Flood control mess pull down Philippine shares

Persistent macroeconomic issues, including the controversial multibillion-peso flood control projects, dampened investors’ appetite on Wednesday. These pulled down the local stock below the 6,100 mark.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) dropped by 0.75 percent or 45.96 points to close at 6,082.93.

The broader All Shares Index was also in the red, falling by 0.47 percent or 17.41 points to 3,663.62.

Stock data likewise showed that trading remained tepid, resulting in a market value turnover of P4.99 billion.

Only the holding firms as well as mining and oil recorded gains. The property sector saw the biggest loss.

“The local market extended its decline as lingering headwinds continued to weigh on sentiment,” Japhet Tantiangco, research head at Philstocks Financial Inc., said in a statement Wednesday.

“These include the corruption issues in the Philippines’ flood control projects, the weak position of the peso against the US dollar, and the uncertainties on the US’ tariff policies,” he added.

Irregularities in flood control projects have been making headlines recently, triggering a congressional probe.

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The Department of Finance also said that the economy had lost an estimated P42.3 billion to P118.4 billion from 2023 to 2025 from the alleged corruption in flood control projects.

Meanwhile, the market closed with 91 gainers, 109 decliners, and 56 remained unchanged.

San Miguel Corp. was the top index gainer, rising 2.74 percent to P59.90 per share. Ayala Land Inc., meanwhile, was the main index laggard, dropping by 2.96 percent to P27.85 each.