More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
The July 2026 unemployment rate of 6 percent marks the highest level recorded in the Philippines since the immediate post-pandemic period, matching the rate last seen in June 2022. This rebound underscores that the labor market recovery from COVID-19’s massive job losses remains incomplete and vulnerable to new pressures.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2301816/july-unemployment-leaps-to-6-percent-highest-in-postpandemic-era/amp |
The country’s labor market showed fresh signs of strain in July as more fresh graduates struggled to find jobs, pushing unemployment to its highest level since the pandemic era.
According to data by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released on Tuesday, the unemployment rate surged to 6 percent in July from 4.9 percent in June. This was equivalent to 3.14 million jobless Filipinos, up from 2.59 million in June.
The latest figure marked the third straight month of increase and was the highest in four years, or since June 2022, when unemployment also stood at 6 percent.
This was also the first time unemployment reached the 6-percent level after staying between 4.7 percent and 5.8 percent since the start of the year.
Month-on-month, the labor force participation rate declined to 63.6 percent from 65.1 percent, translating to a labor force of 52.36 million from 53.25 million. But quarter-on-quarter, it increased from 62.7 percent, or 51.3 million.
Metro Manila had the highest unemployment rate at 8.2 percent.
National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the sudden rise in unemployment was due to new participants estimated at 1.33 million who have joined the labor market but are not yet absorbed into the workforce.
The age group of these entrants was pegged at 15 to 24 years old.
The employment rate declined one percentage point in July from 95 percent in June, with the number of employed Filipinos falling to 49.21 million from 50.55 million.
The number of underemployed Filipinos, meanwhile, rose to 12.9 percent from 12.1 percent. This represented 6.33 million underemployed Filipinos, up from 6.11 million in June.
The Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev) said the spike in unemployment is a challenge.
“More Filipinos are participating in the labor market, which means that we need to intensify efforts to attract investments, especially those that create quality jobs,” DepDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
“The key is to continuously improve the ease of doing business in the country,” he said.
Economist Leonardo Lanzona of the Ateneo de Manila University said the increase in unemployment is no longer a short-term absorption lag, especially since it had been climbing steadily as the share of degree holders among the jobless rose from 26.9 percent in 2020 to the latest figure of 35.6 percent.
“If this were a short-run absorption lag, it would have been corrected already. We have a structural demographic mismanagement problem which means investment incentives are designed to reward capital size rather than job creation,” Lanzona said.
“The economy keeps attracting capital-intensive investment that can’t absorb a growing young workforce—a design flaw no amount of job-matching or reskilling programs can fix without reforming the incentive criteria themselves,” he added.
The surge was driven largely by 1.33 million new entrants—mostly young graduates aged 15–24—who joined the workforce but could not find employment, highlighting ongoing difficulties in absorbing post-pandemic cohorts into the formal economy. Economists and officials noted that the rise signals deeper structural problems rather than a temporary lag, as capital-intensive growth continues to fall short of generating enough quality jobs for a labor force still feeling the long-term effects of the pandemic disruption.
After the pandemic caused a noticeable decline in active flag football players in Cebu, organizers moved to revive the sport. CIFFA Chairman Siegfred Agraviador, drawing on his collegiate playing and tournament experience, helped restart local activity once restrictions eased
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| https://all-starmagazine.com/featured-stories/ciffa-flag-football-philippines/ |
Ever heard of flag football?
While it may still be unfamiliar to many Filipinos, the sport has quietly built a passionate and growing community across the country, attracting students, working professionals, and first-time athletes to a game built on speed, strategy, and teamwork.
In Cebu, the Cebu Integrated Flag Football Association (CIFFA) is helping push that movement forward.
For CIFFA Chairman Siegfred Agraviador, the journey began after the pandemic, when he and others in the community noticed a decline in active players. With experience playing collegiate flag football and organizing university tournaments, Agraviador was invited by his friend Miguel Callorina to help revive the sport in Cebu.
What began as an effort to bring players back to the field has since developed into a bigger mission.
“From day one, our main focus at CIFFA has been growing the sport at the rookie level,” Agraviador told ALL-STAR.
Through rookie cups, camps, and support for university teams, CIFFA has created more opportunities for newcomers to discover the sport. Agraviador has since seen flag football expand beyond Cebu City into different towns and provinces, with younger players—including athletes in the 17-and-under age group—starting to join the community.
“We still have plenty of work to do to build up that youth division, but the momentum is definitely there,” he said.
Agraviador is also quick to emphasize that CIFFA isn’t doing it alone. He credits organizations such as the Cebu Flag Football League (CFFL), Ultimate Blitz League (UBL), Punk Panda League, and Sugbo Flag Football Club (Sugbo FFC), alongside local coaches and players, for helping the sport grow.
“We’re super lucky to have an amazing community around us,” he said. “Everyone plays a huge part in keeping Cebu flag football alive and growing.”
That growing community will come together for the Cebu Festival Cup 2026, happening on September 12–13 at the Dynamic Herb Borromeo Sports Complex in Talisay, Cebu.
What began as a post-pandemic recovery has since grown into a wider community movement across Cebu and nearby areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted professional basketball in the Philippines and left Davon Potts’ contracts in limbo. Facing financial uncertainty despite owning property, he described himself as asset-rich but cash-poor during that period.
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| https://fastbreak.com.ph/former-pba-player-davon-potts-reveals-reason-on-walking-away-from-basketball/sports-galore/ |
FORMER San Beda star Davon Potts has opened up on his decision to leave professional basketball while he was still in his prime, saying he chose to pursue entrepreneurship rather than spend the rest of his playing career without a clear path for life after basketball.
Potts, a Filipino-American from Los Angeles, arrived in the Philippines after earning his basketball opportunity through San Beda. He made an immediate impact with the Red Lions in the NCAA, becoming one of their key scorers and helping the school capture the NCAA Season 93 championship in 2017. He scored 15 points in his final collegiate game as San Beda swept Lyceum in the finals.
His time with San Beda also included a championship in the PBA D-League with Cignal, before he entered the PBA Rookie Draft. Alaska selected Potts with the 18th overall pick in 2017, giving him opportunity to play professionally.
Potts spent his first PBA season with the Alaska Aces before later moving to the Phoenix Fuel Masters. He played alongside established names including Calvin Abueva, Vic Manuel, Chris Banchero, Sonny Thoss and JVee Casio during his Alaska stint.
But despite reaching professional basketball, Potts eventually decided that remaining in the sport was not the future he wanted.
In a vlog, he explained that he believed he still had potentially a decade left to play, but staying in the Philippine basketball industry would have prevented him from chasing his bigger ambition.
“I still had at least 10 years left to play if I was still healthy. So why? The real answer: if I stayed longer playing professional basketball in the Philippines, I wouldn’t have been able to chase my ultimate dream. That’s being an entrepreneur,” Potts said.
He also described frustrations with the basketball environment, saying he wanted organizations to prioritize winning rather than relationships and popularity.
“I play to win. And if your organization is in the business of selling what’s cute to fans instead of what wins basketball games, I’m not with that,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic eventually became another turning point. With professional basketball disrupted and contracts placed in limbo, Potts said he was forced to reassess his finances and his long-term plans.
“I was asset-rich and cash-poor,” he said.
Potts said he had already invested in property in the Philippines, including condominiums and land, but the pandemic pushed him to seek greater financial independence.
“I went all in,” he said.
He moved deeper into business and finance, taking on a variety of jobs while learning different industries, including work at a sandwich shop, commission sales, management of adults with special needs and security at a major casino in the United States.
“I went from playing professional basketball to making sandwiches at a sandwich shop. Embarrassing, right? I didn’t think so,” Potts said.
Those experiences eventually led to the creation of his own financial education platform, The Wealth Curriculum.
Potts said his decision to leave basketball was misunderstood by people who saw it as a failure. For him, however, walking away was a calculated risk designed to give him control over his future.
“If you’d rather struggle for five years and be free for the next 30 or 40, that’s the life I chose,” he said.
The same competitive mentality that shaped his basketball career, he added, also shaped his approach to business. Potts said he was never afraid to challenge people in positions of authority when he believed there was room to improve.
“Most people with more authority than me saw me as a threat because they knew I challenged their expertise,” he said.
Potts ultimately chose to leave professional basketball because he did not want to reach retirement without a second career or financial foundation.
“So I quit playing professional basketball because I refused to retire later in life unprepared for what’s next,” he said.
“I left. I took the risk. I sat with the pain. And that pain became my greatest joy.”
From an NCAA champion and PBA rookie to an entrepreneur focused on financial education, Potts now considers basketball only one chapter of a much bigger journey.
“The ultimate dream I could have asked for: living on my own terms, answering only to myself, and teaching others how to do the same,” he said.
The disruption forced him to reassess his long-term plans and pushed him to pursue greater financial independence outside of basketball. This turning point led him to leave the sport and fully commit to entrepreneurship and financial education.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed major weaknesses in health systems worldwide, including the Philippines. Six years after the WHO lifted its global health warning, Philippine hospitals and clinics continue adapting lessons from the crisis by adopting digital systems, advanced diagnostics, AI, and robotic surgery.
THE Covid-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in health systems worldwide. Six years after the World Health Organization (WHO) took down the global health warning, the Philippine health care system still continues to evolve – from learnings after the pandemic, responding to the diversified needs of the public – as hospitals and clinics adopt digital systems, advanced diagnostic tools, artificial intelligence and robotic surgery.So much around the world has changed that may affect a person’s health and well-being. For example, the onset of the stormy season and the rains brought by the southwest monsoon bring unpredictable weather conditions that may trigger seasonal illnesses. This weather has also caused massive floods, and some people are forced to cross these dirty waters and make them more susceptible to illness. This shows how as the world changes, the need to look after one’s health becomes even more critical and the need for health care to be modernized.
Building the future of patient care
Local hospitals have stepped up to improve their services and bring health care better to the people.
One of the hospitals at the forefront of this innovation is St. Lukes Medical Center, anchoring its culture of care with. St. Lukes has empowered nurses, doctors, and patients with its digital ecosystem such as the establishment of an Electronic Medical Records system and eHub. St. Lukes is also experimenting on piloting AI strategies.
For Centrale Medicale Internationale, patient care is at the forefront of its innovation. The hospital is redesigning its environments to make medical care more comfortable for patients. Patient care specialists are stationed in its outpatient centers to help coordinate consultations and diagnostics.
The Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed) is pioneering new services and technology to better address diagnosis.. On Feb. 19, 2025, MakatiMed’s Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Center performed its first Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD). ESD is a minimally invasive procedure that removes cancerous lesions in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. The procedure is specialized for patients with early-stage cancers, which can help prevent this deadly disease from getting worse.
Digitalization is care
Digitalization is one way to ensure that patients remain connected and services become accessible. Fe Del Mundo Medical Center has implemented this step, with a soft launch of its Patient Portal on June 4. This allows patients to view their dashboards, and scan the portal registry for easy access of its services.
The same way, Asian Hospital and Medical Center (AHMC) works to make medical technology and patient care harmonious for patients. Communication devices embedded in patient rooms enable efficient and speedy communication between patients and nurses or doctors, ensuring that emergencies are immediately addressed. AHMC also offers state-of-the-art technologies for radiotherapy such as the Saginova Brachytherapy – HDR and TomoTherapy HDA Series.
This year, AHMC won the Technology Innovation of the Year – Philippines at the Healthcare Asia Awards 2026 for its use of the Envision Radiology Information System. This system enables faster turnaround times in emergency cases and standardizing workflows among imaging systems, which enables timely decision-making and diagnoses.
Some hospitals also devote technology and education to specialized patient health care. Fatima University Medical Center’s Eye Laser Center is not only home to some of the country’s expert Ophthalmologists, but it is also a recognized Carl Zeiss continuing medical education center for femtosecond laser refractive procedures — a blade-free laser vision correction procedure.
Inclusive technology
Regional hospitals are of utmost importance as well. At the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Cotabato Regional and Medical Center rolled-out its robotic surgery program; it is also the first public hospital to have this kind of program. The robot-assisted surgery platform is designed to help surgeons to conduct minimally invasive procedures with more control, precision, and flexibility.
Sparking international collaboration, Team Sweden and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center have launched a partnership aimed at advancing cancer care and supporting the digital transformation of healthcare delivery.
The Swedish embassy says the partnership aims to foster innovation in the Philippine healthcare systems by adopting Swedish expertise and improving patient care for Filipinos.
Evolving health care access
The passage of the Universal Health Care (UHC) act of 2019 introduced a new era expanding healthcare access for all Filipinos. Under the new law, an opportunity for improved health system structures provided the Philippines shape accessible health services and improve healthcare efficiency.
Among the most accessible options for Filipinos comes from health maintenance organizations (HMO). HMOs are prepaid and private health insurance provided by corporations to its employees. It offers individuals access to a network of accredited doctors, hospitals and medical services that can be availed in a specified period.
According to the Insurance Commission (IC), HMOs had a profit surge of 41 percent during the first quarter of this year. This reflects the support and reliance of many Filipinos towards strengthened healthcare services amid unstable economic situations and political climat .
Leading HMOs such as Maxicare, Intellicare, and MediCard provide healthcare coverage through extensive networks of medical providers and dedicated customer support. Their plans give members access to a range of inpatient and outpatient services, helping make essential medical care more accessible and convenient.
Public health
In the public healthcare sector, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) aims to expand access to primary care and strengthen financial protection through the nationwide implementation of its No Balance Billing (NBB) policy. NBB is a PhilHealth policy which entails qualified members to avail healthcare services in PhilHealth accredited hospitals and medical systems for free.
The government has also strengthened its preventative care programs through the Yakap (Yaman ng Kalusugan Program), a primary preventative program helping Filipinos to disease free. The program seeks to encourage early diagnosis and treatment, helping prevent health conditions from worsening and reducing the need for hospitalization.
The program aims to make primary health care accessible to every Filipino through early diagnosis, medical consultations, laboratory and screening tests, and free medicines, helping prevent conditions from worsening and reducing the need for hospitalization.
These developments show that the modernization of Philippine health care is taking place on two fronts: improving the technology and services available inside hospitals while expanding access to basic and preventive care outside them.
For hospitals, modernization means faster diagnosis, more precise procedures and better coordination of patient care. For the broader health system, it means bringing primary care, preventive services and financial protection closer to more Filipinos.
The challenge is to ensure that advances in health care technology do not remain concentrated among those who can afford the most sophisticated facilities, but become part of a health system that delivers better care to Filipinos regardless of where they live or what they can afford.
