About the Author

Mr. Lucas has been a journalist since 1999, having covered banking and finance, telecommunications, transportation, energy, capital markets and the presidential palace beats.

He has worked for The Business Daily, BusinessWorld, The Manila Times, Today and the Manila Standard Today. He spent 18 years at the Philippine Daily Inquirer, starting as a reporter in 2005 before becoming its business news editor until Dec. 31, 2023.

He earned a business management degree from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1994.

Latest from the Author

5 days ago

INSIDER INFO | Romulo roots shape Ateneo law school’s new dean

By: Daxim L. Lucas

The recent appointment of Ma. Ngina Teresa “Maita” Chan-Gonzaga as dean of the Ateneo de Manila University Law School is stirring quiet talk in legal and academic circles not just for her credentials, but for the firm that helped shape her early career — the Romulo Buenaventura law firm.

28 Apr 2026

10:01AM

INSIDER VIEW | Hold Phileco accountable for Navotas landfill fire

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Three weeks into the fire at the Navotas landfill, it has become clear that what is happening is the predictable outcome of a long chain of bad decisions, culminating in the failure of a firm called Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. (Phileco) to properly close and rehabilitate a site it operated for more than two decades.

15 Apr 2026

11:48AM

INSIDER INFO | Tears flowed in ABS-CBN town hall to calm anxious staff

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Some employees were seen in tears during the closed-door session, according to attendees, as questions over job security resurfaced—an echo of the network’s bruising shutdown in 2020. The latest controversy, this time involving internal family dispute over the sale of a key power asset to billionaire Enrique Razon Jr., has unsettled a workforce that thought the worst was behind it.

13 Apr 2026

8:10AM

INSIDER VIEW | Debunking the populist wet dream of a re-nationalized Petron

By: Daxim L. Lucas

For the week of April 7 to 13, 2026, Petron’s retail prices were generally below those of Shell and Caltex across key products. This undermines the populist narrative because the same company being blamed for high prices is also operating a major domestic refinery and, in most cases, selling cheaper fuel than their multinational rivals. That demolishes their argument that Petron is driving price pressures.

31 Mar 2026

12:49PM

Metrobank: Better financial habits needed to face current crisis

By: Daxim L. Lucas

As economic uncertainty continues to influence Filipino households, Metrobank is promoting a back-to-basics approach to money management through its H.A.N.D.S. framework—five practical actions designed to help individuals stay financially stable.

16 Feb 2026

3:42PM

INSIDER VIEW | Bulacan airport is a bet on the Philippines’ future

By: Daxim L. Lucas

The move to Bulacan is a calculated shift toward future-proofing. By building a massive, integrated “Aerocity” (with parallel runways and direct links to expressways and rail systems) the project aims to move the country’s economic center of gravity. This is an upgrade to an entirely different league.

26 Jan 2026

5:23PM

INSIDER INFO | Oh sh*t! Crew reports toilet hell on PAL flight from LA

By: Daxim L. Lucas

What unfolded onboard is now being questioned within aviation and labor circles. Crew members say they were instructed to manually scoop human waste and dispose of it into the adjacent lavatory basins, so that passengers could continue to use the toilets.

14 Jan 2026

3:30PM

INSIDER INFO | Megaworld hires former ALI exec in major office push

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Megaworld has pulled off a quiet but consequential coup in the property sector, luring a senior executive from Ayala Land in a move that underscores how serious Andrew Tan’s group is about scaling up its office business outside Metro Manila.

9 Jan 2026

3:05PM

INSIDER INFO: Jane Basas exits Mediaquest as MVP weighs next move

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Sources confirm that Basas has stepped down as president and CEO of Mediaquest, the holding firm that houses the Manuel Pangilinan group’s media assets, including TV5. She has reportedly cleared out her office at the TV5 headquarters in Pasig City. That is usually a sign that the decision was neither drawn out nor provisional.