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

7 days ago

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.

6 Jan 2026

4:18PM

Waiting for cheaper loans? Don’t bet on big BSP rate cuts this year

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. on Tuesday signaled limited room for further policy rate adjustments in 2026 despite a benign inflation rate environment, reiterating the regulator’s mantra that any adjustment will be data dependent.

9 Dec 2025

8:02AM

INSIDER INFO | Turbulent skies ahead for company bathed in red ink

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Insider Info has picked up chatter about a company whose latest financial statements have triggered urgent conversations in boardrooms and back channels. The audited report contains a blunt warning: “conditions indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

4 Dec 2025

11:05AM

Stock buybacks surged 120% as flaccid market signals value play

By: Daxim L. Lucas

Philippine listed companies have ramped up share buybacks this year as the market’s continued slump pushed firms to act on what they see as deeply undervalued stock prices, according to data InsiderPH obtained from the Philippine Stock Exchange.

25 Nov 2025

4:04PM

INSIDER VIEW | Field audit freeze tests new BIR chief’s reform agenda

By: Daxim L. Lucas

A letter of authority can cut both ways. In the right hands, it is a scalpel for finding truth in financial records. In the wrong hands, it becomes a blunt weapon. The problem is not the tool but how some taxmen use it for rent-seeking — “weaponize to monetize”, as some people on the receiving end say.

24 Oct 2025

10:27AM

INSIDER INFO | ‘Entitled’ NAIA lessee behind anti-San Miguel smear?

By: Daxim L. Lucas

The contrived controversy over the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) public-private partnership project has taken another twist, this time with the airport’s own labor union disavowing any link to a group fanning allegations of irregularities in the deal.

21 Oct 2025

3:06PM

INSIDER VIEW: 'Stop secret deal'? The real NAIA secrets are old ones

By: Daxim L. Lucas

For decades, NAIA was a textbook case of how government-owned facilities can be held hostage by sweetheart arrangements. Before San Miguel came in, the airport authority leased out valuable terminal and commercial space to private operators at rates so low they barely covered maintenance costs.

9 Oct 2025

8:45AM

INSIDER INFO | Top Line fuels growth with share tweak, eyes import expansion

By: Daxim L. Lucas

At a special board meeting on Oct. 8, the company approved the reclassification of 800 million unissued common shares into preferred shares. The shift gives Top Line flexibility to raise fresh funds without diluting control—a structure often used to finance capital-heavy ventures.