Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Oct 21.

Hey PesoWeekly readers! I hope your week’s off to a strong start. Remember that even a 1 percent improvement each day adds up to real progress over time. Stay curious, keep learning, and take things one smart step at a time.

Now to the headlines: Billions spent, 22 classrooms built. Lawmakers are furious, the DPWH is on the defensive, and the country’s education backlog keeps growing. This week, we unpack how a budget meant for progress turned into a paperwork mess. Also inside: the country’s biggest-ever drug asset seizure, Maynilad’s billion-peso IPO, rocket debris off Palawan, and how Filipinos can future-proof their careers in the age of AI.

What else do you want us to include in our newsletter? Email us anytime at [email protected].

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Lawmakers demand reforms as overpriced projects and massive backlogs pile up

Crisis in construction
he Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) admitted it built only 22 classrooms out of 1,700 targeted for 2025, a completion rate of just 1.3%. During a Senate hearing, Secretary Vince Dizon called the performance “deplorable,” while Sen. Bam Aquino warned the country’s classroom shortage could hit 200,000 by 2028 if the pace continues. Lawmakers are now backing the Classroom Acceleration Bill to transfer school-building duties from the DPWH to local governments and accredited NGOs.

Billions under scrutiny
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian revealed that:

Finance Chair Loren Legarda proposed a 25–30% cut in DPWH’s ₱625-billion 2026 budget, citing “systemic overpricing.” Dizon conceded that some regional projects were overpriced by 20–30%.

Push for accountability
While Malacañang rejected calls to abolish the DPWH, it urged the department to clean up its ranks. Senators warned that unless major reforms are made, billions could be reallocated and thousands of students left waiting for classrooms that never arrive.

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Philippine banks grew bigger in August, with total assets up 6.69% year-on-year to ₱27.73 trillion, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed. The boost came from higher investments, which jumped 10.26%, and loans, which rose nearly 10%. However, total assets slightly dipped from July’s level. Economists say growth could slow soon as the BSP continues easing interest rates, signaling a more cautious lending environment in the months ahead.

Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) is sticking to its long-term strategy despite calls to use its ₱125 billion capital to boost the struggling stock market. CEO Rafael Consing Jr. said the fund’s mission is to generate sustainable returns, not short-term market fixes. The appeal came as the PSE index slipped to the 6,000 level amid weak sentiment linked to a widening corruption scandal. Analysts agreed Maharlika should focus on long-term development, leaving market support to state pension funds like GSIS and SSS.

Pryce Corp. is pouring ₱6 billion into three new air separation plants in Davao, Bacolod, and Pangasinan to strengthen its industrial gas business. Each plant will cost around ₱2 billion and is set for completion within three years starting 2026. The move supports Pryce’s goal of becoming the country’s largest industrial gas producer. The company also reported a 35% jump in nine-month net income to ₱2.99 billion, driven by higher LPG and industrial gas sales.

Maynilad Water Services has set its IPO price at ₱15 per share, valuing the offering at up to ₱34.35 billion. The price is lower than its initial target of ₱20 but matches what cornerstone investors including,  IFC and the Asian Development Bank,were willing to pay. Over half of the offered shares will go to cornerstone backers. The offering runs from October 23 to 29, with listing set for November 7 on the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Tycoon Manny Villar’s VistaREIT is under fire after analysts flagged ₱5.4 billion in uncollected rent mostly owed by Villar’s own companies. The overdue payments now equal about 27 months of rental income, raising concerns about VREIT’s ability to sustain its 13% dividend yield. While profits rose 6.7% in the first half thanks to property revaluations, Abacus Securities warned that continued nonpayment could hit cash flow and invite regulatory scrutiny. VREIT shares have dropped 21% this year.

Future Skills AI Can’t Replace (Yet)
As automation accelerates, human skills are becoming more valuable than ever. The World Economic Forum lists judgment, empathy, creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability as the most future-proof abilities. These are the traits machines still can’t replicate skills that build leaders, innovators, and problem-solvers. Filipinos can sharpen them through leadership roles, creative projects, and continuous learning because in an AI-driven economy, soft skills are the new hard skills.

The Rise of the Portfolio Career
The era of “one job for life” is over. The new model is the portfolio career juggling multiple income streams through freelance, part-time, or project-based work. In Singapore, 57% of professionals plan to change jobs this year; in the Philippines, flexible digital roles are surging.
Practical steps for Filipinos include:

Think Global, Work Remote
Singapore’s success teaches meritocracy, efficiency, and balance—values Filipino professionals can adopt. Develop a global mindset by networking beyond borders, joining cross-cultural projects, and following international trends. With over 1.5 million Filipinos now working remotely, the future belongs to those who can blend global perspective, digital fluency, and distinctly human judgment, the skills AI still can’t learn.

Big picture:
Joe Sanberg once sold himself as a do-gooder entrepreneur, a Harvard grad who founded Aspiration, a “green” bank backed by celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr. But behind the feel-good branding was a massive $248 million fraud. Sanberg falsified financial records, borrowed millions on fake collateral, and invented customers to keep his eco-bank alive while pursuing political ambitions.

So what happened:
In 2021, as Aspiration’s finances crumbled, Sanberg pushed through a $48 million endorsement deal with Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who wasn’t even playing that season. The deal made no business sense and shocked company insiders. When it surfaced that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had invested $50 million in the bank, rumors spread that the contract was a secret way to get around NBA salary-cap rules. Ballmer has denied any involvement, saying he was among the many people deceived by Sanberg.

Why it matters:
Sanberg’s guilty plea to wire fraud has now dragged the NBA into a wider financial scandal. Aspiration has gone bankrupt, celebrity investors have lost millions, and Ballmer’s reputation is under scrutiny despite no evidence of wrongdoing. What started as an eco-friendly dream turned into a cautionary tale about greed, deception, and how easily the worlds of money and sports can collide.

Just a week after Donald Trump’s much-publicized Gaza ceasefire deal, Israel and Hamas are already on the brink again. Israeli forces launched airstrikes across Gaza after two soldiers were killed in Rafah — an attack Israel blamed on Hamas, though the group denied involvement. At least 45 Palestinians were killed, including civilians. U.S. pressure appears to have kept the truce from collapsing entirely, but renewed violence shows how fragile the peace remains as negotiators scramble to stabilize Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza’s future.

Around 60 South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia are being flown home for investigation, following the death of a South Korean student forced to work in a scam center. The tragedy sparked public outrage and led Seoul to send officials to Phnom Penh for joint action. Authorities say the repatriated individuals will be probed to determine if they were victims or willing participants. Cambodia’s scam hubs reportedly employ over 200,000 people, including about 1,000 South Koreans.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson reported a net worth of ₱244.9 million as of June 30, 2025, a sharp jump from ₱58 million when he left the Senate in 2022. Lacson said the increase came from “legitimate and successful” real estate and trading ventures he started with two partners after leaving public office. He also noted paying over ₱11.8 million in income taxes in 2024, underscoring that his earnings came from lawful business activities.

The government has seized millions worth of assets linked to Albuera Mayor Kerwin Espinosa and alleged drug financier Sally Ang Nina, the largest court-ordered forfeiture in Philippine history. Among the confiscated assets were Espinosa’s luxury cars, real estate, bank accounts, and watercraft. Authorities said the ruling targets the financial networks of major drug syndicates. The move comes after Espinosa’s 2023 acquittal and political return, raising questions about his next steps.

The Philippine Navy has recovered suspected debris from a Chinese rocket off the coast of Bataraza, Palawan, days after Beijing’s Long March 8A launch. The metallic wreckage, marked with a Chinese flag, was found about 12 nautical miles from Rio Tuba and brought to Puerto Princesa for inspection. The Philippine Space Agency earlier warned that debris from the October 16 launch could fall near Palawan. It’s the latest in a series of rocket remnants found in Philippine waters this year.

Baguio City has proposed a ₱3.65-billion budget for 2026, with the biggest slice, ₱1.23 billion or 34%, earmarked for social services. Economic programs will get ₱1.18 billion, followed by ₱866 million for general public services. City Budget Officer Leticia Clemente said the plan focuses on governance, welfare, and sustainable growth. Mayor Benjamin Magalong submitted the proposal early, while Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan vowed full transparency amid nationwide scrutiny of budget insertions.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Education (DepEd) are joining forces to strengthen science-based disaster preparedness in schools after recent earthquakes hit Cebu and Davao Oriental. DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the agency, through PHIVOLCS, will provide technical aid and training to help schools use data-driven risk assessments and improve safety standards. DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara also proposed a joint command center to ensure swift, science-guided decisions during emergencies.

A tiny electronic implant has helped blind people see again. In a new clinical trial, scientists used a 2mm-wide “bionic retina” to restore partial vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in older adults. After one year, 80% of participants regained enough sight to read letters and words. The device, powered by light and paired with smart glasses, could soon enter the European market, marking a big leap toward restoring human vision.

Scientists may have cracked one of medicine’s toughest mysteries: diagnosing chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as ME. A team from the University of East Anglia and Oxford Biodynamics developed a blood test that can identify the condition with 96% accuracy by analyzing how DNA folds inside cells like origami patterns that control genes. The breakthrough could help millions finally get a clear diagnosis and open the door to targeted treatments for this long-misunderstood illness.

A team of researchers has discovered a new kind of ice that forms at room temperature, if you squeeze it hard enough. Named Ice XXI, it’s the 21st known type of ice and forms only under extreme pressure, about 20,000 times Earth’s atmosphere. Using high-speed X-ray imaging, scientists watched water molecules snap into a dense crystal structure. The finding could help explain how strange ices form deep inside icy moons like Titan and Ganymede.

Meet the Unitree H2 - a humanoid robot that can dance, fight, and carry boxes like it’s auditioning for The Matrix. Standing 180 cm tall and weighing 70 kg, the H2 boasts 31 joints for smooth, human-like movement. Demo clips show it pulling off martial arts moves and dance routines with eerie precision. Beyond the performance, its “bionic face” hints at a future where robots don’t just move like us  they might look like us too.

Much of the internet went dark after Amazon Web Services (AWS) suffered a major outage early Monday, disrupting platforms like Reddit, Snapchat, Venmo, and even Amazon’s own Alexa and Ring. The problem began around 3 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast and was traced to a DNS failure, the system that connects web addresses to their servers. Amazon says the issue is now “fully mitigated,” but the blackout reminded everyone just how dependent the modern web is on a few massive cloud providers.