For many young Filipinos, adulthood no longer feels like a launchpad; it feels like a lifeboat. Their peers abroad talk about “finding purpose” and “designing a life,” while Filipino Gen Zs are calculating if this month’s salary can cover rent, medicines, and a sibling’s tuition. The latest Filipino Perspectives Digest on Gen Z captures a […]

As artificial intelligence blurs the boundaries between inspiration and imitation, the Philippines’ creative sector is facing a new urgency: protecting the very ideas that fuel its growth. During the opening of Design Week Philippines, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) director Chamlette Garcia urged designers, entrepreneurs, and cultural workers to treat intellectual property (IP) […]

Investors navigating the Philippine market are behaving as if they are changing lanes on a busy highway: even as stocks slow to a crawl under the weight of a deepening flood-control scandal, traffic in government bonds is moving steadily—and in some auctions, even accelerating. The shift reveals not just a preference for safety but a […]

“Dalifornication” is the kind of phrase that sticks because it captures a cultural mood as much as a place. The Economist’s recent description of young Chinese “Dalifornia dreamin’” has turned the ancient city of Dali in Yunnan into shorthand for a broader economic and social shift. Once a quiet refuge for backpackers, Dali now swells […]

The Philippines is building a $15-billion airport on land it had to dredge from the sea — and experts say that same sea, along with sinking soil beneath it, could cripple the project within decades. The warnings intensified after The B1M, a major construction media outlet, spotlighted how the megaproject’s bold ambitions may be undermined […]

HSBC’s first steps in the Philippines began in 1875, a decade after its founding in Hong Kong. What followed was a partnership that helped shape the country’s early industries and continues to influence its modern financial landscape. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) arrived in Binondo at a time when Manila was emerging […]

Protecting ecosystems like mangroves, wetlands, and coral reefs could unlock major economic gains for the Philippines and the wider Asia-Pacific region, according to a recent report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2025: Unlocking Nature for Development warns that extreme weather events—cyclones, floods, droughts, and heatwaves—are becoming more frequent and severe, […]

At last month’s Design Week Philippines opening festivities at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Makati City, brand strategist and Agape Studio founder Paolo Salgado spoke about one of the hardest lessons every creative eventually faces: how to put a price on your craft without losing your soul. Salgado, whose studio helps turn […]

While much of the world leans toward protectionism, Asia is quietly redrawing its trade map. The newly signed ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol—sealed in Kuala Lumpur on October 28—signals how the region plans to keep growth alive even as global walls go up. For the Philippines, this isn’t just another acronym in the […]

Cebu reaffirmed its position as a model of foresight and inclusive progress during the 3rd Cebu Province Economic Forum, where leaders called for a decisive shift from resilience to readiness amid global and national uncertainties. Held on October 10, at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Social Hall, the forum gathered government officials, business executives, and policy […]