DH held for alleged assault of 10-month old ward

 

The case is being heard at Fanling Court

An Indonesian domestic helper was remanded in custody after appearing at Fanling Magistrates Court on Thursday on charges of assaulting a 10-month-old baby boy in her care.

Eva-yulianti Fitri, 34 years old, is facing a charge of assault by those in charge of a child or young person.

No plea was taken and Fitri was sent back to jail until the next hearing of her case on May 21 after the magistrate rejected her bail application. But she was told she can apply for a bail review in eight days.

Basahin ang detalye!

Prosecution had asked for a postponement to allow time for a medical report on the infant to be obtained.

The alleged assault took place on Mar 23 inside a flat at Mayfair By the Sea at Pak Shek Kok.

The helper is accused of willfully assaulting a child  “in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering,”

The maximum penalty for the offence is 14 years' imprisonment.

Indonesian DH arrested over death of newborn baby

 

The infant was found stuffed in a rubbish bin at Lee Theatre Plaza

Hong Kong Police have arrested a 34-year-old Indonesian domestic worker on suspicion of abandoning her newborn baby boy who was found inside a toilet rubbish bin Causeway Bay on Monday, and later declared dead in a hospital.

The Indonesian woman was reportedly arrested in Eastern district on Thursday. She remains in custody while an investigation is carried out.

Basahin ang detalye!

A cleaner found the infant – with its umbilical cord still attached - inside the rubbish bin in a toilet at The Starview Chinese restaurant at Lee Theatre Plaza in Causeway Bay on Monday afternoon.

The baby was rushed to Ruttonjee hospital in Wan Chai but was declared dead on arrival.

Following a three-day inquiry, the police took the Indonesian woman into custody.

The case was initially classified as infanticide and an investigation is continuing.

 

Scammers getting better but target victims also getting smarter

 

If you're sent this picture by someone wooing you online, run!

It’s a tale as old as time, but the storytelling has gotten better, especially with the use of technology such as AI. Despite this, would-be victims are not as easily fooled anymore.

This was true in the case of  “Y,” a Filipina domestic helper in Hong Kong who told The SUN how she had been tricked into sending money to two men she met on separate dating sites a week ago. Luckily she realized soon enough that the men were both swindling her.

Y said she lost a total of HK$700 that she sent through iTunes (Apple) gift cards to the men who asked for help because they were both surprisingly held up at Hong Kong airport on their way to meet her.

Basahin ang detalye!

(The iTunes cards are often preferred by scammers as a mode of money transfer because once the victim provides the code at the back of the card the funds can be spent instantly, leaving no trace of the person who cashed it in).

But shortly after sending cash to the two, Y felt something was awry, and decided to cut off clean.

It was all because both men claimed to have stopped at the airport after they decided to fly in to see her. Both needed money sent to them so they could call get their relatives to bail them out.

Y hesitated at first, but one of the men who his name as Nelson Martin, began professing how much he loved her, and that it would take only little for her to help him get out of the tight fix he found himself in.

Y said she gave in to his request only because she had – or thought she had – already chatted with him online.

Martin who claimed to be an officer of the US army told her he was at the frontline fighting for Ukraine in its war against Russia, and even sent her gory photos of dead soldiers being thrown into trenches while he along with a few other men, tried to hold the enemy at bay.

Y at first insisted Martin was American, saying they had already chatted through video, until she was told the area code of the telephone number he had used to woo her was registered in Nigeria. She also reluctantly agreed, on hindsight, that the guy she was chatting with online was not really responsive, but merely kept mouthing words meant to show how smitten he was with her.

The realization that she had been played came when someone supposedly from Immigration Department sent her a text message asking why she allowed her boyfriend to try and enter Hong Kong with guns and large amounts of cash.

Photo of a gun that Martin allegedly tried to bring in, along with loads of cash

To make the story more believable, the man on the other line sent her a photo of the pistol supposedly seized at the airport, along with the message: “How can you allow him to enter into this country with very big amounts of money and a pistol..”

Shocked, Y decided to block the number used by the supposed agent, and end her involvement with Martin.

But there was another man in another dating site who also instantly fell for her, and immediately told her he would soon be traveling to Hong Kong to see her.

Crude slip supposedly showing why 'Pedro Oscar' was held at the airport 

On the day of his supposed arrival in Hong Kong, the guy who gave his name as “Pedro Oscar” kept sending videos of HK airport to Y, but never appeared in any of them. Instead he sent photos  of a man in a gaily printed shirt and a top hat posing in front of what looked like a part of HK Airport.

Then – surprise – he too was supposedly stopped from entering for not having a “travel permit.” As proof, he sent a very crude-looking piece of paper in which the name “immigration department hong kong” (all in lower case) was written on the letter head, and below it, written by hand, also in small letter, the words “no travel permit.”

Y again sent money through an iTunes card, but then found out he could no longer contact “Oscar.”

In the end, she decided to ask The SUN to help tell her story so other Filipinas may not be duped the same way. She took comfort in knowing that the money she sent to the scammers was small compared to what many other love scam victims had foolishly lost.

Pinay in jail before plea in 2 drug charges

 

Neighborhood in which Filipina was arrested (Google Maps photo)

A Filipina asylum seeker is back in jail after two drug trafficking charges against her were adjourned by the Eastern Court for plea on May 12.

Joanne Miniano,  43 years old, was charged with two counts of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to sections 4(1) (a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance Principal.

In a hearing on Tuesdy (March 24), Magistrate David Cheung took note of the anti-triad police complaint that said the two instances took place in Phoenix Apartments on Lee Garden Road, Causeway Bay on Aug. 19, 2025.

Basahin ang detalye!

In the first charge, Miniano is accused of selling one cartridge containing 0.48 grams of a liquid containing 0.42 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol (a tetrahydro derivative of cannabinol) at the stairase n the 8th floor of Phoenix Apartments.

In the second charge, she is accused of selling 59 cartridges containing a total of 83.0 grams of a liquid containing 1.17 grams of butomidate (a compound structurally derived from etomidate by replacement of the ethoxycarbonyl by other alkoxycarbonyl group), i cartridge containing 1.43 grams of a liquid containing 0.01 grams of butomidate , 61 cartridges containing a total of 81.8 grams of a liquid containing 1.76 grams of butomidate, 8 cartridges containing a total of 11:2 grams of a liquid containing 0.29 grams of butomidate, 3 cartridges containing a total of 3.92 grams of a liquid containing 0.09 grams of butomidate, 6 cartridges containing a total of 8.78 grams of a liquid containing 0.11 grams of butomidate and 0.01 grammes of deschloro-N-ethyl-ketamine (a compound structurally derived from 2-amino-2-phenylcyclohexanone by substitution at the nitrogen atom with an alkyl group), 14 plastic bags containing a total of 487 grams of a solid containing 1.49 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol (a derivative of cannabinol); and 1 cartridge containing 0.41 grams of a liquid containing 0.37 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol.

She allegedly trafficked the dangerous drugs at Room E, Flat J on the eighth floor of Phoenix Apartments.

 

Marcos declares ‘energy emergency’ amid global oil shortage

Marcos signs EO 110 which will roll out emergency measures to respond to the looming crisis

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has declared a national energy emergency amid the global oil supply shortage sparked by escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Marcos signed Executive Order 110 to roll out urgent measures to secure energy supply, protect the economy and speed up the shift to renewable energy while mitigating the impact on ordinary people.

Through EO 110, a group chaired by the President called the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (Uplift) will be set up to cushion the impact of the energy crisis.  

Basahin ang detalye!

Uplift will ensure the availability of domestic energy supply, uninterrupted delivery of essential services, continuity of economic activity and protection of vulnerable sectors.

Basahin ang detalye!

Committee members include the Executive Secretary and the secretaries of the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Social Welfare, Agriculture, Finance, Budget and Economy.

The committee will monitor the supply and distribution of fuel, food, medicines and other essential goods, while ensuring public transportation, utility and healthcare services continue as normal.

It will also coordinate efforts to maintain economic stability, streamline government processes and develop long-term strategies to reduce dependence on petroleum products such as promoting the use of electric vehicles in public transport.

Marcos said that disruptions in critical supply routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, threaten global oil production and transportation, and pose risks to the country’s security.

There is thus a need to declare a state of national energy emergency to enable the government to implement coordinated measures to ensure a stable and adequate energy supply while mitigating the impact on the economy.

“As a net importer of petroleum products, the Philippines remains highly dependent on external sources of fuel supply and is therefore vulnerable to disruptions in global oil production and transportation, which may affect the availability and timely delivery of petroleum products necessary to sustain domestic energy requirements,” the order read

“The Secretary of Energy has determined that the foregoing circumstances pose an imminent danger of a critically low energy supply and that urgent measures are necessary to ensure the stability and adequacy of the country’s energy supply,” it added.

Concerned agencies are directed to implement measures to cushion the impact of the fuel shortages, while the private sector, civil society organizations and other stakeholders are urged to partner with government to provide logistical and other support measures to help vulnerable sectors cope with the downturn.

 

Swedish businessman convicted of raping domestic helper loses appeal

 

Ekstrom was allowed bail pending appeal (HK Free Press photo)

A Swedish businessman was sent back to jail Tuesday after he lost his appeal against his conviction for raping his Nepalese domestic helper.

The Court of Appeal ordered Patrik Tobias Ekstrom returned to prison as he was out on bail pending his appeal.

Ekstrom was sentenced to seven years in prison in August 2024 after a jury unanimously declared him guilty on one count of rape and one of buggery of the helper identified only as “X,”, in the incident that happened inside his bedroom Oct. 27, 2022.

Basahin ang detalye!

This was despite his claim that the sexual acts were consensual, and that the helper had entered his bedroom willingly.

He also denied threatening to kill X if she did not agree to having sex with him.

In appealing against his sentence, Ekstrom argued through his lawyer that the trial judge failed to properly instruct the jury about X’s claim that the employer had “also done this to Mohini”, referring to his former domestic helper.

This claim could have made the jury think that Ekstrom had raped both helpers, when in fact, it was mere hearsay, said the defense lawyer.

The lawyer also tried to argue that the judge erred in admitting as evidence voice messages sent by X to Ekstrom’s wife, who was abroad at the time, after the rape.

In those messages, not once did X tell her female employer that she was raped, so the judge should not have allowed them to form part of the evidence, said the lawyer. 

But the appeal judges disagreed, saying those claimed errors did not materially affect the outcome of the case  

X told the court that on the day of the incident Ekstrom returned to his Shek O home looking drunk and forced her into his bedroom, and raped her.

At the time, Ekstrom’s wife and three children were in Japan.

In sentencing, Judge Derek Chan cited a psychological report on Ekstrom which said his chances of committing another sexual offence was on “the high end of the moderate risk.”

Another Pinay to DC for laundering $4M

Another Filipina domestic helper was sent to the District Court to face a charge of money laundering because her bank account had been used as depository for $4 million raised from crime.

Daisy Pueyo, 43 years old, was charged before the Fanling Court with dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offense, contrary to section 25(1) and (3) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance.

The charge arose from deposits and withdrawals of crime money that amounted to $4,001,813.35 in her Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited account between Jan. 15, 2024 and April 30, 2024.

Basahin ang detalye!

It was alleged in an amended complaint filed by police on  March 20 that she managed her account with a person known as Shiela Marquez.

Acting Principal Magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han, scheduled Pueyo’s appearance at District Court for April 9.

In the meantime, the magistrate remanded her back to jail custody.

No longer $2 anywhere for seniors, disabled from Apr 3

 

JoyYou no more: Not all fares will cost only HK$2 from Apr 3

Starting on April 3, seniors holding the JoyYou card or persons with disabilities using personalized Octopus cards will no longer be able to pay a flat rate of HK$2 for most public transport within Hong Kong.

Under the revisions to the transport subsidy scheme first announced in last year’s budget, elderly (those aged 60 years old and above) and disabled passengers will pay 20% of any fare that exceeds HK$10.

But they still get to enjoy the HK$2 subsidy if the fare is HK$10 or below.

Basahin ang detalye!

The change in policy is meant to discourage those who enjoy the subsidized fare from taking the longer and more expensive routes when they could take the shorter and cheaper trips instead.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said on Monday the change "preserves the policy intent of the scheme while striking a balance between enhancing the sustainability of the scheme and minimising impacts on beneficiaries".

Secretary Sun said the new measure will help the government save some HK$550million in the next fiscal year, and will affect 40% of public transport trips.

He said there will be promotion and publicity about the change so elderly people and the disabled are fully informed.

A move to further curb government spending by putting a cap of 240 subsidised fares per person each month is expected to be introduced next year at the earliest.

 

Filipino couple in drug rap leaves young son in limbo

The hooded suspects are led away for questioning (The Standard photo)

The Philippine Migrant Workers Office in Hong Kong says it is providing help to a Filipino couple charged with drug trafficking and child neglect after their 26-month-old baby boy was reportedly found unprotected in their flat on Lamma island.

The 42-year-old Filipino man and the 36-year-old woman who are both domestic helpers, were arrested on Thursday (Mar 19) after police found about HK$200,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine in their home.

The toddler was found in the apartment during the police raid and was taken to Queen Mary Hospital for check-up though he appeared unharmed.

“We are now handling the case including the concerns re the minor child,” said Labor Attache Cesar Chavez, Jr. in a short text message to The SUN, which had earlier learned that both suspects are on foreign domestic helper visa.

Basahin ang detalye!

Given the visa status of the couple, the boy who should be on dependant’s visa, faces an uncertain future.

In previous rulings handed down by the Court of First Instance and upheld by the Court of Appeal, children of FDHs born in Hong Kong do not have right of abode, and their right to remain in Hong Kong depends on whether their parents have that status.

According to reports on the incidnt, Marine Police found about 554 grams of cannabis and 102 grams of cocaine from the couple’s home in Tai Peng Village early on Thursday, following a tip and an in-depth investigation.

Photos taken from the scene showed the couple in handcuffs and their heads covered with black hoods as they were taken away by officers from their home and loaded onto a ferry.

They were subsequently charged with drug trafficking, a serious offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.

Ill-treatment of a child is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

 

Pinoy sentenced to community service for criminal damage

 

Photo of shop with shutter rolled up (Google Maps photo0

A Filipino who was charged with tearing down a steel roller shutter of a doctor’s clinic in Sai Ying Pun, was sentenced today at Eastern Court to 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay $31,000 for the damage.

L. Ombao, 42 years old, who was earning $16,000 monthly as assistant chef, was told to pay the victim, Dr Lau Chin Yeung, in installments of $1,100 a month until fully paid.

Magistrate Kestrel Lam handed down the sentence after the prosecution proposed community service be adopted as punishment since this was the recommendation of a report he ordered earlier, and government laboratory analysis showed Ombao was negative for drugs.

Basahin ang detalye!

Ombao was charged with criminal damage, contrary to sections 60(1) of the Crimes Ordinance, after he damaged the steel shutter at "Dr Lau Chin Yeung Hokgins Medical Practice", Shop G, G/F, Wealth Building, 53-65 High Street, Sai Ying Pun.

A police complaint said he did this on Nov. 23, 2025 “without lawful excuse, … intending to damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be damaged.”

He pleaded guilty and Magistrate Lam put off sentencing until a community service report is made on him.

Lam said he considered that Ombao pleaded guilty , that he was willing to compensate for the damage he caused, and that he had a criminal conviction in 1999. 

He deducted the first installment from Ombao’s $3,000 bail money.

34 persons arrested in anti-illegal work raids

 

13 women were arrested in operations that targeted restaurants and cleaning companies

In an effort to further stamp out illegal work, Immigration Department operatives carried out joint operations with the police and the Labour Department from Mar 13 to 20, which resulted in the arrest of 34 people.

A statement issued by Immigration on Friday said those arrested comprised 26 suspected illegal workers, seven employers and one aider and abettor.

During the first four days of the operation, officers focused on industries prone to illegal employment, including the catering and cleaning industries. Particularly targeted were 23 locations where they suspected illegal work was taking place.

PINDUTIN DITO

Arrested during this period were 19 suspected illegal workers comprising 13 women and 6 men, aged 22 to 62. Among them, four were asylum seekers and three were found in possession of forged HK identity cards.

The workers were reportedly found working as dishwashers, cleaners and kitchen workers.

Six men aged 39 to 53 were also arrested on suspicion of hiring the illegal workers.

Construction sites were targeted in last 3 days of operations

Subsequent operations that targeted construction and scaffolding sites and performance venues resulted in seven other suspected illegal workers being arrested, along with one employer and one abettor.

The suspected illegal workers comprised one man and six women, aged 24 to 48. Among them was a woman holding a recognisance form.

A man aged 67 was suspected of employing the illegal workers and was also arrested, along with a suspected abettor, a  man aged 40.

Basahin ang detalye!

Immigration reiterated that illegal work is a serious offence in which the maximum penalty is a fine of $50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment.

The maximum jail term is three years if the offender is an overstayer or a recognizance paper holder.

Employers could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined a maximum of $500,000.

 

Philippine booth in HK Flower Show features selfie spot

Visitors can enter the PCG booth and have photos taken beside this main display

People with a penchant for taking selfies are expected to flock to the Philippine Consulate General’s booth at the ongoing Hong Kong Flower Show at Victoria Park, where a special spot has been set up beside the main display for picture-taking.

The PCG booth that goes by the theme ‘Santacruzan’ features two mannequins in male and female forms dressed up in native attire with the woman’s bodice covered in fresh everlasting flowers that grow abundantly in the Philippines’ mountainous areas.

PINDUTIN DITO

The Philippine display won a Merit Award in the annual flower show that brings together more than 200 exhibitors from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas, and is visited by hundreds of thousands of people over 10 days.

Another floral display featuring distinctly Philippine native products like capiz shells, bamboo and abaca hemp by perennial participant Blue Grass Philippines, also won a Merit Award.

Bluegrass Philippines' entry features capiz shells, hemp and bamboo along with flowers

But selfie spots and instagrammable backgrounds can be found throughout the wide area covered by the Flower Show, which features stock as the theme flower under the theme “A Fragrant Journey through Hong Kong.”

One of the most popular spots for taking picture is the three-dimensional floral wall featuring five giant stocks, each composed of more than 30 3D flowers and is set off with over 6,000 orchids and other blossoms.

Basahin ang detalye!

In front of the wall, as before, is an expansive display of more than 14,000 tulips in different colors which complements the 3D stock installation, making this one of the most favored photo spots by visitors.

The floral theme wall serves as backdrop for 14,000 tulips in various colors 

In the surrounding areas are large-scale landscape installations by various groups, companies like Ocean Park, district offices and government agencies like the Architectural Services Department, Civil Civil Engineering and Development Department, Correctional Services Department, and several others.

Distinctive features of Hong Kong life such as dim sum in bamboo steamers, as well as landmarks like the Observation Wheel and the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, are also well incorporated in the floral displays.

This year’s flower show introduces a range of family-friendly attractions like a Ponies Photo Booth in the Central Lawn, government mascots interacting with visitors, and several colorful Easter egg and bunny-themed installations.

Spectacular floral displays like this one are enough reason to visit the flower show

Those who want to take home potted plants can buy them at very reasonable prices from several commercial stalls on the fringes, some of which also sell light refreshments and souvenir items.

Visitors may also take part in free recreational activities like floral arrangement demonstrations, gardening lectures and music and cultural performances.

The flower show is open from 9am to 9pm everyday until March 29. Tickets are priced at $14 each, with a concessionary rate at half-price for children aged 4-14 and fulltime students, senior citizens aged 60 and above, persons with disabilities (and a companion each), and those in groups of at least 30.

Children, elderly and disabled guests get to enter free on 

Lying lands DH in jail for 4 months

 

Visa application interview (Immigration Department file photo)

Lying to an Immigration officer three times to extend her employment visa as domestic helper, has landed a Filipina in jail after she was sentenced at Shatin Court to four months’ imprisonment for each offense.

However, Magistrate Raymond Wong ordered that the three sentences he imposed on Josephine Away, 47 years old, run at the same time.

Away was charged with three counts of making a false representation to an Immigration Officer lawfully acting under or in the execution of the Immigration Ordinance, contrary to section 42(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

She pleaded guilty in a hearing today.

In the first offense, Away was accused of telling an Immigration officer interviewing her on Feb. 2, 2018 that she would work for Leung Chui Pik as a domestic helper, so she needed only an extension to an expiring visa.

She repeated the lie on Jan. 28, 2023 when she renewed her visa, to an Immigration Officer lawfully acting under or in the execution of Part III (Extension of stay) of the Immigration Ordinance.

Basahin ang detalye!

The third lie was made on July 2, 2024, when she made the same claim during Immigration arrival examination at the airport.

Her claims were lies because she actually worked for Leung’s sister.

Her lawyer, in mitigation, said she thought she did not need to make a change in her Immigration record since her new employer was from the same family.

Magistrate Wong gave her the usual one-third discount from the intial sentence of six months, which she would serve concurrently.

Concern raised about FDHs’ ‘abuse’ of non-refoulement scheme

 

All those repatriated were former DHs who overstayed, with some committing crimes

Hong Kong Immigration has expressed concern about what it called as the “abuse” of the non-refoulement claim mechanism by foreign domestic helpers as it announced Friday the repatriation of 18 unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants.

Immigration said in the statement that all those repatriated between March 18 to 20 were former FDHs who had overstayed their visas. Among them were former prisoners who had served their sentences after committing criminal offences.

“The ImmD is very concerned about the abuse of the non-refoulement claim mechanism and is aware that a number of claimants were former foreign domestic helpers before,” said the statement.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

“The ImmD has been co-operating with the relevant consulates-general in Hong Kong and will continue such co-operation to step up publicity and education for newly arriving foreign domestic helpers to help them understand that they should not abuse the non-refoulement claim mechanism.”

To forestall their return to their home countries after overstaying, the FDHs filed claims for non-refoulement or against being sent back home, saying they faced torture or persecution if they returned.

Once non-refoulement applications are lodged with the Immigration Director, repatriation cannot be carried out until a final decision is reached. If denied, the applicant could appeal, first with the Torture Claims Adjudication Board, then to the courts, a process that could take years.

Basahin ang detalye!

In the meantime, applicants are provided by the government with food and accommodation subsidies but are not allowed to take up work. A big number end up working illegally or resorting to crime during this period.

To prevent an abuse of the process, Immigration updated its removal policy starting from Dec 7, 2022 which allowed it to generally proceed with the removal of a claimant whose judicial review has been dismissed by the Court of First Instance, despite the availability of appeal.

In its statement, Immigratio said it will continue to explore solutions to speed up the repatriation of unsubstantiated non-refoulement claimants and coordinate with relevant authorities to “optimise repatriation routes and the operation process.”

Those being consulted on further speeding up repatriation are the major source countries of non-refoulement claimants, airline companies and other government departments.

 

Peso drops to historic low of 60.1 to USD

 

It was the first time that the peso fell to below 60- to-USD level

The Philippine peso slumped to a record low on Thursday, breaching the 60-to-the-dollar level for the first time in history.

The peso opened at Php59.9 and dropped to an intraday low of Php60.4, its lowest level on record, before closing the day at Php60.10, 58 centavos weaker than its previous finish of Php59.52 on Wednesday.

The plunge came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, which caused investors to buy into the US dollar, generally regarded as “safe haven” currency.

Basahin ang detalye!

Analysts said the weakening of the peso was directly tied to the rise in crude oil prices after Iran launched retaliatory attacks on some energy facilities across the Middle East, including Qatar.

The shift of investments to the greenback gained further support after the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady and warned of an “uncertain” outlook because of the intensified war in Iran.

The weakening of the peso dealt a blow to President Ferdinand Marcos’ declared intention early this year to keep the peso above the 60 to the USD level.

As the Middle East remains in turmoil, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday that it was closely monitoring the impact of the conflict on the Philippine economy.

“Price stability is the BSP’s main mandate. As such, the BSP is assessing the potential impact of higher oil price on the price of fertilizer, transport fares, and inflation in general,” it said.  

Meantime, overseas Filipino workers are once again seen as buoying up the moribund economy with their remittances which grew 3.5% to US$3.02 billion in January 2026 alone.