Philippines maintains spot in Global Gender Gap index 2026

Philippines retains spot in Global Gender Gap index

Louella Desiderio 
The Philippine Star 
September 17, 2026 

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines held on to the 20th spot out of 145 economies in this year’s Global Gender Gap Index released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The report, which tracks progress in closing the gender gap, showed that the Philippines maintained its ranking even as its gender parity score declined slightly to 78 percent this year from 78.1 percent last year.

It also showed that the Philippines remained one of the most consistent and higher ranked performers in East Asia and the Pacific, placing third in this year’s edition.

“Despite this, the Philippines has failed to keep the momentum that kept the economy in the top 10 on 13 prior editions,” the WEF said.

Over the last two decades, the Philippines has narrowed the overall gender gap by 2.8 percentage points from 75.2 percent in 2006.

WEF ranks economies by looking at gender parity across four dimensions: economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment.

In economic participation, the Philippines placed 17th with a score of 78.3 percent, down from the previous year’s 13th spot and 79 percent score.

WEF said the result also reduces the country’s two-decade advancement to a total of +2.5 percentage points over its 2006 score as economic indicators had varying trajectories.

When it comes to educational attainment, the Philippines ranked 89th with a score of 98.9 percent. The ranking is down from last year’s 87th spot, but the score improved slightly from 98.8 percent.

In terms of health and survival, the Philippines’ rank and score improved to 76th and 96.9 percent, respectively, from last year’s 85th and 96.7 percent.

The Philippines also saw its ranking and score improve in political empowerment to 27th and 37.9 percent, respectively, from 30th and 37.7 percent last year.

Overall, Iceland topped the rankings for the 17th consecutive year, with 93 percent of the gender gap closed.

This was followed by Finland and Norway, which placed second and third for the third year running.

Completing the top 10 are Namibia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, Germany and Ireland.

WEF managing director Saadia Zahidi said that the data in the last 20 years show that gender parity is achievable, with economies at every income level making progress.

Alexandra the Great - How Eala united Filipinos worldwide

 How Alex Eala Became a Symbol of the Philippines

At only twenty-one, the tennis phenom is likely already the best-ever player from Southeast Asia. Now she is seeking her first Grand Slam title at this summer’s U.S. Open.

Albert Samaha
The New Yorker
August 29, 2026

Practice Court No. 3 at the U.S. Open, in Queens, sits at the far end of the grounds, beyond the stadiums. Last Sunday, a week before the start of the main draw, the court was at capacity. Fans packed the bleachers, sweating under the summer sun, or lined up along the concourse, hoping to nab a seat. There were plenty available at adjacent practice courts, where the Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Aryna Sabalenka were warming up. But this crowd had come for Alexandra Eala, a twenty-one-year-old Filipino rising star, who has recently reached a career-high world ranking of eighteen, making her the highest-ranked Southeast Asian player in women’s tennis history. In the stands, I met Ysa Llanos, a twenty-one-year-old Filipino American. “It’s inspiring to see somebody who looks like you, talks like you, be in the kind of places we’ve never been in before,” Llanos told me, explaining that she had travelled from New Jersey with her parents and her thirteen-year-old brother to get a glimpse of Eala.

Everywhere that Eala plays, from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi, legions of fans follow, often waving the Philippine flag and signs in Tagalog (“Laban, Alex!”). Eala mania, people call it. “Many, many Filipinos, they come to watch her win,” Joan Bosch, Eala’s coach, told me recently. “You try to explain to her—there is no pressure.” Yet, in her relatively short career, practically every accomplishment of Eala’s comes with a historic superlative. Eala is the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam, beat a Top Ten opponent, win a Grand Slam match, reach Wimbledon’s fourth round, win a Women’s Tennis Association tournament, and attain a Top Twenty ranking. In the Philippines, many time zones away from these major tournaments, fans organize watch parties for matches that often start after midnight. Eala’s popularity has outpaced her on-court success. To meet the surging demand at tournaments, where early-round matches take place concurrently across the grounds, schedulers have scrambled to move Eala to the main courts, which have the most seats and are usually reserved for the highest-ranked players. The chairman of a recent tournament in Washington, D.C., estimated that eighty per cent of ticketing inquiries were for Eala. The Canadian Open’s director credited Eala with unprecedented ticket sales, remarking in a press conference that “a sold-out Wednesday night this early in the tournament is really unheard of.” In a post-match interview during the Dubai Tennis Championships, the American star Coco Gauff thanked Eala “for bringing a new demographic” to tennis. “I’ve played this tournament for many years, and to see the stadium full means a lot,” she said. Venus Williams, who has partnered with Eala in doubles, deemed her a “world star.”

Nowhere is Eala’s fandom more visible than at the U.S. Open. Around fifty thousand people of Filipino descent live in Queens, many of them in Woodside, which boasts New York City’s oldest Jollibee, a mega-popular Filipino fast-food chain. If Wimbledon, with its docile audience dressed in white, embodies a subdued, Old World version of the sport, Flushing Meadows Corona Park has historically flaunted the rambunctious spirit of a new version of tennis. In recent years, the U.S. Open has turned into one of the city’s most glamorous events. Anna Wintour sits beside Lewis Hamilton. Beyoncé and Jay-Z cheer on Serena Williams. Barack and Michelle Obama show up for a first-round Gauff match. Long lines snake toward bars selling the tournament’s specialty cocktail, and a David Chang stall cooks elevated chicken tenders. Last year, a nosebleed seat for Gauff’s fourth-round match, against Osaka, cost around eight hundred dollars. This year, Eala is among the biggest draws. For many of her fans, the practice court offered a chance to see her up close for free. “She makes us so proud,” a teacher who drove in from Jersey City with her family told me. “We want to be a part of it.”

Eala has said that tennis was not “love at first sight” but, instead, a game she embraced gradually. Tennis was her grandfather’s idea. Although Roberto Maniego had no formal training, he read books and magazines about the sport and instilled in his grandchildren the idea that tennis offered a path to a college scholarship. Many public tennis courts in the Philippines have a surface made of crushed shells, rather than the grass, clay, or asphalt topped with acrylic that is standard in top competitions, so Maniego trained her and her older brother, Miko, at Valle Verde, a palm-lined country club that featured the only hard court anywhere near the their home, in Quezon City. The court had also been used for basketball, with the hoops still up behind the baseline.

Tonette Mendoza, a former college player who is now the executive director of the Philippine Tennis Association, first saw a six-or-seven-year-old Eala play at a local tournament. By then, Miko, three years older, had a growing collection of tennis-championship trophies. Eala would often partner with him against boys his age, frequently facing the brunt of the action. “The boys are always attacking her,” Mendoza told me. But rather than drift back to the baseline, Mendoza explained, “she was at the net and clearing, and I said, Oh, my God, this girl is so strong.”

Eala’s training would begin at five in the morning; after school, she did her homework in the car on the way to evening practice. She competed in tournaments around the country, and before long she was travelling the world. As a young child, in a nationally televised news segment, she expressed her dream to win all four Grand Slams. In another TV interview, a few years later, Eala said that she didn’t have much time for “normal children things,” such as “a party with friends or going to the mall. I don’t have the hours. I’m tired then.”

Her school from fourth to seventh grade, Colegio San Agustín Makati, accommodated her tournament schedule. Rowen Ayta, her sixth-grade teacher, told me she had to accept that Eala “would not be attending school every day.” She would often return from competitions to find a stack of waiting assignments, and would have to catch up on weeks of missed lessons within days. Another one of her teachers, Robynne Reyes, told me about a quote Eala picked for her sixth-grade yearbook: “I am motivated by the fear of being average.”

After Eala won a tournament in France at twelve years old, she attended the Rafa Nadal Academy, which offered her and her brother the chance to train and study at the school’s campus in Manacor, Spain. Her coach at the academy, Daniel Gomez, told me that he was immediately struck by the maturity of her game. She anticipated her opponent’s moves and executed with precise timing. Her serve was slow, but she compensated with aggression, fearlessly charging forward, cutting down her rival’s time to react. The coaches helped her hone the fundamentals, adding spin to her serve and power to her forehand, but Gomez also saw Eala developing tools that were harder to teach. She carried herself with a calmness rare in a sport that tends to incite extreme emotions, making calculated decisions on the court and celebrating wins with silent fist pumps. During a tournament in South Africa, when she was fourteen, Eala was a few points away from clinching the match when her opponent began to climb back. Eala paused to huddle with Gomez, but she wasn’t seeking counsel; she just wanted to “create doubt in the opponent’s mind,” he told me, making it seem as if she might change her strategy. Gomez remembers thinking, “My God, this girl is different.”

At age fourteen, Eala won a junior Australian Open doubles title. At fifteen, she reached the junior French Open semifinals; then, at sixteen, she won a junior French Open doubles title. A few months after her seventeenth birthday, in 2022, she raised a junior U.S. Open trophy as the first-ever Filipino winner. A few weeks later, Eala was on the cover of Vogue Philippines.

While her brother earned a tennis scholarship to Penn State, Eala dove straight into the professional circuit, competing in every event she could find. Even before she climbed the rankings, when she was playing in matches that typically feature empty stadiums, her fan base followed. “Filipinos would come to support me,” she said, on “The Player’s Box” podcast. At the 2025 Miami Open, she upset three Top Thirty players, before narrowly falling to Jessica Pegula, an American, who later marvelled at how many Eala fans were in the stands at a U.S. tournament. “Why is nobody cheering for me?” she joked.

Then, at the 2025 U.S. Open, with a rowdy crowd behind her, Eala won her first Grand Slam match, breaking into the Top Fifty in the global rankings soon after. At the 2026 Australian Open, so many people showed up to watch her practice that she had trouble getting through the crowd. All of a sudden, she was famous enough to need a security escort. She beat Top Ten players in Dubai and Berlin, and then, at Wimbledon this summer, defeated the then reigning champion, Iga Świątek, to reach the fourth round. In Washington, D.C., in August, she defeated three Top Fifteen players en route to the tournament title. After a match, an on-court interviewer asked, “What is it like to be this popular everywhere around the world?” Eala replied, “I think the question should be rephrased. It’s ‘What is it like to be Filipino?’ ”

Eala has embraced the role of ambassador. In online videos, she lists puto bumbong as one of her favorite Filipino foods, argues that the resort island Boracay isn’t overrated, shares that she named one of her (pig) slippers Chicharrón, and proclaims her love for karaoke. She walked the red carpet of an awards gala in a Filipiniana gown designed by her uncle. Nike released a commemorative shirt bearing the Philippine national flower, the sampaguita, over a grass court, and supplied her with a visor stitched with a Tagalog phrase that means “once it grows, it cannot be stopped.” Clips of her cursing in Tagalog reliably go viral. In Queens, I spoke to one Eala fan who mentioned kapwa, the Filipino virtue of honoring a shared identity, and another who brought up bayanihan, a Filipino concept of cooperation rooted in the traditional practice of a community carrying a neighbor’s house to another location.

History has left Filipinos hungry for solidarity. Across the archipelago’s more than seven thousand islands, countless sovereign communities once bloomed with distinct languages and traditions, until Spain claimed them all under a single name. The writer José Rizal described Filipinos, in the nineteenth century, as a fragmented people unified by a “common misfortune.” After the Philippines attained independence, in 1946, with the country’s economy constricted from more than three centuries of colonization, a diaspora spread around the world. Immigrants raised children in the U.S. or Australia, and overseas foreign workers sought jobs as housekeepers around the Persian Gulf or as deckhands on cruise ships. Even today, remittances account for roughly ten per cent of the Philippine economy.

When Eala was growing up, Manny Pacquiao united Filipinos anytime he stepped into the boxing ring. In the Philippines, “it was like a holiday,” Eala said on Andy Roddick’s podcast, “Served.” “Crime rates would go down, everyone would gather.” If, as Jimmy Connors has said, tennis is boxing at ninety feet—a lonely battle of wills that punishes the slightest lapse in concentration—Eala’s southpaw forehand drives resemble Pacquiao’s blazing left hooks. In a post-match interview at Wimbledon, Eala tearfully explained that a third-round win “may seem small” for some players, “but for someone who grew up in the Philippines,” training “every day after school with my ruffled socks and my light-up shoes and chubby cheeks, so—to her, this is everything.”

Mendoza, of the Philippine Tennis Association, told me that new public courts are being built around the country, and the government is constructing a new national tennis center. Eala’s grade-school tennis coach, Polly Hipolito, said that in the past year the number of students who’ve signed up for tennis at the school has doubled, explaining that several recent players told him, “I want to be like Alex.” Some kids call her Ate Alex, Tagalog for “older sister.” “People tell me I’m a role model for people back home,” Eala said on “Served.” “I’m the only Filipina that people really see in high-level tennis . . . so I really do my best to be on my best behavior and represent the best of the Philippines.”

With her new stature, some in the Philippines have sought to project Eala onto their political agendas. Pacquiao, after all, eventually became a senator and an ally of the disgraced former President Rodrigo Duterte. After partisans on social media argued that Eala wore a green outfit to a match to express support for Duterte’s embattled daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, who is facing an impeachment trial, others responded by circulating a fake quote claiming that Eala opposed her. And, during the trial, legislators on both sides gave speeches celebrating Eala. But, for now, Eala remains a unifying figure and seems focused on becoming more than just the best tennis player from the Philippines, a title she has already earned. “Every error I hit on the court keeps me grounded,” she said in a Tennis Channel interview. “When I wake up in the morning, I have bad hair—keeps me grounded.”

Eala’s first competition at this year’s U.S. Open was an early morning mixed-doubles match on Tuesday. Filipinos filled the stadium’s lower bowl. Some told me that they’d woken at five to make the commute from other boroughs, New Jersey, or upstate. “Only for Alex,” Gilda Wong Penaco, a seventy-one-year-old from Yonkers, who came with a group of fellow retired nurses, told me.

Tagalog chatter filled the air. People ran into folks they knew. “It’s like we’re in the Philippines,” Christian Battung, a thirty-two-year-old from New Jersey attending the match with several family members, told me. After watching Eala on TV last year, Battung bought a pair of racquets and started playing the game with his three-year-old son.

Among the young fans in the crowd was a six-year-old girl. Her parents, Monique and Anthony David, had driven an hour and a half to get to Flushing Meadows. Anthony told me that they had watched so many of Eala’s matches that their daughter had become enamored. Their daughter knows Eala is Filipino, “but I don’t think she really understands what it means,” Monique said. “She just sees her as a tennis player.” ♦

PH athletes recently snared medals from various international events

PH harvests medals from rowing, aquatics, archery, bowling, billiards

Philippine News Agency (PNA)
July 9, 2026

Note: All photos are from Philippine Sports Commission Facebook page

MANILA – Aside from tennis' newest star Alex Eala, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, and gymnast bothers Carlos and Eldrew Yulo, a slew of Filipino athletes recently snared medals from various international events.

The Philippine youth team shone at the Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in Pattaya, Thailand with three golds, one silver, and one bronze medal.

Emmanuel Pilar topped the U16 coastal men's single sculls and the double sculls with Kyle Olano; while Khayzie Caviltes and Ayonna Huerto ruled the U19 coastal women's double sculls.

Matt Jugadora pocketed silver in the U19 coastal men's single sculls, and Amelyn Pagulayan-Feiza Lenton took home the bronze in the coastal women's double sculls.

Meanwhile, 2024 Paris Olympian Joanie Delgaco snared bronze in the women’s single sculls at the 67th Internationale Ratzeburger Ruderregatta in Germany.

At the 122nd Vienna International Rowing Regatta in Austria, the Philippine team collected one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Edgar Ilas won in the lightweight men's single sculls while the men’s pair of Rynjie Peñaredondo and Van Maxilom clinched the silver.

Joanie Delgaco added two bronze medals to her collection -- one in the women’s single sculls and another in the women's doubles with Kristine Paraon.

In aquatics, divers Gabriella De Jesus, Gillianne Amber De Leon and Jana Rodriguez brought home a gold each from the 3rd Parisakti Diving International Competition in Jakarta, Indonesia.

De Jesus captured the gold in the platform (Group B Girls), De Leon in the platform (Group B Girls) and Jana Rodriguez in the Open platform girls.

De Jesus added a silver in the 1M springboard (Group B Girls).

Swimmers Riannah Chantelle Coleman and Jamesray Ajido, meanwhile, qualified for the Dakar Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, slated Oct. 31 to Nov. 13.

The other Filipino qualifiers are Pi Durden Wangkay and Naomi Marjorie Cesar (athletics), cyclist Maritanya Krog, and wushu artist Angel Polo.

Three more Filipinos are vying for slots in gymnastics and windsurfing, for a total of nine spots allocated to the Philippines via the universality rule.

Universality places are special entry spots in individual sports for underrepresented or developing nations even if they do not meet strict performance standards.

The Philippines finished 1-2 in the Predator PBC Indonesia International 10-Ball Open, also in Jakarta.

Three-time world champion Carlo "The Black Tiger" Biado beat Paolo Gallito, 10-9.

Biado had won the world 9-ball twice (2017 and 2025) and the world 10-ball in 2024.

Team Philippines likewise made an impact in lawn bowling as Marisa Baronda-Johnson and Jocelyn Salanap dominated at the Lion City Cup in Singapore, striking gold in ends format and silver in sets format.

The Philippine team similarly impressed at the Singapore Youth Archery Championships with a 30-medal haul -- 13-10-7 gold-silver-bronze.

Abigail Jane Lim and Mateusz Vaughn Johnson nailed three individual gold medals each to lead the Filipino achievers.

Eala made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon in London, the first Filipino to go that far in a Grand Slam since Felicisimo Ampon's quarterfinal feat in the 1953 French Open in Paris.

Obiena, who ranked world No. 2 in 2023, won at the Czesław Cybulski Memorial in Poznań, Poland and at the Raiffeisen Austrian Open in Eisenstadt.

At the 13th Senior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championship in China, Carlos and Edriel struck gold and bronze, respectively, in floor exercise.

Obiena and Carlos Yulo, both made it to the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics, with the latter snaring two golds in Paris. (PNA)

FROM PSC FACEBOOK PAGE

05 JULY 2026 - The Philippines secures its first-ever world title as e-Gilas Pilipinas finishes on top at the E-FIBA World Finals Qatar Season 4 in Doha, Qatar. A monumental milestone for Philippine esports basketball on the global stage. 🏀

They swept Türkiye in the grandfinals, 2-0, and  broke through the team's consecutive fourth-place finishes from previous years to and finally lift the championship trophy 

06 JULY 2026 - Pinay weightlifter Alexsandra Ann Diaz delivers a historic performance, claiming golds and breaking records, at the 2026 IWF World Youth Weightlifting Championships in Cali, Colombia. 

Competing in the Girls' 48kg class, the young weightlifting prodigy captured all three available gold medals while establishing new Youth World standards in the Clean & Jerk (98kg) and Total (175kg) lifts. She lifted 77kg to clinch the gold in the snatch category. 

PH has 12,800 millionaires - Henley & Partners

Philippines now has 12,800 dollar millionaires - report

JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS
GMA Integrated News 
24 June 2025

The number of millionaires in the Philippines has grown by 32% in the past decade, outpacing regional peers and major economies, a report by Henley & Partners—a global consultancy firm on residence and citizenship by investment—released on Tuesday showed.

According to Henley & Partners managing director Scott Moore, the Philippines now has an estimated 12,800 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) or millionaires with at least $1 million. This includes 70 centi-millionaires or individuals with liquid investable wealth of at least $100 million, and 12 billionaires.

“This consistent growth reflects the country’s emerging entrepreneurial class, its maturing financial markets, and its expanding real estate and services sectors,” he said.

“While it is not yet among the top destinations for incoming millionaires globally, the Philippines’ stability and growing wealth base stand out and create a strong foundation for future investment migration,” he added.

Compared with the top 10 countries in the world ranked by the number of resident millionaires or W10, the Philippines’ 32% growth has outpaced the average, and came in third behind the United States of America (78%), and China (74%).

“The Philippines is actually growing the amount of high-net-worth individuals at a very good pace and definitely above average if you’re comparing with W10 countries,” Moore said.

The report shows that the USA has the biggest concentration of millionaires, with 6.041 million, followed by China with 827,900, Germany with 781,900, Japan with 714,000, and the United Kingdom (UK) with 578,400.

France followed with 490,800; Australia with 391,000; Switzerland with 384,500; Canada with 378,600; and Italy with 318,200.

Net outflow

For 2025, Moore said the Philippines is expected to post a net outflow of 50 millionaires, most of whom are expected to move to the top 10 countries for net millionaire inflows, led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the USA, as well as nearby countries such as Singapore.

“When any families are looking to relocate to other countries, generally they’re looking to have optionality for their families, for their children, for their businesses,” he said.

“Perhaps they’re looking to expand their businesses overseas, perhaps they see better work opportunities for themselves or their children in other countries, but again, the loss of 50 is very insignificant,” he added.

There are a total of 142,000 millionaires expected to migrate this year, with the top 10 destinations being the United Arab Emirates (UAE), USA, Italy, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Portugal, Greece, Canada, and Australia, all of which have investment migration programs.

The biggest outflow is expected in the UK, with 16,500 millionaires this year. If realized, this would be the biggest single-year outflow after the implementation of major changes to its tax regime in 2024 and its decision to leave the European Union in 2020.

The biggest net outflow of millionaires within Asia is expected in China, with 7,800 exits; Vietnam, with 300; Indonesia, with 250; Lebanon and Iran, with 200 each; and Taiwan and Pakistan, with 100 each.

“The loss of 50 is very insignificant, but we’re comparing it to other countries in the region. I would say it’s much more worrying in Vietnam that’s losing 300 millionaires, Indonesia's 250,” Moore said.  — VBL, GMA Integrated News

Philippines ushers ASEAN in renewable energy investments

$27.7 billion: How the Philippines leads Asean in investments, green power push

Investments boom: 2024 saw a 28% jump in approved projects, as per DTI data

Jay Hilotin, Senior Assistant Editor
Gulf News (Saudi Arabia)
30 January 2025

Manila: The year 2024 broke records for investments, with approved projects hitting Php1.62 trillion ($27.7 billion), the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has confirmed.

Free energy from the sun: The Philippines's biggest winners in 2024 in wooing fresh capital were the energy and manufacturing sectors, as well as special economic zones. Renewable power led by solar-wind-batteries (SWB) secured Php1.38 trillion ($23.6 billion) in fresh inflows — a 40 per cent jump from 2023.Bloomberg

The bumper inflows exceeded the Php1.5 trillion initial target for the past year.

The Asean nation not only overshot its original aim: it was up 28 per cent, outpacing 2023’s Php1.26 trillion ($21.58 billion), outperforming neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia in this metric.

The biggest winners in wooing fresh capital: renewable energy (RE) and manufacturing, among others, as per the Presidential Communications Office.

Green energy leads 

• The energy sector led the charge, securing Php1.38 trillion ($23.6 billion) — a massive 40 per cent jump from last year.
• Other booming sectors: air and water transport, mass housing, manufacturing, water supply, waste management, and real estate.

Economic zones

The Philippines, once dubbed as the "Silicon Valley" of South-east Asia, has lost its sheen due to power intermittency and high rates.

Now, it's plotting a comback, as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) also shattered expectations, raking in Php214.17 billion ($3.67 billion), surpassing its Php200 billion ($3.5 billion) goal for 2024.

Investment boom

Though officials didn’t directly link the surge to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’ global investment push, trade leaders credit his overseas trips for securing major deals. 

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Ferdinand Marcos Jr, President of the Republic of the Philippines, at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi in November 2024.

File photo | WAM

Australia: Marcos locked in $1.53 billion (Php86 billion) across renewable energy, clean tech, IT-BPM, and healthcare, plus an expansion of Victoria International Container Terminal (VICT).

Germany & Czech Republic: Fresh investments are rolling in, with PEZA reporting nearly Php75 billion — about 43 per cent of its annual target — linked directly to the international trade missions.

Vietnam: VinGroup pledged investments in EV battery production, fueling the government’s transport modernisation.

Japan: A sweet deal between local Auro Chocolate and retail giant Mitsukoshi will benefit 1,000 Filipino families, blending Davao’s cacao with Japanese flavours like matcha and miso.

What’s next?

Manila is doubling down on investment-friendly policies in 2025, ensuring the Philippines remains a top destination for business, innovation, and job creation, said Trade Secretary Cristina Roque.

“We will continue to refine and implement forward-looking policies that attract investments in these key industries, ensuring that the Philippines remains a prime destination for innovation and growth,” Roque was quoted as saying by the Presidential Communications Office.

With this momentum, the Philippines isn’t just catching up — it’s leading the pack in the Asean.

Challenges

The country is tackling a key challenge: energy security and high cost of power.

Policy makers are leading the drive with a mix of renewable energy (RE) expansion and mega gas-to-energy projects, potentially dislodging coal.

In 2024, the Philippines ramped up RE capacity: more than 4,000 megawatts (MW) of power projects came online, as per the Department of Energy (DOE).

In June, the agency approved the construction of 16 offshore wind farms, with an estimated potential capacity of 7,668 MW. 

In September, Danish firm Copenhagen Offshore Partners announced a $3-billion investment for the 1-gigawatt (GW) San Miguel Bay offshore wind power project in Camarines Sur, about 400km south-east of Manila.

Juice from this wind project will start energizing the power grid from 2028.

In November, the $3.4-billion integrated solar-battery project, claimed to be the “biggest-of-its-type-in-the-world” in a 3,500-hectare (35 sq km) land in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, broke ground north of the capital, combining solar and batteries, able to power the equivalent of 2 million local homes.

The Philippines also announced 20 dams for hydro-electric power generation.

Earlier this month (January 2025), the Philippines and UAE sealed a $15-billion landmark solar-wind-batteries deal aimed to bolster the Asean nation’s renewable energy credentials.

Policy mandate

Policy has been tweaked, too: electricity suppliers are now mandated to increase their RE sourcing by at least 2.52 per cent annually starting in 2023, up from the previous 1 per cennt annual increase in 2020. 

Filipino business tycoons are turning into battery barons, ramping up megawatt-scale “power banks” – including ones on floating platforms, with container-size battery energy storage systems (BESS).

A key advantage: they can be quickly deployed where needed. More than 60 sites across the archipelago had been completed or in the roll-out stage.  

Global recognition  

While the Philippines still has one of the highest power rates in the region, the push for REs is hoped to bring rates down.

With companies like Aboitiz Power, ACEN, and Meralco scaling up solar farms and offshore wind, the Philippines landed second in the 2024 Climatescope Report by BloombergNEF, reflecting investor confidence in greening drive.

Will these moves push some — if not all — of the 60 coal-fired plants (with generating capacity of 12 GW) to retire earlier than planned?

It's early days.

The ramp in RE underscores Manila’s efforts to creating a greener, end-user and investor-friendly (and, hopefully, cheaper!) power eco-system.

Filipino music talents conquering the world

Filipino talents who came before Sofronio Vasquez in international talent shows

Story by Jerry Donato
Philstar Global
14 December 2024

MANILA, Philippines — Before the advent and emergence of reality TV singing and talent show formats from abroad, the Pinoy talent in this creative field and competition was witnessed in singing contests abroad.

Now Original Pilipino Music (OPM) icons such as Dulce and Ivy Violan (winning the grand prize at the 1988 Asia Pacific Singing Contest) and Regine Velasquez (also securing the top award at the 1989 Asia Pacific Singing Contest) represented the country.

Ivy also went on to perform at the Golden Kite World Song Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1989 and won the grand prize at the International Midnight Sun Song Festival in Finland in 1991.

Kuh Ledesma sang Till I Met in the 1989 Salem Music Awards show in London. According to a former entertainment writer, she was the first Filipino recipient of such an award.

All this partly contributed to the Filipinos’ reputation as a force to reckon with when it comes to singing competitions.

Around a bit more than two decades ago, most people around the globe got acquainted with talent programs like “Got Talent,” “Idol (‘Pop Idol’ and ‘American Idol’),” and “The X Factor.” They have watched and followed them ever since.

These shows have also been remade and produced in other nations and territories.

With Pinoys’ diaspora and migration worldwide, Filipinos, either full-blooded or of mixed race, would take a chance in joining any of these shows and showcase their innate knack for carrying a tune and conveying the song story.

As they commence their contest journeys, they get the support of Pinoys in their specific country and also back home.

Even if they’ve fully immersed in their new country, they are still tethered back home and represent what Pinoy is, resilient, hardworking, loving and talented, just to name a few traits.

Days ago, Sofronio Vasquez, a Pinoy now living in Utica, New York, did make Pinoys proud as the winner of “The Voice” USA Season 26.

His accomplishment is historic as the first Asian and Filipino to top such an American and international singing tilt. It’s also perhaps a proper time to crown a winner from the Philippines following a good number of contestants of Filipino lineage who had tried their luck in the previous editions of “The Voice” USA or in other similar competitions.

The win of Sofronio has made one recall contestants of Filipino ancestry that either came close to winning or were named a champion.

The list for this piece is, not in any way, comprehensive. The names of artists easily came to mind when this article was written.

The list was also based on available data and information online and virtually.

Marlisa Punzalan

Marlisa Punzalan is “The X Factor” Australia winner in 2014 and her audition song was Yesterday of The Beatles. Ronan Keating, an Irish singer-songwriter and lead vocalist of Boyzone, was Marlisa’s mentor.

Her Filipino parents from Bataan went to Australia and raised Marlisa in Sydney.

Cyrus Villanueva

Cyrus Villanueva, on the other hand, is the winner of “The X Factor” Australia in 2015. His dad is Filipino from Cotabato City, Philippines. The Villanuevas are from Wollongong, New South Wales.

In an interview with this paper back in 2016, Cyrus shared about his three unforgettable performances in the talent show, “I think one of my favorite memories is the song Dancing On My Own. That was the song I sang at the boot camp. I was on the piano... Jealous, I love piano ballad. I love just the piano, I love just the voice. I love how raw a simple song like that is, how vulnerable you are. You know it’s just a best opportunity to tell the story. It’s just the piano and the voice. That was in the grand finals that I sang that.”

“I remember when (judge-mentor) Chris (Isaak) told me that was the song he chose for me, I was so happy. It was the most important time of the competition because I didn’t want to choose a terrible song. He chose an amazing song for me. It allowed me to kinda showcase what I love about performing — just the piano and just my voice,” added he. “Stone, the very first single I have ever released. It’s such a great song… To know that that was the first song that I heard myself on the radio, the first time I heard my voice on the radio was on that song, it was strange. It was weird.”

With Marlisa and Cyrus’ wins, the Pinoy talent had a back-to-back win in “The X Factor” Australia.

From Down Under, the singing talent of Filipinos was also showcased in “The X Factor” Asia and Europe.

Rose Fostanes

Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Rose Fostanes was named the winner of “The X Factor” Israel first edition. She performed If I Ain’t Got You, Sweet Dreams and My Way during the finals. Her rendition of the Shirley Bassey song, This is My Life, earned her to enter the audition phase. It helped her cruise the boot camps, quarter-finals, semifinals and finals.

She worked as a caregiver in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Bella Santiago

The professional singer in Malaysia, Bella Santiago, did a strong start in “The X Factor” Romania with a Jessie J cover (Bang Bang), and showed her performing skills, encompassing singing and dancing.

For the grand finals, she performed a mash-up of Beyoncé songs and claimed the top prize and title of “The X Factor” Romania winner.

The success of Pinoy talents continued in that part of the world with the championship wins of Justine Afante and Fil-Austrian Lukas Janisch in “The Voice Kids” UK (2020) and “The Voice Kids” Germany (2016), respectively. Her winning song was Listen of Beyoncé, while his were If I Ain’t Got You of Alicia Keys and When We Were Young of Adele.

Justine Afante, winner, The Voice Kids (UK) 2020

Lukas Janisch, winner, The Voice Kids (Germany) 2016

In “The American Idol,” Jasmine Trias and Jessica Sanchez were among the contestants who represented Pinoys. Jasmine from Hawaii reached the “The American Idol” Top 3 in its third season, while Jessica Sanchez of California was in the Top 2/runner-up for “The American Idol” 11th season.

Jasmine Trias, American Idol Top 3 (season 3 | 2004)

“The American Idol” journey of Jessica was extra unforgettable for her and fans when judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler decided to use their one “save” for the season. Thus, she was able to continue and reach the finale.

Jessica Sanchez, American Idol Top 2 (Season 11 |  2012)

Jessica took on Change Nothing, I Have Nothing, The Prayer in the final showdown. Jasmine, for the final round, performed All By Myself, Mr. Melody and Saving All My Love for You.

The Philippines was also well-represented in “Asia’s Got Talent” (with season one winner the shadow play dance group El Gamma Penumbra and grand finalists Gerphil Flores, DM-X Comvaleñoz, Neil Rey Garcia and Power Duo, to name some Pinoy talents).

With Sofronio’s win in “The Voice” USA season 26, Pinoy voices and talents continue to soar and be showcased in programs abroad.

Kudos also to Filipinos who have reached the audition and succeeding rounds of any talent competition and have proudly represented the country.

PH wins title in ICF Dragon Boat World Championship

PH bets bag overall title in World Dragon Boat

The Manila Times
03 November 2024

PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines – Ending with a flourish, the Philippines bagged the overall title for a rousing windup to the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships on a calm and sunny Sunday morning at the course overlooking the Puerto Princesa Baywalk.

Team Philippines celebrates after winning the overall title in the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships on Nov. 3, 2024 at the Puerto Princesa City Baywalk in Palawan. PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO

A day after the Filipinos paid respect to their departed loved ones and in front of a lively hometown crowd, the Filipino paddlers added two golds, five silvers and two bronze medals for an impressive overall tally 11 gold, 20 silver and 16 bronzes.

Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand took runner-up honors with eight golds while the AIN (Individual Neutral Athlete) squad was third with a haul of six golds, three silvers and three bronzes in the meet supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and Tingog party-list. The hosts won a hotly-contested masters mixed 20-seater standard boat 500-meter race in two minutes and 6.34 seconds, nosing out Singapore (2:06.73) while Germany was not too far behind in third (2:07.98) in the competition organized by the Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragon Boat Federation.

The Filipinos were also runaway winners in the 40+ 20-seater women's 2,000-meter standard boat event (10:42.31) over runner-up Canada (10:48.64) while had silvers in the 20-seater mixed standard boat 500-meter (1:58.13), 40+ 10-seater mixed 500-meter (2:19.45), 20-seater open (9:23.16) and 40+ 20-seater open 5,000-meter (9:34.47) races.

But the 20-seater mixed standard 500-meters was most thrilling by far among the contests as the hosts virtually led from start to finish until they were beaten in the last 10 meters by the hard-charging Ukrainians, who snatched the gold in a time of 1:57.51. They also bagged the last bronze of the day in the 40+ 10-seater open 500-meter (2:15.93) event in the four-day tournament also supported by the Puerto Princesa City government led by Mayor Lucilo Bayron, the Philippines Sports Commission and Lacoste watches.

 "We made practically made history every day so I am very proud of our national paddlers and how we organized this big event sanctioned by the International Canoe Federation," stressed PCKDF president Leonora "Lenlen" Escollante. "So I am very glad that our staging of this world championships yielded the main goal that our national team was aiming for by clinching the overall title right here on our shores at that" Escollante said. "This honor is not only for the PCKF, our paddlers but also for the country." "This was truly a world-class you have in Puerto Princesa and all we got was positive feedback from the countries who took part in the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships," noted ICF Dragon Boat Commission chairman Dr. Wai Hung-Luk of Hongkong. "The participants were also impressed by the warm hospitality shown by the Pawaneños and expressed their desire to come back again here," he said. 

The next staging of the biennial global dragon boat competition will be held in Regina, Canada in 2026. TMT

Miss PH is Miss Globe 2nd runner-up

Philippines' Jasmin Bungay clinches Miss Globe 2024 Top 3, Colombia wins

Earl D.C. Bracamonte 
Philstar.com
October 16, 2024 

MANILA, Philippines — Diana Moreno of Colombia was crowned as Miss Globe 2024 at the culmination of glitzy rites in Albania.

She was crowned by outgoing queen Manvin Khera of Malaysia.

Miss Thailand Prada Dilhokanansakul, who also won as Miss Talent, was declared 1st runner-up, while Binibining Pilipinas Globe Jasmin Bungay was proclaimed 2nd runner-up. She won the same placement as last year's representative Anna Lakrini.

Miss Germany and Miss Vietnam, who was voted as People's Choice award recipient and automatically earned a spot in the semifinal round, were named 3rd and 4th runners-up, respectively.

The other delegates who placed in the Top 15/16 were:

Italy,
Cameroon,
Malaysia,
Nepal,
Netherlands,
Czech Republic,
Albania (Miss Tourism),
Montenegro (Miss Bikini),
USA (Miss Runway),
and Belgium.

Other candidates who won special awards were:

South Korea (Miss Social Media),

Moldova (Miss Elegance),
Poland (Miss Photogenic),
Portugal (Miss Golden Girl),
China (Miss Friendship),
New Zealand (Head-to-Head Challenge winner),
and Sri Lanka (Best in National Costume).

This year's selection committee was composed of Cory Tran, Olivia Gega, Armand Peza, Elton Hirjani, Aanvi Khera, Luis Portelles, Malan Breton, and Antonis Theocharis Kioukas. 

Philippines is seeking enhanced cooperation and investment opportunities with Germany

Philippines seeks stronger economic ties with Germany

Louise Maureen Simeon
Philippine Star
06 October 2024

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is seeking enhanced cooperation and investment opportunities with Germany in a bid to boost the local economy.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto recently met with German Ambassador to the Philippines Andreas Michael Pfaffernoschke to discuss the country’s economic prospects and explore further cooperation with German investors.

Pfaffernoschke lauded the government for enhancing the ease of doing business in the country and eliminating trade barriers.

The ambassador likewise recognized the Philippines as one of the top performing economies and growth drivers in Southeast Asia, proving investors’ positive view on the country’s investment environment.

Data showed that Germany has consistently ranked as a top trade and investment partner for the Philippines.Last year, foreign direct investments from Germany soared to $149.89 million, the highest since 2005.

Germany emerged as the leading source of foreign-approved investments contributing almost P400 billion.

Recto said that the enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) bill, targets to encourage more German investors to pour resources into the Philippines.

Expected to be passed within the year, CREATE MORE targets to enhance both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, resolve key investor concerns and respond to emerging global developments.

It will also streamline business compliance by reducing documentary requirements and exempt export-oriented enterprises from paying value-added tax.

Specifically, the government is looking to attract more investments in clean and renewable energy, green infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and waste-to-energy technologies, among others.

Philippines moved four notches up in the latest FIBA world men's rankings

PH jumps 4 spots up the FIBA men's rankings

Story by Richard Dy 
Manila Times
15 Aug 2024

The Philippines moved four notches up in the latest FIBA world men's basketball rankings, jumping from 38th to 34th spot a few days after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The plus-4 jump in the FIBA rankings can be attributed to surprise showing of Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia where the Filipinos shock the host country which was ranked No. 6 in the world back then.

The Philippines lost by a narrow margin in its final group stage assignment versus Georgia, but its stunning win over Latvia was good enough to earn the Philippines a spot in the semifinals.

Mentored by Tim Cone, Gilas Pilipinas eventually bowed to Brazil, which went on to punch a ticket in the Olympics. Brazil managed to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in Paris, France.

Latvia, meanwhile, dropped three places down, from sixth to ninth in the current world rankings.

Among the Asian basketball squads, Japan also made a huge leap, going up from 26th to 21st, thanks to its 11th place finish in the Paris Olympics.

Even South Sudan, which lost by just a point to the NBA star-studded USA team in their exhibition play, scored a plus-11 to climb up to 23rd in FIBA rankings.

United States stayed at No. 1 in the men's ranking following its six-game sweep in Paris en route to capturing its fifth straight Olympic gold medal.

Serbia also improved to No. 2 following its Olympic bronze medal, beating No. 3 Germany.

France, led by Victor Wembanyama, improved five spots to No. 4 after its silver medal in the Olympic Games.