Taguig City, Philippines — Converge ICT Solutions Inc. (PSE: CNVRG) is ramping up its support for the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, citing world-class digital infrastructure as the primary catalyst for the industry’s continued global leadership. Converge Global Business, the company’s corporate and large enterprise unit, recently hosted the Elevating Connections forum at its BGC headquarters. The event convened top industry leaders to address the escalating technological demands of the IT-BPM sector, with discussions focused on how strategic partnerships and robust connectivity are essential to sustaining the Philippines’ economic momentum. Jack Madrid, President and CEO of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), underscored the sector’s role as a fundamental pillar of the national economy. “As we shift to higher-value services and embrace a more digitally-driven global landscape, our continued growth depends on world-class digital infrastructure,” Madrid said. “Strategic partnerships with leading technology providers ensure we maintain global competitiveness and continue to elevate Filipino talent on the world stage.” The forum highlighted the shift in operational requirements for modern BPOs, which now face increased demands for secure data management, AI integration, and the support of permanent hybrid workforces. Industry leaders noted that any interruption in connectivity directly impacts revenue and international client trust, making network redundancy a top priority for telecom procurement. In response to these needs, Converge reaffirmed its commitment to a robust infrastructure expansion initiative. Grace Jarin-Castillo, Senior Vice President for Sales & Marketing at Converge Global Business, stated that the company is continuously investing in both local and international assets to ensure scalability and redundancy for its stakeholders. “We recognize that seamless connectivity is the lifeblood of global operations,” Jarin-Castillo noted. “We are committed to delivering the robust, diverse, and scalable solutions necessary for this dynamic sector to support its customers, both locally and abroad.” Central to this commitment is Converge’s investment in massive subsea cable systems. As a consortium owner of the 5,000-kilometer SEA-H2X Cable System, Converge provide direct links to major Asian markets. Furthermore, its partnership in the 20,000-kilometer Bifrost Cable System will enable secure, high-capacity connectivity from Southeast Asia to North America. With a fiber network now spanning over 896,000 kilometers, Converge Global Business remains positioned to support the large-scale requirements of the country’s leading BPOs, ensuring the Philippines remains the destination of choice for global outsourcing. Ready to future-proof your BPO operations? Contact Converge Global Business for tailored, enterprise-grade connectivity solutions or visit www.convergeict.com/enterprise      

Gen Zs are taking a fresh approach to securing their future. While many prioritize side hustles and personal goals, they also value authenticity and see the importance of financial protection early on. Recognizing this shift, BDO Life has emerged as Gen Z’s top choice for their next purchase, earning the No. 1 spot in Consideration in the insurance sector at the 2026 Synergy-YouGov Awards. This citation comes from YouGov BrandIndex’s 2025 nationwide consumer tracking results, based on daily brand health tracking among more than 3,000 Gen Z respondents. “BDO Life is expanding its reach to support a broader range of breadwinners, including Gen Z. We appreciate how they value life insurance as a meaningful way to plan ahead and secure their future. This milestone inspires us to keep growing alongside the evolving needs of future generations,” shares Shirlyn T. Book, BDO Life VP and Marketing Head during the awards ceremony. The award underscores BDO Life’s deepening relevance among younger generations who consider insurance not just a safety net, but as their Plan B in building a secure future.  

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on April 28, 2026, Tuesday formally turned over  Php5.7 billion to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), marking its latest contribution to funding infrastructure, social services, and military modernization. This brings BCDA’s total remittances for 2026 to 5 percent higher than the Php5.45 billion recorded in 2025, driven by solid performance across its economic zones and strategic partnerships. “BCDA is the GOCC (government-owned and -controlled corporation) that goes beyond generating dividends. It is a true developer of progress, creating the platforms and jobs that uplift millions of Filipinos across the country…The entire DOF family stands ready to support you. We will match your momentum. We will back your strategy. We will help you unlock even more value from your assets,” said Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go. The amount is equivalent to around 330 kilometers of roads, 2,300 classrooms, or 1,700 hospital beds nationwide. It can also support about 3,800 housing units under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program. Once channeled, a portion will be allocated to strengthen the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program. “Every peso we remit translates to real improvements in people’s daily lives. This is how we make sure our work creates an impact that people can see and feel,” said BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Engr. Joshua M. Bingcang. Of the total, Php2.6 billion came from dividends, the highest in BCDA’s history and 18.18 percent higher than the Php2.2 billion recorded in 2025. This represents 61 percent of BCDA’s net earnings, exceeding the 50 percent minimum required under Republic Act No. 7656 or the Dividend Law. Of the total dividends, Php300 million has been allocated to help the national government cushion the impact of rising fuel prices on vulnerable sectors. This ensures that part of BCDA’s earnings directly supports Filipinos facing immediate economic pressure. The remaining Php3.09 billion came from asset disposition proceeds, which will be distributed to beneficiary agencies, including a significant share for the AFP modernization program. BCDA also remitted Php25 million in guarantee fees to the BTr, linked to the government’s loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). “We ensure that every peso due to the government is remitted accurately and on time. Accountability is how we make sure public resources are protected and used for the benefit of every Filipino,” Engr. Bingcang added.            

Before the break of dawn, Jose Cabanza Jr. of Barangay La Huerta in Parañaque wakes up to prepare his fishing equipment before heading to Manila Bay by sunrise to haul in his catch for the day. But for fishers like Jose, not every day is a good day. “Pabago-bago po [ang kita] katulad ngayon, medyo may sama ng tubig, namamatay ang ibang tahong (My earnings fluctuate. Recently, some mussels are dying due to poor water conditions),” he said. Jose is just one of the target beneficiaries of a financial education program of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the City Government of Parañaque, and BDO Foundation. Advocated by the City Agricultural, Fisheries, and Aquatic Services Office of Parañaque, the initiative aims to equip fisherfolk with the knowledge and tools to better manage their finances amid the challenges faced by the sector. “They need technical knowledge to improve their lives,” said Amie Hernandez, OIC of the Parañaque City Agri Office. “This partnership actually seals that intention. And someday, our people will be more than capable of managing their financial capacity or their resources.” The financial education program was launched recently in a ceremonial event held at the Parañaque city hall. Present were leaders of fishing cooperatives in the city, key stakeholders from other sectors, and representatives from the BSP and BDO Foundation. Also in attendance were Parañaque City mayor Edwin Olivarez and District 1 representative Eric Olivarez. In his message of support, BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito shared “3 Ps” that illustrate what the financial education program is all about—partnership, practical knowledge, and preparedness. “Kung marunong po ang mga tao na mamahala sa kanilang kinikita, nagiging matatag po sila (If people know how to manage their finances, they become resilient),” Deriquito said. The BSP also lauded the partnership as it supports its whole-of-society approach to financial education. “This collaboration shows what is possible when the public and private sectors, such as BDO Foundation, work hand-in-hand for the good of our communities,” said BSP Economic and Financial Learning Office director Marianne Santos. Other beneficiaries are also looking forward to the financial education program. “Nag-iipon po kasi talaga kami mag-asawa pero sabi ko parang mas maganda may matututunan pa. Gusto ko po matutunan yung proper na pag-iipon sa bangko (My husband and I are already saving, but we want to learn more. I want to understand the proper way of saving in a bank),” said Mary Jane Gutierrez, a vendor at Parañaque’s Bulungan Seafood Market.   Representatives from Parañaque’s fisheries sector, BSP, BDO Foundation, and other stakeholders gather at the Parañaque city hall to witness the launch of the partners’ financial education program.

Highlights: *Resilient results on sustained growth in core businesses *Gross loans grew by 16%, driven by broad‑based growth across all market segments *Asset quality continued to improve, with NPL ratio lower at 1.68% and NPL cover among the highest in the industry *Capital position remained strong, with a CET1 ratio of 13.3% and Book Value Per Share up 8% to ₱119.36   BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO) reported a net income of ₱20.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, 2% higher than ₱19.7 billion in the same period last year, supported by the sustained performance of its core businesses. Return on Average Common Equity (ROCE) stood at 12.8% for the period. The Bank delivered strong operational results, achieving mid-teens growth in loans and pre-provision operating profit, with asset quality continuing to improve. Net income was tempered by higher provisions, as the Bank is building strong reserves, primarily a pre‑emptive measure undertaken in response to evolving geo-political risk conditions. Net Interest Income grew by 11% as Gross Customer Loans increased by 16% to ₱3.8 trillion, boosted by the double-digit growth across all market segments. Total deposits expanded by 15%, with Current Account/Savings Account (CASA) growth accelerating to 7%. Non-interest income went up by 6%, while income from insurance operations rose by 27%. Asset quality improved, with the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio declining to 1.68% from 1.77% in the same period last year. NPL coverage was at 132%. Shareholders’ equity increased by 9%, on the back of sustained earnings, with Book Value Per Share rising by 8% to ₱119.36. The Bank’s CET1 ratio was at 13.3%. BDO’s leading market position, diversified business franchise, and strong financial position underpin its ability to pursue sustainable long term growth and profitability while capturing emerging opportunities in a dynamic operating environment.

Globe Business has launched its Managed Data Streaming Platform in partnership with Confluent, establishing itself as the authority enabling intelligent transformation for Philippine enterprises. This new real-time data infrastructure is designed to power the next generation of context-rich, data-intensive AI applications. The platform addresses a critical bottleneck: the AI stall. Studies show up to 95 percent of AI efforts underdeliver because they are fed with stale and fragmented data from legacy batch systems. To bridge this gap, Globe Business is providing the data-in-motion foundation that activates stagnant information into a high-velocity stream of actionable, context-rich intelligence. “In the race for AI leadership, success will depend not only on model quality, but on the ability to continuously capture and act on fresh, real-time data.,” said KD Dizon, Vice President and Head of Globe Business. “By making real-time data an operational reality, we are giving businesses the high-velocity fuel they need to achieve true intelligent transformation” Built by the original creators of open source Apache Kafka® — trusted by over 80% of the Fortune 100 — Confluent offers a complete data streaming platform that allows enterprises to stream, connect, process, and govern data as it flows throughout their business in real time. Confluent’s proven, enterprise-grade technology is now hosted on Globe’s local Virtual Private Cloud enabling Philippine businesses to transform raw data into reusable AI-ready data products that fuel the next generation of intelligent applications. This managed approach significantly lowers the total cost of ownership compared to self-managed systems, allowing enterprises to bypass the steep expenses of specialized talent and complex infrastructure. By removing these financial and technical hurdles, companies across the banking, retail, logistics, manufacturing, and service sectors can build AI-powered applications faster while ensuring full support for local data residency compliance. “AI is only as powerful as the data behind it,” said Kamal Brar, Senior Vice President of Partners and Technology Group at Confluent. “Through this collaboration with Globe Business, enterprises in the Philippines can tap into real-time data streams that are secure, reliable, and ready for scale.” Early adopters have seen measurable gains. Retailers using real-time data streaming have raised inventory accuracy to 95 percent. Customer service teams supported by AI agents have automated up to 80 percent of inbound requests, cutting resolution time from hours to minutes. Companies like Notion report saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually after switching to managed data streaming. Globe Business is also applying these lessons internally. With 80 percent of its workforce now using AI tools, the company has improved efficiency across operations, from hiring to service delivery. By positioning real-time data as the essential infrastructure for the AI era, Globe Business is enabling modern organizations to achieve sustained business excellence through intelligent transformation.      

CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Philippines — The Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) has remitted a total of ₱585 million to the National Treasury, marking its highest dividend contribution to date. CIAC President and CEO Jojit Alcazar said the total remittance of ₱585,709,498.80 represents 60 percent of the agency’s adjusted net income from its 2025 operations. This is 88 percent higher than the ₱310,987,163.00 remitted in the previous year. “CIAC was able to surpass its previous high due to improved operations, alongside a consistent upward trend in revenue and efficiency in 2025,” Alcazar said. He added that enhanced operational performance and effective revenue generation resulted in a net income of ₱976 million in 2025, an increase of 72 percent from ₱565 million in 2024. Alcazar also underscored CIAC’s continued compliance with Republic Act No. 7656, which mandates government-owned and controlled corporations to declare and remit dividends to the national government. “CIAC remains financially strong due to prudent fiscal management, a business-friendly environment for locators, and its ability to attract partnerships and investments through development projects within the Clark Aviation Capital,” he said. Under the guidelines of the Department of Finance (DOF), government corporations are required to remit at least 50 percent of their adjusted net income as dividends. For CIAC, this corresponds to approximately ₱488 million based on its ₱976 million adjusted income in 2025. “We also complied with the DOF’s request to increase the dividend remittance rate to at least 75 percent of CIAC’s 2025 net earnings, which led to the higher payout,” Alcazar explained. The agency expects its dividend contributions to grow further in the coming years as it implements its seven flagship projects within the Clark Aviation Capital, CIAC’s aviation-centric development hub that integrates logistics, commerce, and sustainable urban growth, aimed at contributing to national economic progress.      

Globe has reached a 90 percent adoption rate of Gemini for Workspace as of January 2026, marking a significant milestone in its enterprise-wide AI journey. The achievement reflects strong engagement across teams and business groups, and signals a cultural shift toward practical, everyday AI use, from Gen AI-powered quality assurance bots to personal automation flows and custom productivity apps built to simplify work.   The milestone forms part of Globe’s broader strategy to democratize AI. The approach focuses on enablement, experimentation, and inclusion. Rather than relying solely on top-down mandates, Globe is equipping employees with the tools, infrastructure, and confidence to integrate AI into their daily workflows. Globally, only 55 percent of companies report any level of AI adoption. The company’s adoption rate positions the company well above the benchmark and underscores its commitment to making AI accessible, safe, and usable for citizen developers across the organization. “Reaching 90 percent adoption of Gemini for Workspace shows that our people are not just curious about AI. They are actively using it to improve how they work every day,” said Anton Bonifacio, Chief AI Officer and Chief Information Security Officer at Globe. “Our goal has always been to make AI practical and valuable. We want every team to feel empowered to experiment, build, and turn ideas into real progress.” To sustain this momentum, Globe and Google Cloud conducted an Agentic AI Use Case Discovery Workshop that brought together teams across the organization. The session introduced Gemini Enterprise and its agentic AI capabilities through live demonstrations, breakout sessions, and guided use-case mapping. It also encouraged continued experimentation and daily use of AI, with Globe now working toward an internal agent registry to help scale these solutions across departments. Complementing this, Globe partnered with AWS on a workshop centered on agentic AI-driven development, equipping teams to design AI workflows that can perform tasks on their behalf and accelerate enterprise development. Through an agentic design thinking framework, participants identified friction points in existing processes and mapped generative AI solutions to automate repetitive work, particularly across software development life cycle processes. “These workshops show how we are moving beyond awareness to real capability,” said Jesse Liamzon, Head of the Agentic AI Center for Enablement. “We are giving our teams the space to experiment, the tools to build, and the confidence to apply AI in ways that solve real problems. That is how adoption becomes meaningful and how progress becomes sustainable.” As Globe continues to advance its AI strategy, the company is focused on empowering more teams, building confidence through hands-on experience, and translating curiosity into measurable and scalable impact. With 90 percent adoption and continuing momentum, Globe’s AI journey has moved beyond potential into practical, everyday use that is driving real progress across the organization.

Sometimes the best summer escapes are the ones waiting just beyond the city By Lyn Gerolao   As the summer season invites people to slow down, reflect, and explore, a ride on two wheels offers a refreshing way to rediscover nearby destinations, from quiet mountain roads to scenic coastal routes. For riders who move between daily commutes and weekend escapes, the ADV160 makes every journey more rewarding. Built around the lifestyle concept “The SUV Pride,” this adventure-style scooter combines confident performance, smart technology, and everyday comfort, perfect for spontaneous rides beyond the city this summer. So, if you’re looking for places to visit during the reflective days of Holy Week, here are a few underrated destinations that are best experienced on two wheels, and why The ADV160 makes the journey even better. Antipolo, Rizal – A Meaningful Ride of Reflection A classic destination for both riders and pilgrims, Antipolo offers a peaceful escape from the city. Many travelers make their way to the Antipolo Cathedral during Holy Week, while others enjoy the cool mountain breeze and scenic roads leading up to the city. Powered by a 157cc eSP+ engine, The ADV160 delivers smooth acceleration for open highways, while the adjustable windscreen helps reduce wind fatigue during longer rides. Batangas Coast – A Summer Ride by the Sea When the heat of summer calls for the ocean, Batangas offers a refreshing coastal ride just a few hours from Metro Manila. The roads toward Nasugbu or Calatagan open to stunning sea views and relaxing beach stops along the way. With The ADV160’s Subtank rear suspension and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with wavy disc brakes, riders can navigate Batangas winding uphill routes with confidence, safety, and comfort. Dingalan, Aurora – A Hidden Adventure Facing the Pacific Often called the “Batanes of the East,” Dingalan rewards riders with breathtaking views where mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. The winding roads leading to the coast make the journey just as memorable as the destination itself. Equipped with Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC) and fuel efficiency of up to 45.0 km/L (WMTC test method), The ADV160 provides the confidence and endurance needed for longer scenic rides.   Kaybiang Tunnel, Cavite – A Route Riders Love The ride through Kaybiang Tunnel has become a favorite among riders seeking smooth curves and dramatic mountain scenery. The route offers a refreshing change of pace from city traffic, especially during early morning rides. With modern features like the new 5-inch TFT meter panel and Honda RoadSync connectivity, The ADV160 keeps riders informed and connected while navigating new routes.  The Ride That Leads to New Discoveries Sometimes the best journeys begin with a simple decision to ride somewhere new. Because in the end, every road holds the promise of discovery, and with The ADV160, riders can experience the freedom, confidence, and pride of owning a machine built for both the city and the adventures waiting beyond it. For more information, visit www.hondaph.com. Stay updated on HPI’s newest products and promos by following Honda Philippines, Inc. on Facebook at facebook.com/hondaph, Instagram at instagram.com/hondaph_mc/, YouTube at Honda Philippines_Motorcycle, and TikTok at tiktok.com/@hondaphilippines. For inquiries, contact (02)-8581-6700 to 6799, and 0917-884-6632.