Author: Henry Rhoel Aguda

Let’s be honest. Our stock market has been stuck in a loop for far too long. Companies don’t want to list because trading is thin. Investors don’t trade because there aren’t enough exciting companies. Banks hesitate to underwrite because liquidity is weak. And round and round we go—no listings because there’s no liquidity, no liquidity because there are no listings. That’s not a technical problem. That’s a confidence problem. And if we’re serious about breaking that cycle, the fastest and most practical way forward is to anchor capital market reform on something Filipinos already believe in: technology. Look around. Filipino…

Connectivity used to be a convenience. Today, it’s how Philippine society functions. And in many ways, it has become the modern expression of bayanihan.If your signal drops, life doesn’t just slow down—it stops. You can’t pay. You can’t work. You can’t study. You can’t even explain why you’re late. That’s the quiet truth most Filipinos already live with: connectivity is no longer about entertainment or scrolling. It’s about participation in everyday life.For the Philippines, this runs deeper than economics. It’s cultural.We are an archipelago. We are a nation of OFWs, freelancers, sari-sari store owners, farmers, students, and families spread across…