Now happening: Meralco’s financial and operating results for the first half of 2025. Manila Bulletin News

Betty C. Siy-Yap, SVP and CFO of Meralco: consolidated core net income during the first half of 2025 rose to ₱25.5 billion.

Ronnie L. Aperocho, EVP and COO: Customer count stood at 8.129 million, while the average retail rate for the first half was ₱11.41/kWh.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, CEO: The biggest driver for the full year CCNI will be Meralco’s generation business.

Today’s Manila Bulletin Business scoops👇

The Philippines and Vietnam are both currently lower-middle-income countries. Singapore’s DBS Bank forecasts the Philippines to have already achieved its upper-middle-income-country (UMIC) ambition by 2040… while a high-income Vietnam overtakes it👇 mb.com.ph/2025/07/30/by-…

Today marks six months after I returned to a full-time writing/editing job 😬 Grateful to Bossing Chino Leyco for this opportunity 🙏 We in Manila Bulletin Business do our best to break business stories as they happen and provide deeper insights in print the following day 🤓

✅ Puwede nang mag-VL 😆😬🤗

JUST IN: Consumer price hikes slowed further to 0.9 percent in July from 1.4 percent in June. This was significantly slower than last year’s 4.4-percent inflation. Manila Bulletin News

WATCH: Canada’s minister for agriculture Heath MacDonald explores PH market opportunities amid U.S. trade tariffs impact. Manila Bulletin News

All eyes on the 2026 budget proposal, which our reporter Derx says would be submitted by DBM Philippines to Congress next week, Aug. 13. Meanwhile, our new reporter Ricardo Austria wrote about a new Philippine Institute for Development Studies report, w/c says the Philippines’ tariff deal w/ the US is “inferior”👇

Also in Manila Bulletin Business’ pages today, Makati Business Club has listed down the “wins and misses” of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA). Read Dexter Barro II’s story👇

JUST IN: Visayas grid is scheduled for a yellow alert status today from 3 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. According to NGCP, the total availability of capacity in the region is at 2,538 MW, while the peak demand is at 2,369 MW. Manila Bulletin News

This marks the fourth time the Visayas grid has been placed on yellow alert. NGCP issues the status when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement. Manila Bulletin News

LOOK: The employment rate dropped to 96.3 percent in June from 96.9 percent in June last year. In terms of numbers, employed Filipinos totaled 50.47 million, nearly 200,000 individuals higher than the 50.28 million a year ago. Manila Bulletin News

Meanwhile, the number of jobless Filipinos increased by more than 300,000 to 1.95 million in June from 1.62 million a year ago. This translates to a higher unemployment rate of 3.7 percent, up from 3.1 percent last year.

JUST IN: The Philippine economy accelerated to 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2025 from 5.4 percent in the previous quarter. However, this growth rate was still slower than last year’s 6.5 percent. Manila Bulletin News

Incoming ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan aims to complete the rate reset process for distribution utilities within four years, alongside other reforms he plans to implement during his term. Manila Bulletin News

Latest @TreasuryPH data shows that the Philippines’ public debt-to-GDP ratio rose to 63.1% at end-June 2025–the highest since 65.7% in 2005. The national government (NG) debt ratio fell to its lowest-ever 39.6% in 2019–before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

NG debt-to-GDP ratios since Covid-19 pandemic: End-2020 = 54.6% End-2021 = 60.4% End-2022 = 60.9% End-2023 = 60.1% End-2024 = 60.7% End-Q1 2025 = 62% End-H1 2025 = 63.1% Wala nang pandemic ah, eh bakit mas tumataas pa ang debt-to-GDP ratio hmm 🤔 #ayudanation