PLDT Home Builds on Fiber Leadership, Expands Digital Access With Fiber Prepaid

PLDT Inc., the Philippines’ largest fully integrated telco network, continues to strengthen its commitment to inclusive digital access through PLDT Home Fiber Prepaid, a fiber internet service designed to meet the needs of price-sensitive households and first-time fiber users.

PLDT Home Fiber Prepaid is helping bridge the digital divide by reaching more Filipino families—particularly in high-density urban communities and emerging cities—who are looking for reliable, high-speed connectivity that fits their budget and lifestyle.

“PLDT’s mission goes beyond connecting Filipinos to the internet,” said John Y. Palanca, SVP and Head of Consumer Business – Home. “More than connectivity, our goal is to connect Filipinos to opportunities, experiences, and dreams that empower them to live fuller, more meaningful lives.”

Palanca emphasized that PLDT Home Fiber Prepaid complements, rather than replaces, postpaid offerings. “It’s designed for price-sensitive households or first-time fiber users upgrading from older technologies. Prepaid fiber helps us reach new users and strengthen our presence in covered areas.”

The segment has shown encouraging early traction, driven by PLDT’s expanding fiber footprint and the growing popularity of value-added services that enhance the customer experience. Improvements in customer care—including faster installation and repair times, 24/7 support across multiple channels, and smarter self-service tools—further reinforce PLDT Home’s commitment to service excellence.

“We are proud to see the strength of PLDT Home’s performance in the first half of 2025,” Palanca added. “Whether through our premium postpaid plans, growing prepaid offerings, or our ‘Always On’ service, we remain committed to making world-class broadband more accessible, dependable, and inclusive for all.”

PLDT Home Fiber Prepaid reflects the company’s broader vision of digital inclusion—ensuring that every Filipino household, regardless of location or income, can thrive in the digital space.

PH’s Retail Treasury Bonds Available on E-Wallets for the First Time Through GBonds

For the first time ever, the Philippine government’s Retail Treasury Bonds (RTB) have been made available on an e-wallet platform, as the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) enables small investors to purchase government securities through the GBonds feature of GCash.

“We are thrilled to bring RTB 31 to the GCash app. This collaboration significantly expands our reach, enabling more Filipinos to invest in government securities easily and securely. It’s a monumental step toward our goal of a more financially inclusive Philippines, giving more people the opportunity to build their savings and contribute to the nation's economic growth,” said the Treasurer of the Philippines, Sharon Almanza.

The BTr initially planned to issue a minimum offer size of P30 billion for the five-year (5Y) RTBs, but due to strong investor demand, it eventually sold P210 billion during the rate-setting auction, which resulted in a 6% coupon rate.

GCash users who sign up for GBonds can instantly place a buy order for the government’s 31st Retail Treasury Bond Issuance (RTB 31) from August 5 until the end of the offer period on August 15.

“For a minimum investment of P5,000 with no extra fees, GCash users can instantly place a buy order for RTB 31 anytime within the offer period once they sign up for GBonds. More Filipinos will have the chance to take part in nation-building while taking a significant step toward their financial goals through this innovation,” said Martha Sazon, president and CEO of GCash parent Mynt.

“In making RTBs more accessible to millions more Filipinos, we’re also enabling retail investors to contribute to the P2.6 trillion borrowing program of the government to fund essential projects,” she added.

Powered by Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), Inc. and Bonds.ph, in partnership with the Bureau of the Treasury, GBonds became available to the public in July, allowing fully verified users to access fixed-income government securities without the need for a bank account. Filipinos can place their bond investment order and get confirmation in a few minutes in the GCash app.

Getting started on GBonds is easy and simple. Fully verified GCash users with an updated KYC within the past 3 years just need to open the app, go to GInvest, select GBonds, and register for a PDAX account, subject to their terms and conditions, to complete the registration process.

To get a fully verified GCash account, users are encouraged to go through the KYC process within the app ahead of starting on GBonds. This involves providing personal information, uploading a valid government ID, and completing a selfie scan. For more information, visit the Help Center.

For updates about the Bureau of the Treasury’s latest offerings, visit www.treasury.gov.ph and like/follow their Meta Page at TreasuryPH.

Filipino Online Gambling Players May Shift to Unregulated Platforms After E-Wallet Unlink - Study

Manila, Philippines — A new study from Filipino-focused sociocultural research firm The Fourth Wall has found a correlation between the unlinking of e-wallet platforms from regulated online gambling platforms and an increase in the number of players on unregulated sites.

The Fourth Wall surveyed over 1,000 current online gambling players from urbanized areas across Mega Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and key cities in other growth centers nationwide.

The study found that following the August 16, 2025, ban, regulated online gambling platforms experienced a 70% decline in players, while unregulated sites recorded a 40% immediate increase. Trends suggest that these unregulated platforms will continue expanding, drawing in players who exit regulated channels.

This comes after the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement conducted hearings on August 14 on bills addressing the ill effects of online gambling. Following the investigation, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered e-wallets to unlink from online gambling apps, with major players such as GCash and Maya announcing their compliance.

The study identified key factors related to e-wallet use that significantly predict player migration.

According to the study, a majority of players have high trust in e-wallets and their safety features. Players with high trust in e-wallets are 2.3 times more likely to shift to unregulated platforms (42% of those surveyed) compared to those with low trust (18%) once regulated platforms are disconnected from e-wallets. Since e-wallets are still available on unregulated sites, players may perceive this as a sign of safety and migrate there.

The study also found that many players view age verification on e-wallets as an important safety measure. As a result, players with this sentiment are 2.4 times more likely to move to unregulated platforms (40%) compared to those who do not (17%). Therefore, they may mistakenly assume that the presence of e-wallets on unregulated sites means these platforms have similar safety measures in place.

Furthermore, dependence on e-wallets also drives migration to unregulated platforms where their preferred payment option remains available. It found that those who view e-wallets as essential to online gambling are twice as likely to shift to unregulated platforms (40%) compared to those who do not (19%) when e-wallets are no longer an option on regulated sites.

"Our latest study shows the central role e-wallets play in shaping online gambling behavior. When links to regulated platforms were removed, activity shifted toward unregulated platforms rather than declining overall, unintentionally redirecting players to riskier environments. This dynamic highlights how payment channels themselves can influence perceptions of legitimacy. Future discussions on online gambling regulation should move beyond bans alone and consider how trusted tools like e-wallets shape behavior and perceptions. The importance of addressing both access points and user perceptions when designing safeguards," John Brylle L. Bae, Research Director at The Fourth Wall, said.

This builds on an earlier study by The Fourth Wall, which found that players associate e-wallets with safety and trust. Previous research revealed that about 73% of e-wallet users trust the platforms' age and identity checks, and 64% believe these platforms effectively help them regulate their spending, enabling them to play responsibly. The same study also found that 92% of players prefer using GCash, followed by Maya (6%), while only 2% use over-the-counter payment outlets.

In a separate analysis, The Fourth Wall also found significant contrasts between regulated and unregulated online gambling platforms, including the offering of games not verified by PAGCOR, a lack of Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, more lucrative marketing and affiliate structures, and inconsistent customer service. These differences expose players to various risks, including excessive financial losses, scams, fraud, and privacy issues from spam texts.

To get full access to the report, you may visit https://www.fourthwallglobal.com/ewalletban or follow The Fourth Wall’s LinkedIn page.

PLDT Makati Main Offices, High-Energy Consumption Facilities Now Powered With Renewable Energy

PLDT Inc. (PLDT), the Philippines’ leading fully integrated telecommunications network, continues to expand the adoption of greening solutions as it increases renewable energy (RE) sourcing for 17 facilities, including its main offices in Makati City.

Under its agreement with Meralco’s local retail electricity unit, MPower, PLDT gains access to an increasing amount of RE from the Competitive Retail Electricity Market (CREM) for select high-power-consuming facilities with a combined electricity demand of more than 15,000 kilowatt (kW) per month.

Included in these facilities are PLDT’s main offices at the Ramon Cojuangco Building and Makati General Office, which are located at the heart of the Makati Central Business District and have an aggregate power demand of approximately 2,200 kW per month.

This move is projected to initially reduce PLDT’s carbon emissions by around 18,000 tCO₂e metric tons per year, supporting its decarbonization roadmap that targets a 40% reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 with a 2019 baseline.

“Embracing RE is a strategic step in transforming how we power connectivity. As our customers – whether large enterprises or individual consumers – are becoming more conscious of sustainability and increasingly concerned about their environmental impact, we are evolving alongside and building a network that is not only reliable and far-reaching but also aligned with the vision for a greener future.” said Menardo “Butch” Jimenez, Jr., PLDT Chief Operating Officer and Head of Network.

Meanwhile, Leo Gonzales, PLDT Property and Facilities Management Head, said, “As the business grows, we continuously seek efficiencies amid increasing power and resource requirements. This transition to RE helps us in achieving these, while also reducing the environmental footprint of our operations.”

PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) have been working with MPower to support the various programs of the Energy and Regulatory Commission (ERC). These include participation in the CREM and the Retail Aggregation Program (RAP), which may be secured by eligible end-users through Retail Supply Contracts (RSCs) from licensed or authorized suppliers, by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the Republic Act 9136.

Earlier, PLDT and Smart registered 153 sites into the RAP, which enables access to RE for facilities with a combined energy demand of over 2,500 kW per month. By year-end, PLDT and Smart are eyeing to expand further RAP coverage to more sites in Visayas and Mindanao.

Melissa Vergel de Dios, PLDT Chief Sustainability Officer, said, “As PLDT prepares to mark its 100th year in 2028, the continuing integration of RE into our power mix supports our goal of ensuring that our business existence extends into the future and responds to the evolving expectations of our stakeholders.”

Vergel de Dios explained that increasingly, Enterprise customers are seeking low-carbon emitting products and those that are backed by climate-efficient technologies and modes of operations, while retail customers who are Millennials and Gen Zs appear to be more and more driven by eco-consciousness.

Alongside the use of RE, PLDT is continuously upgrading its fixed network from copper to fiber optic cable, which generates less heat and no longer requires cooling systems, as compared to previous technologies. Smart has also been leveraging the use of Artificial Intelligence to track network activity and optimize the energy use of its cell sites across the country.

These efforts represent the PLDT Group’s continuing contribution to the country’s green energy transition and support to the global ambition to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

Globe, DICT Forge Stronger Collaboration to Combat Fraud and Scams

Globe and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a stronger, more integrated framework to curb fraud, scams, and other ICT-enabled crimes.

The partnership formalizes a Collaborative Framework for Fraud Prevention and Investigation, ensuring closer cooperation between Globe and DICT, along with its attached agencies, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the National Privacy Commission (NPC), and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC). This initiative supports government and industry-wide efforts to safeguard Filipinos from identity theft, phishing, SMS scams, and other fraudulent activities that have proliferated in the digital space.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda underscored the importance of public-private collaboration in building a safe and trusted digital ecosystem.

“Connectivity should not be an afterthought, but a built-in part of how we design and build the future. With partners like Globe, I am confident that we are taking bold steps toward a future where every Filipino, wherever they may be, is connected and empowered. This partnership reflects our shared commitment to collective action against fraud and the protection of our people online.”

Globe President and CEO Carl Cruz, on the other han,d reaffirmed the company’s commitment to digital trust and consumer protection.

“At Globe, we believe that connectivity must go hand in hand with safety and trust. This partnership with DICT strengthens our collective defenses against fraudsters who exploit digital channels. By combining our resources, intelligence, and expertise with that of the government, we are creating stronger shields for Filipinos and ensuring that technology remains a force for good.”

The MOU takes effect immediately and will run for two years, subject to renewal upon mutual agreement. Both parties also committed to regular reviews of the framework to enhance its effectiveness and responsiveness to evolving digital threats.

Through this collaboration, Globe and DICT aim to set a benchmark for industry–government partnerships in advancing digital trust and building a safer online environment for all Filipinos.

To learn more about Globe, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/.