.

“If the Philippines gains access to the CPTPP, this actually broadens out opportunities for companies that we are seeking to try to come to the Philippines and in Southeast Asia,” he said via telephone.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Thursday welcomed the Philippines’ reclassification as an upper-middle income country (UMIC) by the World Bank, but economists cautioned that slowing growth could threaten the country’s ability to retain the status.

“After nearly four decades as a lower-middle income country since 1987, this milestone affirms that the economic policies we have pursued over the past four years have been effective,” Mr. Marcos said in a video message.

“Our steady economic growth, broadly stable currency and long-term reforms have strengthened our economy even amid global uncertainties. It validates the progress we have made and the resilience of the Filipino people,” he added.

The World Bank’s latest country income classification showed the Philippines posted a record gross national income (GNI) per capita of $4,850. This lifted the country into the upper-middle income category — one with GNI per capita ranging from $4,636 to $14,375.

The World Bank computes a country’s GNI through the Atlas method, which serves as the basis of its income classifications — low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high. GNI refers to the total amount of money earned by its residents both inside and outside its borders.

“The Philippines achieved its reclassification through broad-based expansion. GDP grew at an average of 5.8% per year over five years, reflecting gains across all major industries, not a single sector boom, but an economy-wide shift,” the World Bank said in a blog post late on Wednesday.

The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said strong performance across all industries helped raise the country’s GNI per capita by 8.5% from $4,470 last year.

“This confirms the resilience of the Philippine economy,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said, adding that the government has pursued inclusive growth despite global and domestic shocks.

Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said the country should “continue to build on these gains so that the benefits of economic development reach more Filipinos.”

CHALLENGES
Francisco Cid L. Terosa, an associate professor and former dean of the School of Economics of the University of Asia and the Pacific, said the reclassification of the Philippines as a UMIC was largely driven by sustained moderate economic growth and slower rate of population growth.

However, he noted that the Philippines remains close to the lower end of the World Bank’s GNI per capita range for upper-middle income economies, exceeding the UMIC threshold by just $214.

“This means that it can be more easily reclassified than those close to the upper limit of the classification. Geopolitical events and related consequences from the second and remaining quarters of the year will definitely bear down on the classification of the Philippines,” Mr. Terosa told BusinessWorld.

“Although reclassification is not easily done, current rates of economic growth can jeopardize  our much-anticipated UMIC classification,” he added.

GlobalSource Partners Philippine Analyst and Principal Advisor Diwa C. Guinigundo said that the challenge now for the Philippines is to sustain its upper-middle income classification in the years ahead.

“The challenge for us, after having been reclassified, is to continue growing 5%, 6% or 7% for us to remain within that reclassification,” he said in an interview on Money Talks with Cathy Yang on One News on Thursday.

In 2025, Philippine GDP expanded by 4.4%, the weakest post-pandemic growth. Economic managers expect GDP to grow by 3.5-4.5% this year, and by 5-6% from 2027 to 2030.

“Possible negative repercussions of weather-related disturbances can also decelerate economic growth and consequently both productivity and employment. Political tensions can constrain business and investment expansion plans, derailing economic growth,” said Mr. Terosa.

Other risks to the country’s UMIC status include weaker productivity and employment, both of which affect per capita income.

Recent economic data suggest these risks are beginning to materialize. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the jobless rate rose to 4.7% in April from 4.1% in the same month last year. Labor productivity rose by 2.2% in the first quarter, easing from 4.2% in the same quarter a year ago.

Mr. Balisacan said the Philippines’ new classification does not diminish ongoing challenges.

“We acknowledge that income disparities persist, and many continue to face economic difficulties. Our priority is to ensure that growth becomes more inclusive, and that its benefits reach all Filipinos,” he said.

CONCESSIONAL FINANCING
Meanwhile, Mr. Balisacan said that while some concessional official development assistance (ODA) may decline over time, “the gains from stronger fundamentals and improved market access are expected to outweigh these adjustments.”

“Some concessional financing and grants from international development institutions like the Asian Development Bank and World Bank itself, may gradually become less available because of our reclassification to an UMIC,” said Mr. Guinigundo.

Maybank Investment Bank Economist Azril Rosli said the reclassification is likely to reduce the Philippines’ access to concessional financing over time, as eligibility for some World Bank and multilateral lending facilities is linked to income classification.

“This may gradually increase the government’s reliance on market-based financing and private capital to fund infrastructure and development projects,” he told BusinessWorld.

However, Mr. Rosli said that he does not expect the transition to materially constrain public investment in the near term.

“The Philippines has strengthened its fiscal position over recent years and continues to benefit from relatively favorable access to domestic and international capital markets,” he said.

“Moreover, stronger investor confidence associated with upper-middle income status could help offset the gradual decline in concessional financing by attracting greater private sector participation, particularly through public-private partnerships and foreign direct investment,” he added.

In the medium term, Mr. Rosli said the net impact should be positive if fiscal discipline and structural reforms will continue to be implemented consistently.

Chinabank Research said any reduction in access to concessional financing is unlikely to happen immediately.

“The eligibility for these facilities is generally phased out only when the GNI per capita exceeds $7,000,” it said in a note on Thursday.

“Lower market rates could help offset the loss of some concessional financing, helping keep the funding of the key government programs and infrastructure projects manageable,” it added. — with Erika Mae P. Sinaking

The latest data from the Treasury showed that outstanding debt stood at P18.55 trillion as of end-May, inching up by 0.41% from the previous month’s level of P18.47 trillion. 

“The increase was primarily driven by the net incurrence of domestic securities as the government continued to raise funds to support financing needs, despite the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict,” the BTr said in a statement on Thursday.

“Meanwhile, the appreciation of the peso against the US dollar and other foreign currencies helped temper the increase.”

The Treasury noted the local currency strengthened by 3.9 centavos against the dollar to P61.501 as of end-May from P61.54 as of end-April.

Year on year, outstanding debt went up by 9.62% from P16.92 trillion at end-May 2025.

NG debt is the total amount owed by the Philippine government to creditors such as international financial institutions, development partner-countries, banks, global bondholders and other investors.

The bulk or 67.37% of the total debt stock came from domestic sources, while the rest were from external sources.

“This reflects the government’s prudent debt management strategy of prioritizing domestic financing to support local capital markets, while reducing exposure to foreign exchange risks,” the Treasury said.

Domestic debt, which was composed of government securities, inched up by 0.65% to P12.5 trillion at end-May from P12.42 trillion at end-April.

According to the BTr, the month-on-month increase in domestic debt was “mainly due to P80.23-billion net issuance of government securities, while the peso appreciation trimmed P0.11 billion from onshore dollar bonds valuation.”

Year on year, domestic debt jumped by 6.07% from P11.78 trillion.

Meanwhile, external debt dipped by 0.07% to P6.051 trillion as of end-May from P6.055 trillion at end-April.

Year on year, it jumped by 17.77% from P5.14 trillion.

The BTr said the drop in the external debt is due to the significant peso appreciation against the US dollar and other foreign currencies.

“The favorable downward valuation effect of P18.91 billion outweighed the P14.9 billion in net external debt availment,” it added.

External debt was composed of P3.05 trillion in global bonds and P3 trillion in loans.

The NG’s guaranteed obligations jumped by 15.73% to P443.5 billion as of end-May from P383.23 billion in the previous month.

“This was partially offset by favorable revaluation effects on external guarantees, amounting to P60 million for local currency-denominated guarantees and P750 million for third currency-denominated guarantees,” it said.

The Treasury also cited repayments of external guarantees worth P530 million.

Year on year, guaranteed obligations surged by 29.08% from P343.58 billion.

“The increase in outstanding debt to P18.55 trillion is not surprising given the government’s ongoing financing needs for infrastructure, social programs, and economic development,” Reyes Tacandong & Co. Senior Adviser Jonathan L. Ravelas told BusinessWorld.

He said the more important metric is whether the economy is growing fast enough to support the debt, rather than the debt’s absolute size.

“I expect debt levels to continue rising in the coming months as the government funds its budget requirements and refinances maturing obligations,” Mr. Ravelas said.

“However, markets will be watching the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio rather than the absolute debt level,” he added.

The NG’s outstanding debt is projected to reach P19.06 trillion by end-2026 under the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing 2026.

The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 65.2% in the first quarter, up from 60.7% a year earlier and its highest level since the 65.7% recorded in 2005.

This also exceeded the government’s 2026 target range of 60% to 63% under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 Midterm Update Results Matrices released in May. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

“It is possible that by Tuesday or Wednesday, it will enter PAR,” Obet Baddrina, weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said in a 5:00 a.m. briefing in Filipino.

He noted that upon its entry, it will be assigned the local name Inday, the country’s ninth tropical cyclone this year.

Typhoon Bavi was last located about 3,400 kilometers east of the country’s landmass and is expected to continue moving westward toward Taiwan.

Mr. Baddrina said the storm may enhance the southwest monsoon next week, affecting large parts of Luzon and the Visayas.

It may also prompt the hoisting of tropical cyclone wind signals in some areas.

“So, it’s possible that the southwest monsoon will be enhanced next week, triggering rainy conditions from Wednesday to Friday,” he said.

PAGASA urged the public to continue monitoring updates on the potential super typhoon, which is expected to enter PAR next week. — Edg Adrian A. Eva

If NCIS fans were already buzzing over Mark Harmon’s return to NCIS: Origins, CBS apparently decided one beloved franchise icon was not enough.

Greedy? Maybe. Glorious? Absolutely.

Michael Weatherly is officially returning to NCIS as Tony DiNozzo this fall, and this is not some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nostalgia cameo tossed at fans like a stale breadcrumb.

Nope! Weatherly is coming back for a season-long arc on NCIS Season 24, which means Tony will be reuniting with the team in a way that could actually matter.

Imagine that. Introducing a legacy return with room to breathe. What a concept, right? Someone alert the broadcast television gods before they change their minds!

CBS announced that Weatherly will reprise his role as the fan-favorite former NCIS agent for the 2026-2027 season.

He’s bringing Tony back to the mothership after years of fans keeping the DiNozzo flame alive through rewatches, longing, and the occasional very reasonable amount of internet shouting.

This feels huge.

Tony DiNozzo isn’t just another former character popping back in to remind everyone he once had a desk and a badge. Weatherly helped define NCIS from the beginning, playing Tony for 13 seasons and more than 300 episodes.

He was part of the show’s DNA back when NCIS was still growing out of its JAG backdoor pilot roots and becoming the kind of franchise that would eventually take over CBS like a very polite, very procedural-loving army.

Tony was the charming menace, the movie-quoting chaos gremlin, the guy who could annoy everyone in the room and still somehow make you miss him the second he walked out of it.

But Tony is not returning to NCIS from a memory hole, either. The franchise already gave us a glimpse of his post-bullpen life on NCIS: Tony & Ziva. 

The Paramount+ spinoff reunited Tony with Ziva David and followed them as they built a life together with their daughter, Tali, while getting dragged into the kind of danger that apparently follows former NCIS agents around like a clingy ex with federal clearance.

By the end of that story, Tony and Ziva were together, their family was intact, and the show left them in a place where they had fought hard for something resembling peace.

Then NCIS: Tony & Ziva was canceled, because television remains deeply committed to making fans trust nothing and no one.

That makes Tony’s NCIS return even more loaded.

Will the mothership acknowledge where Tony is emotionally now, as a partner and a father? Will Ziva and Tali still be treated as central to his life, even if they don’t appear?

Or will the show quietly tuck that away like we all didn’t watch him build an entire life beyond the Navy Yard?

Because Tony DiNozzo walking back into NCIS is exciting in itself. Tony DiNozzo walking back in with Ziva and Tali still very much part of his story? That is where the fan spiraling could get downright professional.

So, yes, his return matters.

It matters even more because NCIS has been making some seriously bold franchise moves lately.

Just yesterday, NCIS: Origins gave fans a major reason to lose their collective minds when it was revealed that Mark Harmon will return as Gibbs for all ten episodes of the upcoming season.

That alone would have been enough to keep NCIS fans fed for a while, especially since NCIS: Origins is already playing with timelines and the idea that present-day Gibbs may be pulled back toward a mystery connected to his Camp Pendleton days.

Two Gibbs timelines. A season-long Harmon return. The story Gibbs never told is getting bigger instead of smaller.

That is the kind of news that makes fans sit up straighter, cancel their doom-scrolling plans, and remember why they got attached to this franchise in the first place.

Now, one day later, NCIS is bringing Tony back to the original series for a season-long arc.

Coincidence? Maybe. A full-franchise nostalgia attack? That feels more like it.

Either way, CBS has suddenly turned the upcoming NCIS season into something much more exciting than another “new cases, familiar faces, steady as she goes” year.

There is nothing wrong with dependable television, obviously. NCIS has practically built a small empire on dependability.

But this has juice.

Tony returning to the team opens up a ridiculous number of possibilities, and naturally, fans are going to spiral. That is our job. We do not choose the spiral. The spiral chooses us.

Will Tony return because of a case that demands someone with his experience? Will he be pulled back into the fold because of something personal? Could he somehow be connected to the director’s chair left vacant after Vance’s death? 

Will he clash with the current team? Will he charm them? Will he annoy them? Will McGee pretend to be fine while quietly having 47 emotions in the corner?

The McGee and Tony dynamic alone is enough to justify a countdown clock.

Sean Murray’s Timothy McGee has grown into such a different man since Tony left the team, and that is exactly why a reunion could be so much fun. Tony knew one version of McGee. The current NCIS team knows another.

Seeing Tony walk back into that bullpen and realize that McGee is no longer the probie he used to poke at for sport could give the show both comedy and emotional payoff.

And yes, we will absolutely accept both. We are generous that way when television remembers to entertain us.

There is also the larger question of how Tony fits into the current NCIS landscape.

The series now stars Sean Murray, Wilmer Valderrama, Brian Dietzen, Diona Reasonover, Katrina Law, and Gary Cole, which means Tony is not returning to the same room he left behind.

The team has changed, and the tone has shifted. Gibbs is gone from the day-to-day world of NCIS. Ducky’s absence, and now Vance’s, still hangs over the franchise. Parker has become part of the fabric of the show. Torres, Kasie, Knight, Palmer, and McGee have their own rhythm.

Dropping Tony DiNozzo back into that world is not just a nostalgia play. It is a pressure test.

A weaker version of this return would simply bring Tony back, have him toss out a few classic one-liners, nod toward the past, and disappear again before anyone has time to ask why we bothered.

But a season-long arc gives NCIS the chance to explore who Tony is now, how he has changed, and what it means for him to return to the place that shaped so much of his life.

Because Tony has not been frozen in amber somewhere, waiting for CBS to thaw him out for sweeps. He has lived. He has loved. He has been through the events of NCIS: Tony & Ziva. He has had a life outside the bullpen.

That is the Tony we need to see.

Not a greatest-hits version or a museum exhibit. Not “remember this guy?” with a badge.

We need Tony DiNozzo as he is now, walking back into NCIS with history behind him, old instincts kicking in, and maybe just enough of that classic DiNozzo swagger to make everyone roll their eyes with affection.

There is also something fascinating about CBS making these moves at the same time the franchise is expanding in multiple directions.

NCIS recently celebrated its 500th episode, which is absurd in the way only a truly unstoppable TV institution can be absurd. Most shows are lucky to get past Season 2 without being shoved into a streaming basement and quietly erased from the algorithm.

NCIS is out here hitting 500 episodes, launching spinoffs, bringing back icons, and reminding everyone that broadcast still knows how to turn legacy into event television when it wants to.

The franchise currently includes NCIS, NCIS: Origins, NCIS: Sydney, and the upcoming NCIS: New York with LL Cool J and Scott Caan, which will keep Sam Hanna firmly in the franchise after his recent return to the mothership.

That matters, too, because Sam’s appearances last season already made NCIS feel more connected to NCIS: Los Angeles again.

Now, between Sam getting a new chapter, Gibbs stepping back into Origins, and Tony returning to NCIS, CBS seems to be doing more than expanding the brand.

It’s actively weaving the franchise’s past back into its present.

That is a lot of NCIS. At this point, there may be an NCIS team hiding behind your couch. Check carefully.

But the return of Weatherly and Harmon, along with Sam Hanna’s continued franchise presence, makes the expansion feel less like brand stretching and more like NCIS reconnecting with its roots.

Fans do not want the past to swallow the present. Nobody needs NCIS to become a reunion tour with crime scenes. But there is real power in honoring the characters who built this universe while still letting the current shows move forward.

Harmon returning to Origins gives that prequel an even stronger bridge to the Gibbs we knew for so many years. Weatherly returning to NCIS gives the mothership an emotional jolt just when Season 24 could have easily coasted on familiarity.

Together, these moves make the entire franchise feel more alive. That might be the smartest part.

This fall, NCIS fans will have present-day Gibbs on Origins, Tony back on the mothership, Sam Hanna still carrying NCIS: LA history into a new chapter, and a franchise that suddenly feels like it is treating its own history as an asset instead of a dusty photo album.

As IF fans were going to be calm about that.

NCIS Season 24 will air Tuesdays at 8/7c this fall on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Weatherly’s return as Tony DiNozzo is set for a season-long arc, which gives us plenty of time to theorize, overreact, revisit old episodes, and pretend we are being normal about all of this.

We are not being normal. And frankly, why start now?

• 

  NCIS is bringing back Tony DiNozzo for Season 24, adding to a wave of franchise nostalgia that already includes Gibbs on Origins and Sam Hanna’s new chapter.

• 

  It’s hard to believe that Torres has been around since NCIS Season 14, considering how little character growth he’s had.

• 

  What if nobody was always sat in Vance’s chair on NCIS Season 24? Could the series work without a permanent director in place?

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Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

Mark Gurman is back with a new report in Bloomberg about how Apple’s device lineup may be evolving over the next 12 months. Sources told the reporter that the company aims to present an overhaul of the baseline MacBook Pro in the first half of 2027. The 14-inch entry-level laptop will reportedly sport a new design that aligns with the look of the higher-end computers likely to be announced starting in the fall. Gurman suggests that lineup will include Apple’s first touchscreen MacBook, which had previously been rumored for the M6 laptop generation.

In addition to the new entry-level laptop, Apple is reportedly testing out four new iPad Pro models. Although specifics of the new tablets were not shared, sources suggested that the next round of iPads would focus on features for improving performance while retaining the current size options of 11 inches and 13 inches.

Spring is becoming the time when Apple makes more announcements for its entry-level and budget products, and even sometimes pulls off the occasional surprise. In spring 2026, we got the MacBook Neo alongside a new iPhone, iPads and MacBook Pros over the course of a week. Even without the potential addition of five products, spring 2027 was looking to be similarly chock full of news from Apple. On the smartphone side, we were already expecting to hear about the base model of the iPhone 18 and an update to the iPhone Air. It could also be when Apple breaks from its Pro and Max tradition and skips straight to M7 silicon.

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Catalan composer and experimental musician Marina Herlop is readying a new album, Dja Dja. Herlop will self-release her follow-up to 2023’s Nekkuja on October 9. Below, listen to a new song from the record, “Jaque.”

According to press materials, Dja Dja was inspired by the “the hero’s journey,” the narrative framework popularized by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Herlop recorded most of the album—which she described as “like a giant sudoku”—at her home, and later traveled to Bali to record local musicians playing gamelan.

Revisit the 2022 Rising feature Marina Herlop Is Classically Trained and Totally Chaotic—Her Music Thrives on Both.

Dja Dja:
01 Flor de los Precipicios
02 Heladas
03 As Meigas
04 Vas Volant [ft. Adri Goor]
05 ツラ
06 Lilit
07 Siete Mares
08 Jaque
09 Los Dos Lobos
10 You’ve Lost Your Muchness
11 Hay Ángeles
12 Average Evil
13 Thálassa!
14 Bliss
15 Muy Heladas

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Citing preliminary data, the PSA said the general retail price index (GRPI) in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose by 4% year on year in May, faster than the 0.8% growth posted in the same month a year earlier. Month on month, growth slowed from 4.5% posted in April.

The May reading was the slowest in two months or since 3.3% logged in March.

In the January-to-May period, GRPI averaged 3.2%, more than double the 1.1% pace in the same period a year earlier.

“The downtrend in the annual growth rate of the GRPI in May 2026 was primarily brought about by the slower annual increment in the index of mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials at 36.6% from 51.3% in the previous month,” the PSA said.

The subindex for mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials accounted for 4.17% of the GRPI.

The heavily weighted food subindex, which accounted for 37.5% of the GRPI, likewise saw a softer rise of 3.1% in May compared with  3.2% posted in April.

On the other hand, commodity groups that posted stronger growth were beverages and tobacco (1.8% in May from 1.6% from April); chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats (3% from 2.9%); manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials (1.9% from 1.8%); and machinery and transport equipment (3.3% from 2.8%).

Meanwhile, growth rates steadied in crude materials, inedible except fuels (4.6%); and miscellaneous manufactured articles (1.1%).

The GRPI is based on 2012 constant prices.

The PSA uses the GRPI as a deflator in the National Accounts, particularly in the retail trade sector, and serves as a basis for forecasting. — Heather Caitlin P. Mañago

APPROVED BUILDING PERMITS inched up by 0.8% year on year in 2025, as construction activity moderated amid macroeconomic headwinds and the flood control mess in the second half of the year, analysts said.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the number of building permit approvals rose to 181,832 in 2025 from 180,341 a year earlier.

However, the uptick was slower than the 5.3% growth in 2024.

This was the weakest pace in two years or since the 1.7% decline logged in 2023.

Construction projects covered 45.24 million square meters (sq.m.) of floor area, up 5.6% from 42.84 million sq.m. in 2024.

In 2025, approved building projects were valued at P601.42 billion, 6.7% higher than the P563.89 billion logged in the previous year.

“The minimal increase in approved building permits likely reflected growth headwinds at the time. An extended condo oversupply and the graft scandal in the second half of the year weighed on developer appetite,” Marco Antonio C. Agonia, an economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific, said in an e-mail.

Jonathan L. Ravelas, a senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said the building activity showed moderation rather than weakness in 2025.

“Developers and households pulled back slightly as interest rates stayed elevated, construction costs remained sticky, and demand especially for office space became more cautious after a strong 2024,” he said in a Viber message.

Residential buildings, which made up the bulk or 64.8% of the total number of projects, inched up by 1.2% last year to 117,832 from 116,427 in 2024.

The total value of residential projects reached P253.64 billion, up by 2% from P248.65 billion a year earlier.

Single-type houses, which made up 85.3% of residential construction, rose by 3.1% year on year to 100,552 in 2025 from 97,490.

On the other hand, building permits for apartments fell by 9.9% to 14,215, while permits for duplex or quadruplex homes declined by 7.8% to 2,773.

Meanwhile, nonresidential construction projects dipped by 0.6% annually to 38,991 last year from 39,238 in 2024. This accounted for 21.4% of the total number of constructions in 2025.

The value of these nonresidential projects totaled P278.65 billion, 11.1% higher than P250.86 billion in 2024.

Commercial buildings saw a 2.4% year-on-year decline to 26,395 from 27,053. These made up 67.7% of total nonresidential constructions.

Institutional building projects also declined by 2.5% annually to 6,751, while industrial permits rose 13% to 3,356.

Agricultural projects surged 17.8% to 1,375 in 2025. Other nonresidential constructions fell 1.1% to 1,114.

Building permits for addition, or any new construction that increases the height or area of an existing building, contracted by 0.7% year on year to 5,655 in 2025 from 5,694 in the previous year.

On the other hand, alteration and repair of buildings totaled 14,372, up 2.7% from 13,997 a year ago. These were valued at P43.75 billion.

By region, Calabarzon logged the highest number of approved building permits at 44,819, making up 24.6% of all permits.

Central Luzon followed with 24,889 (13.7% share) and Ilocos Region with 14,048 (7.7% share).

“Regions like Calabarzon and Central Luzon continue to lead because of improving infrastructure, proximity to Metro Manila, and the steady shift of economic activity outward, this is decentralization in action and a positive sign for more balanced growth,” Mr. Ravelas said.

For Mr. Agonia, the large share of approved building permits in Calabarzon reflected the wave of developments in areas near Metro Manila.

“These growing regions have attracted investments, urbanization efforts, and industrial parks from firms looking to set up outside of the dense urban core. Housing affordability is also better in these regions compared with the Metro,” he said.

Mr. Agonia said construction projects may see a “lift” in the second semester, “but it may take time for pre-crisis growth to return.”

“Risks to the downside include elevated borrowing rates and building material costs along with subverted economic confidence,” he added.

Mr. Ravelas also expects building projects to pick up at a modest, measured pace this year with easing rates and continued infrastructure spending.

“In short, the sector is not losing steam; it’s transitioning to a more sustainable, regionally driven growth path,” he said.

“The Philippine economy is posting early signs of recovery momentum, but the outlook remains constrained by elevated inflation and weaker domestic demand,” UA&P said in its latest The Market Call report.

“Against this backdrop, we estimate second-quarter (Q2) GDP growth at 2.6%, with consumption and investment likely weighed down by recent headwinds,” it added.

If realized, the 2.6% growth would be slower than the 5.44% expansion recorded in the second quarter of 2025 and the 2.8% growth in the first quarter this year.

It would also mark the fourth straight quarter of weaker annual economic growth.

“While inflation eased slightly in May, elevated price pressures and the peso weakness amid higher global oil prices are expected to continue weighing on private consumption and business investment, tempering the pace of overall economic growth in the near term,” UA&P said.

Headline inflation quickened to 6.8% in May, easing from the 7.2% in April but still above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2%-4% tolerance band.

The BSP on Tuesday said June inflation likely settled within the 6% to 7%. If realized, inflation would remain above the government’s target for a fourth straight month.

“Inflation is likely to stay above target for the rest of the year, keeping the BSP on a tightening path where we expect an additional 50 basis points (bps) of rate hikes,” UA&P said.

To rein in inflation, the central bank has already raised its policy rate twice this year, bringing it to 4.75% in June. A further 50 bps of tightening would bring the benchmark rate to 5.25% by yearend.

“Risks of an off-cycle hike diminished with the softer inflation reading, but the BSP remained hawkish at its latest policy conference,” it said.

“We see underlying price pressures in tertiary sectors, where inflation pass-through tends to be lagged, along with a looming Super El Niño season threatening to raise food prices,” it added.

Meanwhile, UA&P said manufacturing activity and industrial output have continued to improve, alongside a steady labor market.

“Softer export growth and moderating capital goods imports suggest external demand and investment remain cautious,” it added.

However, UA&P said continued disruptions from the Middle East conflict have exposed lingering labor market softness. While the unemployment rate eased to 4.7% in April from 5% in March, the decline was largely driven by a smaller labor force rather than stronger hiring.

“Looking ahead, steady household consumption, revamped infrastructure implementation, and softer crude prices should support job creation, particularly in services and construction,” it said.

“However, global economic uncertainty and softer domestic growth could temper the pace of hiring, suggesting that labor market conditions are likely to remain stable rather (than) accelerate significantly in the near term,” it added.

Also, remittance growth cooled in April due to headwinds from the Middle East conflict and frontloading in the first quarter, UA&P said.

Cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers rose by 2% year on year to an 11-month low of $2.718 billion in April. This was the weakest annual growth in nearly four years or since the 1.8% expansion recorded in May 2022.

“The recent Middle East peace progress could see stabilized overseas Filipino workers’ deployment, which may support remittance flows moving forward, though inflation in sender countries could temper any outsized gains,” it added.

On the foreign exchange front, UA&P said the peso is likely to remain in the P61-per-dollar range in the near term.

“Sticky domestic inflation, a still-wide trade deficit, and a more hawkish Federal Reserve are expected to sustain demand for the dollar and maintain interest rate differentials in favor of US assets,” it said.

“That said, further peso depreciation could be tempered if global oil prices continue to soften, easing pressure on the country’s import bill and inflation expectations,” it added.

On Wednesday, the peso closed at P61.621 against the greenback, weakening by 26.1 centavos from its P61.36 finish on Tuesday. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

PHILIPPINE FACTORY activity continued to expand in June amid stronger output and new orders, S&P Global said on Wednesday.

S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) inched up to 50.9 in June from 50.8 in May, signaling a second consecutive month of modest improvement in operating conditions across the country’s goods-producing sector.

A PMI reading above 50 denotes better operating conditions than in the preceding month, while a reading below 50 shows deterioration.

“Manufacturing conditions in the Philippines continued to improve in June, building on the tentative recovery observed in May as the sector regained footing following disruptions linked to the war in the Middle East,” Maryam Baluch, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in the report.

The Philippines’ June PMI also exceeded the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ average of 50.5, although the regional reading eased from 51.5 in May. 

The Philippines had the third best PMI reading in June, after Vietnam’s 51.8 (from 52.8) and Thailand’s 53.6 (from 52.6).

The country was ahead of Malaysia which had a PMI of 50.7 (from 49.9), Myanmar with 47.4 (from 49.3) and Indonesia with 46.9 (from 50).

S&P Global said Philippine manufacturers saw output and new orders grow for a second straight month. However, the increase in new orders strengthened slightly, while production growth eased in June.

“According to anecdotal evidence, where firms reported a rise in output, this was supported by growth in new orders, which in turn was underpinned by improved underlying demand trends and new client wins,” it said.

With the rise in new orders, S&P Global said Philippine manufacturers boosted purchases of additional raw materials and semi-finished items for the first time in four months. The increase in purchasing activity was marginal, but helped firms maintain their inventory of inputs.

Ms. Baluch also noted a more stable employment picture in the Philippines in June.

“Filipino manufacturers recorded unchanged staffing levels in June, marking a stabilization compared with job shedding seen in April and May,” she said. “Moreover, signs of renewed pressure on capacity, as indicated by a fresh rise in backlogs, suggests potential for future recruitment.”

S&P Global also noted there were signs of recovery in supply-chain disruption in June, as firms reported a “modest deterioration in vendor performance.”

Ms. Baluch said inflationary pressures started to ease in June after cost burdens increased at the weakest pace in four months. However, sharp increases in costs in April and May continued to weigh on manufacturers’ sentiment.

S&P Global said manufacturers remained optimistic, citing expectations of stronger demand, new product launches, and expansion into new markets.

However, overall business confidence fell to its lowest level since January, which Ms. Baluch said indicates that firms are cautious about the outlook.

John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said the expansion in June reflects resilient domestic demand, gradual improvements in supply conditions and continued business activity despite a challenging external environment.

“If inflation continues to ease, it should help sustain manufacturing growth by lowering cost pressures and supporting household purchasing power. But I expect the expansion to remain modest rather than robust,” he told BusinessWorld.

Inflation eased to 6.8% in May from 7.2% in April, remaining above the central bank’s 2-4% target but closer to its 6.4% full-year forecast.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said June inflation could ease further to as low as 6%, projecting last month’s print to settle within the 6%-7% range.

Mr. Rivera said the manufacturing sector’s outlook will still depend on external demand, oil prices, foreign exchange rate movements, financing costs, and the pace of infrastructure spending.

“Sustained improvements in these areas would provide a stronger foundation for manufacturing growth in the coming months,” he added.

Federation of Philippine Industries Chair Elizabeth H. Lee said business confidence remains subdued as firms continue to grapple with global uncertainties, supply-chain risks and higher input costs.

“We have two months of expansion, and we are looking forward to a stronger positive trend given that the production volume also was relatively resilient with a positive 12% growth in April,” she added.

However, Ms. Lee said recent cost pressures are being compounded by tighter financing conditions following recent policy rate hikes, as well as the recent P85 wage increase for Metro Manila workers.

“June’s PMI uptick shows Philippine manufacturing can still grow under pressure. However, sustaining that growth means supporting workers while preserving businesses’ ability to invest, employ, and compete. We cannot treat one factor in isolation,” she added.

The Philippines is now classified as an upper-middle income country (UMIC) by the World Bank, reflecting the economy’s broad-based expansion.

The World Bank’s latest country income classification showed the Philippines posted a record gross national income (GNI) per capita of $4,850. This was higher than the GNI per capita of $4,470 last year, when the Philippines narrowly missed the UMIC threshold by $26.

The latest increase in the Philippines’ GNI per capita prompted the World Bank to reclassify the country as an UMIC, a category for economies with GNI per capita ranging from $4,636 to $14,375.

“The Philippines achieved its reclassification through broad-based expansion. GDP grew at an average of 5.8% per year over five years, reflecting gains across all major industries, not a single sector boom, but an economy-wide shift,” the World Bank said in a blog post late Wednesday.

The Philippines was previously in the World Bank’s lower middle-income bracket, having failed to advance out of it since 1987.

The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said strong performance across all industries helped raise the country’s GNI per capita by 8.5% in 2025.

“This confirms the resilience of the Philippine economy,” said DEPDev Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan. “Despite global and domestic shocks, we have relentlessly pursued inclusive growth, strengthened fundamentals, and remained on track with our development agenda.”

According to DEPDev, the new classification is expected to strengthen the country’s credit profile, boost investor confidence, and expand access to financing and higher-quality investments, which it said could generate better jobs for Filipinos.

The Philippines and Vietnam were among the five economies reclassified by the World Bank from lower middle-income to upper middle-income status, along with Jordan, Micronesia, and Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Togo moved from low-income to lower middle-income status.

Vietnam moved up to UMIC status after posting a GNI per capita of $4,970.

The Philippines remained ahead of Cambodia ($2,520), Laos ($2,150), and Myanmar ($1,320), which are still classified as lower middle-income economies with a GNI per capita between $1,176 and $4,635.

Meanwhile, Malaysia ($12,380), Thailand ($7,690) and Indonesia ($5,120) remained as upper middle-income countries.

Singapore ($81,760) and Brunei ($34,790) are also still classified as high-income economies.

The World Bank computes a country’s GNI through the Atlas method, which serves as the basis of its income classifications — low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high. GNI refers to the total amount of money earned by its residents both inside and outside its borders.

If you’re like me, you’ve been licking your wounds because your favorite series on broadcast is on hiatus.

Oh, and you’re still pissed off about that shortened season news.

Forget all of that, because NCIS: Origins knows how to remind us exactly why we’re hopelessly devoted to this series, and nothing proves that more than the news of Mark Harmon’s return.

Set to the tune of one of the greatest ’80s anthems ever recorded — that will most assuredly have a girl digging up the VHS for a proper The Breakfast Club rewatch — CBS dropped a teaser that will send NCIS: Origins Fanatics into a frenzy.

Mark Harmon is returning to the series, and not just in any brief cameo moment, either.

We can expect Harmon to reprise his role as Gibbs in all ten episodes of the season!

When it comes to NCIS: Origins, it’s pretty hard to build on perfection, but I admire the series for still taking some big swings and attempting to challenge itself even further to reach new heights.

And we’ll definitely get that with a new structuring that blows the roof off of what we already had.

If you don’t recall, the last time Harmon guest-starred on the series was NCIS: Origins Season 2 Episode 5, which marked the ambitious and wonderfully executed crossover even with the mother show, NCIS.

It had the team racing to solve a case in the ’90s that they didn’t quite solve until the NCIS team was finally able to resolve everything that had haunted Mike Franks for decades, right up until he died.

The crossover event was spectacular, a ratings juggernaut, and critically lauded )not just by us), showcasing the best of the franchise, especially when it successfully merges.

But the premise of an unsolved case from the ’90s being ever-present in the current timeline is something that Origins intends to capitalize on in this highly anticipated third season.

CBS teases that the season will juggle two timelines, with present-day Gibbs dealing with a mystery tied to his ’90s Camp Pendleton days.

What’s interesting about the phrasing is that they don’t explicitly mention that it’s a case connecting things, or even the cause for Gibbs potentially stepping out of retirement.

The word “mystery” does a lot of heavy lifting here, allowing our minds to race with possibilities.

Yeah, it’s possible that there’s a significant enough case that will have Gibbs and us enthralled for a full ten-episode arc.

And we know from the revenge after Vance’s death that Gibbs is more than willing to step into familiar roles when properly motivated.

But I’m more intrigued by the idea that this “mystery” could have to do with one of NCIS: Origins’ primary players, too.

We still don’t know what happened to Lala, and many viewers have been speculating that she either died at some point, while others have held onto hope that Gibbs could reunite with her in the present day in some capacity.

Of course, NCIS: Origins Season 2’s finale left us with someone kidnapping Randy because of his computer work.

I’m allowing myself to believe that this mystery could connect to one of our beloved NCIS: Origins characters we’ve yet to see in the present day, who has something happen to them, and Present-Day Gibbs is pouring his all into figuring things out for the rest of the season.

It could actually lead to seeing an NCIS: Origins character in the present day whom we haven’t seen yet! So far, we haven’t seen any of the main players in the present day outside of Vera.

Nevertheless, whatever the mystery is, it could be a game-changer for NCIS: Origins if it results in Harmon stepping back in front of the camera for the full season.

Hell, in many ways, it reminds us of this series’ core premise in the first place.

Origins has also sold itself as the story that Gibbs never told, and now, it seems we’ll be getting an engrossing new chapter that merges worlds.

And given that many viewers have been concerned about the fate of Origins, especially with a shortened season, this may be a vote of confidence, or at least more of an incentive for viewers to tune into what is inarguably one of the best offerings in the NCIS franchise.

Are we calm? Is everyone staying calm right now? Because, truthfully, I am not. No, I’m buzzing in my seat while typing this!

To get you hype, check out the Instagram tease of Gibbs’ return.

It opens with seemingly ominous music closing in on two Gibbs directors’ chairs before we hear Harmon himself say, “You’ll see.”

And keeping up with Origins, having some of the best needle drops on primetime, Simple Minds’ iconic “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” starts playing in the background.

As IF we could forget!

I’m practically bouncing out of my seat, so I’m going to turn it over to you, Origins Fanatics. What are your thoughts, theories, and reactions to Mark Harmon’s return?

NCIS: Origins returns this Fall on CBS! Check out all of our content.

• 

  We’re not burying the lead here, because Mark Harmon is returning to NCIS: Origins, and we’re hyped about it! Here are all the details!

• 

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  Guest stars can make or break an episode and these guest stars excelled so much they stole the show. Check out our list.

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  Chicago PD, Half Man, Tracker, NCIS: Origins, from Gibbs to Imani, these Characters of the Week kept us talking. Check out the full list!

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Samsung (modified)

We’re likely coming up on another Samsung Unpacked event, but the brand has dropped some teasers about what we’ll be seeing when the next showcase does happen. A series of new videos shared to social media point to a different ratio in the works for Samsung’s next foldable.

While there aren’t any images of the phone itself yet, the videos all draw attention to objects (a broken chocolate bar, a lightly decapitated puzzle, etc.) that deviate from standard smartphone dimensions. The new proportions appear to be shorter and stockier than most comparable devices on the market, which are trying to mimic the rough size of a typical smartphone when they’re closed, just with added thickness. Taking this boxier form while folded means you’d likely get more of a widescreen experience when the smartphone is in its open configuration, instead of that mode feeling like a blockier tablet.

We had already heard rumors that Samsung was looking to experiment with a wider foldable for its next product, and this all but confirms that the change is coming. It’s tough to gauge whether this new approach marks a permanent shift or whether it’ll be a limited run, like its intriguing but short-lived Galaxy Z TriFold. We’ll likely learn more about the Samsung’s intentions when Unpacked does roll around.

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MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) expects its full-year earnings to surpass last year’s record core net income of P50.6 billion, driven by higher electricity sales, growing contributions from its power generation business, and continued expansion of its retail electricity supply (RES) operations.

“I think the full-year profits would be ahead of last year,” Meralco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Tuesday.

He said the company is optimistic about its performance as its distribution business continues to post higher energy sales volumes, while its power generation segment is benefiting from the rollout of the P200-billion MTerra Solar Project and the continued growth of its RES business.

“All three businesses are doing quite well,” he said.

Asked whether Meralco has set a formal earnings target for 2026, Mr. Pangilinan said management would provide more detailed guidance after the release of its first-half financial results.

“Let’s wait for the first half results, maybe then we can give guidance. But definitely ahead,” he said.

In 2025, Meralco’s core net income rose 14% to a record P50.6 billion from P45.1 billion a year earlier, meeting the company’s profit target.

The growth was driven by higher earnings from its power generation business and sustained contributions from its electricity distribution operations.

Consolidated revenues increased 6% to P497.3 billion, supported by higher distribution charges, stronger power generation revenues, and increased electricity sales under its RES business.

For the first quarter, Meralco reported a 2% increase in core net income to P11.4 billion, despite lower energy sales in its distribution business.

Meanwhile, Meralco Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho said the company has invested a record P28.5 billion in capital expenditures in 2025 to strengthen and modernize its electricity distribution network.

The company has built four new substations, expanded seven existing substations, upgraded four sub-transmission lines, hardened facilities against storms and other calamities, and continued modernizing its distribution infrastructure, he said.

“2025 was a banner year for Meralco. But more importantly, 2025 was the year when we flipped the new chapter of our story. The road ahead is not easy but we are ready,” Mr. Aperocho added.

Meralco is the country’s largest private electric distribution utility, serving more than 8.2 million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and parts of Laguna, Batangas, Pampanga, and Quezon.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION in the Philippines could moderate even more as remittance growth slows amid the conflict in the Middle East, according to ING Bank N.V.

ING Regional Head of Research for Asia-Pacific Deepali Bhargava said Philippine consumption is closely tied to overseas remittances, which are largely spent on daily household needs rather than savings or investment, making domestic demand heavily reliant on external income flows.

“With the Middle East accounting for roughly 17-18% of total remittance inflows, developments in the region are particularly important,” she added.

Cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers rose by 2% year on year to an 11-month low of $2.718 billion in April. This was the weakest annual growth in nearly four years, or since the 1.8% expansion recorded in May 2022.

Annual remittance growth has slowed since the start of the year, easing from 3.5% in January to 2.6% in February, 2.3% in March, and 2% in April. 

“Headline data doesn’t yet show a sharp contraction in remittances from the Middle East, but growth has moderated since February. Month-on-month flows have become more uneven in early 2026, reflecting early-stage disruptions linked to the conflict,” Ms. Bhargava said.

“As such, the recent slowdown and rising volatility could exert a more persistent drag on inward remittances as conditions in the Middle East region take time to stabilize,” she added.

Remittances from the Middle East reached $2.045 billion in the first four months, up 3.6% from the $1.973 billion recorded in the same period last year. This accounted for 17.9% of the total cash remittances during the period.

“Given the limited offset from alternative income sources, particularly for lower and middle-income households, any sustained weakening in remittance inflows is likely to weigh on private consumption with a lag,” Ms. Bhargava said.

Household spending, the main driver of the Philippine economy, has been moderating since last year. It grew by 3% year on year in the January-to-March period, slowing from 5.28% a year earlier and 3.8% in the previous quarter.

Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said he still expects remittance inflows to continue expanding, albeit at a more modest pace.

“We expect remittance growth to remain positive but modest in the coming months as overseas Filipinos continue to support their families despite global economic uncertainty and higher living costs abroad,” he told BusinessWorld.

“While this may temper the pace of household spending, the bigger risk to domestic demand would be if inflation stays elevated for longer, as persistent price pressures could further erode purchasing power and make consumers more cautious,” he added.

Consumer prices in the Philippines remain high even as price pressures have eased in recent months. Inflation slowed to 6.8% in May from 7.2% in April but remained above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) tolerance range of 2-4%.

In the first five months, inflation averaged 4.5%. The BSP recently raised its inflation forecast to 6.4% from 6.3% for this year.

However, Mr. Asuncion said remittance-dependent households would likely be among the first to feel the strain if inflation remains elevated.

He expects households to scale back discretionary spending on retail purchases, housing-related items, travel, and consumer durables before cutting back on essential expenditures.

“Overall, the likely outcome is a moderation — not a collapse — in consumption growth, with domestic demand remaining supported by employment and income conditions but facing stronger headwinds from inflation,” he added.

In its month-ahead inflation forecast, the BSP said inflation likely settled at 6% to 7% in June, faster than the 1.4% clip a year ago.

At the upper end of the forecast, June inflation would be the fastest in two months or since the 7.2% print in April.

At the bottom end, inflation would have cooled from the 6.8% print in May, marking the second consecutive month that consumer prices have eased.

June could also mark the fourth month in a row that annual inflation settled above the central bank’s 2%-4% comfort range.

June inflation is scheduled to be released on July 7.

“The decline of domestic oil prices and the lower prices of major food items, such as rice and meat, may temper inflation for the month. However, higher electricity rates and vegetable prices could partly offset these downward price pressures,” the BSP said in a statement.

Fuel prices have started to decline in June with retailers cutting pump prices by up to P9.08 a liter for gasoline, P20.03 per liter for diesel, and P2.24 per liter for kerosene.

At the same time, rice prices fell in June, with the average cost of regular milled rice declining by 1.8% to P50.12 a kilo from the P51.03 a kilo recorded in the May 15 to 17 period, but 17.3% higher than the P42.74 average recorded in the same period a year ago.

The price of well-milled rice also declined by 2.1% month on month to P56.66 a kilo, but was still 14.5% higher than the P49.50 average a year ago.

At the same time, power rates went up in June. Manila Electric Co. raised rates by P0.1488 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall rate to P14.4833 per kWh, citing higher generation charge linked to the peso depreciation.

The peso has also been trading above the P60-a-dollar level in June. It closed at P61.36 against the dollar on June 30, strengthening by 23 centavos from its P61.59 close on May 30.

The central bank said that it now expects inflation to average 6.4% this year and 4.5% next year.

“The BSP will remain vigilant and guided by incoming data, particularly on inflation and growth prospects. It will continue to monitor recent developments in the Middle East for their implications for inflation and economic activity,” it said.

Reyes Tacandong & Co. Senior Adviser Jonathan L. Ravelas said he expects June inflation at around 6.5% amid still-elevated price pressures.

“Food costs remain the biggest driver, especially with ongoing supply constraints, while energy and transport prices continue to feed through to the broader economy. The peso’s weakness is also adding some pressure on imports,” he said.

Mr. Ravelas said inflation is likely to stay above the 2-4% range in the near term, which would make policymakers cautious about easing too quickly.

The BSP raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% in June, marking its second rate hike this year. Three more scheduled policy meetings remain in 2026.

However, Mr. Ravelas said he expects gradual relief toward the latter part of the year provided geopolitical concerns subside and as supply conditions improve and global prices stabilize.

“But in the meantime, households and businesses should plan for continued volatility, particularly from weather shocks and global oil movements. The key message is this: Inflation isn’t out of control, but it’s also not fully tamed yet,” he added.

Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, said faster food inflation likely pushed June inflation to the upper end of the BSP’s 6-7% estimate.

“The balance of evidence suggests that inflation is more likely to ease in the second half of 2026 than to keep accelerating, but the path is likely to be uneven and highly dependent on energy markets,” he said.

“In other words, the baseline is gradual disinflation with significant upside risks, not a return to broad-based inflation,” he added.

In the coming months, Mr. Peña-Reyes said factors that could affect inflation include Brent crude oil prices, shipping conditions through the Strait of Hormuz, core inflation, inflation expectations from consumers and financial markets, and wage growth. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

THE Philippines’ trade-in-goods deficit widened to $5.48 billion in May from a year ago, as imports grew faster than exports, according to the statistics agency.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the trade-in-goods balance — the difference between exports and imports — widened by 50.5% to $5.48 billion in May from $3.64 billion recorded in the same month a year ago.   

Month on month, the trade gap narrowed from the revised $6.43 billion in April.

May saw the smallest trade gap in two months or since the $5.04-billion deficit in March.

The country’s trade balance has been in deficit for more than a decade or since the $64.95-million surplus recorded in May 2015.

Merchandise imports jumped by an annual 21.9% to $13.36 billion in May, a turnaround from the 0.9% dip in the same month a year ago but slowed from the 27.3% rise in April.

However, the import value was the lowest since $13.23 billion in March, while growth was also the slowest since 17.1% in March.

On the other hand, total outbound sales of Philippine-made goods rose by 7.6% to $7.87 billion in May, slower than the 15.5% increase a year ago but slightly faster than 7.2% growth in April.

PSA said export sales in May were the highest since $8.19 billion in March. Export growth was also the fastest in two months or since 20.8% growth in March.

Former University of Asia & the Pacific School of Economics Dean Francisco Cid L. Terosa said in an e-mail that the May trade deficit widened as buyers front-loaded imported production inputs due to geopolitical uncertainties and supply-chain disruptions.

In the January-to-May period, the trade-in-goods deficit widened by 25% to $25.24 billion from $20.08 billion a year ago.

For the five-month period, imports rose by 16.2% to $63.11 billion from $54.32 billion a year ago.

The total value of exports jumped by 10.6% to $37.87 billion in the five-month period from $34.25 billion a year ago.

PSA said these were the highest import and export values recorded since the series began in 1991.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee expects 3% growth in exports and a 5% increase in imports this year.

CAPITAL GOODS DEMAND
PSA data showed imports of raw materials and intermediate goods grew by 33.1% to $5.46 billion in May, making up 40.9% of the import bill.

Imports of capital goods increased by 22.6% to $3.73 billion, making up 28% of the total. On the other hand, imports of consumer goods declined by 4.9% to $2.37 billion, making up 17.7% of May imports.

Chinabank Research said the import growth in May was driven by the strong demand for capital goods, rather than global oil prices.

“If this trend persists, an increase in imports could be viewed as a positive development, as it portends improving business sentiment, stronger productive capacity, and support for future economic growth,” Chinabank Research said in a note.

By commodity group, electronic products posted the largest import value at $4.63 billion, surging 93.3% from the $2.39-billion value recorded in May 2025. Electronic goods accounted for 34.7% of May imports.

Imports of semiconductors, which accounted for 28.1% of imported electronic goods, rose by 125.8% to $3.75 billion in May.

Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, which accounted for 13.1% of May imports, jumped by 35.6% to $1.75 billion.

China was the country’s top source of imported goods with $4.23 billion or 31.7% of the total import bill in May.

South Korea followed with $1.76 billion (13.2%), Indonesia with $858.79 million (6.4%), Malaysia with $813.09 million (6.1%), and Japan with $806.32 million (6%).

AI BOOM
In May, exports of electronic products jumped by 11.9% to $4.3 billion, making up 54.6% of the total exports.

Semiconductors, which accounted for the bulk of electronic products and more than 40% of total exports, rose by 11.5% to $3.21 billion.

“The AI (artificial intelligence)boom continues to support demand for Philippine semiconductors,” Chinabank Research said.

“However, logistical constraints emerged, with reported shipment delays at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport due to congestion and limited warehousing capacity — highlighting infrastructure bottlenecks that could pose near-term risks,” it added, noting that local chipmakers rely on air freight to import components for assembly, testing, and packaging before re-exporting them.

Exports of mineral products, which accounted for 5.2% of the total, climbed by 30.2% to $406.78 million in May.

The United States was the main destination of locally made goods in May with $1.35 billion in exports or 17.2% of the total.

It was followed by Hong Kong with $1.2 billion (15.2% share), Japan with $1.03 billion (13.1%), China with $905.2 million (11.5%), and Singapore with $442.55 million (5.6%).

OUTLOOK
The Philippines’ ongoing talks to revise the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, as well as its upcoming free trade agreement with Canada, could provide opportunities for export growth in the coming months, Chinabank said.

However, the US’ uncertain trade policies pose risks to the country’s trade deficit, it noted.

“Proposed US trade measures — including new tariffs of up to 12.5% due to forced labor concerns and 100% tariff on imports from countries imposing digital service taxes — pose potential downside risks, although implementation remains uncertain,” Chinabank said.

Philippine exports could face tariffs of up to 12.5% after it was flagged by the US Trade Representative in June for allegedly failing to prohibit the importation of goods made with forced labor.

US President Donald J. Trump last week threatened to slap a 100% tariff on goods from any country that imposes a digital service tax on American companies.

Miguel Chanco, chief emerging Asia economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said export growth might lose momentum in the coming months amid softening demand.

“Momentum continues to fade… due in large part to the intensifying drag imposed by softening demand from Hong Kong and the US, while support from other key markets has also vanished,” he said in an e-mail.

THE DAILY minimum wage in Metro Manila will increase to P780 by January 2027 after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region approved an P85 increase to be implemented in two phases, Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino announced on Tuesday.

The wage order provides for a P60 increase effective July 19 and another P25 effective in January next year, raising the daily minimum wage for nonagricultural workers from P695 to P780.

For agricultural workers and employees of retail, service and small manufacturing establishments covered by the lower wage tier, the minimum wage will rise from P658 to P743.

The National Capital Region (NCR) wage board did not immediately release a copy of the wage order.

Mr. Tolentino said about 1.1 million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila are expected to benefit from the wage order, while about 1.9 million workers earning above the minimum wage could also receive pay adjustments because of wage distortions.

Metro Manila workers receive P658 to P695 a day following a P50 wage increase that took effect on July 18, 2025.

Angelita D. Señorin, a member of the NCR wage board representing the labor sector, told BusinessWorld that the board had officially signed and approved the new wage order on June 23.

“The decision of the board is subject for review by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC),” Ms. Señorin said in a text message. “Yesterday, I was informed that the decision of the board has been affirmed by the NWPC.”

This P85 total increase is historically significant, as it represents a larger adjustment than the P50 hike implemented in the previous year.

Minimum wage determination in the Philippines is governed by Republic Act No. 6727, where regional wage boards are mandated to periodically review and adjust minimum wages based on regional socioeconomic factors such as the cost of living, inflation, and the poverty threshold.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the inflation rate in NCR eased to 5% in May from 5.5% in April. However, it is still much faster than 1.7% in May last year.

Meanwhile, the region’s unemployment rate was recorded at 5.2% in April, higher than the national average of 4.7%. This placed Metro Manila among the six regions with unemployment figures exceeding the national baseline.

Ms. Señorin said that while any adjustment is welcome, the P85 increase remains inadequate because it is still far below the actual cost of living in Metro Manila and only serves as a temporary measure amid continued increases in the prices of basic goods, electricity and transportation.

“Throughout the wage deliberations, my position is clear that at least the lowest petition filed before the wage board, which is P200, should be met,” she said in mixed English and Filipino.

“In my opinion, no sector will be affected by the increase because it is minimal in the first place, and micro and small enterprises have many remedies and subsidies offered by the government that they can avail themselves of,” she added.

Benjamin B. Velasco, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the wage board appeared to have struck a balance by granting a substantial increase while implementing it in two tranches, although labor groups may criticize the staggered approach instead of a one-time adjustment.

“The impact will be felt in the formal sector which is covered by employee-employer relations,” he told BusinessWorld in a Facebook chat. “But due to the lighthouse effect, eventually even informal workers will benefit as MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) adjust.”

“Even if they want to, businesses cannot always pass on wage hikes as price increases since they are subject to market competition,” he said.

George T. Barcelon, chairman emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the wage increase comes at a time when businesses continue to face challenges from a weaker peso, higher interest rates, and persistent inflation risks.

He said the P85 adjustment, equivalent to roughly a 13% to 14% increase in the minimum wage, could be difficult for some companies, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises already operating on thin margins.

“The salary structure of some companies may have to be reviewed because this increase may already border a lot of company structure” where existing pay scales might overlap, he told BusinessWorld by phone.

Mr. Barcelon said companies have no choice but to pass on the cost of the wage hike, which may stoke inflation.

He said that while price increases will not be immediate, businesses will eventually feel the “pinch” of higher labor costs, warning that such a significant increase may hurt the economy.

Four seasons of Fire Country gave Bode Leone a lot of things.

His dignity back, a badge, a path to redemption, and an almost supernatural talent for making every woman in a fifty-mile radius fall for him at least once.

By the time the Fire Country Season 4 finale wrapped, the man had worked his way through Cara Maisonette, Gabriela Perez, Audrey James, and Chloe Makenzie, collecting romantic near-misses the way Three Rock collected brush fires.

Fire Country Season 5 is on the way, and we know Edgewater will be back and that Bode will probably throw himself headfirst into another crisis before the third commercial break because that is simply the contract this show runs on.

We have a modest proposal for CBS that costs nothing and would immediately improve the viewing experience for everyone who spent four years watching Bode heroically save the day while quietly developing a tension headache about it.

Bring all his exes back. Put them in one episode. Let them coordinate the rescue, and let Bode sit in the burning building for once, waiting for somebody else to get him out.

It would be chaotic and funny, and absolutely what this show deserves. And if the day got saved by the women Bode spent four seasons orbiting without ever quite figuring out how to keep, so much the better.

Bode’s Exes Assemble!

Out of all of Bode’s relationships, Gabriela Perez ran the longest route.

Three seasons of will-they-won’t-they, full of kisses before weddings and lies told on each other’s behalf, their story was left with less water than Station 42’s tank on a crucial mission.

She left in Fire Country Season 4 knowing Bode still loved her, and he knew it was mutual. The door being left open was kind of the central problem in both directions.

Gabriela would arrive at any rescue operation already knowing the three things Bode was about to try wrong, and she’d have them corrected before he finished explaining the plan.

Meanwhile, Audrey James was the most honest of the lot. She transferred out of Edgewater specifically because staying in a relationship with Bode was a genuine threat to her sobriety. 

Audrey, too, left the door open, and apparently had the good sense to stay on the other side of it.

Her coming back to rescue Bode from his own nonsense, while being not so shocked about him forgetting their promise, would be genuinely amusing to watch.

Then there’s Chloe Makenzie, Season 4’s math tutor turned single mother turned recipient of Bode’s “I love you” in the finale.

Chloe might not technically be an ex yet, but given this show’s track record with Bode’s relationships, the odds for Fire Country Season 5 were worth acknowledging in advance.

Let Them Have the Episode. Bode Can Wait.

Bode’s instinct in a crisis has always been to throw himself at the problem.

His track record across four seasons made this predictable enough that even Edgewater’s civilians could probably call it in advance. 

The Fire Country Season 4 finale had him battling a catastrophic flood and telling Chloe he loved her in the same episode, which was very on-brand, and that man simply did not have the gear to stay in the vehicle.

An episode where all three women had to coordinate a rescue, with Bode pinned somewhere and unable to do anything heroic, would do more for this show’s tonal range than any single storyline since Vince’s death.

Not because Bode shouldn’t be the hero of Fire Country, but because the most interesting version of a hero was one who occasionally had to be reminded that the people around him were competent too.

Gabriela’s firefighting and paramedicine experience and three seasons of knowing exactly when Bode would make the wrong call, Audrey’s sobriety and discipline and refusal to be impressed by him, and Chloe’s whatever-she’d-bring: the drama would rival your favorite sitcoms.

Reunite them for one episode, point them at the same problem, and let the audience watch what happens when Bode has to stay put and act like the damsel in distress, much to his annoyance.

And of course, to our amusement.

Which of Bode’s exes would you want running point on the rescue operation, and who shows up with the best speech once it’s over?

Tell us your ideal fantasy episode in the comments, and subscribe for more coverage of Fire Country and all the creative decisions that keep us simultaneously invested and exasperated.

• 

  Four seasons of romance left Bode Leone with enough exes to staff a rescue team, and Season 5 should give them the episode they’ve earned.

• 

  We love to ship our favorite TV characters, but what about the stars pairing up off-screen? Check out our list of real-life power couples!

• 

  Fire Country Season 4 matched up almost every main character with someone new in record time, and the finale’s one truly earned moment only made the rest feel faster by comparison.

• 

  Fire Country Season 4 Episode 20 plays out just as we had all predicted. Does anyone need more proof? Our review dives deeper.

• 

  Fire Country Season 4 Episode 19 kickstarts the season’s closing emergency. Meanwhile, Malcolm is at 42 and Bode wants to apologize. Our review!

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On top of leaks around its next smartphone generation, Apple has had sensitive details about its manufacturing processes revealed. Reuters reported that the documents posted on “the dark web” allegedly show information about both components and their suppliers for the iPhone 18 Pro. The leak included specifics on hundreds of parts, such as chips on the main circuit board and elements of the smartphone’s battery and cameras, according to the publication. Last week, AppleInsider first reported on the cyberattack, which took more than 630GB of data from India-based Tata Electronics. Fellow clients Tesla and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. also had documents in the leak, but much of the information seems to center on Apple.

Tata has risen to become one of Apple’s most prominent suppliers outside of China. Apple told Reuters that it is working on long-term security measures with Tata and that it is investigating this incident. The company has typically kept quiet about the specifics of its supplier relationships, and having these details exposed could put Apple on the back foot in terms of any future negotiations with its partners, particularly as it increases prices for many products in the wake of RAM shortages. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 18 Pro, along with the iPhone 18 Pro Max and possibly its first foldable smartphone this fall.

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Agriculture have announced a stateside trek. In the fall, the black metal band will tour their second album, 2025’s The Spiritual Sound, primarily on the West Coast, but will travel to the Midwest to play a short run of shows in November. Throughout the month-long sprint, the Los Angeles quartet will be joined by Brooklyn industrial act Uniform and Bay Area alternative band Pure Hex. See the full itinerary below.

Read more about The Spiritual Sound in the The Best Music of 2026 So Far feature.

Agriculture U.S. Tour:
10-29 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
10-31  Pioneertown, CA – Pappy & Harriet’s
11-01  Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge 
11-03  Colorado Springs, CO – What Left Records / Black Sheep
11-05  Des Moines, IA – xBk 
11-06  Milwaukee, WI – Falcon Bowl 
11-08  Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle 
11-10  Omaha, NE – Slowdown Front Room 
11-12  Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre
11-13  Ft. Collins, CO – Sound Bar 
11-14  Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge 
11-17  Seattle, WA – Substation 
11-18  Portland, OR – Aladdin Theatre 
11-20  Sacramento, CA – Harlow 
11-21  San Francisco, CA – August Hall 
11-22  Felton, CA – Felton Music Hall 
11-24  Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre

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FROM Season 4 packed a lot in, with multiple storylines that seem to be unfolding in their own unpredictable directions.

Boyd is building toward the biggest plan anyone in the Township has ever attempted.

Fatima is deteriorating into something Kristi couldn’t explain medically, and Henry was being quietly dismantled by Sophia’s blood one episode at a time. 

Tabitha and Jade have gone underground with a tarp and a talisman. Elgin has possibly uncovered Sophia’s secret. Clara becomes a reluctant accomplice out of nowhere.

The Man in Yellow has been deployed as the engine behind almost every character crisis this season, sliding from Henry to Fatima to Elgin to Clara, which sometimes makes you go – Come on! This again?

Heading into the FROM Season 4 finale on June 28, the show had roughly seven active storylines converging into one episode, and not all of them were equally positioned to get the space they deserved.

The Man in Yellow Is Everywhere, and That Might Be the Problem

The Sophia reveal at the end of FROM Season 4’s premiere was one of the smartest moves this show had ever made.

Transforming the season’s biggest villain from a terrifying figure in the forest into someone walking among the residents, eating with them, and then becoming one of them was genuinely unsettling in a way few mystery shows manage.

But then the show kept inserting her in every storyline.

Sophia poisoned Henry’s moonshine with her own blood and spent multiple episodes engineering his slow psychological collapse.

The hallucinations were building toward the idea that the Township was a dream, and Victor was the anchor keeping him from waking up.

She coerced Clara into dosing Fatima and quietly sabotaged the rope ladder that Jade and Tabitha were depending on for their escape from the tunnels.

Her meeting with Clara happens off-screen, making you wonder if you really missed something.

And then Elgin just happens to stumble upon photos of Sophia. Those pictures have been in the storage for decades, and we are to believe no one noticed them before?

We finished nine episodes, still largely unable to answer what the Man in Yellow actually wanted beyond gleefully telling Jim and the pastor that watching the residents tear themselves apart was his favorite part of the cycle.

Sophia is not a bad villain, far from it. But when you keep routing every character crisis through the same baddie, it becomes quite exhausting to watch.

A good villain can’t save a show if the storylines look like a jumbling mess.

Seven Storylines Walk Into a Finale

Let’s count, roughly.

Tabitha and Jade were underground with the children’s bones as the finale approached, a talisman and a plastic tarp between them and the sleeping monsters. 

Boyd and a surface team were working to pull up the bottle tree to give them an exit — the same exit the Boy in White had explicitly warned Victor against creating.

Henry is being conditioned by Sophia’s blood into believing the Township was a dream, and Victor is the anchor he needed to eliminate.

Fatima’s condition was deteriorating at a speed that had Kristi running out of explanations, her vitals reading consistent with someone already dead.

Elgin had just had Sophia reveal herself to him, and nothing about that conversation was promising.

Randall and Acosta had spent much of the season near the periphery: helpful, present, but not attached to any thread substantial enough to call their own. 

Julie’s storywalking, which had carried genuine excitement early in the season, had stalled into a series of failures, leaving her increasingly cynical.

All of this was heading into a single episode!

FROM has been trading finality for cliffhangers, and with a fifth and final season confirmed, there was obviously runway left for these threads to land.

A finale with this many active crises would inevitably prioritize some over others.

Now the characters who hadn’t been given the depth they deserved this season would likely collect their due in a closing shot rather than an actual scene.

Which thread are you most worried about heading into the FROM Season 4 finale? Do you think one episode can actually tie this many things together?

Tell us in the comments, and subscribe to catch our finale coverage and everything that follows it into Season 5.

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  We spoke with Joseph Potter and Damien Atkins about Nicki and Magnus’s tether to Lestat in this exclusive chat after The Vampire Lestat Season 1 Episode 3!

• 

  We spoke with the FROM EPs about the important beats for this season and the endgame for FROM Season 4. Come chat out our chat!

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Former Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black refused to answer questions about non-disclosure agreements he is party to during testimony about his dealings with the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before a House committee on Friday, the panel’s Republican chairman said.

Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman, said he had issued two subpoenas to Black, “one for all the NDAs that he is party to, and second for a deposition on July 16.”

“This is a result of refusing to answer specific questions about the … NDAs, and the terms,” Comer told reporters after the hearing by his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “We believe that information is vital to our investigation.”

“I will remind everyone that Mr. Black came in voluntarily, but they are refusing to disclose that, so I have issued the subpoena, and we are handing it to him as we speak,” Comer said.

Comer earlier had told reporters that the committee was “pretty confident” Black had signed non-disclosure agreements with some of the victims.

Black walked out of the interview after having taken a long break when he was given the subpoenas.

In a prepared opening statement to the panel, the billionaire Black praised Epstein’s financial acumen, even as he said he had no knowledge of the late money manager’s serial sexual abuse of underage girls and young women.

“Epstein solved a massive estate problem for me, that none of the experts and lawyers I consulted had been able to solve,” Black told the committee, according to a copy of his statement obtained by CNBC.

“It was a problem that would have destroyed enormous value for my family and in Apollo, the company I had founded,” Black said.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Virginia Democrat who sits on the committee, said, “This is the first time that someone actually walked out in the middle of [an interview], and it’s because we had very important questions about Leon Black’s past with Jeffrey Epstein.”

“This is also the first time I heard someone gush poetically about how smart and how great Jeffrey Epstein was,” Subramanyam said.

Another Democrat on the panel, Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, said, “I think the fact that Leon Black left today is extremely telling.”

“We’ve gone through a number of these interviews, and I believe we’ve had a number of witnesses who have not been credible, who have lied to the committee over and over again, Ansari said.

“But today was even different than that. Leon Black was arrogant, he was smug.”

Black’s lawyer, Susan Estrich, in her own comments to reporters, called the issuance of the subpoenas “a premeditated political decision.”

“I want to be clear, as Mr. Black said …. He never abused a woman, never was with an underage woman, he never engaged in sex traffic, he never paid Epstein for access to women, he was never blackmailed by Epstein,” Estrich said. “Mr. Black had no knowledge of any of Mr. Epstein’s heinous conduct.” 

Black, in his prepared opening statement, said Epstein duped him out of more than $60 million in financial advisory fees by falsely claiming that they were tax-deductible.

Black says he had no involvement in Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and did not pay him for access to women.

He said he was misled by Epstein’s Jekyll-and-Hyde personality, according to a prepared opening statement.

Former CEO of Apollo Global Management Leon Black arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 26, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been investigating Epstein’s ties to many wealthy and influential individuals.

Comer earlier told reporters that Black’s interview “has the potential to be the most groundbreaking of all depositions.”

“Pretty significant,” Comer said.

In his prepared statement, Black said, “I come here today voluntarily to set the record straight about my relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and, in particular, why I paid him the money I did.”

“Let me state unequivocally that I have never abused a woman,” Black said.

“I have never been with an underage woman. I have never engaged in sex trafficking. I have never paid Epstein for access to women,” he said. “I was never blackmailed by Epstein. I was not involved with, and had no knowledge of, any of Epstein’s heinous conduct.”

“I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde,” Black said.

In his statement, Black leaned on the 2021 findings in the so-called Dechert report, named after the law firm that was retained to examine how much he had paid Epstein for financial advice, the work Epstein did, and whether he knew about Epstein’s conduct before his 2019 arrest on federal child sex trafficking charges.

“The Dechert report concluded that I had paid Epstein $158 million,” Black said, according to the prepared remarks.

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“And Dechert examined the services Epstein rendered and determined that Epstein performed highly valuable and legitimate tax and estate planning services for my family office; that the tax work was responsible for billions of dollars in savings, and that all of Epstein’s work had been vetted by reputable law and accounting firms.”

Black said Epstein had told him the fees he was paying him “were tax-deductible, ’60-cent dollars’, which I only learned years later was not true.”

“I.e. what I believed to be $95 million of net fees paid to him over five years was actually $158 million,” Black said. “But, at the time I was led to believe by Epstein that I was paying ’60 cent dollars.’ That assurance was false.”

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the committee’s ranking Democrat, told reporters that what Black paid Epstein is “an enormous amount of money, and Jeffrey Epstein would not have been able to commit horrific crimes without the support of Mr. Black.”

Black said he met Epstein in the mid-1990s when Epstein was on the board of Rockefeller University.

“His network included respected luminaries such as David Rockefeller; Ehud Barak, Larry Summers; George Mitchell, Bill Richardson, and Ace Greenberg,” Black said.

He said he knew Epstein for 18 years “before I paid him a dime.”

Black said he began paying Epstein in 2013 for “his bona fide advice” on tax, insurance, and trusts and estates matters, subjects that he said Epstein possessed “remarkable acumen” about.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I now know, as does the world, that Epstein was engaged in horrific, sordid activities,” Black said.

“I feel terrible for Epstein’s victims.”

— CNBC’s Irit Skulnik and Karen James Sloan contributed to this article

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Chill on the AC

Yusuke Ide/Getty Images

Unlike older gasoline-powered cars that use a compressor to power the air conditioning, an EV will rely on its battery to pump cold air into the cabin. That means EVs are using the same power source that supplies you with both air conditioning and range.

Instead, you may want to precondition your EV while it’s still plugged into an outlet at home. This way, all the heavy lifting of getting your cabin to the right temperature will be drawn from the power outlet and not the EV’s battery. Of course, you’ll still have to rely on the battery to keep you cool while driving, but it won’t have to work as hard to get down to the perfect temps. Alternatively, you could employ basic techniques like using sun shades, flushing out the stale air by rolling down the windows, or even opt for ventilated seats instead of turning on the AC.

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Summer has traditionally been a time for Salem barbecues, lakeside drama, and stories that’ll hook teen viewers.

Sadly, Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 offer Fourth of July fireworks but little else.

Although there is movement in some stories, it feels like a lot of the spoilers are the same old thing, but hopefully, these events will be better on screen than they sound.

This Smith Island Drugging Story Would Be More Interesting If It Made More Sense

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 promise that Johnny will get roped into EJ’s cover-up while Sarah and Brady continue investigating what happened on Smith Island… and Sarah doesn’t know if Holly will survive whatever happened to her.

I’m not sure when Holly is supposed to leave Salem, but I believe it won’t be until the end of the year or the beginning of 2027, so this threat to her life isn’t as exciting as it might be.

Besides, there are already super-obvious plot holes in this whole scenario that keep distracting me every time it’s on-screen.

For one thing, from what EJ and Rita said, the tainted narcotics were buried on the island, making it likely they got into the water supply — yet this all happened two years ago, and there have been a million visits to Smith Island since without anyone else getting poisoned.

Plus, all the kids swam in the island’s water, yet only Holly got sick.

And to add insult to injury, Sarah’s tox screen showed narcotics that Holly claimed not to have taken, but no traces of arsenic, even though that’s exactly what the drugs were tainted with.

Maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m just thinking too logically about a world that has no logic to it. But still, it’s hard to suspend disbelief when there are this many problems with the plot.

I’m also really annoyed that EJ overheard Sarah and Brady talking about investigating him… because they were doing it at the nurses’ station, where anybody could overhear their top-secret conversation.

Soap trope, I know, but it’s harder to enjoy a story where everything happens because people are being stupid for no good reason.

Anyway, the fallout from this messy story seems to be that Holly continues to worsen while EJ manipulates Johnny into covering up the truth. Boo!

Johnny is one of the only moral DiMeras there is. He’s disowned EJ countless times over EJ’s bad behavior.

So why on Earth does a scene on the Days of Our Lives spoiler video have Johnny sneaking into Sarah’s office with gloves on, presumably to either steal evidence or plant some?

Blech. I can only assume he’s being manipulated, since Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 only say that EJ asks him for help.

Johnny should have better things to do since Chanel is starting chemotherapy and little Trey is having his first birthday.

I’m not looking forward to Chanel’s story — it’s well-done, but cancer stories are usually depressing, especially when chemotherapy gets involved.

However, Days of Our Lives has been careful not to show any of Chanel’s actual medical treatment so far — she’s always in an exam room talking to Sarah before or after she sees the radiologist, preps for surgery, or whatever else her treatment consists of.

So her chemo will likely not be graphic, or on-screen at all, which will make it easier to take.

How do you feel about Johnny getting involved in EJ’s illegal dealings?
Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends.

However, I did have the dark thought that Chanel’s chemo might also somehow contain tainted drugs.

That doesn’t make sense given the Smith Island connection, but nothing in this story does, and I don’t trust the writers not to go there.

Meanwhile, Lexie Continues To Keep Secrets, Joy Continues to Be a Distraction, and A New Actor Takes Over As Javi

The Lexie story could have been interesting, but Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 focus solely on her continuing to keep her potential health issues secret.

Everyone is entitled to medical privacy, of course, but it still grates on my last nerve when we have a semi-romantic scene in which Abe and Lexie promise each other under the fireworks that they will be together for years to come, while Lexie secretly knows that may not be the case.

Several couples plan to be romantic under the fireworks, but none of them are exciting.

Jada and Shawn are finally going to give in to their feelings and jump straight to sleeping together, and Chad and Belle will kiss again, while elsewhere, Joy tries to distract Alex while Stephanie vents to Kayla.

Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 don’t mention Eli and Lani, but I hope we’ll see them, since July 4th is their anniversary and they were the ones who kissed under the fireworks before it became a Salem trend.

Meanwhile, a new actor will be playing Javi — Al Calderon had already left for the now-defunct Brilliant Minds by the time these scenes were filmed, close to a year ago.

I’m curious about how the new actor plays in scenes with Leo. Sadly, the plot line continues to be Javi swearing to stay away from Leo and insisting he’s in love with Gus, although that may not last for long — Gus is supposed to start questioning Javi soon.

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Are you excited, annoyed, or meh about these Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26?

Whichever it is, let us know in the comments! Don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join the conversation.

Vote in our poll below for your favorite Days of Our Lives spoiler for this week.

If you enjoyed this article, check out Laura Nowak’s thoughts on the Stephanie/Alex/Joy love triangle.

These Days of Our Lives spoilers will stream on Peacock during the week of 6-29-26. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.

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• 

  Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 6-29-26 promise plenty of summer heat, but something is missing from these stories.

• 

  It’s hard to believe, but Deidre Hall first joined Days of Our Lives 50 years ago next week. These nostalgic episodes celebrating long-term characters and actors are one of the best things about the long-running soap, and Marlena’s is coupled with some huge returns. Unfortunately, we can’t purely enjoy it because Days of Our Lives…

• 

  While Days of Our Lives has featured Stephanie’s PTSD effectively, was it a ploy to bring Alex and Joy closer together?

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Sony

Sony has notified customers in a handful of European countries that they’ll soon lose access to some movies that they’ve purchased through the PlayStation Store due to the upcoming expiration of a licensing deal with Studio Canal. If you bought any of the movies on the list in affected regions, which includes hundreds of titles, “it will be removed from your video library” on September 1, according to the warning. It’s yet another frustrating reminder that paying for a digital product doesn’t actually equate ownership — when licenses expire or servers are shut down, your purchased content might go right with them. 

The PlayStation Store posted the notice about the termination of Studio Canal movies on several regional pages, including those for UK, French, Italian and Spanish customers. Don’t get your hopes up for a refund, either. The notice doesn’t mention anything of the sort. The expiration date is still a few months away, though, so there’s still a chance things could change. The PlayStation Store was set to pull Discovery shows a few years back due to licensing issues, but it ultimately worked out a new licensing agreement so it could reverse course on their planned removal.

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