Good morning. It’s Tuesday, August 19.

PesoWeekly readers, it’s been a busy week for us, we’ve been reviewing applications for new writers, and soon we’ll be hiring video editors to bring you premium video explainers. While we grow, here are the stories that matter: Marcos Jr.’s “zero-balance billing” hospital visits, the missing ₱74B PhilHealth budget, and the government’s plan to borrow a record ₱2.7T in 2026. We also cover DBM’s push to livestream budget talks, DENR’s halt of a Bantayan project, and OFW remittances hitting new highs. Globally, Zelensky charms Washington while Trump hints at Ukraine security guarantees. Smart, clear, no fluff — let’s dive in.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took his “zero-balance billing” promise on the road this week, visiting the Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) in Tacloban to check if patients truly leave government hospitals without paying a centavo. He showcased the case of Rico Ligo, a mall worker who survived a stabbing incident. His ₱447,923 bill was fully covered: PhilHealth shouldered hospital and professional fees, while the DoH paid over ₱372,000 in ward, lab, and surgical costs. His family left the hospital with nothing to pay, even receiving a refund for unused medicine.

Since the policy began in May, 12,357 patients at EVMC have benefited. Marcos likened the discharge process to “checking out of a hotel,” saying patients simply walk away debt-free. The program, also called Bayad na Bill Mo (BBM), applies to basic ward admissions across 78 DoH hospitals and will eventually expand to specialty hospitals like the Heart Center and NKTI.

The upside: For families who live paycheck to paycheck, the policy is a lifeline against catastrophic health costs. Healthcare is the number one reason Filipinos fall into debt, and zero-balance billing offers immediate relief.

The catch: Long lines, staff shortages, and questions on funding sustainability remain. The Alliance of Health Workers warns the policy risks overwhelming DoH hospitals unless budgets and manpower are scaled up. Lawmakers are already pushing for an additional ₱74B PhilHealth subsidy to keep it afloat.

Why it matters: The promise is real — but so are the pressures. Whether zero-balance billing becomes a lasting reform or another strained program depends on what happens next.

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India’s iSON Group is dialing up a big bet on the Philippines: up to $300 million over the next decade to build 3,000–4,000 new telecom towers. The push, part of the DICT’s Common Tower Initiative, will prioritize rural areas where internet bars are still stuck at one bar. The plan means 300–400 towers a year, thousands of local jobs, and faster rollout of mobile services across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. With 400 towers already built, iSON says this expansion is about more than connectivity — it’s about helping the country move toward a fully digital economy.

RCBC just launched the country’s first “Tap-to-Phone” app, letting MSMEs accept card payments using only a smartphone — no clunky POS machines needed. Powered by NFC tech, the app allows merchants to take contactless payments, send e-receipts via QR, and track sales through a portal. Enrollment is free and even non-RCBC account holders can join, though a fixed transaction fee applies. The bank says this innovation aims to boost digital financial inclusion, giving small businesses faster settlements and smoother operations. For sari-sari stores to food stalls, your phone can now be your cash register.

Two of the Philippines’ biggest e-wallets have officially unplugged from gambling sites. Following a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) order issued on August 14, both GCash and Maya confirmed they had removed links to online betting platforms by August 16. The move comes as regulators push stricter rules, including biometric checks and daily transfer caps, to curb gambling-related risks. BSP says ayuda beneficiaries shouldn’t even have access to these platforms. While the Palace has already shut down thousands of illegal sites, debates continue on whether online gambling should be fully banned. For now, your e-wallet won’t double as a casino lobby.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants to clear the air: crypto trading in the Philippines is legal but platforms must register first. Under the new Rules on Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP), effective July 5, both local and foreign platforms need proper licenses before offering services here. The goal is to protect investors and keep fraud, money laundering, and shady operators in check. Non-compliant platforms risk being blocked. The SEC says responsible regulation will ensure crypto grows sustainably in the country so the game isn’t stopped, but the rules just got stricter.

What looked like a Hollywood break turned into a $44M scam. The Court of Appeals has frozen 16 bank accounts and 20 vehicles tied to Cebu-based Innocentrix, led by Mike Sordilla, after US and PH authorities linked it to a bogus “book-to-Netflix” scheme run by his California-based aunt, Gemma Austin. Elderly American authors were tricked into paying fees to turn their books into films, only for the money to be laundered through Innocentrix into local banks, cars, and businesses. The Anti-Money Laundering Council flagged over ₱4.6B in suspicious transactions, now under tight watch.

What it is
Every time a Filipino gets a raise, it feels like life should finally ease up. But many wonder: why does the wallet still feel empty? The answer is lifestyle creep when spending quietly rises as income rises, leaving savings stuck at zero.

The spending trap
In 2023, the average Filipino family earned ₱353,230 but spent ₱258,050. From 2021–2023, incomes rose across the board, yet spending grew even faster up to 26% for lower-income groups. Even the middle class isn’t immune. Many households report having just 20% of income left after expenses, while nearly 47% of Filipino adults have no savings at all.

Debt as proof
As of July 2025, the average Filipino cardholder owes ₱92,800 in credit card debt against a monthly income of only ₱21,900. That’s a staggering 425% debt-to-income ratio, the worst in Southeast Asia. It signals that more Filipinos are borrowing just to sustain a lifestyle upgrade: nicer meals, more travel, and “revenge spending” that feels good now but costs later.

Why it matters
Lifestyle creep isn’t just about small luxuries, it’s the trap that keeps even higher earners living paycheck to paycheck. Every peso of extra income gets consumed by new habits instead of building freedom. The antidote is intentionality: lock in savings or investments the moment a raise comes in, before lifestyle upgrades eat it all. Because the real measure of progress isn’t what you spend — it’s what you keep.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to the White House on Monday for talks with US President Donald Trump, just days after Trump’s high-profile but inconclusive summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The stakes were high: Europe’s leaders also flew in, signaling the urgency of finding a path to end the war.

Charm offensive: Zelensky, who had a tense Oval Office visit in February, went out of his way to reset the tone. He opened with six “thank yous,” wore a dark suit instead of military fatigues, and even cracked a joke when asked about his attire. He also delivered a personal letter from Ukraine’s First Lady to Melania Trump — a gesture meant to mirror Trump’s own hand-delivery of a letter from Melania to Putin last week.

Security guarantees: When asked what Ukraine needed, Zelensky’s answer was blunt: “Everything.” He cited weapons, troops, training, and intelligence. Trump, in his clearest remarks yet, said Europe would be Ukraine’s “first line of defense” but promised the US would also provide “good protection.” He added that Putin had signaled willingness for security guarantees in any future peace deal, though details remain vague.

Next steps: Trump reiterated his push for a trilateral summit with Putin and Zelensky, saying it was a matter of “when, not if.” While Zelensky has long sought such a meeting, Russia has repeatedly dismissed the idea. Whether Trump’s mediation can bridge that gap remains uncertain. For now, Kyiv welcomes Trump’s words — but awaits concrete commitments.

China just wrapped up the first-ever World Humanoid Robot Games, where 280 teams from 16 countries showed off robots in dance-offs, martial arts, long jumps, even football matches. Hangzhou-based Unitree, often called Tesla’s Optimus rival, snagged multiple medals, while UBTECH and X-Humanoid also stood out. Events tested not just athletic skills but also jobs like hotel cleaning and factory work — though some still struggled with basics like opening doors. Beijing wants humanoid robots to be a key industry by 2027. For now, the games proved one thing: robots aren’t just coming, they’re already competing.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is slashing the cash price of its blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic, offering it for $499 a month less than half its $1,350 list price. The discount applies across platforms like the company’s own website, a new online pharmacy that ships directly to patients, GoodRx, and over 70,000 U.S. pharmacies. The move follows pressure from President Trump, who urged drugmakers to lower costs. Demand for Ozempic and its weight-loss counterpart Wegovy has skyrocketed, but many uninsured Americans struggle to access them. Rival Eli Lilly has also cut prices, intensifying the battle over GLP-1 drugs.

Scientists have figured out why one of the deadliest parasites on Earth can sneak into your body without you even noticing. The culprit: Schistosoma mansoni (aka the blood fluke), a tiny flatworm that infects over 250 million people worldwide and causes a disease called schistosomiasis. Instead of making you itch or burn, the worm “switches off” a protein that tells your brain something’s wrong. That trick lets it slip past your defenses and start releasing thousands of eggs inside your organs. The upside? Researchers think this discovery could inspire new painkillers and treatments for inflammation.

New research suggests our ancient cousins were better planners than experts believed. Archaeologists studying 2.6 million-year-old Oldowan stone tools from Kenya found that early humans (or maybe their relatives) carried rocks from over 6 miles away to food-rich areas, a kind of “bring your own toolkit” move. That’s 600,000 years earlier than anyone thought this behavior began. The finding hints at mental mapping, resource planning, and problem-solving long before Homo sapiens existed. While scientists can’t confirm which species made them, the takeaway is clear: forward thinking runs deep in our evolutionary story.

The UK just earned a cybercrime badge no one wants: it’s now the third most targeted country for malware, trailing only the US and Canada. NordVPN says more than 100 million cyberattacks hit British users in the last three months, a 7% jump from earlier this year. The attacks are sneaky, fake Amazon or Google emails, bogus government texts, and malicious links that can steal passwords, hijack webcams, or lock entire photo libraries. Experts warn the UK’s wealth and digital economy make it prime hacker bait. Translation: your inbox is now the front line of cybercrime.

Globe just ran the Philippines’ first live trial of 5G-Advanced (aka “5.5G”) in Bonifacio Global City and clocked download speeds of 2.5 Gbps. The next-gen network promises faster speeds, lower lag, and higher capacity, unlocking use cases like cloud gaming, AI, extended reality, and even self-driving cars. Only six telcos worldwide have launched 5.5G so far, with Singapore and Thailand already rolling it out in Southeast Asia. Globe says this pilot is a step toward bringing the tech to Filipino consumers and businesses, aiming to future-proof the country’s digital backbone.

AI isn’t just eating data, it’s eating electricity and water, too. In Malaysia’s Johor state, tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and ByteDance are building billions’ worth of data centers to fuel the AI boom. The catch: Johor only has 580 MW of capacity today, but projects in the pipeline would need nearly 10 times more enough to power 5.7 million homes. On top of that, a single 100 MW data center can gulp 4.2 million liters of water daily. Jobs and investment are flowing in, but officials are now slowing approvals as resources run thin.

The Philippines will borrow a record ₱2.7 trillion next year to cover a ₱1.6 trillion deficit, according to Congress’ budget research arm. About ₱2.1T will come from local lenders, while ₱627B will be sourced abroad. Debt service alone will cost ₱2T, or 30% of the 2026 budget — lower than 2025’s 33.8% but still far above pre-pandemic levels. The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to stay above 60% until 2027, higher than government targets. CPBRD also flagged weak spending efficiency in some agencies, warning that every peso wasted tightens fiscal space as the country manages its ₱17T debt load.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman wants Filipinos to see where every peso goes, live. Speaking at a teachers’ convention in Lucena, she backed a proposal to livestream all congressional budget deliberations, including bicam sessions, to boost transparency and citizen oversight. The 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), worth ₱6.793 trillion and 7.4% higher than the 2025 budget, has already been submitted to Congress. Education, public works, and health will again take the biggest slices. Pangandaman stressed that while lawmakers can tweak the plan, it should stay aligned with the President’s priorities. Translation: watch the budget drama unfold in real time.

Money from overseas Filipinos surged in June, reaching a six-month high. BSP data shows cash remittances rose 3.7% year on year to $2.99B, the strongest level since December 2024’s $3.38B. Land-based workers sent the bulk at $2.43B, while sea-based workers added $555M. Personal remittances, which include in-kind transfers, also climbed to $3.33B. For January to June 2024, cash remittances grew 3.1% to $16.75B, with the US accounting for 40% of inflows. Economists point to strong labor demand abroad and school-related expenses as drivers — a reminder that OFWs remain the Philippines’ economic backbone.

The DENR and Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro have suspended construction of The Stria, a condo-resort project in Bantayan Island, after uncovering multiple violations. Regulators said the building already exceeded the 10-meter height limit for protected areas, encroached on the 20-meter coastal easement, and ignored three violation notices in 2024 plus a stop-work order in May 2025. Despite these, construction continued, with plans for an 11-story tower. On Aug. 18, Baricuatro ordered work stopped and a full permit review, warning that unchecked development could endanger Bantayan’s fragile coastal ecosystem and set a risky precedent.

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab is calling for full transparency on the ₱74 billion PhilHealth allocation deleted from the 2025 budget, warning that the move violates the Sin Tax Law and undermines public trust. Ungab said bicameral committee members who approved the change must be identified and explain why healthcare funds were diverted. He stressed that no future budgets should move forward until accountability is established, calling the deletion “unprecedented and constitutionally questionable.” Citing Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s legal analysis, Ungab argued that a general budget law cannot override a special law earmarking revenues for health programs.

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