Another key driver of this resilience, they point out, is the continued surge in investment in the information technology sector — especially in artificial intelligence. The IT investment boom reflects businesses and markets’ optimism about the transformative potential of recent tech innovations — in automation and AI — to deliver sizable productivity gains and to lift profits. Hopefully, we don’t miss out on this AI tech boom, even as we seem to be quite late in adopting AI technology. The same efficiency is experienced upon departure, with computer machines facilitating the check-in process and even baggage handling. Once the traveller is familiar with the process, they can completely do the check-in process by themselves.

DOE sees more Malampaya gas discoveriesFor the first time in over a decade, a new gas supply has been discovered five kilometers east of the existing Malampaya field offshore Palawan, President Marcos said on January 19, 2026. This will be marked in history as the first 100 percent Filipino-led indigenous gas venture,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said. Based on initial testing, the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet daily, indicating high productivity comparable to the original Malampaya wells. MAE-1 is the first milestone under the $893-million Malampaya Phase 4 drilling campaign, which also involves the drilling of the Camago-3 and Bagong Pag-asa-1 wells. In 2023, President Marcos renewed SC 38 for an additional 15 years or until February 2039, allowing the continued production of the Malampaya gas field and the drilling of nearby prospects.

Philippines returns to global debt marketIn a statement, the Bureau of the Treasury announced the offering of dollar-denominated fixed rate securities consisting of 5.5-year, 10-year and 25-year tranches. MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines returned to the international capital markets yesterday with the launch of a triple-tranche dollar global bond offering, backed by fresh investment-grade ratings from major credit watchers that signaled sustained confidence in the country’s credit profile. The global bonds are expected to carry investment-grade ratings of Baa2 from Moody’s Ratings, BBB+ from S&P Global Ratings and BBB from Fitch Ratings. S&P Global Ratings said it assigned its “BBB+” long-term foreign currency issue rating to the benchmark-size dollar-denominated senior unsecured bonds that the Philippines proposes to issue. Moody’s Ratings, meanwhile, assigned senior unsecured ratings of Baa2 to the government’s global bond offerings to be drawn from its existing shelf program, including tranches maturing in 2031, 2036 and 2051.

ACEN allots P60 billion capex for Philippines expansionACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said roughly 75 percent of the company’s planned capital expenditures of over P80 billion would be directed toward projects in the Philippines. MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is doubling down on the Philippine market, ramping up its capital spending to at least P60 billion this year to fund ongoing and planned domestic projects. “Over P60 billion will go to the Philippines alone,” Francia told reporters yesterday, noting that the funding will be used to complete ACEN’s solar, wind and battery energy storage projects. “We’ll be more than five GW operational by the end of this year, and we should be close to seven GW operational by next year,” Francia said. Revenues also contracted, ending 18 percent lower at P23 billion from P28 billion on softer electricity prices and reduced power generation output.

BOP swings to $5.66 billion deficit in 2025MANILA, Philippines — The country’s balance of payments (BOP) position swung to a deficit of $5.66 billion in 2025, a sharp reversal of the $609-million surplus recorded in 2024, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. For December alone, the country posted a BOP deficit of $827 million, 45.2 percent better than the $1.51-billion shortfall recorded in the same month in 2024. The BOP is a record of the country’s transactions with the rest of the world for a specific period. The BOP position reflects a decrease in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level of $110.8 billion as of end-December, slightly lower than the $111.25-billion level as of end-November last year. It is also about 3.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

Witnesses point to Discaya as contractor of alleged Romualdez propertyWitnesses, using the pseudonyms "Maria" and "Joy," point to contractor Curlee Discaya during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Jan. 28, 2026. MANILA, Philippines — Witnesses have linked contractor Curlee Discaya to being the contractor for one of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s homes. The two witnesses said that Discaya was adamant about moving the old business out of the house, mentioning that it was “Romualdez” who bought the house. Discaya then asked if the two witnesses could remove their masks so he could identify them, a request that Lacson denied. Should the witnesses’ claims be proven, this would be the first time the Discayas have been concretely linked to Romualdez.

Visayas grid under yellow alertThe NGCP said that power reserves in the Visayas fell to low levels, affecting the grid from 5 to 7 p.m., following the unplanned shutdown of two major coal-powered plants. MANILA, Philippines — The Visayas power grid was placed under yellow alert for two hours yesterday, the first for this year, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines. The NGCP said that power reserves in the Visayas fell to low levels, affecting the grid from 5 to 7 p.m., following the unplanned shutdown of two major coal-powered plants. At least 20 power plants across the Visayas have been on forced outages, adding to the strain caused by 21 others that were operating at reduced capacities. This left around 681 MW of unavailable capacity to the grid, the NGCP said

Palace: Marcos surprised by Revilla allegations; allies not exemptMANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was surprised that former senator Bong Revilla, the man he endorsed for a senatorial race in 2025, was arrested in relation to the flood control corruption scam. Revilla was part of Marcos’ presidential slate in the 2025 midterms, despite the fact that Revilla was heavily implicated in the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam. “Una pa lang pong nabanggit ang pangalang senator Bong Revilla doon pa lang po nag-react na po ang pangulo. Siyempre nagulat po siya dahil kaalyado nga niya po, pero sabi nga niya po makailang ulit sabihin niya kahit nga po kaalyado kung kailangang imbestigahan dapat imbestigahan,” Castro said in a press briefing. (Even when former senator Bong Revilla’s name was first mentioned, the president already reacted.

Australia set to pass tougher gun control laws in response to Bondi mass shootingA visitor places a pebble at a memorial site in remembrance to the lives lost during the Bondi Beach mass shooting on December 14, 2025, in Sydney, Australia, January 16, 2026. REUTERS/Jeremy Piper

Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022.

China says it never pursued trade surplus, vows to expand importsChina's Vice-Premier He Lifeng delivers a speech during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 20, 2026.

Bulacan flood projects worth P325 million flagged for irregularitiesThe photo of the Commission on Audit's office in Quezon CIty taken on Aug. 17, 2021. MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has formally submitted four Fraud Audit Reports (FARs) to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), uncovering widespread irregularities in flood control projects in Bulacan valued at over P325 million. The audited projects were awarded to private contractors Wawao Builders and Darcy and Anna Builders & Trading. Furthermore, the fraud audit reports highlighted critical missing documentation, noting the absence of essential records such as as-built plans, detailed cost estimates, geotechnical data, and comprehensive reports on completed work. Hagonoy Project (P77.2 million)Contractor: Wawao BuildersIrregularities: Despite being declared 100% complete, no structure exists at the designated site.

'Another Vitaly case': Estonian vlogger to be deported after harassing FilipinosA scene from one of the vlogs of content creator Siim Roosipuu, who runs a YouTube channel titled "Pro Life Traveler." MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has arrested and is set to deport an Estonian vlogger who was harassing Filipinos. “This is another Vitaly case — different person, same behavior,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said. “A foreign vlogger comes here, disrespects Filipinos, violates our laws and thinks he can hide behind a camera and a social media following. He added that the situation reflects the controversial expulsion of Russian vlogger Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, pointing to a persistent trend of foreign creators taking advantage of Philippine hospitality to produce provocative material for social media.

Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP This photo taken on September 1, 2025 shows the letters AI (artificial intelligence) flashing from a laptop screen (R) next to the logo of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, displayed over its mobile application in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany.

Jake Ejercito clarifies photo with Rodrigo Duterte standeeJake Ejercito joined the 2016 throwback photo trend and posted his selfie with the standee of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Manila, Philippines — While most 2016 throwback photos drew nostalgia, actor Jake Ejercito's elicited mixed reactions because of his selfie with the standee of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Jake joined the social media trend where users posted their photos from 10 years ago. Two of the photos showed Jake with a standee of Duterte. RELATED: What Jake Ejercito learned about fatherhood from Erap