Sunday, 16 August 2026
2 days ago
INSIDER VIEW | The Bane of unsolicited PPP proposals
By: Alberto Agra
Unsolicited proposals have become an established feature of the Philippine Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. Under Republic Act No. 11966, or the PPP Code, they are lawful and can serve as an important avenue for innovation, allowing the private sector to propose projects that the government has not yet identified or prioritized.
3 days ago
INSIDER VIEW | Line rentals: How to shield power consumers
In June and July 2024, electric cooperatives in Western and Eastern Visayas were hit with line rental charges of as much as P5.67 per kilowatt-hour, according to a resolution filed in the House of Representatives by power sector party-list representatives. Three years earlier, when an NGCP submarine cable failed, Iloilo’s power distributor owed P66 million in a single month, about P1.54 per kilowatt-hour landing on households that had nothing to do with a broken cable.
7 days ago
INSIDER VIEW | We’ve been thinking about Islamic banking all wrong
When people hear 'Islamic bank', many assume it serves Muslims alone or belongs mainly in Mindanao. That is the first thing we need to change. Islamic finance is open to everyone. It is built on fairness, transparency and shared risk. Financing must be tied to something tangible, such as a business, a home, equipment or infrastructure.
1 Aug 2026
8:16AM
INSIDER VIEW | Police power and the limits of PPP regulation
By: Alberto Agra
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are designed to harness private sector resources, expertise, and innovation in delivering infrastructure and services for the public. While the government possesses broad regulatory authority over PPP projects through its police power, that authority is not without constitutional limits.
31 Jul 2026
2:41PM
INSIDER VIEW | Regulatory stability: the missing ingredient for growth, confidence
By: Daxim L. Lucas
Nowhere is that fragility clearer than in the digital economy's gig sector, now one of the country's largest sources of livelihood: online sellers, delivery riders, drivers, freelancers, hundreds of thousands of families who found opportunity here precisely because these platforms didn't exist under the old rules.
31 Jul 2026
1:03PM
Fintechs cheer BSP ‘clarification’ that bank transfers need not be free
FinTech Alliance PH welcomed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ clarification on Circular No. 1238, saying the central bank has confirmed that the regulation is intended to promote cost-based fair pricing rather than impose zero transaction fees on digital financial services.
28 Jul 2026
9:47AM
INSIDER VIEW | Beyond systems loss: The real power rate fix
President Marcos has asked Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) so consumers no longer shoulder systems loss charges. Fair enough—but systems loss accounts for only about 5 percent of a typical electricity bill.
20 Jul 2026
12:27PM
INSIDER VIEW | The four eras of Philippine PPP policy
By: Alberto Agra
The evolution of the Philippine Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework reflects the government's continuing efforts to harness private sector participation in delivering public infrastructure, public services, and development projects.
18 Jul 2026
9:00AM
INSIDER VIEW | The Great Remake Economy: how nostalgia is shaping markets
In the early 1980s, Robert Prechter popularized the idea that social mood often appears first in popular culture before showing up in economic statistics and financial markets. Bullish societies celebrate innovation, risk-taking, and the future. Anxious societies embrace nostalgia, family, community, and survival. If that framework is correct, then today's television landscape is sending a powerful signal.
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