Rainwater storage urged as rainfall turns erratic

Storing rainwater will be more necessary as rainfall becomes more variable with climate change, highlighting the importance of sustainable water management, author of the 2024 Philippine Climate Change Assessment (PhilCCA) said.

Speaking at an online forum hosted by Climate Tracker Asia, geologist and Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo C. David said some of the most significant climate impacts will manifest in the water supply as rainfall patterns shift.

Mr. David said that while abundant rainfall will continue, averaging about 2,400 millimeters annually, climate change is affecting how rain is distributed throughout the year.

“What our scientists are seeing is that the pattern of rain is changing, meaning that we are moving towards a scenario where the dry season becomes drier and the wet season becomes even wetter. We are seeing longer dry days during the dry season,” he said.

Mr. David said these changes increase the risks of both drought and flooding, affecting agriculture, water supply, and other critical sectors.

In the 2024 PhilCCA, published by the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc. last year, researchers found that the hydrological regions of Northwest and Central Luzon face very high frequencies of flooding.

Northwest and Central Luzon, Bicol, and Samar were also identified as having high to very high flood intensity, while Cagayan, Bicol, and Samar face a high risk of intense drought.

Mr. David said these risks highlight the need to shift toward sustainable water management, particularly by capturing and storing excess rainfall instead of allowing it to flow quickly into rivers and out to sea.

“The solution to both (flooding and drought) is a single strategy — to impound water instead of trying to push that water out into the ocean as fast as possible,” he said.

Mr. David said traditional flood control approaches, such as building dikes to confine rivers, often fail during extreme weather events and can simply transfer flooding to downstream communities.

Instead, he said the Philippines should invest in infrastructure that allows water to be stored during the wet season and used during dry periods. These include small dams, reservoirs, retention basins, and man-made lakes that can hold excess water upstream during heavy rains.

Mr. David said the country should also adopt nature-based solutions, including protecting watersheds, preserving natural waterways, and ensuring land-use planning gives rivers enough space to expand during heavy rainfall.

He added that efforts to improve water storage should be accompanied by measures to expand access to water services.

“There are still areas where there is no piped water in our communities. From our estimate, around 40 million Filipinos still lack access to safe, potable piped water in their homes,” Mr. David said.

To address these gaps, Mr. David said government programs are installing filtration systems in remote island barangays, building low-cost water refilling stations, and mapping water resources nationwide to guide long-term planning.

“Climate change simply intensifies (already existing problems in the water sector),” he said. “But it is also an opportunity for us to change our strategy, not only to address climate change, but to fix (long-standing) issues,” he added.

Source: Business World

Manila hotel sector may expand by nearly 2,900 keys this year — Colliers

Metro Manila set to add 2,890 hotel keys in 2026, with most of the new rooms concentrated in Makati and the Bay Area, according to Colliers Philippines.

In its Second-Half (H2 2025) Metro Manila Hotel Report, Colliers projected that over two-thirds of the new supply this year will come from hotels in the Makati central business district and the Bay Area.

“The Philippines recorded dismal aggregate international arrivals in 2025. The country has yet to recover pre-covid visitors. Despite this, domestic travelers continue to drive take-up for hotels and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and events) facilities across the country,” Joey Roi H. Bondoc, director and head of research at Colliers Philippines, said in the report.

From 2026 to 2029, Colliers projects 1,800 rooms to be delivered annually. About 52% of the new supply in Metro Manila during this period will come from foreign hospitality brands such as Mandarin, Dusit, Canopy, and Moxy.

Colliers expects hotel occupancy this year to reach around 60%, amid the addition of new rooms and limited international arrivals.

The consultancy noted that the Philippines’ tourist arrivals remain “disappointingly low,” as neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia have exceeded their pre-pandemic visitor levels.

Tourist arrivals in the Philippines reached 6.48 million in 2025, according to the Bureau of Immigration, below the pre-pandemic level of 8.26 million in 2019.

The country has faced challenges in attracting international visitors compared with regional peers, amid congested airports, limited inter-island connectivity, and underdeveloped transport infrastructure.

Domestic travelers continue to influence hotel occupancy and daily rates, particularly in Metro Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Clark, Pampanga.

The hosting of the ASEAN Summit this year is expected to support the country as a MICE destination, Colliers added.

In-person events such as pharmaceutical product launches, property exhibits, bridal fairs, technology trade shows, and travel and tourism expos can further support MICE and accommodation demand, the report said.

“In our view, the government should focus on expanding and diversifying the Philippines’ leisure demand base, with some countries from Europe and the Middle East being the ‘low-hanging fruits,’” Colliers said.

Hotel operators are advised to target long-haul and high-spending tourists, noting that new international flights have been introduced from countries such as Russia, Palau, Canada, and India.

Developers are encouraged to consider an “asset-light strategy” for hotel expansion, Colliers said.

“This model allows foreign brands to enter into management or franchise contracts with local developers, reducing capital expenditure while providing stable, predictable returns for property owners, creating a mutually beneficial arrangement for both parties,” it said.

Hotel joint ventures that have adopted the “asset-light” model include partnerships between The Ascott Limited and DoubleDragon Corp., and between Ayala Land Hospitality with Marriott International, Inc. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.

Developers should also take advantage of new policies that could support tourism growth, including the issuance of digital nomad visas, the Cruise Visa Waiver Program, and visa-free entry for Indian and Chinese tourists, Colliers said.

Colliers Manila H2 2025 Hotel_v1.pdf

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Source: Business World

Philippine purchasing power seen to grow but key risks linger

Consumer purchasing power in the Philippines is projected to rise, BMI Research said, underpinned by steady economic growth and a tight labor market that supports real wage gains.

The outlook, however, faces risks from persistently high inflation, declining remittances and elevated household debt levels.

In a note to clients, BMI, a unit of the Fitch Group, held a “a cautious but positive” view on consumption in the country, expecting a slowdown in real household spending growth to 4.5 percent this 2026 from 4.7 percent last year.

This, BMI said, may weigh on the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), which historically gets about 70 percent of its fuel from consumer spending. The firm said GDP may grow by 5.2 percent this year, though still within the downwardly-revised government target of 5 percent to 6 percent.

“Spending will remain influenced by the elevated inflationary pressures as well as currently high debt levels, along with related debt servicing costs,’ BMI said.

“A tight labor market will support spending, as real wage growth returns to positive territory, which will support purchasing power over 2026,” it added.

The economy expanded by just 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 — the slowest pace in more than 14 years outside the pandemic — and well below market consensus.

The weak outturn dragged the average 2025 growth to 4.4 percent, missing the government’s 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent target. Officials and analysts pointed to a mix of climate-related disruptions and the Marcos administration’s sweeping anti-corruption drive, which had curbed government spending and weighed on business and consumer confidence.

‘Tailwinds’ to growth

BMI shared the same view. “The recent weakness in consumer sentiment is driven by concerns over governmental corruption, spiking inflation and natural disasters,” it noted.

Looking ahead, the Fitch unit said improving outlook over the medium term means that consumers would expand spending, leading to a growth in consumption and providing tailwinds to the growth of the Philippine retail sector over 2026.

But the firm believes there are “wider economic challenges” that Filipino consumers will confront this year.

“In 2026, the consumer sector faces significant headwinds amid a highly uncertain macroeconomic landscape,” BMI said.

“Stubborn core and services inflation, escalating global trade barriers, potential labor market softening and widespread geopolitical uncertainty are shaping consumer behavior and market dynamics,” it added.

Source: Inquirer