BusinessMirror October 06, 2025

By Cai U. Ordinario

MORE expensive rice and fuel may have increased the country’s inflation rate in September and could prompt the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to hit the brakes on its monetary policy easing this week.

This was according to ANZ Research, which said the country’s September inflation print could increase to 2.1 percent. While this is still within the BSP’s 2 to 4 percent inflation target, this is significantly higher than the 1.5 percent posted in August and 1.9 percent recorded in September 2024.

Given this, ANZ Research said this could prevent the Monetary Board

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed the government’s debt payments soared by 256.96 percent to P664.720 billion in August this year from P186.218 billion in the same month last year. Amortization, or principal payments, rose by three and a half times to P601.615 billion in August from

Meanwhile, interest payments jumped by 19.56 percent to P63.105 billion in August from P52.781 billion a year ago. Of the total, P46.377 billion went to local lenders, up by 17.82 percent from P39.361 billion. The remaining P16.728 billion was paid to external backers, a 24.65-percent increase from P13.420 billion.

from reducing policy rates further.

This means the country’s key interest rates could stay at 5 percent.

“The BSP has so far lowered rates by a cumulative 150 bp [basis point] in the current cutting cycle. At its last meeting, the central bank characterized the current policy rate as appropriate given manageable inflation and output near potential,” ANZ Research said.

“However, real rates remain restrictive amid subdued inflation. We think that the BSP will wait for the Q3 [third quarter] GDP data, out in November, before cutting rates by another 25 bp in December,” it added.

ANZ Research said, however, noted that while key policy rates

have been reduced by 150 bps, it has not translated into lower interest rates for local Filipinos.

Citing BSP data, ANZ Research said, non-performing loans remained above prepandemic levels. Consumer loans in Asian countries like the Philippines still account for 22–29 percent of total loans.

“In these economies, sustained stress in this segment is likely dampening monetary policy transmission, particularly through the lending channel,” ANZ Research said.

The think tank said lending standards in the Philippines have become more stringent. ANZ Research said “banks in both economies [India and the Philippines] are surprisingly cautiously optimistic about a recovery in

demand for loans.”

Earlier, the BSP reported that loans extended by Universal and Commercial Banks (UKBs) posted their slowest growth in nine months.

BSP data showed loans from UKBs grew 11.2 percent in August 2025, the slowest since the 11.1 percent posted in November 2024. In April 2025, these loans also grew 11.2 percent. The data showed that after adjusting for seasonal fluctuations, outstanding UKB loans increased by 0.4 percent month-on-month in August. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/10/03/ukbloans-post-slowest-growth-in9-months).

By John Eiron R. Francisco

CEBU CITY—The massive chandeliers hanging from the ballroom ceiling began to sway, their crystals clinking against each other. Wine glasses on the tables rattled, wobbled, and fell to the floor and that was when fear began to rise inside us.

Just hours earlier, on September 30, the ballroom of a five-star hotel in this city was filled with pride and excitement. Beauty queens from around the world walked with grace, proudly wearing Filipino terno dresses that earned smiles, cheers, and applause. It was the benefit fashion gala of Miss Asia Pacific International (MAPI) 2025, with proceeds from its charity auction pledged to Operation Smile Philippines Foundation to fund surgeries for children born with cleft lip and palate.

Guests clapped, cameras flashed, and the atmosphere felt like a perfect celebration of culture and compassion. But two hours before midnight, the elegance of the night turned into panic.

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

THE reported death toll of the September 30 magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu has gone up to 71, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

However, the agency said in its Sunday morning situation report that the count is still up for validation.

In the same report, the NDRRMC said 559 were reported injured, but the number is also still up validation.

NDRRMC added that 128,464 families or 455,631 individuals were affected by the earthquake.

A total of 405 families of 1,251 individuals are now housed in four evacuation centers.

The agency said eight road sec-

tions and 15 bridges were affected, with four roads and seven bridges remaining still unpassable on Sunday morning.

Power, NDRRMC said, has been restored in 43 localities but 48 towns and cities remain without electricity also as of Sunday morning.

The tremblor, NDRRMC said also affected communication facilities in 17 towns and cities and service has been restored in seven.

Of the three seaports affected, one has already become operational, it added.

Navy brings in materials

THE Navy (PN) on Sunday announced that one of its transport vessels, the BRP Agta (LC-290) successfully conducted a humanitarian assistance and disaster response

(HADR) and brought 44.66 tons of construction materials were transported to th similarly devastated Masbate City, Masbate on October. 4.

The Navy Public Affairs Office chief, Capt. Benjo Negranza, said the hip departed Ouano Wharf, Mandaue City, Cebu on October 3, carrying essential construction materials intended to support the recovery and rehabilitation of communities severely affected by Severe Tropical Storm Opong.

This mission was made possible through the support of the Tanging Yaman Foundation, Incorporated, which coordinated with the PN to deliver much-needed aid to the disaster-stricken areas, Negranza added. Meanwhile, Negranza said another PN vessel, the BRP Dagupan City (LS-551), departed Cavite on

October 4, carrying 18,000 kilograms of relief goods bound for communities affected by the recent 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Cebu and nearby provinces. Onboard are food packs, bottled water, hygiene kits, sleeping mats, and other essential relief items consolidated by the Civil Military Operations Group of the Navy (CMOG-PN) through the generous donations of private stakeholders and partner organizations. This effort forms part of the Navy’s HADR mission to support earthquake-stricken areas. BRP Dagupan City also transported one chemical truck, two mobile showers, one disaster response truck, two ambulances, and one special rescue vehicle provided

Marcos cautions vs rushing cases in flood-project probe

By Justine Xyrah Garcia

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has cautioned government investigators against filing halfbaked cases in the ongoing probe of alleged irregularities in public infrastructure projects, saying that weak cases could end up protecting rather than punishing those involved.

Speaking in an interview teaser released Sunday, Marcos said filing cases without sufficient evidence would only expose lapses in due process and risk acquittals that could weaken public trust in the government’s anti-corruption campaign.

“Look, what will happen is this: we rushed it, our evidence isn’t complete, our evidence is weak, but we forced it anyway—and then we lost the case. Can you imagine? I think that would be much, much, much, much worse,” he said, partly in Filipino. The President acknowledged that

many individuals linked to questionable infrastructure spending “are not innocent,” but said that guilt must be proven through evidence, not assumption.

“We know many of these people are not innocent, but if you’re going to bring them to court, you must have a very strong case,” Marcos said.

He also stressed that the government’s credibility hinges on its ability to follow the same laws it seeks to enforce.

“We have to follow the law. Otherwise, whatever we do is not legitimate. And we have to be very, very clear that we go after the guilty ones,” he added.

The warning comes as the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has started probing alleged irregularities in flood control and other projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Sept. 30…

Continued from A1 Cebu…

Continued from A1

from Manila Water, Civil Military Operations Regiment of the Army (PA) and the Naval Reserve Center.

Transparent relief, rehab through tech THE provincial government of Cebu

has tapped University of Cebu (UC) students to help them develop an app that logs and pins requests for relief following the massive arthquake that struck the province last Sept. 30. Dr. Nikki Catalan, health consultant of the provincial government, this app will

The body, created by the President last month, is tasked to look into the misuse of public funds in infrastructure spending, particularly projects that were either substandard or never completed in the last 10 years. It is chaired by former Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres Reyes, with former Public Works Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson and SGV & Co. country managing partner Rosanna Fajardo as members.

The creation of the ICI follows Marcos’s State of the Nation Address in July, where he publicly called out those behind questionable flood control projects.

The administration also later on launched the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” platform to allow citizens to report defective or nonexistent infrastructure projects in their communities.

be linked with the relief tracker of the local government.

The public, she added, will now “see what’s needed, where help is going, and in the long run, track rehabilitation together.”

“Stay tuned as we continue building a more transparent and united way to bring aid where it’s needed most,” she added.

UC students, who are taking up a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, developed the “Cebu Relief App” (https:// cebu-calamity-response.vercel.app) three days ago in an aim to connect those in need with those who can help.

This app, developed by Clint Alonzo, Ralph Adriane Dilao, and Vince Clave, is a platform that connects victims of calamities.

Victims of calamities may use their app to pin their location to request urgent relief. Here, they could input their needs, such as food, water, medicine, shelter, and other essentials.

Volunteers and responders can also use the app to requests and view details by clicking the pinned locations in real-time on the map.

“This isn’t just any app—it’s Bayanihan made digital. Every pin represents a family. Every pin represents a life,” Alonzo said in a post on his Facebook account.

The availability of the app comes in handy especially at a time when the major roads in northern Cebu suffer a gridlock as more and more private individuals and groups travel there to bring relief causing a massive traffic jam.

Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro appealed to the public to have donations centralized as she admits delivery of relief has slowed down due to the traffic gridlock.

More cops sent to help THE National Police (PNP) on Sunday announced that it has sent more personnel and assets to ensure that the distribution of relief goods and items to quake-battered communities in Cebu are done as expedtiously as possible.

In a statement, the acting PNP Chief, Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., said focus will be on northern areas badly battered by the earthquake.

“The quick response and continuous hard work of our personnel on the ground not only paved the way for government assistance reaching more affected communities, especially in the northern part of Cebu, but also resulted in the gradual restoration of normalcy in the entire province,” he said.

The ground shook violently. Instinctively, I reached for my phone, hoping for answers. The screen confirmed my fear—the tremor had struck right here in Cebu province.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) would later report it as a magnitude 6.9 quake in northern Cebu, nearly 90 kilometers from where we stood.

Yet inside the ballroom, it felt as if the epicenter was right beneath our feet—shaking not only the chandeliers above us but also the fragile sense of safety we held on to.

The chandeliers swung wildly, chairs scraped across the carpeted floor, and panic rippled through the crowd. Most screamed. People dove under tables, some clinging to loved ones, while others found themselves being comforted by complete strangers crouched beside them.

In moments like that, it didn’t matter if you knew the person or not—everyone was simply holding on, praying to survive.

I remember holding my breath, unsure if the ceiling above us would hold or if the walls would collapse.

In those seconds, all I could think of was escape—hoping we could get out safely, return to our families, and make it back to Manila alive.

That nearly one minute of shaking felt like forever. In all my years, I had never felt the earth move with such force.

Fortunately, the ballroom was only on the second floor, and hotel staff quickly guided us toward the backdoor that opened to a wide, open space.

Everyone moved in haste, bracing for aftershocks. Outside, fear was written on every face—people were pale, trembling, some catching their breath as if the air itself had grown thin.

No one dared to go back inside, where parts of the ceiling had fallen during the quake, though the management later confirmed that no one was seriously injured.

Around me, I could hear voices overlapping: some crying, others whispering prayers, and many urgently calling their loved ones.

It was chaos, yet in that chaos, there was a shared silence, an unspoken understanding that we had all just brushed against something larger than us.

Aftershocks MOMENTS later, aftershocks rippled through the ground, keeping everyone on edge. Heavy rain soon followed, forcing guests to choose between staying outside in the cold or returning to the hotel lobby.

By then, it was already past midnight, nearly two hours since the main quake. Hotel staff assured everyone that the building was safe.

But fear lingered.

Brand_It business unit head for PR and manager Myla Camayo, who also attended the event, shared her experience online, admitting that for a moment, she thought “her time there was up.”

Even four hours after the main quake, she said, “no one wanted to sleep in their rooms.” Many guests stayed in the lobby, too afraid to return upstairs.

At around 2 a.m., silence finally blanketed the place. The rain had softened, but my thoughts drifted elsewhere: to those in the hardesthit areas, to families who had been fast asleep when the quake struck, unaware of the danger that would soon tear through their homes. And as dawn broke over Cebu, I couldn’t help but whisper a prayer of gratitude. That despite the chaos, the fear, and the uncertainty of that night, we were given another chance—to see the sunrise, and to carry on.

Cebu quake aftermath

AS of this writing, Phivolcs has recorded over 5,000 aftershocks following the initial quake.

The agency later traced the quake to the onland extension of the newly named Bogo Bay Fault in Sitio Looc, Barangay Nailon, Bogo City. Field teams found cracks, small mounds, and fault scarps along a two-meter-wide zone. Drone surveys showed the fault could extend

up to 1.5 kilometers, indicating lateral movement beneath the ground.

According to data from the Cebu Provincial Government as of October 5, the recent quake affected 209,972 families, or about 372,513 individuals. Of these, 26,140 families (equivalent to 5,270 individuals) were displaced. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has also validated reports of 71 fatalities, 3 missing persons, and 592 injured. Infrastructure damage was extensive. Several roads and bridges in Daanbantayan, Tabogon, and Borbon were partially or totally damaged. Government buildings were not spared—among those heavily affected were the Bogo City Hall, the Daanbantayan Municipal Building, and numerous schools and churches. Thousands of homes collapsed or sustained partial damage across northern Cebu, while sinkholes and ground fissures were discovered in Medellin, Borbon, and San Remigio. To speed up recovery, 53 cities and municipalities across Central Visayas have declared a state of calamity, enabling local governments to access quick response funds for relief and rehabilitation. The Office of the President, through President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has allocated P50 million in cash and financial assistance to the province. Additional aid includes P20 million each for the cities of Bogo, Sogod, and San Remigio, and P10 million each for hard-hit towns such as Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Santa Fe, Medellin, Tabogon, Tabuelan, and Borbon. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) also released funds under the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF)—P150 million for the province of Cebu, along with P75 million each for San Remigio, Bogo City, and Medellin, and P50 million for Borbon. Government agencies have likewise mobilized nationwide support. The Department of Health (DOH) deployed emergency response teams, sent nearly P1 million worth of medicines, and provided psychological support units for trauma counseling. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) extended more than P12.6 million in humanitarian aid, including food packs, tents, and financial assistance. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) joined search, rescue, and debris-clearing operations, while Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers conducted structural assessments in affected areas.

As of October 5, power has been restored to 99 percent of barangays, though telecommunication services remain intermittent in some parts of the province.

Port operations in Hagnaya, Pulangbato, and Bantayan also remain suspended pending safety inspections, according to the Cebu Provincial Government.

The provincial government also reported receiving P7.9 million worth of in-kind donations and P66.4 million in cash donations as of October 5.

Relief distribution efforts continue in the towns of Bogo, San Remigio, Medellin, Daanbantayan, Sogod, Tabogon, and Borbon, ensuring that affected communities receive essential supplies and assistance.

‘Beauty with a purpose’ MEANWHILE , the MAPI organization announced the cancellation of its preliminary competition scheduled in Cebu on October 3 following the quake. Instead, the 42 candidates took part in relief operations at Barangay Pajo, Daanbantayan, extending help to affected families.

“The people of Cebu remind us that the true journey of beauty is not only about crowns, but about rising together in compassion and resilience,” the organization said in a statement. The pageant organization also shared that it continues to deliver aid and assistance to various communities across the province. No one can ever predict when disaster will strike. But one thing is certain: moments like these remind us of the importance of being prepared and how, even in fear, Filipinos will always find the courage to care for one another.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

650 residential cruisers dock in Cebu on 3.5-year voyage

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

THE Philippines welcomed 650 residential cruisers, with Cebu being their last port of call in the country, as they made their way on their 3.5-yearlong voyage across the seas.

In a news statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said the cruise passengers visiting from Villa Vie Odyssey were greeted with leis and a vibrant performance from Sinulog dancers, when they arrived at the Cebu International Port on Sunday. The province was recently hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, which jolted many heritage structures and tourism sites. (See, “Hotels, tourists, churches shaken by Cebu earthquake,” in the BusinessMirror, Oct. 2, 2025.)

Still, the residential cruisers were offered optional tour packages to explore Cebu’s top attractions such as beach escapades in Mactan and city tours across Cebu and Lapu-Lapu, as well as arts and crafts experiences

that celebrate the creativity and traditions of local artisans.

The Villa Vie Odyssey first made its maiden call on the Philippines at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Port on September 23, followed by stops in Manila, Boracay Island, and Puerto Princesa, before concluding its visit in Cebu. The ship is scheduled to return in May 2026, “further strengthening the Philippines’s place on the global cruise tourism map,” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.

A niche market

RESIDENTIAL cruising is a niche market in the cruise tourism business attracting the elderly and retirees, who trade in their houses for permanent residency on cruise ships and almost unlimited travel across the globe.

According to the Growth Market Reports web site, the global residential cruise ship market reached US$5.8 billion last year, and is projected to expand at a compounded annual growth rate of 7.1 percent from 2025 to 2033,

‘Honor teachers through meaningful incentives, permanent employment’

THE country can truly honor its teachers this National Teachers’ Day by going beyond ceremonies and tributes—by granting them meaningful incentives and ensuring stable, permanent employment, a lawmaker said.

Quezon City Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas pointed to the worsening shortage of educators and widespread job insecurity—particularly among volunteer teachers—amid rising classroom demands and challenging work conditions.

To address these concerns, Vargas filed two priority measures: the Distant Public School Teachers Incentive Bill, which seeks to grant monthly allowances to teachers assigned in far-flung areas, recognizing the hardships of travel, isolation, and lack of resources, and the Plantilla Positions for Volunteer Teachers Bill to create permanent plantilla items for volunteer teachers who have rendered at least five years of continuous service, subject to qualifications and civil service standards.

“Learning outcomes are a function of resources and facilities. When teaching personnel are short and employment is not just a bureaucratic concern—they affect students, communities, and the morale of our teachers,” said Vargas. “When we lose over 30,000 teaching-related personnel in a year or when volunteer teachers remain on the margins despite years of service, it’s a failure of policy and gratitude.”

Between 2022 and 2023, the number of public school personnel dropped by around 38,000 teachers, teaching-related staff, and non-teaching staff. Meanwhile, the Department of Education reported that for the current school year, more than 150,000 teaching positions remain either unfilled or temporarily covered by volunteers and contractual hires.

The measures are designed to help fill the teacher vacancies by encouraging movement to remote areas (through incentives), normalizing and regularizing the status of veteran volunteer teachers so that commitment yields security, not precarity, and improving student-teacher ratios and the overall quality of education in underserved communities.

“For National Teachers’ Day, I call on my colleagues in Congress, the Department of Education, and other concerned agencies to support reforms that put teachers at the center of education policy,” he said. Vargas added, “Our country may be facing many anomalies today, but we must not neglect long-standing issues such as poor learning outcomes that have hindered our growth as a nation.”

National Teachers’ Day is celebrated every October 5 to honor Filipino educators whose dedication and service continue to shape future generations.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

DOH probing 400 ‘ghost’ health centers, anomalies with MAIP

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

THE Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday said that they are already investigating the alleged anomalies involving the so -called 400 “ghost” health centers and irregularities in the Medical Assistance for Indigents and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), also known as MAIP.

In a post on X, Herbosa said that “several actions have been taken already and we continue to do case build up.”

Herbosa said that they are already investigating these alleged anomalies “way before the media picked it up.”

When asked to expound on the “several actions” being referred to by Herbosa, DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said,

“They are actions meant for mandated investigative bodies and the formal

reaching an estimated $10.8 billion by 2033.

“The surge in demand for luxury living experiences and the desire for unique, travel-oriented lifestyles are among the primary growth drivers for the residential cruise ship market. As affluent individuals and

retirees seek alternatives to traditional land-based residences, the concept of owning or renting a home at sea has gained considerable traction. The integration of world-class amenities, such as fine dining, wellness centers, and cultural activities onboard, has elevated the appeal

of residential cruise ships, making them a preferred choice for those looking to combine comfort, adventure, and exclusivity. Furthermore, the post-pandemic shift towards remote and hybrid work models has enabled more individuals to consider long-term or permanent residency at sea, further boosting market growth,” said the website.

The Villa Vie Odyssey is a 924-passenger vessel operated by the Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, which offers a residencestyle concept, where passengers own or lease cabins for long-term stays, rather than traditional shorter cruises. Its current voyage started in September 2024 and will last until September 2028.

Frasco underscored the importance of hosting world-class cruise lines and innovative offerings such as Villa Vie Odyssey in advancing the country’s tourism agenda despite the recent disaster in Cebu. “We’re very grateful that MV Odyssey has arrived in Cebu. It’s been a very difficult past few days for our fellow Cebuanos who have experienced the devastation

of the 6.9 magnitude earthquake. And for this vessel that has sailed to 147 countries around the world to come here to the Philippines and to come to Cebu today is very meaningful,” she said. The DOT said close to 50,000 cruise passengers are seen visiting the Philippines this year with ships dropping anchor in Manila, Boracay, Puerto Princesa, Cebu, Samar Island, Kalanggaman Island in Leyte, and Bucas Grande Island in Surigao del Norte. This is double the 25,067 cruise passengers who arrived in 2023. The agency has not received any data on cruise arrivals in 2024. One of the challenges in the local cruise tourism business, however, is the lack of proper cruise port facilities in the country. In Manila, for instance, the often crowded and chaotic cargo port at the South Harbor also serves as a passenger terminal for arriving cruise ships. See, “PHL, premier cruise hub? Why not? But first, have a better passenger facility,” in the BusinessMirror, November 6, 2024.

Comelec lifts all poll-related bans in BARMM

By Justine Xyrah Garcia

HE Commission on Elections

T(Comelec) has lifted all electionrelated prohibitions at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), including the gun ban, in compliance with a recent Supreme Court ruling.

In a statement, the poll body reiterated that it will fully comply with the decision of the Court to halt the conduct of the parliamentary elections on October 13 and to adjust accordingly to the directives issued in the ruling.

“Relative to the decision of the

Honorable Supreme Court…[We] lift all election prohibitions, inclusive of the lifting of the prohibitions on the bearing, carrying, or transporting of firearms and other deadly weapons in the entire BARMM region, including the City of lsabela in Basilan,” the commission said.

To recall, the SC said the Bangsamoro Autonomous Act (BAA) 77, signed into law on August 28, is unconstitutional for violating Section 5 Section 5 of the Voter’s Registration Act, which prohibits any alteration of precincts once the election period has started. (Related: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2025/10/02/

sc-stops-oct-13-barmm-parliamentaryelections/)

It noted that BAA 77, which reorganizes parliamentary districts within the BARMM to reallocate seats originally intended for Sulu, was passed on August 19, or five days after the election period began.

The SC also ruled that the nullification of BAA 77 does not revive its predecessor law, BAA 58, which still includes Sulu in its parliamentary districts.

The poll body said that comments and petitions previously filed by candidates, political parties, and other stakeholders are now considered “moot and academic” because of the Court’s decision.

It also said it will wait for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to comply with the Supreme Court’s order to determine the parliamentary districts by October 30, 2025. Comelec said it will adjust its calendar of activities for the BARMM Parliamentary Elections once the BTA complies with the directive.

The elections must be held no later than March 31, 2026. The Supreme Court ruling effectively resets the timeline for Bangsamoro’s first parliamentary polls, which were meant to complete the region’s transition to a fully elected government.

Gatchalian seeks expansion of Bahay Pag-Asa facilities

ABy Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

SENATOR is seeking budget support to expand the facilities of Bahay Pag-Asa, which provides short-term residential care for children in conflict with the law (CICL) aged 15 to 18.

“Kung hindi natin susuportahan ang Bahay Pag-Asa, the clamor to amend the law and lower the minimum age of criminal liability will definitely be louder. Yet, we don’t have a budget for Bahay Pag-Asa in 2026,” said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

While the Juvenile Justice and Welfare

Act of 2006 (Republic Act 9344) mandates local governments (LGUs) to build Bahay Pag-Asa facilities, Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian admitted that not all LGUs comply with the law.

The Social Welfare chief added that they are seeking an extra P700 million to fund more facilities, including separate rehabilitation centers for boys and girls, care facilities for former child combatants, and the construction of at least five shovelready Bahay Pag-Asa projects in different regions, among others. Aside from setting aside allocations for new facilities, Senator Gatchalian proposes a counterpart program where LGUs and the national government share the cost of construction.

Coastal, riverine areas bear brunt of Zambales floods

By Henry Empeño

Courts of law.”

“The DOH will disclose them at the appropriate time and before the appropriate legal forum,” Domingo added.

Earlier, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that the investigation on the anomalies should also expand to the DOH, citing the so-called ghost facilities and mounting complaints on the MAIP program.

Meanwhile, Herbosa said that they are looking at “options to operationalize nonfunctioning completed health facilities.”

Domingo also explained that almost of these health centers being referred to as “ghost” facilities are already “completed” but encountering problems like lack of staff.

He said that it is the local government units who are responsible for “staffing the facilities.”

MASINLOC, Zambales—Seaside communities and villages located along riverbanks suffered the worst flooding in Zambales, as heavy rains from Typhoon Paolo and a high tide combined to inundate most parts of Zambales on Friday, October 3.

Rolex Estella, head of the Zambales Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), told the B usiness M irror that the high tide phenomenon peaking at about 5:00 a.m. on October 3 compounded the effects of the typhoon.

“Zambales was placed under Orange rainfall warning at 11 a.m. and then under Red warning at 2:30 p.m. on last Friday,” Estella noted. “Heavy rainfall, especially in the mountains, resulted in a large volume of water going downriver, thereby causing waterways to overflow and flood low-lying areas,” he added.

Estella said a total of 893 families, composed of 2,373 individuals, fled their homes from 11 of the 13 towns of Zambales at the height of Typhoon Paolo.

Most of the evacuees are from the northern towns of Santa Cruz, with 303 families, or 694 individuals; Masinloc, with 250 families, or 565

individuals; and Botolan, with 125 families, or 402 individuals.

While initial reports placed severe flooding along sections of the highway in central Zambales, notably San Felipe, Cabangan, and Botolan, coastal and riverine communities up north were the most vulnerable to flooding, PDRRMO data showed.

At barangay Tapuac in Masinloc, floodwaters rose to waist-deep when the nearby Hamat River overflowed its banks, forcing 33 families to seek shelter at the Tapuac Elementary School.

A creek running along barangay San Lorenzo, also in Masinloc, likewise

overflowed during high tide, making the highway impassable to light vehicles last Friday, said Malou Anoche, who operates a carinderia in the area. Anoche said that portion of the highway has become flooded during heavy rains in the last three years. The area used to be a swamp of mangroves, but has been converted into fishponds in the 70s. Estella, meanwhile, observed that silted waterways directly worsened flooding in Zambales. He said that municipal DRRMO units have been instructed to clear clogged waterways with the help of local officials and volunteer groups.

Legislators propose creation of Samar Island Region

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

SIX lawmakers from the three provinces of Samar pushed for the creation of a new Samar Island Region (SIR)—a proposal they believe will finally unlock the island’s long-delayed development.

The legislators jointly filed House Bill 4218, which seeks to establish Samar Island as a separate administrative region, distinct from Eastern Visayas. Leading the initiative is House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan (4Ps

Partylist), former representative of Eastern Samar’s lone district. He is joined by Eastern Samar Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales, Samar First District Rep. Stephen James Tan, Samar Second District Rep. Reynolds Michael Tan, Northern Samar First District Rep. Niko Raul Daza, and Northern Samar Second District Rep. Edwin Marino Ongchuan.

“This is not just an administrative measure—this is

to

third-largest island, comprises the provinces of Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Samar (formerly Western Samar). Despite its abundant natural resources and strategic location, the island has long lagged behind in development, forcing residents to travel to Tacloban City in Leyte for many government services.

The

and

creation. The measure also highlights the island’s rich historical significance, being the site of

Magellan’s first landfall in the Philippines and the birthplace of notable uprisings against colonial powers. Once enacted, the Samar Island Region will become the country’s 19th administrative region, bringing the national government’s presence closer to Samar’s more than 1.9 million residents.

Congressman flags ₧250-B unprogrammed appropriations in 2026 national budget bill

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

ALAWMAKER has questioned the government’s proposed P250 billion in unprogrammed appropriations (UA) for the 2026 General Appropriations bill, warning that the lump-sum nature of these funds makes them vulnerable to misuse.

Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno of Akbayan, during his recent interpellation on the national budget, emphasized that unprogrammed appropriations—which can only be released once additional revenues, loans, or grants become available—should ideally be converted into transparent, itemized funding for essential services such as education, health, and social protection.

“These items are not itemized; that’s why they may be vulnerable to abuse,” Diokno said. “Would it

not be better to program transparent line items for basic services instead of placing them under unprogrammed appropriations, which already amount to almost P250 billion?”

In response, the House Committee on Appropriations vice chairman, Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, who sponsored the DBM’s budget, acknowledged Diokno’s concerns and agreed that it would be preferable to itemize such expenditures.

DOST bats for PSHS stipend, tech-transfer funding increase

By John Eiron Francisco & Bless Aubrey Ogerio

THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is pressing for an expanded budget next year to cover long-delayed adjustments in student stipends and ramp up support for technology transfer programs that turn homegrown research into viable businesses at the Philippine Science High School System.

Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the agency has raised its priority requests with the House of Representatives as part of 2026 budget deliberations.

“We are in discussions with the House because we have priority needs that we hope can be granted next year,” Solidum told the B usiness M irror in a mix of English and Filipino on the sidelines of the Balik Scientist Program in Pasay City on Friday.

“One of the requests is to increase our budget so we can raise the stipend for Philippine Science High School students who are in need,” he added. “Living expenses have changed, and the current rate was set ten years ago.”

In a House hearing last August, the Science Education Institute reported a 57-percent utilization rate of its scholarship funds as of July 2025. The Commission on Audit (COA), in its 2023

annual report, flagged recurring inefficiencies in the scholarship program, citing delayed fund releases and incomplete documentation.

State auditors noted that only a portion of the amounts transferred to universities had been fully liquidated.

Apart from the proposed stipend increase, the DOST is also pushing for higher allocations for its technology transfer and commercialization initiatives.

These programs are meant to bridge the gap between research and industry by helping innovators transform laboratory work into sustainable enterprises.

“We also hope to increase the budget for technology transfer and commercialization so we can assist more people in growing their businesses and generating more decent jobs,” Solidum said.

During the same August hearing, the science chief identified five priority initiatives to reinforce the agency’s scholarship program. Among these was a proposed P200 million allocation for technology transfer to help local innovators expand and reach export markets.

Solidum said lawmakers will ultimately decide which proposals to accommodate. “It will be up to them. We don’t design it, it’s the House of Representatives,” he said. Under the proposed 2026 national budget, the DOST is set to receive P30.4 billion, higher than this year’s P28.46 billion.

Palace declares special non-working holidays

MALACAÑANG has declared several local special non-working, holidays in October and November 2025 through Proclamations 1045 to 1051, allowing residents of certain towns and cities across the country to commemorate their respective founding anniversaries, festivals, and historic events.

Proclamation 1045 declared October

9 a special non-working, holiday in San Isidro, Surigao del Norte, for the town’s 66th founding anniversary.

Proclamation 1046, meanwhile, declared October 16 a special non-working holiday in Lapuyan, Zamboanga del Sur, for the town’s 68th founding anniversary.

Under Proclamation 1047, October 20

is a special non-working holiday in Batac City in Ilocos Norte to mark the 159th birth anniversary of General Artemio Ricarte, a key general during the Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War

who was born in Batac.

Proclamation 1048 declared October 28 a special non-working holiday in Dingle town, Iloilo to commemorate the Cry of Lincud, the first declaration of revolution against Spain in Iloilo and Panay Island. Proclamation 1049 stated October 29 is a special non-working holiday in Mati, Davao Oriental to celebrate the Sambuokan Festival in commemoration of the town’s establishment before becoming a city.

Under Proclamation 1050, October 30 is a special non-working holiday in San Isidro, Davao del Norte to mark the celebration of the Sikwate Festival.

Proclamation 1051 declared November 4 a special non-working holiday in Quezon province to commemorate the death anniversary of national hero Apolinario dela Cruz, also known as Hermano Puli, a religious leader executed during the Spanish colonial period.

“We agree that it is better to have these items programmed and listed as separate line items in the budget,” Suansing said. “However, there are certain instances when unprogrammed funds are necessary—for example, to support foreign-assisted projects or provide urgent budgetary support to government corporations.”

Big-ticket programs

DIOKNO, however, noted that some items in the unprogrammed appropriations—such as P97 billion for foreign-assisted projects, P6.7 billion for health emergency allowances, and P80 billion for the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs (Sagip)—appear to be pre-planned and recurring programs that should be part of the regular budget.

“These are clearly programmed obligations that should not be treated as standby authority,” he said.

Suansing explained that some foreign-assisted projects (FAPs) are placed under unprogrammed funds due to timing and approval issues within the government’s budgeting process.

“Ideally, we would want FAPs

listed under DPWH or DOTr as specific line items,” she said. “But some projects approved by the Investment Coordination Committee [ICC] miss the cutoff for inclusion in the National Expenditure Program [NEP], so they are placed under the unprogrammed funds instead.”

Diokno further pressed for details on the P80 billion Sagip allocation, questioning its purpose given that infrastructure and social programs already exist in the regular budget.

Suansing said the Sagip fund serves as a reserve for high-priority social protection programs, such as the construction or rehabilitation of roads, bridges, flood control structures, electrification, agricultural support, and financial assistance to indigent families.

She added that unprogrammed funds were also used in previous years to respond to emergency situations, citing the Covid-19 health emergency allowances and disaster-related assistance programs when regular funds were depleted.

“Those are extraordinary circumstances where we would need to access the Sagip fund,” Suansing explained. “We recognize the value

of line-item budgeting, but there must also be flexibility to respond to urgent, unforeseen needs.”

Remove entirely

AMID growing concerns over questionable infrastructure spending, Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña of Akbayan called for the removal of the entire unprogrammed appropriations budget during the plenary deliberations on the 2026 national budget.

Cendaña raised alarm that the two largest allocations under the unprogrammed appropriations remain heavily focused on infrastructure projects—P97.3 billion for support to foreign-assisted projects and P80 billion for the Sagip.

“If we sum it up, almost 70 percent of the unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 budget are for infrastructure projects. We could have invested in health—but the unprogrammed appropriations even exceed the Department of Health’s budget by P3 billion. We could have invested in education. But why is it still mostly infrastructure?” he said.

Cendaña also noted that in previous years, Sagip was associated with the release of funds for

controversial flood control projects. While Suansing expressed openness to removing Sagip, she stopped short of agreeing to scrap the entire unprogrammed appropriations.

The Akbayan lawmaker maintained his position, warning against approving the 2026 budget with the unprogrammed funds intact.

“We have to zero out the unprogrammed appropriations budget until we can ensure that our institutions are free from corruption. Let’s not allow the people’s money to continue being abused,” he said.

Meanwhile, Diokno urged the DBM to submit to Congress a complete list of all projects funded through unprogrammed appropriations, including Special Allotment Release Orders (Saros) and revenue certifications from the Bureau of the Treasury.

Suansing assured the House that the DBM has already shared such lists with several lawmakers and is coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to verify the status and completion of projects funded by unprogrammed appropriations.

PHL, South Korea forge two-year clean air project

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE Philippines and the Republic of Korea recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Clean Air for the implementation of a two-year (Project) Clean Air for Sustainable (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Asean (Casa) cooperation project.

The MOA was signed by Assistant Secretary for Environment and concurrent Director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Jacqueline A. Caancan and the Principal Investigator of Casa and Seoul National University (SNU) Graduate School of Public Health Professor Kiyoung Lee in Pasay City.

The Casa Project is an initiative funded by the Asean–Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund and launched in January 2023. The project’s core mission is to empower Asean Member States with the tools and expertise to build robust air quality management systems by providing both advanced equipment and capacity-building programs.

“By bringing together scientific

research and international teamwork, the CASA Project, a partnership between the EMB and Seoul National University, will create better data and monitoring systems, laying the groundwork for smarter, evidence-based policies,” Caancan said in a statement.

Underscoring the importance of collaboration in addressing transboundary air quality concerns, Caancan said the historic agreement brings the Philippines and South Korea closer to a common goal of cleaner air, healthier communities, and stronger communities that can withstand the current environmental challenges.

“This partnership strengthens our nations’ bonds and represents a shared dedication to environmental protection, making a meaningful contribution to regional sustainability efforts across the Asean region,” she said.

The event was also marked by the official handover of two stateof-the-art air quality monitoring systems from the Republic of Korea to the Philippines. One unit will be installed in the Air Quality Monitoring Station (AQMS) in Pasay City and the other in Quezon

City. Present in the ceremony were key officials of the EMB, the SNU, and project partners.

The equipment can measure PM2.5 and O₃, and expands the AQMS capacity to capture realtime data linked to national and regional air quality monitoring platforms. These data on key pollutants are vital to developing evidence-based environmental policies and targeted interventions. The upgraded AQMS reinforces the Philippines’ commitment to protect public health and promote sustainable air quality management.

“The Casa project, supported by the Asean-Republic of Korea Cooperation Fund and jointly implemented by Seoul National University and partner institutions across Asean, aims to identify the sources and health impacts of air pollution, strengthen monitoring systems, and develop effective policy responses,” Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines Hyun Jung Jung said.

“By establishing air quality monitoring infrastructure throughout the Philippines and across Asean, and by harnessing

Biñan wins big at tourism awards

BAGUIO CITY—The City of Biñan once again shone on the national stage after winning two Grand Champion trophies at the 2025 Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (Atop) National Tourism Pearl Awards, held on October 2 at Hotel Supreme, Baguio City. Leading the city’s delegation were Mayor Angelo Alonte, Councilor Ingrid Almeda, and the Biñan City Culture, History, Arts and Tourism Office (BChato) headed by BJ Borja. The Puto Latik Festival, now on its 15th year, was named Best Cultural Festival (Independent Component City Category)—its fourth Pearl Award following

victories in 2018, 2019, and 2022. Celebrated every May 15–23, the festival honors Biñan’s dual heritage: the iconic “puto Biñan” and the traditional “Maglalatik” dance. This consistent recognition cements its role as a benchmark for cultural preservation and innovation, prevailing over the Giant Lantern Festival of the City of San Fernando in Pampanga and the Talakudong Festival of Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat. Biñan also triumphed as Best Program for Culture and the Arts (Independent Component City Category) with its Dulambayan Biñan Theater Arts Festival—continuing an unbroken winning streak since 2022.

Through BChato’s initiatives, the city has advanced programs in performing arts, heritage conservation, museum development, and creative community engagement, strengthening its position as a hub for cultural sustainability in Southern Luzon.

scientific analysis, the Casa project will enhance Asean’s capacity to respond to air pollution, thereby improving the quality of life and public health of our peoples,” Jung said.

In addition to the equipment turnover, the Casa Project includes technical training and capacitybuilding activities for EMB air quality specialists. These programs aim to strengthen expertise in monitoring, data interpretation, reporting, and the formulation of responsive air quality interventions.

Caancan expressed optimism that the partnership with South Korea will serve as a model for regional environmental cooperation rooted in mutual support and shared responsibility. In line with this, the DENR–EMB remains committed to strengthening air quality management systems through science, collaboration, and innovation—ensuring cleaner and safer air for all Filipinos, especially in urban areas.

With the Casa Project, the Philippine government and the Asean community take concrete steps toward cleaner air and healthier futures.

“These victories are not just for Biñan, but for every Biñanense who takes pride in our heritage and works together to keep our culture alive,” said Alonte. He vowed to sustain the city’s cultural momentum: “I am committed to bringing more achievements in the fields of culture and tourism because these are true economic drivers for our city. No town can be truly progressive if it does not know how to value its culture and arts.” The twin awards reaffirm Biñan’s reputation as a consistent Pearl Awards winner since 2018 and came just a month after the city was named national finalist at the inaugural Philippine Tourism Awards for Best Tourism Destination of the Year. This back-to-back recognition underscores Biñan’s growing prominence as one of the country’s leading tourism and cultural hubs. With these honors, Biñan proves once more that local culture and creativity fuel not just identity but also development. The challenge ahead, city officials note, is to sustain the gains, nurture the next generation’s involvement, and continue balancing modernization with heritage preservation.

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Marches in Rome, Barcelona and Madrid protest Israel’s military campaign in Gaza

By Joseph Wilson & Paolo Santalucia The Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain—Hundreds of thousands of Italians and Spaniards marched in Rome, Barcelona and Madrid on Saturday against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza in a show of growing international anger over the twoyear-old war.

The protests in almost every major Spanish city had been planned for weeks, while the demonstration in Rome followed widespread anger after the Israeli interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla that had set sail from Barcelona in a bid to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory.

The protests across southern Europe come as Hamas said that it has accepted some elements of a plan laid out by US President Donald Trump to end the war, which has left Gaza’s largest city in famine and stirred accusations of genocide against Israel.

Rome’s police said that 250,000 people turned out, while organizers said that 1 million attended, for a second straight day of Italian demonstrations. Italy already saw more than 2 million people rally on Friday in a one-day general strike to support

the Palestinians in Gaza. In Spain, officials said that 100,000 people marched in Madrid and another 70,000 filled downtown Barcelona. Organizers of the Madrid march raised attendance to 400,000, while organizers in Barcelona said that 300,000 took part. While the protests were peaceful, hours after the official Barcelona demonstration ended, there were clashes between police and several hundred people, some of whom vandalized stores and caused scenes of panic among shoppers and bystanders.

Spaniards were also called by activists to march in Valencia, Sevilla, Malaga and other cities.

Smaller rallies took place in Paris, Lisbon, Athens and Skopje, North Macedonia, and in London and Manchester, England.

Protests in Rome criticize Meloni

THE protest in Rome that followed a route by the Colosseum was organized by three Palestinian organizations a long with local unions and students.

At Piazza San Giovanni, protesters chanted and applauded the name of Francesca Albanese, an Italian who is the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories and a vocal critic of Israel.

Although the organizers had requested that only Palestinian flags be carried, there were some banners praising the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. One read, “October 7, Day of Palestinian Resistance,” a reference to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the

Israel and Hamas set for talks over Trump’s Gaza peace plan in Egypt

By Sara Gharaibeh, Fadwa Hodali & Dan Williams

ISRAEL and Hamas are set to begin

mediated negotiations on Monday aimed at ending a two-year conflict that’s devastated Gaza and destabilized the Middle East, after US President Donald Trump hailed the militant group’s offer to release all hostages.

Egypt, a key intermediary in truce talks, said it would host delegations from both sides to discuss a possible exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also traveling to Egypt to take part in the negotiations, which follow Hamas’s request to discuss some elements of the US president’s 20-point plan to end the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the emerging deal, but cautioned it wasn’t final. An Israeli official said the military had assumed a defensive posture in Gaza City, while Hamas said airstrikes and shelling continued in the enclave’s de facto capital, killing dozens of people.

“After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas,” Trump said in a social media post on Saturday. “When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE.”

The Israeli delegation in Egypt will include Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, while Israel’s Kan News reported Ghazi Hamad Osama Hamdan and Muhamed Darwish will represent Hamas. The discussions will focus on the final arrangements regarding the timing of the hostage releases and the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed, according to Kan.  Netanyahu—faced with a call

by Trump to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza” to build pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages—said Israel’s military will redeploy within the territory. He also left open the option of disarming Hamas by force.

A swap of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners would happen immediately upon securing an agreement, while Hamas’s disarmament would come in a second stage, Netanyahu said.

“I hope that in the coming days, during the Sukkot holiday, we can announce the return of all of our hostages, alive and dead, in one single release,” Netanyahu said on Israeli television on Saturday. Sukkot starts Monday evening and lasts a week.

Details on what Trump’s plan would entail remain scarce. His latest comment shifts the onus back to Hamas after the group released its statement late Friday, prompting Trump to urge Israel to “immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!”

“I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,” Trump said in a social media post after Hamas responded to his administration’s plan announced on Monday.

Israeli assets have jumped on the prospect of an end to the war in Gaza. The shekel was the best-performing of a basket of about 30 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg last week, rising 1.9% against the dollar to its strongest level since 2022.

Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire may prove tricky for Netanyahu politically, given that some of his far-right cabinet members will be wary about further talks with Hamas. The group—designated a terrorist organization by the US, European Union and others—didn’t agree to some key stipulations in Trump’s plan, including that it disarm and have nothing to do with postwar governance in Gaza. Iran-backed Hamas triggered the war by attacking Israel from Gaza on

Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting another 250. Of those, 48 remain in Gaza and Israel says it believes around 20 are still alive. Israel has lost more than 450 soldiers in Gaza combat since.

More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory. Israel’s war sparked a famine in parts of the enclave, according to a UN-backed body, and led another UN-backed panel to declare it a genocide.

Hamas said the handover of hostages would be “contingent upon the necessary field conditions for carrying out the exchange.”

“We will enter into negotiations over all matters related” to the US plan, senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk told Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV on Saturday, when asked if the group was ready to disarm and accept the exile of its leaders and fighters. “The movement has already said that on the day that a sovereign Palestinian state is created it won’t be an armed movement and it will hand over its weapons to this state.”

Israel has strenuously said it won’t allow an independent Palestine, arguing it would pose a security threat to the Jewish state.

Abu Marzouk said much of Trump’s plan—mainly clauses about the future governance of Gaza—needed to be addressed with other Palestinian factions too.

“It may take months” to finalize everything, he said.

For Trump, a truce in the coming days and the freeing of the hostages could boost his campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize, with the next winner being announced on Oct. 10. Bloomberg has reported that the president’s public and behind-closed-doors push to get the award has intensified in recent days.

With assistance from Sam Dagher, Fares Akram, Fiona MacDonald and Catherine Lucey / Bloomberg

war, while another large flag read “Death, death to the IDF,” a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. A group also chanted the same slogan, state broadcaster RAI reported.

Opposition lawmaker Riccardo Magi, secretary of the center-left Piu Europa (more Europe) party, who was among the marchers, took Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government to task for its refusal to recognize a Palestinian state, following the example of Spain, France, the U.K. and some other Western countries.

“Meloni cannot continue with this obscene victimhood: these are spontaneous demonstrations against the inaction and complicity of her government. She must acknowledge this

and begin working diplomatically for peace,” Magi told Italian media.

Big rally in Barcelona

SPAIN has seen an upsurge of support for Palestinians in recent weeks while its left-wing government intensifies diplomatic efforts against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. Protests against the presence of an Israeli-owned cycling team repeatedly disrupted the Spanish Vuelta last month, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the destruction in Gaza a “genocide” and asked for the ban of all Israeli teams from international sporting events.

The day of protests kicked off in Barcelona as people packed the wide Passeig de Gracia, the city’s main central boulevard, before noon. Many families turned out along with people of all ages, carrying Palestinian flags. Hand-held signs bore messages like “Gaza hurts me,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Hands off the flotilla.”

More than 40 Spaniards, including a former Barcelona mayor, were among the 450 activists that Israel removed from the flotilla’s boats this week.

While the protests will likely not sway Israel’s government, protesters hope they could inspire other demonstrations and encourage European leaders to take a harder line against Israel.

María Jesús Parra, 63, waved a Palestinian flag after making an hourlong

trip from another town to Barcelona. She wants the European Union to act against what she described as the horrors she watches on TV news.

“How is it possible that we are witnessing a genocide happening live after what we (as Europe) experienced in the 1940s?” Parra said. “Now nobody can say they didn’t know what was happening.”

People in Madrid marched behind banners that read “Shame” and “Racist War, Free Palestine,” while chanting “Netanyahu (is a) Killer.” Greek police believe a bigger gathering and march will take place Sunday to coincide with a pro-Israeli one. The two protests are separated by some 3 kilometers (2 miles) and police will be on hand to prevent the pro-Palestinian march to the Israeli Embassy, as happened on previous occasions. The war in Gaza started after Hamas’ attack in October 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead, while 251 others were taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory military offensive in Gaza has so far killed more than 67,000 people and wounded nearly 170,000 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government. UN agencies and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

Paolo Santalucia reported from Rome. Demetris Nellas contributed to this report from Athens, Greece.

Journalists work in dire conditions to tell Gaza’s story, knowing

By Bassem Mroue & Adam Geller The Associated Press

BEIRUT—Minutes after journalists gathered outside a Gaza hospital to survey the damage of an Israeli strike, Ibrahim Qannan pointed his camera up at the battered building as the others climbed its external stairs. Then Qannan watched in horror—while broadcasting live—as a second strike killed the friends and colleagues he knew so well.

“We live side by side with death,” Qannan, a correspondent for the Cairo-based Al-Ghad TV said in an interview.

“I still cannot believe that five of our colleagues were struck in front of me on camera and I try to hold up and look strong to carry the message. May no one feel such feelings. They are painful feelings.”

The deaths of the five journalists in the Aug. 25 strikes on Nasser Hospital add to a toll of nearly 200 news workers killed by Israeli forces while working to bring Gaza’s story to the world. Those killed in the attack, which left a total of 22 people dead, included Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who freelanced for The Associated Press and other outlets.

Like the vast majority of Gaza’s population, most of its journalists have seen their homes destroyed or damaged during the war and have been repeatedly displaced after evacuation orders by Israel’s military. Many have mourned the deaths of family members.

But journalists and advocates say the trials go well beyond. Every workday, they say, is shadowed by an awareness that covering the news in Gaza makes them singularly visible in the conflict, putting them at extraordinary risk.

For journalists in Gaza, “it’s about dying or living, escaping violence or not. It’s something we cannot compare (to other wartime journalism) at any level,” said Mohamed Salama, a former reporter in Egypt who is now an academic, researching the life of news workers in the Strip.

Israel calls strikes ‘a tragic mishap’ but also levels accusations AFTER the August strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the military was not deliberately targeting

that could make them targets

journalists and called the killings a “tragic mishap.” After a preliminary review, the military said the attack had targeted what it believed to be a Hamas surveillance camera and that six of the people killed were militants, but offered no evidence.

Late last month, the AP and Reuters— which lost a cameraman and a freelancer in the attack on the hospital—demanded that Israel provide a full account of what happened and “take every step to protect those who continue to cover this conflict.” The news organizations issued their statement on the one-month anniversary of the strikes.

Israeli officials have previously accused some journalists in Gaza of being current or former militants. They include Anas alSharif, a well-known correspondent for Al Jazeera who was killed in an early August strike on a media tent outside another Gaza hospital. Four other journalists were also killed in the attack.

The Israeli military, citing documents it purportedly found in Gaza, as well as other intelligence, had long claimed that al-Sharif was a member of Hamas. He was killed after what press advocates said was an Israeli “smear campaign” stepped up when al-Sharif cried on air over starvation in the territory.

There is a long, sometimes tragic history of journalists risking personal safety to cover conflicts. But the risks, trials and toll of doing so have never been higher than they are in Gaza right now, experts say.

Since the war was ignited by the Hamas attack on Israel nearly two years ago, 195 Palestinian media workers have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, according to the

Committee to Protect Journalists.

The toll recently prompted Brown University’s Costs of War project to label Gaza a “news graveyard.” Journalist deaths in Gaza have now surpassed the combined number killed during the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Vietnam and Korean wars, the war in Yugoslavia that ended in 2001 and the Afghanistan War, the project said in a report issued earlier this year. In a separate survey of Gaza news workers last year by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, nine in 10 said their homes had been destroyed in the war. About one in five said they had been injured and about the same number had lost family members. That was before Israel resumed fighting in March after a brief ceasefire.

One Gaza journalist, Nour Swirki, told the AP in an interview that since her home was destroyed early in the war, she has been displaced seven times. Swirki and her husband, who is also a journalist, arranged for their son and daughter to exit Gaza in 2024 and stay with family in Egypt while the couple continued to work.

“I preferred their safety to my motherhood,” said Swirki, who works for the Saudi-based Asharq News and was a friend of Dagga’s.

“Death is there (in Gaza) every moment, every second and everywhere,” Swirki said. She is reminded of that reality whenever she skims through photos and videos stored on her phone and is met by the faces and voices of the many colleagues and friends who have been killed in the war.

Mroue reported from Beirut and Geller from New York.

1 dead and dozens injured as Russian drones strike Ukrainian railway station

By The Associated Press

RUSSIAN drones struck a Ukrainian railway station on Saturday, killing one and wounding dozens, as Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukraine’s rail and power grids before the fourth winter since its all-out invasion.

At least 30 people were wounded in the “savage” attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following the attack on Shostka, a city in the Sumy region northeast of Kyiv that lies about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Russian border.

Hours later, local prosecutors said that a 71-year-old man was found dead in one of the wrecked carriages.

Russia struck two passenger trains in quick succession, first targeting a local commuter service and then one bound for Kyiv, said Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister. He said that the second drone hit while an evacuation was underway.

The head of Ukraine’s national rail operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, Oleksandr Pertsovsky, called the strike “a vile attack aimed at stopping communication with our front-line communities.”

“This is one of the most brutal Russian tactics—the so-called ‘double tap,’ when the second strike hits rescuers and people who are evacuating,” said Ukraine’s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, according to a Telegram post by the Foreign Ministry.

Both Zelenskyy and local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov posted what they said were photos from the scene showing a passenger carriage on fire. The drone strikes also knocked out the power supply in Shostka, home to more than 70,000 people before the war, and surrounding areas, according to Hryhorov.

Elsewhere in the Sumy region, a Russian drone struck a fishing boat on a lake near the border, killing a 63-year-old man and wounding his 65-year-old companion, local prosecutors said Saturday.

Ukraine’s rail and power networks hit MOSCOW has recently stepped up airstrikes on Ukraine’s railway network, which is essential for military transport, hitting it almost every day over the past two months. As in previous years since the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the Kremlin has also ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, in what Kyiv calls an attempt to weaponize the approaching winter by denying civilians heat, light and running water.

Overnight into Saturday, Russian drones and missiles pounded Ukraine’s power grid again, a Ukrainian energy firm said, a day after what officials described as the biggest attack on Ukrainian natural gas facilities since the war began. Friday’s strike damaged energy facilities near Chernihiv, a northern city west of Shostka, and sparked blackouts set to affect about 50,000 households, according to regional operator Chernihivoblenergo.

The attack was the biggest so far targeting natural gas facilities run by Ukraine’s state-owned Naftogaz Group, Ukrainian officials said. Naftogaz’s chief executive, Serhii Koretskyi, said Friday that the attacks had no military purpose, while Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko accused Moscow of “terrorizing civilians.” Moscow claimed the strikes targeted facilities that support Kyiv’s war effort.

Russian forces overnight launched a further 109 drones and three ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian military reported. It said 73 of the drones were shot down or sent off course.

Russia faces fuel shortages

THE Ukrainian military on Saturday reported it again hit one of Russia’s largest oil refineries. It said a nighttime drone strike caused blasts and a fire at the Kirishi refinery near St. Petersburg, more than 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The refinery, operated by Russian oil major Surgutneftegas, produces close to 17.7 million metric tons per year (355,000 barrels per day) of crude, and is one of Russia’s top three by output.

Telegram news channels from Russia and Ukraine posted videos they said had been sent in by residents near the city of Kirishi. They show drone-like objects whizzing against a night sky lit up by an orange glow, as blasts thunder in the background.

Local Gov. Alexander Drozdenko on Saturday reported that seven drones were shot down overnight near Kirishi. He said that a fire had been put out in its “industrial zone,” without specifying what was hit or commenting on damage.

Ukraine has repeatedly struck the Kirishi refinery, with the most recent strike on Sept. 14 also sparking a blaze, according to Russian officials.

Russia remains the world’s secondlargest oil exporter. But Moscow moved to pause gasoline exports after a seasonal rise in demand and sustained Ukrainian

drone strikes have caused shortages in recent months.

Russian forces shot down 117 Ukrainian drones during the night, and at least 37 more on Saturday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported that day. A married couple and two other civilians were injured in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, after a drone struck an unspecified commercial facility, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.

French journalist killed ELSEWHERE, a Russian drone strike killed a French photojournalist late Friday as he was reporting from the front lines in eastern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian military.

Antoni Lallican, 37, died near the town of Druzhkivka, in the Donetsk region, according to a Facebook post by the 4th Separate Mechanized Brigade.

The strike also wounded Hryhory Ivanchenko, a Ukrainian photographer who accompanied him, the military unit said.

Lallican’s work had been featured by numerous French and international media outlets, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Der Spiegel and Die Zeit. He was nominated for the RSF press photography award in 2024.

He is the 14th reporter and fourth French national to be killed while covering Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Georgia’s police use water cannons to push back protesters trying to storm presidential palace

Twaves of protests that have been met with mass arrests and police violence. The move came after the longtime ruling party declared victory in an election the opposition said was rigged. The rallies, big and small, have continued despite a multipronged crackdown by the government through laws that target demonstrators, rights groups, nongovernmental organizations and independent media. Critics say some have been modeled on legislation passed in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has harshly stifled dissent.

“We fight for our rights, for independence,” protester Sophio Asatiani told The Associated Press on Satur -

day. She said that she didn’t want to see a return to the Soviet era, when Georgia was ruled from Moscow.

The rally’s organizers, including veteran opera singer Paata Burchuladze, called on protesters to “take power back into the hands of the people,” channeling widespread frustration with a government that has jailed key opposition figures, attempted to shut down critical media and used mass arrest and steep fines against largely peaceful demonstrators.

Some then tried to force entry into the presidential palace in central Tbilisi, smashing the gate before being driven away by riot police.

The opposition had promised a “peaceful revolution” before Saturday’s munici -

International journalists visit Gaza City under the supervision of Israel’s army

By Sam Mednick The Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—An Israeli army vehicle rumbles through the empty streets of a shattered neighborhood in Gaza City, and with help from a video camera, a soldier spots people standing inside a blasted out nearby building. The armored personal carrier revs its engine and moves on.

A little further along, the vehicle stops near an empty hospital formerly overseen by the Jordanian government. A senior official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules says soldiers recently found a tunnel used by Hamas adjacent to the hospital.

On Friday, the Israeli military escorted international journalists through Gaza City, the focus of a new offensive to root out Hamas, offering a rare—and limited—glimpse into the territory devastated by nearly two years of war and where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed.

In August, international experts said the city was in a famine and warned that Israel’s offensive and mass displacement of people would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

The soldiers escorting the journalists through Gaza City portrayed their military operations as deliberate, to minimize harm to civilians – yet justified, to eliminate a militant group that has been severely weakened but remains dug in, capable of carrying out attacks and still in possession of 48 hostages.

Israel has for two years banned international journalists from entering Gaza, except for rare, brief visits supervised by the military, such as this one.

A city under siege THE drive into and out of Gaza City was through the Netzarim corridor, which separates northern and southern Gaza and is used as a military zone. The route was littered with destroyed buildings and mounds of concrete. Few signs of life were seen during the tour, which lasted several hours.

pal election, boycotted by most parties critical of Georgian Dream. Preliminary data from the Central Election Commission pointed to less than 30% turnout in the first half of the day.

Giorgi Rukhadze, a political analyst in Tbilisi who was one of the protesters marching on Saturday, dismissed the vote as a “mock election.”

“The only way to put (Georgian Dream) out of power peacefully is nonobedience, noncompliance,” he said, arguing that people should join any forms of peaceful protests available to them.

Georgian police on Saturday said the ongoing rally violated Georgian laws that regulate public assemblies and protest. It didn’t provide specifics.

Shortly after polls closed on Saturday evening, Georgia’s Central Election Commission said that the vote had passed with no major disturbances. It added results would be announced within hours.

More than 50 international and local groups were registered to observe the municipal vote. But none of the major international watchdogs that monitored the previous local vote in 2021—including delegations from the European Parliament, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and major US nonprofits—were present this time.

Key Georgian nongovernmental organizations also chose not to deploy missions, citing Georgian Dream’s recent repressive laws and a broader deterioration in the political and legal environment.

Once in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, the army took journalists to a lookout point several hundred meters away from the deserted Jordanian hospital. The army said Hamas had been making weapons in a room beneath the hospital while the Jordanians were aboveground, in control of the health care facility—one of many struggling to operate in recent weeks as Israeli attacks intensified.

Surrounded by destruction and collapsed buildings, the hospital shut down about two weeks ago. What appeared to be a tube extended from one of its buildings into a mound of dirt in front of it, which soldiers said was where the tunnel was located. A few hundred feet away, excavators moved piles of sand, as the sound of gunfire and artillery reverberated in the background.

Of Gaza’s 36 hospitals, 22 are no longer operational and the remaining 14 are only partially functional, according to the World Health Organization.

Israel accuses Hamas of using health facilities as command centers and for military purposes, putting civilians in harm’s way, though it has presented little evidence. Hamas security personnel have been seen in hospitals and have kept some areas inaccessible.

A Jordanian official speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter denied that its hospital was being used by Hamas. The AP could not independently verify the Israeli army’s claims.

A few hundred meters from the Jordanian hospital, soldiers with the 36th division were positioned in a house they say had previously been used by Hamas. Shards of glass and concrete blanketed the floor, wires hung from the ceiling and on the walls were handwritten instructions in Hebrew about being on duty.

Soldiers warned journalists not to stand too close to the windows because of snipers. A day earlier, the building beside the house was hit by sniper fire, one soldier said.

The fate of Gaza City ON the eve of the war, Gaza City was home to roughly 1 million people. Throughout the conflict, it has been the focus of regular Israeli bombardment and ground operations. Several neighborhoods have been almost completely destroyed. Hundreds of thousands fled under Israeli evacuation orders at the start of the war but many returned during a ceasefire earlier this year.

Before their latest campaign in Gaza City began last month, Israel warned Palestinians to evacuate south. Earlier this week, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said people had one last chance to go, and that anyone left behind would be considered a Hamas supporter.

The senior army official leading the journalists through Gaza City on Friday was more measured, however.

“We’re trying every day to explain how much safer it is to go down to the south,” the senior official said. “And when we get closer to areas with a lot of population, we stop and we try with other means to get them out of this area.”

While hundreds of thousands have left, many have remained, some unable to afford to move, others too weak to leave or not wanting to be displaced once again.

Trump’s proposed deal to end the war

A FTER Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed more than 67, 000 Palestinians. That number is according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half the dead.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the UN and many independent exp erts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

Israel’s army said Saturday that it would advance preparations for the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war and return all the remaining hostages, after Hamas said it accepted parts of the deal and that others still needed to be negotiated.

The army will move to a defensive position rather than an offensive one, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record.

Still, it’s unclear how that will affect people in Gaza City. On Saturday, the army warned Palestinians in the rest of Gaza from returning there, calling it a

A soldier showed journalists videos taken from a drone that flew through the 1.5 km (1 mile) long tunnel. The video showed narrow tunnels that led to rooms, one which showed explosives lined against the wall.

First female LDP head Takaichi faces challenges: Coalition stability and gender equality in focus

By Mari Yamaguchi

The Associated Press

TOKYO—In a country that ranks poorly internationally for gender equality, the new president of Japan’s long-governing Liberal Democrats, and likely next prime minister, is an ultra-conservative star of a male-dominated party that critics call an obstacle to women’s advancement.

Sanae Takaichi, 64, admires former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and is a proponent of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative vision for Japan.

Takaichi is the first female president of Japan’s predominantly male ruling party that has dominated Japan’s postwar politics almost without interruption.

She hardly touched on gender issues during the campaign, but on Saturday, as she tried out the party

president’s chair and posed for a photo as is customary for the newly elected leader, Takaichi said: “Now that the LDP has its first female president, its scenery will change a little.”

First elected to parliament from her hometown of Nara in 1993, she has served in key party and government posts, including minister of economic security, internal affairs and gender equality.

don the word ‘work-life balance.’ I will work, work, work and work.”

The “work-life balance” quickly trended on social media, triggering mixed reactions—support for her enthusiasm and concern about her work ethic.

Women comprise only about 15 percent of Japan’s lower house, the more powerful of the two parliamentary chambers. Only two of Japan’s 47 prefectural governors are women.

A drummer in a heavy-metal band and a motorbike rider as a student, Takaichi has called for a stronger military, more fiscal spending for growth, promotion of nuclear fusion, cybersecurity and tougher policies on immigration.

She vowed to drastically increase female ministers in her government.

tional roles of being good mothers and wives. But she also recently acknowledged her struggles with menopausal symptoms and stressed the need to educate men about female health to help women at school and work.

PThe Associated Press

RESIDENT Donald Trump au -

thorized the deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago on Saturday, marking the latest escalation of his use of federal intervention in cities.

But the same day, a similar mobilization of 200 National Guard troops in Oregon was temporarily blocked after a federal judge found President Donald Trump was likely overstepping his legal authority in responding to relatively small protests near a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed that the president authorized using the Illinois National Guard members, citing what she called “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness” that local leaders have not quelled.

Trump has characterized both Portland and Chicago as cities rife with crime and unrest, calling the former a “war zone” and suggesting apocalyptic force was needed to quell problems in the latter. Since the start of his second term, he has sent or talked about sending troops to 10 cities, including Baltimore, Maryland; Memphis, Tennessee; the District of Columbia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. But the governors of Illinois and Oregon see the deployments differently.

“This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek talked to Trump in late September and said the deployment was unnecessary. She refused to call up any Oregon National Guard troops, so Trump did so himself in an order to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. That prompted the lawsuit from city and state officials.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has issued a memo that also directs component agencies within the Justice Department, including the FBI, to help protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, including in Chicago and Portland.

Female lawmakers in the conservative Liberal Democratic Party who were given limited ministerial posts have often been shunned as soon as they spoke up about diversity and gender equality. Takaichi has stuck with old-fashioned views favored by male party heavyweights.

cessfully running for party presidency twice in the past, she made efforts to be more sociable to build connections as advised, she said.

Takaichi also admits she is a workaholic who would rather study at home instead of socializing. After unsuc -

But on Saturday, as she called for an all-out effort to rebuild the party and regain public support, she asked all party lawmakers to “work like a horse.” Then she added, “I will aban -

Trump plans to federalize 300 troops in Illinois, as judge blocks similar mobilization in Oregon

Here’s a snapshot of where things stand with federal law enforcement activity in Chicago, Portland, and elsewhere:

In Chicago, alarms raised about racial profiling THE sight of armed, camouflaged and masked Border Patrol agents making arrests near famous downtown landmarks has amplified such concerns. Many Chicagoans were already uneasy after an immigration crackdown began earlier this month. Agents have targeted immigrant-heavy and largely Latino areas.

Protesters have frequently rallied near an immigration facility outside the city, and federal officials reported the arrests of 13 protesters Friday near the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview.

The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that federal agents shot a woman Saturday morning on the southwest side of Chicago.

A statement from the department said it happened after Border Patrol agents patrolling the area “were rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars.”

“The officers exited their trapped vehicle, when a suspect tried to run them over, forcing the officers to fire defensively,” the statement said. No law enforcement officers were seriously injured, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. The woman who was shot was a US citizen and was armed with a semiautomatic weapon, according to McLaughlin. She said the woman drove herself to a hospital for treat -

ment, but a Chicago Fire Department spokesperson told the Chicago SunTimes that she was found near the scene and taken to a hospital in fair condition.

Immigrants’ rights advocates and residents separately reported that federal agents used tear gas near grocery or hardware stores targeted for enforcement elsewhere in Chicago on Friday and detained a city council member as she questioned the attempted arrest of a man.

Deployment in Portland blocked by judge US District Court Judge Karin J. Immergut and issued the ruling temporarily blocking the deployment on Saturday afternoon, saying the relatively small protests the city has seen did not justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.

“This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” Immergut wrote. She later said: “This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law.”

Trump has called Portland “warravaged” and suggested the city is “burning down.” But local officials have said many of his claims and media posts appear to rely on images from 2020, when demonstrations and unrest gripped the city following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

On Saturday, before the judge’s rul -

ing was released, about 400 protesters marched from a park to the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention facility. The group included people of all ages and races, families with children and retirees with walkers, the Oregonian reported. Federal agents used chemical crowd control munitions, including tear gas canisters and less-lethal guns that sprayed pepper balls, and arrested at least six people as the group reached the ICE facility.

By 4 p.m. the crowd had thinned significantly.

A federal ‘crime force’ in Memphis ON Wednesday, Hegseth, Bondi and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller rallied members of a federal law enforcement task force that began operating in Memphis as part of Trump’s crime-fighting plan.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, has supported the effort.

Bondi said via social media that the task force made more than 50 arrests over a two-day period. More than 200 officers were deputized, including personnel from immigration and drug enforcement. They were serving criminal arrest warrants and teaming with state agencies on traffic stops.

Some residents, including Latinos, have expressed concerns that agents will detain people regardless of immigration status.

Louisiana’s governor asks for National Guard ON Sept. 30, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry asked for a guard deployment to New Orleans and other cities to help fight crime.

In a letter to Hegseth, Landry also praised the president’s decision to send troops to Washington and Memphis.

He said there has been “elevated violent crime rates” in Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, as well as shortages in local law enforcement.

But crime in some of the state’s biggest cities has actually decreased recently, with New Orleans seeing a particularly steep drop in 2025 that has it on pace for the lowest number of killings in over five decades.

Associated Press reporters across the US contributed, including Thomas Peipert in Denver; Claire Rush in Portland; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; and Sophia Tareen in Chicago.

But experts say she might actually set back women’s advancement because as leader she would have to show loyalty to influential male heavyweights. If not, she risks a short-lived leadership.

Takaichi has backed financial support for women’s health and fertility treatment as part of the LDP policy of having women serve in their tradi -

Takaichi supports the imperial family’s male-only succession, opposes same-sex marriage and a revision to the 19th-century civil law that would allow separate surnames for married couples so that women don’t get pressured into abandoning theirs. She is a wartime history revisionist and China hawk. She regularly visits Yasukuni Shrine, which Japan’s neighbors consider a symbol of militarism, though she has declined to say what she would do as prime minister. Political watchers say her revisionist views of Japan’s wartime history may complicate ties with Beijing and Seoul. Her hawkish stance

Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš wins Czech parliamentary election, official results show

By Karel Janicek The Associated Press

RAGUE—Billionaire Andrej

PBabiš became another populist leader in Central Europe to stage a political comeback by winning big in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election, according to nearly complete results Saturday.

That result could steer the country away from supporting Ukraine and toward Hungary and Slovakia, which have taken a pro-Russian path.

With the results of 99.5 percent of the polling stations counted by the Statistics Office, Babiš’ ANO (YES) movement captured 34.7percent of the vote, soundly beating the Together conservative coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiala that received 23.2 percent.

Babiš was jubilant after his best electoral result, calling it “historic” for himself and his “catch-all” political group since it stormed into national politics in 2013.

“We want the Czech Republic to become the best place for life in the European Union and we will do everything to make it happen,” he told his supporters and media.

With the victory, Babiš would join the ranks of Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine, continue to import Russian oil and oppose European Union sanctions on Russia.

The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The country has donated arms, including heavy weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces and is behind an initiative that acquires artillery shells Ukraine badly needs from countries outside the EU.

“We don’t like it,” Babiš said about that internationally recognized initiative. “We have a different view of it,” he said.

The opposition led by Babiš blamed Fiala for all the troubles of recent years, from the energy crisis to soaring inflation, and pledged to revoke his pension reform and help for Ukraine.

Fiala congratulated him, saying the result was clear and “it’s necessary to accept it.” His campaign focused on security amid the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A group of mayors known as STAN, also a member of Fiala’s government, had 11.1 percent of the vote, with another ally of Fiala, the Pirates party,

reaching 8.7 percent.

The major anti-migrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party, got 7.9 percent while a right-wing group calling itself the Motorists collected 6.8 percent. Babiš said his aim was to form a one-party government and he will have to seek tolerance from the two groups.

The two-day election filled 200 seats in the lower house of the Czech parliament. Babiš won 80 seats, the Freedom Party has 15 and the Motorists 13. The Together coalition won 52. He joined forces with his friend Orbán last year to create a new alliance in the European Parliament, the “Patriots for Europe,” to represent hard-right groups, a significant shift from the liberal Renew group that Babiš previously belonged to. The Patriots are united by anti-migrant rhetoric, a critical stance toward EU policies tackling climate change, and the protection of national sovereignty. The Motorists, who are backed by former EU-skeptic President Václav Klaus, share the views while the Freedom party wants to lead the country out of the EU and NATO and plans to expel almost all of some 380,000 Ukrainian refugees from the country.

“We’re clearly pro-European and pro-NATO,” Babiš still declared after the victory.

President Petr Pavel is scheduled to meet with Babiš and other party leaders on Sunday. The head of the strongest political force usually gets a chance from the president to form a new government.

If he wants to govern alone, his minority Cabinet would need at least tacit support from the Freedom party and the Motorists to win a mandatory parliamentary confidence vote to rule. The result was a fiasco for a coalition of four far-left fringe parties led by the maverick Communists who are openly pro-Russian and failed to win a seat.

From US shutdown to French fiscal crisis: Political theater rattles financial markets

By Craig Stirling

ADVANCED economies from the US to France may unleash more political theater on financial markets in the coming week, with no sign of resolution in sight over their swelling debts.

In a light period for major central bank decisions and economic data, fiscal and governmental dysfunction across much of the Group of Seven and beyond is likely to draw the spotlight instead.  Alongside any twists in the shutdown stalemate in Washington or talks to resolve a fiscal crisis in Paris, Japan is getting new leadership to oversee the world’s biggest debt burden, and Britain’s slow-burn ordeal over its own upcoming budget will grind on. Meanwhile, the agenda for a meeting of European Union finance ministers from Thursday includes funding for the bloc’s own multi-year financing plan, in what may be a set piece for disagreement.

The overall impression may underscore how political discord is straining major economies, further tested by the choices forced on governments from bloated piles of borrowing. Public debt in the world has now reached $99 trillion, the International Monetary Fund said last month.

The Congressional showdown in the US may draw the most attention, with escalation possible if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to fire—rather than furlough—federal workers. Meanwhile, France faces imminent deadlines to file a budget, and needs a government to do so.

In Japan, Sanae Takaichi, winner of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership contest on Saturday, will move toward taking office as prime minister to steer Japan through a fraught budget process. In August, the Ministry of Finance made an initial request of ¥32.4 trillion ($219 billion) for next fiscal year’s debt financing needs, which would be the highest-ever amount budgeted for servicing costs.

“Takaichi, known for a stimulusheavy policy stance, has toned down her calls for fiscal expansion and opposition to Bank of Japan rate hikes in the face of heated consumer prices during the campaign. Still, she looks more inclined than the others to juice the economy,” said Bloomberg economist Taro Kimura.

Meanwhile, the UK’s debate over how to tax and spend while placating investors worried about its public finances is likely to persist as Chancellor Rachel Reeves intensifies work on her budget, due in November. The country may face an updated assessment on Friday from S&P Global Ratings.  Also on that company’s schedule is Italy, which has become a rare fiscal bright spot in the G-7. Italy’s now on track to exit the EU’s list of countries with excessive deficits, and recently won its first upgrade from Fitch Ratings since 2021.

Elsewhere, three possible interestrate cuts in Asia, Federal Reserve minutes, testimony by the European

Central Bank chief and a speech by the Bank of England governor may draw attention. Bloomberg’s wrap of what’s coming up in the global economy:

US and Canada

PRIVATE-SECTOR economic reports stepped into the limelight after the closure of much of the US government and its data agencies. The federal shutdown, triggered by a lapse in funding, has delayed releases of official data crucial to informing central bank policymakers and others.

Officials and investors were supposed to get the September payrolls report on Friday. Instead, they had to lean on a series of private data earlier in the week to conclude that the labor market remains soft.

On Friday, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey will provide insight into respondents’ views about job opportunities and inflation expectations as of early October.

Investors on Wednesday will also parse minutes of the Fed’s September meeting for clues on officials’ appetite for another rate cut. Central bankers lowered borrowing costs last month for the first time this year, though public comments from a variety of officials since then have indicated many are split on the urgency for further moves. Several policymakers will speak this week.

Canadian jobs data for September are likely to show persistent weakness after the country lost more than 106,000 positions over the previous two months and the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.1 percent. While

on Friday, while French trade data will come out on Tuesday.

ECB President Christine Lagarde testifies to lawmakers in the European Parliament late on Monday. Aside from questions on current policy at a time when inflation has picked up to a fivemonth high, the session will focus on the role of the euro.

Other speakers on the calendar include Vice President Luis de Guindos in Madrid and Chief Economist Philip Lane at a conference hosted by the ECB, both also on Monday. The German, Spanish and French governors are due to make appearances during the week.

An account of the deliberations that took place ahead of the ECB’s last decision on Sept. 11 will be published on Thursday.

BOE speakers will also draw attention. Governor Andrew Bailey will be in Scotland on Monday, while Chief Economist Huw Pill and policymaker Catherine Mann are on the schedule later in the week.

In Norway, central bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache speaks in Bergen on Tuesday, and inflation numbers are due on Friday. Denmark releases those data the same day, while Sweden’s consumer prices are out on Wednesday.

With the Bank of Russia having warned that inflationary pressures are persisting, and with price growth running at twice the 4 percent target, policymakers will watch September CPI data closely on Friday.

Cebu...

Continued from A2

Nartatez said the PNP is coordinating closely with the Cebu provincial government and local disaster response teams to streamline relief distribution to remote communities. He added that PNP officers are assisting in logistics, road clearing, security and traffic management to prioritize the transport of relief items.

Nartatez added that several mobility assets, including high-speed watercraft from the Maritime Group, have been dispatched to isolated areas.

Govt team eyes safe zones

A GOVERNMENT housing team has been deployed to northern Cebu to survey areas devastated by last week’s earthquake and locate safe ground for residents displaced by landslides and damaged homes.

Officials from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) met with local disaster councils in Bogo City on Saturday to map out possible relocation sites for affected families.

The city is among the worst hit by the magnitude 6.8 tremor that struck on Tuesday.

The team visited Purok Joseph in Barangay Dakit, where several houses had collapsed near what geologists believed was part of the fault line that triggered the quake. Residents in the area remain in makeshift tents as local officials search for safer ground.

One of the proposed sites, a vacant lot within the city, is being considered for a temporary “tent city” to house families who have yet to return home.

Under the scheme, beneficiaries are hired for community-based work such as clearing debris, cleaning roads, or helping restore damaged public facilities in their localities.

They are also paid based on the highest prevailing minimum wage in the region.

According to Dole-Central Visayas, the initial batch of beneficiaries includes 862 workers from Cebu, 163 from San Remigio, 163 from Medellin, 81 from Sogod, 81 from Daan-Bantayan, and 163 from Bogo City.

Another 400 workers from the towns of Medellin and Tabogon are also set to receive their Tupad wages amounting to P2.004 million.

Dole said it is prioritizing aid for workers whose employment was displaced or interrupted by the calamity, includinng those from the micro, small, and medium enterprise sector.

The agency’s Cebu Provincial Office has already deployed personnel to profile affected individuals and continuously assess the situation in coordination with local government units.

The department has yet to release the total number of affected workers across the region.

Workers’ safety LABOR Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma reminded employers in Cebu that workers’ safety and health should come first “more than anything else.”

“Safety should always be considered, and the measures to ensure it should be the one undertaken—not simply to prohibit them [from leaving],” Laguesma said in a recent interview.

lower hiring for summer jobs in July and August should mean fewer job losses in September, the details are still likely to be tepid.

Trade data for August may show exports continuing a slow rebound from a two-year low in April, but an ongoing goods trade deficit is expected as US tariffs weigh on the economy. Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers will give a speech in Toronto.

Asia ASIA is expected to feature rate cuts by at least three central banks in the coming week.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kicks off the action early Wednesday, with economists divided on whether to look for a quarter-point reduction or a 50 basis-point move from the current 3% as authorities seek to counter a deteriorating labor market.

Hours later, the Bank of Thailand is seen trimming its benchmark rate to 1.25% from 1.50%. The bank meets two days after the latest CPI report, which is expected to show that consumer prices fell for a sixth straight month in September. Recent comments from the government indicating concern over the baht’s strength also support a BOT rate reduction.

On Thursday, the Philippine central bank is forecast to hold overnight borrowing rates steady at 5percent while cutting the rate on its standing overnight deposit facility to 4.375 percent from 4.500 percent.

Consumer price growth slowed more sharply than expected in August, and the International Monetary Fund noted that there’s more room for monetary easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

On Friday, the National Bank of Kazakhstan is expected to hold its benchmark rate steady at 16.50 percent.

In data, Australia reports consumer confidence on Tuesday, CPI reports are due from Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines, and Japan releases data that may show inflation continues to drag real wages lower, a sore point for consumers.  Singapore is expected to release data as early as Friday showing that the economy expanded for a 19th straight quarter in the three months through Sept. 30.  China and South Korea are closed for much of the week for holidays.

Europe, Middle East, Africa

MANUFACTURING numbers are among the highlights in the euro zone. On Tuesday, German factory orders will show if a partial rebound in July has been sustained, and industrial production data are due there the following day. Trade statistics will be published on Thursday.

Industrial production numbers are also due from Spain on Monday and Italy

A number of monetary decisions will take place around the region:

ON Tuesday in Kenya, policymakers are likely to cut borrowing costs again after the inflation stayed below the 5 percent midpoint of the central bank’s target range for a 16th straight month in September.

Iceland’s central bank may hold its rate at 7.5 percent on Wednesday, according to economists at Islandsbanki hf and Landsbankinn hf. Despite ending a spate of cuts in August after 175 basis points of easing, it still has Western Europe’s highest benchmark.

The same day, Romanian policymakers are set to keep borrowing costs unchanged as an increase in taxes stokes inflation.

And a rate cut in Poland is hanging in the balance as the central bank judges whether the government’s budget stance is too loose to permit easing.

Latin America

WITH Peru already having reported a bump up in its September annual inflation rate, the coming week will see the region’s four other big targeting economies post consumer prices data for the month.

Economists expect annual readings to rise further above the 3 percent inflation targets in Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Mexico. Lima—which reported Oct. 1—saw a move up to 1.36 percent from 1.11 percent.

Looking to year-end, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg see some disinflation in Brazil and Chile, little movement in Colombia, and acceleration in Mexico and Peru.

The ramifications of bumpy inflation reports will ripple across the week’s other key economic and monetary policy reports. Banxico posts the minutes of its Sept. 25 meeting, where the board—led by Governor Victoria Rodriguez—delivered a 10th straight rate cut, to 7.5 percent.

Forward guidance suggested additional cuts. Should policymakers lower borrowing costs by 50 basis points in the fourth quarter to 7 percent, as many Mexico watchers expect, and also maintain their current pace of quarter-point cuts, Banxico would head into 2026 riding a record easing cycle.

Peru’s central bank is expected to keep its key rate at 4.25 percent after September’s 25 basis-point reduction.

Julio Velarde, 73, who’s outlasted eight presidents and some 20 finance ministers since taking up his post as Peru’s central chief in 2006, last month said “I’d say no” about serving another term. “I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” he insisted.

With assistance from Tony Halpin, Brian Fowler, Laura Dhillon Kane, Vince Golle, Monique Vanek, Robert Jameson, Mark Evans, Kati Pohjanpalo and Beril Akman/ Bloomberg

Housing Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling earlier directed the agency’s regional office to conduct field surveys and identify the kind of shelter support the government can provide.

The quake killed more than 70 people and injured hundreds, according to disaster officials.

More than 47,000 families were affected across Cebu, with widespread damage reported in northern towns following intense ground shaking and secondary landslides.

Dole allocates P11-M Tupad aid AN initial P11 million in emergency employment aid has been allocated for workers affected by last week’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) said.

In a statement over the weekend, Dole said the amount will fund the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (Tupad) program for 1,513 beneficiaries whose jobs or livelihoods were disrupted by the quake.

Tupad is a short-term employment program that provides temporary income to workers affected by disasters, economic shocks, or displacement.

According to Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, the higher debt service in August is due to the large maturity of retail treasury bonds (RTBs) worth P516 billion.

Sept bill even bigger RICAFORT said August’s debt payments would be the peak, but the government could still see its debt service bill become relatively larger next month, as P288 billion of treasury bonds will mature on September 9.

“After that, no more large government securities maturities for the rest of 2025,” Ricafort said. Next year, bond maturing in February and April, amounting to P200 billion each, are expected to push up the government’s debt servicing, Ricafort added. 9-month debt service

FROM January to September this year, the debt service bill posted a marginal decrease of 0.64 percent to P1.541 trillion from P1.550 trillion recorded in the same period a year ago.

This is equivalent to 75.02 percent of the P2.054 trillion programmed for debt servicing this year.

His reminder came after the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN)Cebu denounced alleged violations of occupational safety and labor standards by BPO firms during the September 30 earthquake. (Related: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/10/02/cebubpo-workers-file-complaint-againstunsafe-post-quake-policies/).

Among the reported incidents were claims that one company required agents to continue taking calls while the quake was ongoing, while another allegedly blocked exits on one floor to prevent workers from leaving.

Employees who refused to report for work were reportedly issued notices to explain, stripped of attendance incentives, and subjected to administrative sanctions.

Laguesma also clarified that BIENCebu did not file a formal complaint, contrary to earlier claims in the workers’ statement.

He said the group only filed a letter requesting a dialogue, which is set to take place on Monday.

“We also need to see which companies are involved so that our actions will be fair and impartial. This will help us determine the appropriate measures to take if it is proven that there were erring employers,” Laguesma said. Rex Anthony Naval, Carmel Pedroza, Bless Aubrey Ogerio and Justine Xyrah Garcia

Of the nine-month period’s debt payments, P956.739 billion was shelled out for amortization, which dipped by 8.09 percent to P956.739 billion from P1.041 trillion in the previous year.

Amortization payments reached P768.520 billion for domestic debt, down by 12.63 percent from P879.652 billion a year ago. Payments to external creditors rose by 16.84 percent to P188.219 billion from P161.086 billion. On the other hand, interest payments grew by 14.66 percent to P584.145 billion during the ninemonth period from P509.441 billion last year.

The government settled P429.120 billion worth of interest to onshore lenders, up by 18.30 percent year-on-year from P362.721 billion. Meanwhile, interest owed to foreign creditors inched up by 5.66 percent to P155.025 billion from P146.720 billion.

BTr data showed the outstanding debt of the government reached P17.468 trillion as of the end of August.

While this slightly dipped by 0.5 percent from P17.563 trillion from e nd-July, this is seen to increase in the coming months due to more borrowings.

The government has raised a total of P2.266 trillion in borrowings as of end-August, out of its P2.6-trillion program for the year.

PHL tells Japan: Pomelo exports for grapes

TBy Ada Pelonia @adapelonia

HE Philippines is asking Japan to increase its purchases of local fruits by opening its borders to pomelos, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he requested market access for pomelo, while Japan wants to gain access to the Philippine market for its fresh grapes.

“Both parties agreed to work on this as soon as possible so that we can increase the trade,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the recent 47th Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in Pasay City.

The DA said Japanese Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi confirmed that Japan has submitted a pest risk analysis and technical documents to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to support its request. Also, both countries are looking to expand cooperation in technology and sustainability.

The DA chief welcomed Japan’s continued support under existing frameworks such as the Asean-

Banana vinegar processing plant built for Cotabato planters

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has recently turned over a P500,000 Banana Vinegar Processing Plant to the New Leon Multi-Purpose Cooperative (NLMPC) in Barangay New Leon, Aleosan, Catabato.

The facility, funded under DAR’s Village Level Farm-Focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) program, will allow ARBs and cooperative members to transform raw bananas into high-value vinegar products. By processing their produce instead of selling it raw, farmers can earn more, minimize post-harvest losses, and secure a stronger foothold in the agribusiness market.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer I (PARPO I) Pinky Ponte led the turnover ceremony, where he emphasized the importance of sustainable enterprise development. She lauded the cooperative’s strong track record in sustaining previous projects and expressed confidence that this new venture will flourish.

“This plant will not only increase farmers’ income but also strengthen the cooperative’s role in driving rural economic growth.”

For NLMPC members, the plant means more than added earnings—it opens opportunities for skills training, job creation, and collective enterprise growth. Banana vinegar production offers

an alternative source of income, enabling farmers to remain resilient even when farmgate prices for fresh bananas decline.

In his acceptance message, Gil Pastolero, NLMPC Chairman of the Board, thanked DAR for the project and acknowledged the support of partner agencies, including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Federation of Credit Cooperatives–Mindanao League (PFCCO-ML), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and the Local Government Units (LGUs) of Barangay New Leon and Aleosan.

“The cooperative will work hard to sustain and expand this enterprise so that its benefits will ripple throughout the farming community.”

DAR-Cotabato officials, LGU representatives, and partner agencies also attended the turnover ceremony and pledged their continued support to ensure the project’s success.

Through the VLFED Program, DAR continues to empower Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries’ Organizations (ARBOs) by providing not only infrastructure and equipment but also training and market linkages.

The initiative aims to help ARBs transition from mere primary producers to value-adding entrepreneurs, boosting incomes, strengthening community resilience, and promoting inclusive rural development

Midori Cooperation Plan and the Philippines-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Agriculture.

He proposed extending the Philippines-Japan MOC to cover fisheries and technical cooperation that will support modernization and digitalization of the country’s agriculture and fisheries sector.

Such an extension will cover smart agriculture, research and development, technology transfer, postharvest technology, mechanization, diagnostic laboratory upgrading, and development, and pest and disease management.

Moreover, the DA chief expressed gratitude for Japan’s recent rice donation to calamityaffected communities through the Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve-Tier 3 Program.

He reaffirmed the country’s interest in bolstering ties ahead of the 70th anniversary of nor -

malized diplomatic relations in 2026, including hosting the second Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Agriculture (JCA) next year. Meanwhile, they also addressed Japan’s proposal for accelerating the implementation of the Joint

Crediting Mechanism between the two nations, particularly in adopting Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) technology for rice farming.

The DA said such an initiative could become the world’s first

bilateral carbon credit program in the agriculture sector, noting its potential to boost sustainable farming practices and reduce emissions.

Based on revised data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Philippines enjoyed an agricultural trade surplus of $953.69 million with Japan last year. The surplus in 2024 was nearly 18 percent larger than the $808.77 million recorded in 2023. In contrast, the Philippines recorded agricultural trade deficits with the United States and the European Union at $1.95 billion and $97.24 million, respectively, in 2024.

PSA said total agricultural exports was recorded at $7.75 billion or 28.5 percent of the total agricultural trade, while agricultural imports accounted for $19.46 billion or 71.5 percent of the total agricultural trade in 2024.

Coco oil, fertilizer prices soar in July-September—report

INTERNATIONAL quotations for commodities being traded by the Philippines recorded increases in the third quarter, based on the World Bank’s latest report.

World Bank data showed that the average price of the arabica coffee variety surged by over a third or 37.26 percent to $8.03 per kilo in July to September from $5.85 per kilo last year.

The international organization forecasts arabica variety to average at $8.50 per kilo this year, higher than last year’s $5.62 per kilo.

The average quotation for co -

coa also grew by 7.32 percent to $7.33 per kilo in the reference period from the previous year’s $6.83 per kilo. This was on a par with the average price recorded in 2024.

Despite this, World Bank data showed that the average price of the crucial chocolate ingredient and the coffee variety are on a downward trend, respectively posting the lowest average quotation since the first quarter.

Fertilizers like DAP and urea, which are critical farm inputs imported by the Philippines,

were more expensive in the third quarter.

The price of DAP soared by 40.95 percent to $770.6 per metric ton (MT) from $546.7 per MT, while urea climbed by 43.28 percent to $488.3 per MT from $340.8 per MT last year.

World Bank figures indicated that the average price of coconut oil, the country’s top farm export, skyrocketed by 69.19 percent to $2,724 per MT in the reference period from $1,610 per MT a year ago.

It expects the average quotation for coconut to settle at $1,800 per

MT this year due to the sustained rally of the tropical oil on the back of tight global supply in top producing countries. This price is higher than the average price of $1,519 per MT recorded in 2024.

Of the metal prices, tin quotations showed a 7.49 percent increase to $33,976 per MT in the third quarter from last year’s $31,608 per MT. Iron ore and zinc prices also posted an uptick during the reference period to $100.1 per dry MT (DMT) from $99.9 per DMT and $2,828 per MT from $2,776 per MT, respectively. Ada Pelonia

LGUs asked to help set floor price for govt rice purchases

LBy Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

OCAL government units

(LGUs) should be more “proactive” in setting a floor price for unhusked rice purchases of the government, according to Senator Francis Pangilinan, who is working with Malacañang and the Department of Agriculture (DA) in drafting an executive order on farm initiatives.

In a recent meeting with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), the senator said he is seeking the issuance of two executive orders (EO) on the government purchases of wet and dry palay with a minimum floor price.

“So, what we intend to do—the process is by Thursday, we will fi -

nalize a working draft of the EO. But that working draft will then be presented to selected governors next week with (DA) Secretary Kiko (Laurel) and myself and the office of (DAR) Sec. Conrad,” he added.

The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, also aims to “get additional reinforcements” from LGU officials regarding their insights and comments on the possible EO that Pangilinan expects President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to sign.

However, the senator also made some clarifications on the concerns of the private sector that setting a floor price for wet and dry palay will affect their own processes.

“Of course, we are clarifying

because there is some confusion. Akala nung iba [Some of them thought] this is the floor price for palay for everyone. We don’t want to intervene in the market, the private sector,” he said.

“This is really just for the government,” he added, pointing out that the private sector may also follow suit once the government starts buying palay.

Setting a floor price for palay will stabilize the incomes of farmers, who have been forced to sell palay (unhusked rice) for an average of P7.66 per kilo—way below the production cost of P13.51 per kilo—because of abusive traders and middlemen.

Pangilinan cited the cases of the Camarines Sur Multipurpose Cooperative, the Sorsogon LGU, and Valenzuela City.

He recalled that it was during the Covid-19 pandemic that 13 LGUs bought rice directly from the Camarines Sur Multipurpose Cooperative, raising their sales from P7 million in 2019 to P62 million by the third quarter of 2020. In Sorsogon, traders were forced to buy palay for P23 per kilo from the previous P13 a kilo after the local government purchased it at P20 per kilo. This, the senator stressed, proved his point that traders can pay the farmers more if there is competition with the local government itself. He also pointed out how Valenzuela City saved P15 per kilo of rice after purchasing it directly from farmers—maximizing the government’s budget, helping more of the city’s constituents, and improving the income of farmers.

Coffee rises to 2-week high as dry weather lingers in Brazil

ARABICA coffee futures climbed in New York as dry weather in top grower Brazil continues to stoke bullish sentiment. Prices of arabica, the variety favored by chains such as Starbucks Corp. for specialty brews, climbed as much as 3 percent to the highest price in two weeks on Friday. Robusta futures in London also gained. The ongoing dry weather, continued decline in certified stockpiles and potential weatherdriven fund buying are likely key drivers of the upward price movement, Rabobank analyst Oran van Dort said.

Timely precipitation is key to support the recent flowering and ease market concerns, especially given no rain has fallen since September 23, Dort added. “If fore -

casted rain does occur, we could see prices trend downward.” The main flowering stage for Brazil’s 2026-27 crop already took place, but rains this month “will

be crucial” for the crop’s continued development, broker Thiago Cazarini wrote in a Thursday report. Good weather could boost production by 20 percent year-

over-year, but the market seems “more inclined into bullish than bearish,” he said. Dry and hot weather will intensify over coffee-growing areas in the South American nation by the end of the week, Climatempo meteorologist Nadiara Pereira said in a report Friday. Daytime temperatures will continue to rise and are expected to lead to heat stress in some areas.

A likely transition to a La Niña weather pattern from October to December—which typically brings drier weather to South America —also adds risks to coffee development.

Meat prices rise GLOBAL meat prices hit a fresh record high in September—in the longest run of monthly gains

since 2021—as shrinking US cattle herds are unable to keep up with strong demand for beef.

An index tracking meat-commodity costs rose 0.7 percent to cap an eighth straight monthly increase, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Friday. The rally has been largely driven by beef —with the US herd reaching the smallest in decades, higher prices in top shipper Brazil, and worries over the deadly New World screwworm pest in Mexico. That’s helped buoy global foodcommodity costs, which reached the highest in more than two years in July, fueling inflation headaches for consumers and policymakers. Last month, the European Central Bank noted that food prices are climbing faster than broader

inflation, while the British Retail Consortium said bigger labor and energy costs continue to raise input prices for many farmers. In the US, “limited domestic supplies and favorable price differential continued to encourage imports especially from Australia, where prices rose,” the FAO said in a report, referring to cattle. “Brazilian bovine prices increased as well, underpinned by robust global demand, offsetting reduced access to the US following the imposition of higher tariffs.” Meat was the only main food-commodity group tracked by the FAO to increase in September, also supported by higher sheep-meat prices. The overall food index declined slightly, with grain, vegetable oil, dairy and sugar prices all retreating. Bloomberg News

From promise to peril: PHL’s demographic dividend at risk due to education failures

THE Philippines has long been hailed as a country blessed with a significant demographic dividend—a youthful population that, if properly nurtured, could drive economic growth and social progress for decades. Yet, this optimistic narrative is now under serious threat. Recent reports from the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) and international assessments reveal a disturbing truth: the country’s education system is failing to equip its young population with the skills they need to thrive, potentially turning the nation’s greatest asset into its biggest liability.

PBEd Executive Director Hanibal Camua’s warnings are clear and sobering. Without urgent and comprehensive reforms in basic education, the Philippines risks transforming its demographic dividend into a demographic deficiency within just five years. Instead of becoming productive contributors to the economy, many young Filipinos may end up unemployed or trapped in lowquality jobs, reliant on government assistance programs rather than driving the nation’s progress. (Read the BusinessMirror story: “Demographic dividend could be a liability if…,” October 2, 2025).

The data paints a grim picture. The Philippines ranked 64th out of 69 economies in the 2025 IMD World Talent Report, far behind Asean neighbors like Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Filipino students performed near the bottom in the 2022 PISA assessments, showing little improvement from previous years. Most alarmingly, a World Bank study indicates that nine out of 10 Filipino children cannot read and comprehend a simple text by age 10—a fundamental measure of learning poverty that should be unthinkable in a country aspiring to develop its human capital.

Functional literacy statistics echo these concerns: while most Filipinos can read and write, only about 70 percent can truly understand and apply information effectively. This gap underscores a critical weakness in the education system—one that threatens not only individual futures but the nation’s competitiveness in a rapidly evolving global economy.

The problem is not new, nor is it the fault of any single administration. Instead, it reflects decades of systemic underinvestment and neglect in education. The Philippines, once a regional education leader, has been overtaken by its neighbors, who have invested more heavily in talent development and education reforms. It would do well for policymakers, educators, and stakeholders to recognize the urgency of the crisis. Addressing learning poverty must be a national priority, with increased funding, improved teacher training, updated curricula, and stronger accountability measures. The government should also foster partnerships with the private sector and civil society to innovate and scale effective educational interventions.

Failure to act decisively risks squandering one of the country’s most precious resources—its youth. The demographic dividend can only be realized through a competent, well-educated workforce ready to meet the demands of the 21st century. Without this, the country will face not just economic stagnation but a deepening social divide, as a growing population of under-skilled workers struggles to find meaningful employment.

The Philippines has a window of opportunity to avert this looming crisis. By acknowledging the severity of the problem and enacting comprehensive reforms, the country can still harness the potential of its demographic dividend. Failure to act decisively risks squandering this opportunity, potentially trapping a generation of Filipinos in a cycle of poverty, and transforming a potential strength into a devastating weakness.

Opinion BusinessMirror

Tenderness amidst turbulence

IRISING SUN

F there’s one word that defines life in the Philippines today, it’s “uncertainty.” From shifting economic forecasts, rising prices, and political noise to unexpected changes at work and home, many Filipinos are living in a constant state of adaptation. While it’s tempting to feel overwhelmed, it’s also in these moments that resilience shines most—both at the personal and communal level.

Instability affects more than the numbers in the news; it’s felt deeply in day-to-day life. Concerns about job security, higher costs of living, divisive headlines, and shifting government priorities can all trigger stress. It’s important to recognize these feelings as normal responses. After all, Filipino families have weathered many storms before—disasters, political upheavals, and financial challenges.

During turbulent periods, routines become lifelines. Try to set daily anchors, even if circumstances keep changing—meal schedules, exercise, prayer, or quiet time with fam-

ily bring a sense of stability. Budget wisely: review spending, cut down on unnecessary costs, and save even small amounts if possible. These small habits lay the groundwork for a sense of control.

Managing information overload is another crucial step. Limit “doomscrolling” by curating credible sources and setting boundaries for social media. This allows space to focus on what can be changed rather than what causes fear and uncertainty. Remember, reconnecting with loved ones—even digitally—is a source of comfort and support. Mindfulness practices, such as

deep breathing or short walks, reduce anxiety and refresh the mind. Spiritual activities or prayer may also bring peace and perspective, both of which are anchors in Filipino life.

The Filipino values of bayanihan—helping one another— and resourcefulness remain crucial. In unstable times, collective optimism and small acts of kindness have powered countless families through adversity.

Celebrate small wins: a new income stream, a resolved household problem, or any adjustment that worked. Sharing these stories with family, friends, or workmates can inspire others to persevere, too.

Uncertainty is a fact of life, but as a nation, we have thrived amid change through hope, unity, and ingenuity. Today’s challenges invite everyone to practice, share, and strengthen these habits. Change may be inevitable, but our capacity to adapt, uplift others, and look ahead with hope never wavers.

n n n

IN these days of back-to-back challenges—budget troubles, illness, family, or relationship problems— how often do we actually stop to check if we are truly caring for ourselves? Most of the time, we put work, family, and obligations first,

and our own needs come last. Many people, especially women, take on the world’s expectations to always embody the “superwoman”— strong, beautiful, tireless. Yet in Filipino society, many people still hesitate to talk openly about women’s health, whether it’s PCOS, breast cancer, or mental wellness.

Real strength, I believe, is knowing our limits. Sometimes, we must allow ourselves to put our comfort first, to rest, or to sleep in. This month, as we mark Breast Cancer Awareness and Mental Health Awareness, right after PCOS Awareness Month last September, let’s listen to the voices of women who have learned that real courage means knowing how to care for themselves. Fortunately, there are organizations and companies now advocating for women—offering information, products, and support, such as New Moon PH and their Power Within campaign. This includes supplements (Soft Glow, Hormo Balance, Nighty Bright) that help women on their path to health, comfort, and self-confidence. The campaign calls every woman to see her own strength and resilience while making her health and wellness a true priority. Find @newmoonph on TikTok.

Flood of betrayal: The rot within the trillion-peso flood-control scandal and the path to reform

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

Lourdes

TEduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes

D. Edgard A. Cabangon

V.

M. Manangan

817-1351, 817-2807. (Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news.businessmirror@gmail.com www.businessmirror.com.ph

LITO GAGNI

HERE is a crying need to rewrite the script of this nation’s fractured soul—a people coming to grips with a story of insatiable greed now surfacing in the flood-control projects. Many of these were ghosts from the start; others, though completed, collapsed into substandard ruin. What is unfolding is not just corruption but its industrial-scale perfection—a naked grab for treasury money by DPWH engineers, contractors, and lawmakers who treated public funds as private quarry. The emerging tally—close to a trillion pesos—is a ledger of betrayal written in concrete and mud.

That staggering sum could have built classrooms for the 18 million 10-year-olds trapped in functional illiteracy. It could have financed cold-storage chains for farmers, laid down a steel industry for true industrialization, or paved the roads and bridges that connect forgotten communities. Instead, we find ourselves drowning in debt—P16 trillion and rising, nearly triple the national budget—while the floodwaters of neglect lap at our doors. Something is profoundly amiss. Citizens, stunned by the audacity of it all, now demand less talk and more reckoning—the swift filing of cases against those already unmasked in the Senate and House hearings. Just last Friday, a business leader called

me at dawn, asking the question that now hums across coffee tables and construction sites alike: Why do the hearings go on when the evidence already screams?

After all, each crack that let the floodwaters in was a line from an old ledger of deceit: overpriced contracts, ghost projects certified “completed,” signatures of men who mistook public trust for private spoil. Families clung to rooftops while the waters climbed, wondering why the wall that was meant to protect them surrendered after a single season. The answer, as always, was not in the rain—it was in the rot.

We have reached the point where corruption is no longer an accounting error; it is an engineering flaw in

the nation’s design. The flood-control scandal is not just about missing billions—it is the story of a Republic rebuilding its defenses on sand. What has been washed away is not merely infrastructure but confidence itself—the belief that government can still be trusted to do something as elemental as keeping its people dry. Yet the flood did not begin with the rain. It began the day we allowed blacklisted contractors to find their way back into the game—rebranded, renamed, often with the same engineers and the same ghosts signing new papers. We built walls with recycled deceit. The absence of vetting is not a clerical lapse; it is the architecture of impunity. Our flood-control program mirrors our politics: patchwork repairs over unexamined foundations. From the post-Edsa promise of cleansing to today’s ghost projects, the pattern remains—a Republic that cannot remember its past mistakes keeps rebuilding them.

The record is damning. As far back as 2009, firms once debarred quietly resurfaced. The hearings have now unmasked a familiar cast: Wawao Builders, St. Timothy Construction Corp., Syms Trading, and others that siphoned funds for phantom or substandard projects. Preceding them were companies once blacklisted— Val Engineering and Construction, MEP Construction, Benjosh Construction and Supply, DVH Construction Services, NKU Construction and Supply, Cheina Construction, Syn-

dite Construction Corp., M.R. Vargas Construction, R. Semilla Construction and Marketing, JTA Builders, UBAS Construction, MLU Construction, L.M. Baltonado Construction, Audric Construction and Supply, JLP Construction and Supply, and Rex E. Morales Construction. The carousel spins on the taxpayers’ coin. But a breach, once named, can also be repaired. This scandal must not end in cynicism; it can be the blueprint for reform if we rebuild not only the walls but the way we build them. Begin by reclaiming procurement from the shadows— publish every contract, map every project, invite citizen engineers to audit the sites, and file swift cases against those already caught. This is not radical; it is simply doing in daylight what has long been done in the dark. It will tell a weary middle class and the flood-soaked poor that the carousel is being dismantled at last. Beyond systems lies the deeper engineering of trust. We must treat corruption not as an occasional scandal but as a flaw in our national foundation—one we are all obliged to repair. Every case filed, every contractor banned for good, every appointee properly vetted becomes a new brick in a stronger civic levee. And if we pour that mix with integrity and vigilance, the next generation may yet stand on banks that hold— not because the rains are kinder, but because we finally learned how to build together.

One recipe, one kitchen: Coordinating flood control probes

IDumbguard No More!?

Joel L. Tan-Torres

DEBIT CREDIT

Part three

CONTINUE my series of articles on the various government agencies and private organizations that are engaged in the investigation or oversight of the flood control anomalies. In the last two articles, I dwelled on the Office of the President, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, the Congressional oversight and investigation committees, and the Financial Watchdogs, to include, among others, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Anti-Money Laundering Council, and the Securities Exchange Commission.

In this column, I continue my discussion on the Enforcement and Investigative Units, which include, among others, the Office of the Ombudsman, the National Bureau of Investigation, and other offices. Where oversight agencies and financial watchdogs identify red flags, enforcement arms are expected to investigate, prosecute and recommend the filing of civil or criminal charges in court or administrative bodies that will impose sanctions on perpetrators who are charged with criminal and civil offenses.

Several Philippine laws provide the legal arsenal for sanctioning both public officials and private individuals involved in the flood control corruption scandal. Chief among these is Republic Act No. 7080 (Plunder Law), which penalizes with life imprisonment and forfeiture of assets any public officer who amasses P50 million or more in ill-gotten wealth. There is also Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), which criminalizes bribery, kickbacks, and undue advantage in public contracts.

The Forfeiture Law of Unlawfully Acquired Properties by Any Public Officer or Republic Act No. 1379 allows the State to recover properties unlawfully acquired by officials or their dummies, even without a criminal conviction. RA 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) provides administrative sanctions for disciplinary misactions by government officials and employees. Articles 210–212 of the Revised Penal Code on direct and indirect bribery. Together, these laws form a comprehensive legal framework that enables the government to prosecute, imprison, disqualify, and strip the perpetrators—both in government and the private sector—of their ill-gotten wealth. I will discuss in my forthcoming articles what are the best approaches for tapping the Plunder Law and the Forfeiture Law in proceeding against these flood control criminals to effect swift and severe sanctions.

The Office of the Ombudsman serves as the primary prosecuting agency for corruption and malfeasance involving public officials, empowered to investigate, file, and prosecute criminal and administrative cases before the Sandiganbayan and to initiate forfeiture actions under RA 1379. Working alongside it, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) represents the State in civil forfeiture and recovery proceedings to reclaim unlawfully acquired properties.

Complementing these prosecution fronts are the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

The NBI and CIDG, together with the financial watchdogs

The Insurance Commission plays a vital but often overlooked role in the enforcement of performance bonds, guarantees, and surety insurance policies that cover defective or incomplete public works. Through its regulatory authority over insurers and bonding companies, the IC can compel these entities to pay valid warranty and performance claims, ensuring that the government recovers financial compensation for substandard flood control projects.

that I discussed last week, provide the technical backbone of the inquiry. These offices conduct lifestyle checks, digital forensics, data analytics, surveillance, and evidence-gathering to trace money trails and secure documentary proof of collusion between government officials, professional consultants, bank conspirators, and contractors. Moving forward, these law enforcement agencies, together with the Philippine National Police, shall be tapped to enforce the warrants of arrest for those who will be sanctioned with imprisonment judgements.

Meanwhile, the Insurance Commission (IC) plays a vital but often overlooked role in the enforcement of performance bonds, guarantees, and surety insurance policies that cover defective or incomplete public works. Through its regulatory authority over insurers and bonding companies, the IC can compel these entities to pay valid warranty and performance claims, ensuring that the government recovers financial compensation for substandard flood control projects.

Together, these agencies form a complete accountability chain: the NBI and CIDG investigate together with the various financial watchdogs, the Ombudsman and OSG prosecute and recover, and the IC enforces contractual guarantees—closing the loop of prosecution, restitution, and reform, for defective or substandard flood control works and proceed with the filing of criminal and civil cases for the imposition by the judiciary of sanctions on all erring and conniving individuals.

To be continued

Joel L. Tan-Torres was a former Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. He has also held various positions, including Dean of the University of the Philippines School of Business, Chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy, Tax partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co., and SyCipGorres and Velayo & Co., and director of various corporate boards. He is a Certified Public Accountant who ranked No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. He has his own tax and consultancy practice in JL2T Consulting and can be contacted at joeltantorres@yahoo.com.

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

First of two parts

THE number of Filipinos wanting to change the systemic corruption, if not syndicated corruption, has been growing in numbers. Of course, the so-called seasoned activists were at the forefront as they fearlessly vocalized their complaints against any kind of corruption, even before the flood control issues came out. But when more people in government got implicated, investigated, and soon prosecuted due to corrupt activities, civil society groups flexed their strength in numbers in people power fashion a few days ago.

Students protested in and out of their schools. When church leaders echoed the call to action against corruption in pursuit of transparency and accountability, more people joined, including business professionals and retired members of the military. This coalition of forces, spearheaded by the Church Leaders Council for National Transformation (CLCNT), has intensified its efforts as it now calls on the Filipino people to join a Friday habit of a noise barrage and candle lighting every Friday starting October 10, 2025 that will reportedly culminate in a peaceful protest on November 30, 2025 (Bonifacio Day).

It goes without saying, change is urgent. Creating a sense of urgency is the first step of eight steps in the change framework prescribed by Dr. John Kotter, who is one of the more prominent leadership and change management gurus. His 8 steps for leading change have been used by leaders in several organizations around the world.

Kotter thinks that 70 percent of change efforts fail because the leaders fail to take a holistic approach, particularly in considering the first three steps of his 8 step-approach. I think the CLCNT, among many other groups clamoring to end corruption in government, has successfully established the sense of urgency (step 1) and built a guiding coalition (step 2). Malcolm Gladwell calls this guiding coalition as the Law of the Few, others call it as a core group.

Following the subsequent steps in Kotter’s formula, the group has arguably formed a strategic vision, which is “No to Corruption” (step 3) and has communicated it relatively effectively (step 4) across all media channels. The remaining steps will be in Part Two, culminating in Culture Change, which is step 8. Malcolm referred to Kotter’s last step as the Tipping Point where events are tipped towards long lasting change in the culture. I am not aware whether Col. Harold Cabunoc (Harold) and his team have read any of the books of Kotter or Gladwell. But Harold managed to initiate changes in the decades-long tradition in a military school. I hope these changes will stick and last. A product of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1994, with combat service with the scout rangers and an infantry battalion in Mindanao, he is currently the Commandant of the Philippine Army Officer Candidate School (OCS).

Similar to PMA, the OCS has developed some training methods that some call inhumane while others call them necessary to build leaders in the Army. Among the many practices, perhaps short of hazing, the “dumbguardship” mentality where juniors are treated like robots is so entrenched both in the PMA and OCS. Junior officers are taught to blindly disobey orders even if not proper, to accept any punishment even if unwarranted, and just to shut up instead of speaking up. After all,

My daughter Regina and I pray that our leaders in government will invoke the aid of the Holy Spirit within them so they can look to become more like God in all they do. All of us should be reminded that we need to rely on God to help us, as mandated in the Preamble of the 1987 Constitution where it said, “We, the Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God.”

obedience is an essential ingredient of a good leader. Thus, the OCS orients these officer candidates, despite being college degree holders or licensed professionals, to see themselves as dumbguards first!

However, Cabunoc explicitly declared to his core team and to his recent batches of officer candidates, “malpractices that you have experienced outside shall not be brought here inside the Officer Candidate School.”

In my conversation with Harold, he proudly shared that the training methodology he and his team introduced in 2023 has moved away from the outdated, impractical, irrational practices of being a dumbguard. He knew at the onset that culture change does not happen overnight. Perhaps following the formula of Kotter, Harold has slowly removed the dumbguardship mindset in the OCS, by first establishing the sense of urgency among his core group composed of PMA and OCS graduates.

Based on the statistics he showed me when I was invited to talk before the OCS classes of 63-2025 and 642025, it appears the OCS is well on its way to meaningful transformation, slowly but surely!

In the spiritual realm, one of the doctrines that is very challenging for every believer is how to transform from the old to the new. Man became inherently sinful yet he was challenged to get rid of the old and put on a new self. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on

Monday, October 6, 2025

the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24). The new self is reflected in the way we interact with others. Our actions and words serve as proofs that we are gone with the old because Jesus has paid the price for our sinful nature. And it certainly helps if believers are in a small group in getting rid of the old self!

Putting on the new self does not happen overnight, as in any meaningful change—whether in our corrupt government or in the OCS dumbguardship. Change, in eyes of Kotter, Gladwell, and Cabunoc, is a process that occurs over time. It will be a continuing struggle. My daughter Regina and I pray that our leaders in government will invoke the aid of the Holy Spirit within them so they can look to become more like God in all they do. All of us should be reminded that we need to rely on God to help us, as mandated in the Preamble of the 1987 Constitution where it said, “We, the Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God.” Whatever leaders do would have far-reaching effects. Col. Harold Cabunoc has successfully made a compelling case to end the desires of pride, ego, and self-recognition in the traditional Army leader (old) and to introduce the concept of serving before leading (new), at least in the OCS, where he wields influence as Commandant. After all, the big sign at the OCS says, “Service is the only reason why I am here.” The future of the Army looks bright, since I think Harold has embraced and realized that good leaders are servants first. Dumbguards No More?!

Siegfred has a diversified set of education and experiences which has made him a game changer and a servant leader in organizations such as the Philippine Army, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, a US based software development company called Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, Philippine Airlines and SM Prime Holdings. His professional degrees came from the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA. He has delivered leadership and management talks in government agencies. Siegfred is a former soldier and a lawyer by profession, a teacher by passion, and a writer with a mission.

Netanyahu faces dilemma as Hamas partially backs Trump deal

By Dan Williams & Ethan Bronner

BOMB-RUPTURED buildings list like shipwrecks and paved roads have been churned into gravel. Gaza City, once teeming with street food and knotty traffic, is now reduced to almost nothing but dust and decay.

A short Israeli-military organized visit by international media on Friday was focused on Israel’s effort to destroy what it says is Hamas’ bomb making, intelligence machinery and tunnels. But the Hamas announcement late Friday that it’s accepted much of a peace plan laid out by US President Donald Trump and is moving toward releasing the remaining hostages poses a dilemma for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While Israel hasn’t heeded months of international condemnation over its conduct of the war, the army began reining in its offensive in Gaza City after Trump demanded on social media on Friday that it stop bombing so the hostages can be freed. The military says it’s shifted to a more defensive posture, despite the mission—of completely destroying Hamas—not yet being accomplished.

In a televised statement on Saturday night, Netanyahu signaled he would accept a deal that puts off the disarmament of Hamas until after the Israeli hostages are released. “That will happen either diplomatically according to the Trump plan or militarily by us. It’ll be achieved the easy way or the hard way, but it will be achieved,” he said.

For Netanyahu, a deal could mean not only that he doesn’t end the war on his terms but that his political

coalition fractures and perhaps collapses. The far-right members of his government consider the defeat of Hamas more important than the release of the remaining hostages— 20 living and 28 dead.

“Obviously this puts Netanyahu in a political bind, up to his very neck. But what can he do?” Tel Aviv University political scientist Yossi Shain said. He added that Netanyahu may take the far-right members of his cabinet “aside and say, ‘Gentlemen, wait. Let’s get through the hostage release first.’ And he’ll hope that things thereafter will work for him.”

Trump has focused on the hostages as the key to ending the war that started when Hamas operatives invaded Israel two years ago, killing 1,200 and abducting 250 others. In the subsequent two years, Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people, sparked a famine in parts of the enclave, according to a UN-backed body, and led another UN-backed panel to declare it a genocide.

Israel denies both the famine and genocide allegations. But its refusal to let in journalists, except in short embeds, has made independent verification impossible, and global opinion has turned firmly against its war effort.

Netanyahu has stood defiantly against rising international con-

demnation, and a growing coalition of Western allies that in recent weeks announced that they’d join more than 150 other countries in recognizing a Palestinian state.

The Israeli leader also wants the hostages out but he has repeatedly insisted that, equally importantly, Hamas must disarm and be denied any future in Gaza.

If a hostage release occurs—in exchange for as many as 2,000 Palestinian prisoners—a process may begin that keeps Hamas in some role in Palestinian politics. An upcoming meeting of Palestinian factions to discuss Gaza’s future will include the group.

Many world leaders—and even many in the Israeli security establishment—say Hamas has been sufficiently worn down by two years of war that it will no longer pose a danger.

The army acknowledges that Hamas is greatly diminished. But a senior officer who briefed the group of journalists brought to Gaza on Friday—and who spoke under military rules of anonymity—pointed to a hospital which, he said, was evacuated only two weeks ago and where he said a sprawling subterranean rocket factory was uncovered.

“We didn’t have enough time to make sure that all these terrorist infrastructures will be destroyed,” he said of the army’s previous invasion of Gaza City. “We came back to make sure there are not any tunnels like this.”

Netanyahu’s government approved the Gaza City advance in August as part of what Israeli planners described as a “conquer and crush” campaign replacing less effective

earlier incursions. The plan stoked global outrage.

Trump, while supportive of Israel, has grown increasingly impatient with it and has been pushing both sides to reach a deal now. He’s also publicly campaigned to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, due to be announced this coming week.

Last Monday, Netanyahu accepted a 20-point peace plan put forth by Trump. Hamas now says it accepts much of it but needs to negotiate the rest.

It doesn’t accept disarmament and has made no reference to Trump’s idea of an international transitional governing body or the group’s own dissolution. It also says Israel must fully withdraw but, according to the plan, Israel would hold onto a perimeter buffer zone. The question now is how much of the plan will remain after the next round of negotiations, which, according to an Israeli official familiar with the matter, will begin on Sunday.   A recovery of the hostages would be welcomed across the political spectrum in Israel. Leaving Hamas intact, with any weaponry or governing capacity, would be less so, a lthough polls show Israelis increasingly willing to take any deal that frees those abducted on October 7, 2023. “It’s very hard to fight for two years,” the senior officer said. “Hamas is still fighting as a system. You can see it. It’s observing us. It’s looking for our weak points. When we surprise them at close range, from time to time they surrender. But mostly they just fight.” With assistance from Marissa Newman/Bloomberg

Monday, October 6, 2025

BusinessMirror

to use JPEPA review to cut tariffs on PHL banana

By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia

THE Philippines will look at possible concessions that it can offer Japan in its bid to reduce banana tariffs under a bilateral trade agreement forged nearly two decades ago, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the Japanese government is open to reviewing the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), the country’s first bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), signed in 2006.

“They mentioned that it’s possible to review it if we have something to offer,” Laurel told reporters on the sidelines of the recent 47th Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in Pasay City.

“I’ll have to consult with the DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] and our partner agency in the Philippines to develop a package that we can offer them, allowing

them to reopen the JPEPA bilateral agreement.”

Among the discussions with Japan Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi was the gradual reduction in the tariffs imposed by Japan on Philippine bananas under the JPEPA.

While the DA chief did not disclose the proposed percentagepoint decrease for duties levied on bananas, he noted that it would likely be patterned after Japan’s FTA with the Philippines’s neighboring nations, which are bound to enjoy zero-rated tariffs for the crop.

“Basically, there’s a schedule for that. Whatever schedule they gave in Vietnam and Thailand, it will

SBy Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

ENATE President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson is stepping aside as chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, after some colleagues aired their disappointment over the inquiry i nto anomalous flood control projects.

He acknowledged the observations, but also cited “disruptions” that gave the perception of unwieldy hearings, including his run-ins with his predecessor in the Blue Ribbon, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.

The two senators have been arguing over the handling of the Discaya couple, one of the biggest favored contractors for flood-control projects. At one point, Lacson asked Marcoleta, “why are you so protective of the Discayas?” Meanwhile, Lacson—who noted that all Senate committee chairpersons including the Blue Ribbon are elected by fellow senators and thus serve at the pleasure of their peers—maintained on Sunday that this will not stop his continuing fight against corruption.

“Since all chairpersons of the Senate committees are elected by our peers, I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues, particularly the members of the majority. Rightly or wrongly, when quite a number of them have expressed disappointment over how I’m handling the flood control project anomalies, I thought it’s time for me to step aside in favor of another member who they think can handle the committee better,” Lacson said.

“No amount of criticisms from misinformed netizens and partisan sectors can distract or pressure me from doing my job right, but when my own peers start expressing their group or individual sentiments, maybe it is best to vacate. Nevertheless, I will continue to fight a corrupt

and rotten system in the misuse and abuse of public funds as I have consistently done in the course of my long years in public service,” he added. In a radio interview earlier Sunday, Lacson said he is preparing his resignation letter and may formally manifest it in plenary when the Senate resumes its session. Lacson scored the fake news and false narratives that some sectors insisted on circulating—including one that says he is targeting some fellow senators while allegedly protecting members of the House of Representatives perceived to be the “masterminds” of the flood control mess—including former Speaker Martin Romualdez and ex-Rep. Elizaldy Co. “If you ask me, I would say I handled the hearings well. But there are those trying to disrupt the hearings. In one instance, the hearing had barely started when someone tried to make a distraction,” he said, apparently referring to Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who questioned Lacson’s impartiality as soon as a hearing began. Marcoleta was replaced as Blue Ribbon chief by Lacson after the September 8 shakeup that saw Vicente Sotto III elected Senate President, ousting Sen. Chiz Escudero.

Such disruptions, Lacson said in Filipino, are partly “why there is a perception that the hearings were not handled well.”

most likely be the same [with us],” Laurel said.

Local banana growers and exporters have been lobbying for cuts in tariffs for Philippine bananas exported to Japan, where it is now seeing its market shrink due to the entry of other competitors from Asia.

In particular, Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) Executive Director Stephen Antig is pushing for a 13-percentage point cut in the tariffs imposed by Japan on Philippine bananas by next year. (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2025/03/24/phl-growersurge-japan-to-cut-banana-tariffs-next-year/)

He also called for a uniform tariff scheme for Philippine bananas in Japan, veering away from the current two-tiered duties levied on one of the country’s leading export crops.

Antig said this would put the Philippines on a “level playing field” with other banana exporters such as Vietnam, which will ship bananas to Japan at zero tariffs by 2028.

“By 2028, tariff on banana from Vietnam will go down to zero. Vietnam is our biggest competitor right now from Southeast Asia,” Antig told the BusinessMirror

“What we’re asking is to reduce

the 26-percent tariff by 13 [percentage points] next year, then another 13 [percentage points] by 2027 so that the tariff on banana is zero by 2028,” he added.

He also noted that this scheme should be tweaked as a uniform tariff will make it “faster and easier” to impose the proposed change in the tariff structure.

Currently, Philippine bananas in Japan are slapped a tariff of 8 percent during summer and 18 percent during winter.

Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) earlier said that key Asian markets, such as China and Japan, saw a reduction in their banana purchases from the Philippines.

The international organization noted that trade data showed a decline in import quantities into Japan from the Philippines by 4 percent, which was offset by higher imports from Cambodia, Ecuador, and Vietnam.

“While demand for bananas in the country remained relatively stable, higher growth in import quantities was hampered by the production shortages experienced in the Philippines, from where Japan typically sources some 75 to 80 percent of its banana imports,” the FAO said.

WITH $8.1-B SCAM LOSSES, TIME FOR JOINT ACTION VS. FRAUD

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

CITING estimates of $8.1 billion in scam losses over the past year amid widespread underreporting by victims, Globe Telecom Inc. has called for coordinated action across government, industry and civil society to counter fraud that has hit Filipinos and the wider economy.

Derick Adil, Globe Head of AI and Privacy Governance and Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS) Philippines Cochair, said this collective action is needed to “match the speed and sophistication of fraud.”

“Fraud today moves at digital speed, exploiting new technologies like AI to deceive people faster than ever. We have proven that practical interventions can make a real difference, from removing links in SMS advisories, to blocking over 9 billion scam messages before they reach our customers. But these efforts must go beyond one country or one telco. Scams don’t stop at borders, and neither should our defenses. To turn every scam attempt into a dead end, we must build a united front of governments, industry, and communities,” he said. According to the GASS report, one in three Filipinos has been targeted by scams in the past year, with losses estimated at $8.1 billion— or 1.9 percent of the country’s GDP. Yet two-thirds of victims never report incidents, allowing fraud to proliferate unchecked. Adil highlighted consumer-protection tools and joint operating frameworks as pillars of its approach. The company’s StopSpam reporting portal is now complemented by the SMS Scam Shield feature in the GlobeOne app for Android, offered free to all Globe subscribers. Once activated and granted the necessary permissions, SMS Scam Shield automatically filters textbased phishing messages. He also cited Globe’s joint framework with banks for proactive data sharing and the company’s work with regulators and law enforcement to disrupt fraud operations. He said Globe aims to strengthen cross-border intelligence sharing and intensify public education to help rebuild digital trust.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan

THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) ought to investigate what ship operators have described as a “systemic practice” among certain shipowners of underreporting vessel tonnage and engine power. In a letter to Marina Administrator Sonia B. Malaluan, the Bicol Roro Shipping Operators Association, through its counsel lawyer Lyndon Y. Ancajas Jr., alleged that some shipping companies have been deliberately misdeclaring the gross tonnage and propulsion output of their vessels to fall under lighter regulatory categories.

By doing so, Ancajas said, these operators avoid stricter safety and manning requirements while paying lower statutory fees to agencies such as Marina and the Philippine Ports Author-

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

B1 Monday, October 6, 2025

Meralco CSP gets govt nod

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE Department of Energy (DOE) has cleared the Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco)competitive selection process (CSP) for a 200-megawatt (MW) baseload power supply from renewable energy (RE) facilities.

According to DOE Undersecretary

Mario Marasigan, the agency has processed a certificate of conformity (CoC) for the conduct of Meralco’s competitive auction. “We issued it. I cannot remember the exact date, but I think the papers came through last week or the other week.”

Meralco, for its part, said over the

weekend that it has yet to receive the CoC from the DOE.

A CoC should be issued by the DOE prior to the conduct of CSP. Meralco awaits the issuance of two more CoCs for the 450-MW mid-merit and 600MW baseload requirements.

“We have cleared the 200 megawatts. We received the comments

of the PCC [Philippine Competition Commission] and the ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission]. In that sense, we deemed it ok to release the certificate of conformity for the 200 megawatts only,” said Marasigan.

It can be recalled that Meralco has voluntary offered for review to the PCC the 200-MW baseload, 450-MW mid-merit, and 600-MW baseload, with deliveries scheduled to commence in the next five years.

The PCC and ERC will then submit their comments to the DOE which, in turn, will be referred to Meralco for appropriate comments and reply. Meralco’s reply to the comments of PCC and ERC will then have to be evaluated by the DOE.

“If Meralco feels that they have already complied with the comments of the PCC and ERC, then they can proceed. So, what we certified in our COC was actually the conformity of the 200-megawatt baseload require-

ment RE,” added Marasigan.

The 200-MW baseload supply of RE is necessary to comply with Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) policy, which requires power distributors like Meralco to source an increasing percentage of their electricity from RE sources to meet national RE targets.

Aside from the three CSPs, Meralco also plans to conduct another competitive bidding for 900-MW of baseload requirement, the last on its CSP list for the year.

“There is another one coming in, a 900-MW baseload CSP. We are supposed to do that latter part of this year,” said Meralco Senior Vice President and Regulatory Affairs head Jose Ronald Valles.

Meralco utility economics head Lawrence Fernandez said the 900MW capacity is targeted for February 5, 2030, with a contract term of 15 years.

Biz community mourns death of Oscar Reyes

THE business community is mourning the loss of Oscar S. Reyes, former president and chief executive of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), who died at the age of 79 last October 3.

Reyes, better known as “OSR,” served as president and CEO of Meralco from 2012 to 2019.

“With strategic foresight and prudence, he guided Meralco, laid the groundwork for modernization while ensuring regulatory

compliance, operational integrity, and execution excellence. True to his philosophy of ‘sweating the assets,’ he maximized value for customers and stakeholders alike,” Meralco said. Before his death, he was an in-

dependent director at PXP Energy Corp., another Pangilinan-led firm.

Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco head of corporate communications, said his leadership shaped the way he approach challenges and opportunities alike. Lenie Lectura

SEC wants to tweak rules to fortify REITs

TBy VG Cabuag @villygc

HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will expand the assets that may be infused into real estate investment trusts (REIT) in its bid to encourage more companies to list their properties.

SEC Chairman Francis E. Lim said the commission has its own ideas on how to amend the rules, such as redefining income-generating assets.

“For example, the toll roads, although the company is not the owner, but it has a real right to operate the highway in that long piece of land, that’s a ‘reitable’ asset,” Lim said.

According to the REIT Act of 2009, an income-generating real estate are those properties that are held for the purpose of generating a regular stream of income, such as rentals, toll fees, user’s fees and the like, as may be further defined and identified by the SEC. The law gave the SEC the authority to “promulgate rules to include real rights over real property, provided they generate interest or other regular payments to the REIT.”

Lim said the agency can include power plants or cell towers, which can be characterized as real estate.

“They are, under the law, considered immovable properties,” he said. “Real estate assets are immovable properties and therefore by definition under the civil court, they are real property and therefore if they generate income on a regular basis, that’s a ‘reitable’ asset.”

Passed by Congress in 2009, the REIT law did not take off immediately in the country amid issues on public ownership and taxation on asset transfers.

Ayala Land Inc.-backed Areit Inc. was the first to brave the market and listed at the height of the pandemic in August 2020. Four more REITs followed suit the following year in 2021—DoubleDragon Corp.’s DDMP REIT Inc., Filinvest REIT Corp., Megaworld’s Mreit Inc. and the Gokongwei’s RL Commercial REIT Inc. In 2022, the Villar group added two of its own--VistaREIT Inc. in June and Premiere Island Power REIT Corp. in December--along with Citicore Energy REIT Corp. of the owners of Megawide Construction Corp.

Matt Kovac of FIA: Front-of-package labels promote safety, wellness, and sustainability

By Francine Medina

With a fast-paced lifestyle comes the tendency to reach for convenience foods to sustain oneself. The tendency is to grab packaged snacks or meals that are tasty but high in calories and low in nutrient content.

Today, more food manufacturers are adopting front-of-pack labels as a tool for consumers to read the nutrition information of the item at a glance. This way, consumers can compare products on the grocery shelves and make healthier, smarter choices.

In a recent episode of “Freshly Brewed,” BusinessMirror’s digital show, guest Matt Kovac, CEO of Food Industry Asia, sat down with Health and Fitness Editor, Anne Ruth Dela Cruz, to talk about the role of front-of-pack labels in nutrition education.

Food Industry Asia (FIA) is a non-profit organization established in 2010 by a consortium of top multinational food and beverage companies.

The company is based in Singapore with industry experts as its members. FIA’s goal is to foster sustainable practices in the food and beverage sector in the Asia Pacific region.

“We are an association that

represents big brands, big ingredients companies, and big food packaging manufacturers, and we are involved with all things related to food safety and sustainability,” Kovac explained. The FIA leader has been with the organization for 11 years and was in the agriculture industry before joining the group.

“FIA has 50 companies that offer diverse products ranging from dairy, snacks, to beverages. We have ingredient suppliers, which are the biggest in the world. We also have food packaging companies that supply the packaging for these products,” said Kovac, explaining the wide network of its members involved in the global industry’s supply chain.

“Our work is focused on creating policies, standards, and regulatory frameworks to support public health initiatives, to promote safety and sustainability,” he added. Thus, FIA actively connects

with governments, regulators, and stakeholders to forge partnerships and collaborations.

Safety, Health, and Sustainability

These concerns—safety, health, and sustainability—are the main focus of FIA’s initiatives.

“Well, we need safe foods, that’s primary. Second, we want people to choose healthier options. And third, we need those ingredients to be sustainable and to promote practices that reduce the impact of climate change as well,” he stated.

Kovac was in the Philippines last month not only to visit the FIA Manla office and member companies but also to participate in the ASEAN Food Conference in Davao City from September 23 to 25, 2025.

The gathering of food science innovators, co-organized by the Philippine Food Technologists, Inc., had a roundtable discussion

presented by FIA on the topic of science and the future of food.

“In the past, we’ve had information that was at the back of the package. Honestly, that was inaccessible, especially to the older ones who find it difficult to read the fine print at the back.

“The trend now is to translate that data at the back of the package into a simpler and more consumer-friendly front-ofpack labeling. And that’s where we come in to introduce the concept in the Philippines and other parts of the region.”

To promote FIA’s mission, Kovac replied that awareness is important not only among the big-name manufacturers and suppliers but also in other markets. “Education is important. We are targeting SMEs, not just the multinational corporations that have their own markets.

“The first step is to consult with the industry, to educate

the industry, and to make them understand why we are pushing for front-of-pack labeling. It is not only for the benefit of consumers but also for manufacturers to be more transparent in providing the nutrient content of their food.

For instance, what the sugar, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals— all the things that people may want to know in the course of their shopping,” Kovac clarified.

No mandatory law

Although more food companies are implementing front-of-pack labeling in their packaging, there is no mandatory law yet. There have been many proposed bills, including a recent one by Samar Rep. Reynolds Michael Tan on frontof-pack food warning labels and regulating child-directed marketing of food products. House Bill 9819, filed by Tan,

aims to implement front-ofpack warning labels (FOPWL) on food products high in fats, salt, and sugar to help consumers make healthier choices and to avoid heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses.

Meanwhile, Kovac suggested measures to bolster awareness among food manufacturers on the importance of including accurate amounts of ingredients and nutrient information on their packages.

“What is needed is a proper, comprehensive policy to enable the industry to follow that kind of requirement. Collaboration and dialogue between the Department of Health and the industry members are also needed.

“You can’t have a general front-of-pack label for the food products. It has to be done by category. You can’t have the same labeling for a beverage and a dairy product because they’re different from each other. There is a need to come together to organize how the information would look to allow the industry to make the appropriate front-of-pack labels.” He also emphasized assigning colors to nutrition labels to present nutrient levels and food types. “For consumers to understand the front-of-pack label, a color-coded pack is the best way to do it. Color-coding informs consumers about the nutrients and encourages them to make better decisions based on that information.”

“By far, color coding is the best model for the Philippines to be able to educate consumers about this,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Kovac expressed hopefulness that FIA’s campaign on front-of-pack labeling will continue to be a growing practice among local food manufacturers.

• Watch the full episode on BusinessMirror’s YouTube channel. Catch new episodes of “Freshly Brewed”  every Monday at 10 a.m. on BM’s YouTube, Facebook page, and website.

HE Insurance Commission

T(IC) announced last Friday that Intra-Strata Assurance Corp. (ISAC) has exited the conservatorship after the non-life insurer addressed compliance lapses that led to its suspension last month.

In a notice to the public, Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado announced the IC has lifted the suspension of ISAC’s Certificate of Authority. Likewise, the IC released the company from conservatorship on October 3, 2025.

If the IC determines that an insurance company is unable or unwilling to fulfill its obligations to policyholders, it has the authority to place a firm under conservatorship.

ISAC is one of the oldest non-life insurance companies in the country as it was established on September 8, 1959, as Overseas Insurance Co. In 1987, “the company changed its corporate name to what it is now known.”

The company was placed under conservatorship on September 12, due to its inability to comply with the requirements of Republic Act 10607, also known as the Amended Insurance Code.

ISAC was also ordered to cease and desist from transacting any

EMERGING-market currencies

edged higher on Friday, as the absence of key US data during the government shutdown tamped down volatility, while developing stocks rose in a tech-led rally.

The MSCI Inc. gauge for developing-nation currencies ended the session 0.1 percent higher on Friday. The shekel jumped after Hamas said it has agreed to release all Israeli hostages, while Turkey’s lira lagged peers even after inflation data came in above expectations. For the week, the index gained 0.4 percent.

Markets had a glimpse of US labor data earlier in the week, but the shutdown—now in its third day— delayed both Thursday’s weekly initial jobless claims and Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report. The JPMorgan Emerging Market Volatility Index, an indicator of implied foreign-exchange swings three months ahead, is hovering at the lowest levels in over a year.

“With little data to change the course, FX volatility has moved lower across the board,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists including Kamakshya Trivedi wrote in a note. “That should mean a continued solid backdrop for EM carry candidates that also benefit from solid domestic fundamentals.”

Meanwhile, a sister index for equities was up 0.5 percent on the day as investor optimism over artificial intelligence propelled tech shares. Emerging-stocks clocked their biggest weekly advance in three, rising 3.6 percent in a rally led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Hitachi Ltd.’s partnership with

new insurance business of any kind or character.

A statement posted on its website following its assumption under conservatorship, the insurer said it is working closely with the IC and the designated interim conservator to ensure full transparency, good governance and continued protection of policyholder interests.

ISAC said it has already submitted its 2024 Annual Report and has secured its external auditor’s commitment to release the duly signed 2024 Audited Financial Statements. Moreover, it clarified that all existing insurance policies and obligations remain valid and binding, and the suspension applies only to the issuance of new policies, not to existing coverage.

“ISAC has rectified internal lapses in handling regulatory correspondence and has instituted corrective and disciplinary measures to ensure stricter compliance moving forward,” it added.

Data from the IC showed ISAC booked a net income of P165.429 million in 2024. The company’s total assets reached P1.922 billion, while its net worth amounted to P1.626 billion during the same year. Reine Juvierre S. Alberto

data

OpenAI on energy and Fujitsu Ltd.’s growing ties with Nvidia Corp. are also bolstering investor wagers that billions in AI sector investments will pay off.

A major headache for traders is that the shutdown is limiting the release of economic data that underpins Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions and can sway markets.

“The lack of data is an issue, and that certainly suggests that the duration of the shutdown will still matter,” Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. A prolonged shutdown will likely be a negative scenario for the dollar, but slightly dovish for US rates as monetary policy will be operating without evidence, he added.

Weak dollar

DEVELOPING-world assets have been shored up by a huge dollar selloff in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff moves in April. With more US interest-rate cuts likely on the way, currencies may be set to notch a strong fourth quarter, according to some analysts.

“The path for real rates in the US is lower and therefore the path for the dollar is weaker,” said Gautam Kalani, portfolio manager at BlueBay fixed income for emerging markets at RBC Global Asset Management.

Investors put money into EMdedicated debt funds for the past 24 straight weeks, adding $3.7 billion in the week through October 1, according to the latest EPFR Global data compiled by Bank of America Corp. Year-to-date net inflows stand above $50 billion. Bloomberg

BITCOIN set another all-time high as a broader risk rally around the US government shutdown buoyed the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

The token climbed to as high as $125,689 last Sunday in Asia, topping its previous record set on August 14, supported by the uptick in US equities and renewed inflows into Bitcoinlinked exchange-traded funds. Investors have speculated that the shutdown, which kicked in on Wednesday, will drive investors to safe-haven assets in what market participants have begun to call the “debasement trade.”

“With many assets including equities, gold and even collectibles like Pokemon cards hitting all time highs, it’s no surprise Bitcoin is benefitting from the dollar debasement narrative,” said Joshua Lim, co-head of markets at crypto

Govt released ₧13.034B in calamity funds in Q3

By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto

THE government released P13.034 billion in calamity funds as of the third quarter to finance disaster risk reduction, mitigation, prevention and preparedness activities in the country.

The data showed that state agencies received a total of P13.034 billion from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRM) fund from January-to-September this year.

The calamity funds may be used for aid, relief and rehabilitation, as

By VG Cabuag @villygc

HE China Bank Savings (CBS)

TInc., the retail arm of publicly-listed China Bank Savings Corp., announced it will give an P11-million sponsorship package in support of the National Teachers Month and the National Teachers’ Day 2025 grand celebration, to be held on October 6.

The celebration, spearheaded by the Department of Education (DepEd), is expected to bring together thousands of public-school teachers and stakeholders from across the country.

The bank’s sponsorship include 20 ‘My First Million’ savings accounts preloaded with P50,000 each, 20

COINBASE Global Inc., the largest US crypto exchange, is seeking a national trust company charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the company said Friday.

Coinbase “has no intention of becoming a bank,” Greg Tusar, vice president of institutional product said in a blog post. Instead, if approved, the charter will allow Coinbase to expand in areas like payments and related services, he wrote.

well as to repair and reconstruct damages from natural or anthropogenic disasters within the current or past two years.

In September alone, P1.375 billion was disbursed from the fund, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) re -

brand new laptops, 10 smart TVs, 14 Honda Click 125i motorcycle and a brand-new 2025 Toyota Innova as the event’s grand prize.

CBS President James Christian T. Dee and First Vice President Niel C. Jumawan will lead the awarding ceremonies onsite, which will be held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Dee was quoted in a statement as saying they are “honored to stand alongside our Filipino teachers in this national celebration.”

“They are the backbone of inclusive growth and social progress,” he said. “Our mission goes beyond banking—we aim to create real impact through education, financial literacy, and empowerment,” he said.

ceiving the bulk worth P708.167 million. The controversy-laced DPWH was provided a total of P359.732 billion for infrastructure repairs in Bataan, covering damages from Typhoon “Kristine” in 2024 and Tropical Cyclones “Egay” and “Falcon” in 2023.

Another P348.435 million was given to the DPWH to fund calamityrelated projects in Northern Samar and Oriental Mindoro, which suffered from the combined impacts of a shear line, low-pressure area, northeast monsoon, and shearline in 2023. Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) obtained P42.422 million for the procurement of a service provider and to upgrade the electrical service connection of the National

Beyond event sponsorship, CBS is co-implementing with the DepEd a regional financial wellness workshop series targeted at teachers and nonteaching personnel in Visayas and Mindanao. This initiative, “aligned with the broader NTM calendar, aims to bolster the financial literacy of educators through sessions on budgeting, responsible borrowing, savings discipline, and cash flow management.”

“Our collaboration with DepEd extends far beyond one-day celebrations,” said Jumawan, who leads the lender’s automatic payroll deduction lending group and DepEd engagement since 2016.

“We are proud to co-develop programs that improve the finan-

Payments have become a big area of focus for Coinbase in the past year, as the use of stablecoins has taken off. President Donald Trump signed a law in July regulating stablecoins, fueling the industry’s growth. Coinbase has already struck partnerships with companies including Shopify Inc. to rev up the use of USDC, the world’s second-biggest stablecoin, which it supports and shares revenue from with issuer Circle Internet Group Inc.

“An OCC charter will streamline

prime brokerage firm FalconX. Adding to the bullish sentiment is Bitcoin’s historical outperformance in the month of October, which has earned the nickname “Uptober.” The token has gained in nine of the past 10 Octobers.

The largest digital-asset by market value reached the previous high of $124,514 on August 14, and is now up more than 30 percent this year. Bitcoin has been steadily rising for most of the past year as a result of the friendly legislative climate in Washington ushered in by President Donald Trump. Public companies, led by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, have boosted the demand by following an increasingly popular corporate tactic of stockpiling the original cryptocurrency. The playbook has spread to smaller competitors, like Ether, leading to a broad rise

across digital assets.

US stocks touched record highs on Friday amid another round of big-ticket artificial intelligence deals and partnerships, bucking the prospect of a prolonged shutdown and a gloomy reading on business activity. Treasuries and the dollar slid. Gold was on track for a seventh weekly gain, fueled by central bank buying amid falling US interest rates and lingering inflation concerns.

“The shutdown matters this time around,” said Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Plc, adding that he expects Bitcoin to rise during this period. He noted that Bitcoin was “in a different place” during the previous shutdown between 2018 and 2019, when the token traded less in line with traditional risk assets. Bloomberg

oversight for new offerings and en-

THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) announced last week that it conducted last September 30 an agency-wide orientation on the responsible use of Microsoft Copilot with governance safeguards in observance of Development Policy Research Month (DPRM). Anchored on this year’s theme, “Reimagining Governance in the Age of AI,” the online session underscored the need to embrace artificial intelligence responsibly to ensure that innovation is balanced with accountability and transparency in the workplace, read a statement the Pagcor issued on October 3. AI Workforce Specialist Christeen Padilla introduced Microsoft Copilot Chat, an AIpowered assistant to 98 Pagcor employees. The AI assistant is designed to “boost pro-

Operations Center.

DSWD also received P625 million as replenishment of its quick response fund (QRF).

The QRF is a built-in budgetary allocation or stand-by fund that allows agencies to immediately assist areas affected by catastrophes and crises. First-response agencies can request QRF replenishment from the DBM

Survival Fund earmarked for climate adaptation projects to “boost” community and ecosystem resilience.

cial resilience of teachers and their households -ultimately contributing to stronger classrooms and communities,” he said.

Over the past four years, the bank has committed over P40 million in prizes and sponsorships to support NTD, read a statement issued by CBS.

“But more importantly, we remain steadfast in amplifying our advocacy for financial wellness among educators nationwide,” he said.

Earlier this year, CBS also donated P14.8 million worth of laptops, construction materials, maintenance tools, and office supplies to DepEd in support of Brigada Eskwela and Learning Recovery programs.

grate digital assets into traditional finance,” Tusar’s blog said. Other crypto companies and financial-technology firms have been pursuing or considering national bank charters.

Circle applied for a national trust charter in June, while blockchain providers Ripple Labs Inc. and Paxos Inc. did so in July and August, respectively. Crypto custodian Anchorage Digital Bank NA, for instance, has already been granted one.

Coinbase is applying for the charter as Congress is working on a market-structure bill that’s expected to better define oversight and regulation of the crypto industry. It’s expected to go through markup in the Senate in late-October but may not pass until some time next year.

Coinbase’s shares are up 53 percent since the beginning of the year, to $380.02, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bloomberg

ductivity through features such as drafting correspondence, summarizing reports, generating ideas, and answering work-related queries.” Citing industry data, Padilla noted that 86 percent of AI-assisted chat application users in the Philippines had adopted Copilot in 2024, reflecting the country’s rapid shift toward AI-powered workplace solutions, the statement read. While highlighting Copilot’s potential to streamline tasks and improve efficiency, the orientation also placed strong emphasis on governance safeguards to ensure its responsible use. These include compliance with enterprise data protection standards, observance of organizational policies, and

October 6, 2025

How ‘woke’ went from an expression in Black culture to a conservative criticism

By Terry Tang The Associated Press

THE expression

“stay woke” started out as an affirmation for African Americans.

In the past decade it has been used by some Republicans—and some Democrats—as a pejorative for people thought to be too “politically correct,” another term that took on negative connotations as it gained wider use.

“Woke” has come up in cultural and political firestorms. Eight months into his second term, President Donald Trump pledged to review content at the Smithsonian Institution for being “WOKE” and where “everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was.” At the beginning of this year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared in his State of the State address that government would keep “woke agendas” out of universities and K-12 schools, including “woke gender ideologies.”

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was ending the “woke” culture in the military, saying the service has been hamstrung by political correctness. He referenced diversity efforts, transgender troops, environmental policies and other disciplinary rules.

“America is no longer woke under President Trump’s leadership. The word ‘woke’ represents radical ideologies that are used (to) divide the American people and harm our country,” Liz Huston, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

Here’s where “woke” came from, and how its meaning has evolved:

The history of ‘woke’

“WOKENESS” originated decades ago as African American cultural slang for having awareness and enlightenment around racism, injustice, privilege or threats of white supremacist violence.

Several historians trace the idea to a 1923 compilation of speeches and articles by Jamaican-born Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. In one essay, Garvey writes “Wake up Ethiopia! Wake up Africa!” Another reference appears in 1938 in the song, “Scottsboro Boys,” by blues artist Lead Belly, whose real name was Huddie Ledbetter. The tune follows the true story of four Black youths unjustly convicted by an all-white jury of the rape of two white women (they were later freed). The lyrics warn Black listeners to be careful and “stay woke. Keep your eyes open.”

Gerald McWorter, a professor emeritus of African American studies and of information sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, says “woke”

was about having a voice after hundreds of years of Black suffering going back to the African slave trade.

The phrase also popped up in a 1962 essay by novelist William Melvin Kelley for The New York Times. The headline—“If You’re Woke, You Dig It.” Kelley’s widow and daughter believe he heard the term while walking around their Harlem neighborhood, said Elijah Watson, a pop culture writer and editor who has written about Kelley, who died in 2017.

‘Woke’ reawakening IN the 21st century, singer-songwriter

Erykah Badu is often credited with reviving the term “woke.” Her song “Master Teacher” on her 2008 album, “New Amerykah: Part One,” includes the refrain “I stay woke.” Badu picked up the phrase from co-writer and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow, who heard it from a saxophone player she collaborated with— Lakecia Benjamin.

The 2014 fatal shooting by a white police officer of 18-year-old Michael Brown— who was Black and unarmed—in Ferguson, Missouri, made “woke” and “stay woke” galvanizing pledges in the growing Black Lives Matter movement.

The movement drew support from other racial groups. “Woke” also became popularized by white liberals who wanted to show they were allies.

The war on woke THE backlash against “woke” and “wokeness” bubbled up in the 2010s, amid discussions about including more Black history in American history lessons. Many people said that bringing “critical race theory” to schools was meant to program children to feel guilty for being white.

This argument became front and center in 2022 when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act” into law. It banned teaching or business practices on race and gender. (The law is now on

hold after a federal judge deemed it unconstitutional).

For George Pearson, a former chair of the Illinois Black Republican Coalition, “woke” is a hollow word. Democratic politicians who purport to be “champions” of wokeness and DEI have done little for Black people, he said. So, “woke” has no sway as a rallying cry. He also thinks it’s unfair that those who do not support “woke-ism” are told “’you’re racist. You’re a homophobe. You’re a bigot.” Even among liberal Black Americans, there is a debate whether the intention of

“woke” does more harm than good. Who says woke now? IN Watson’s experience, “woke” is no longer part of Black vernacular. If he hears it from anyone in his social circles, it’s almost always said “in jest.”

Some progressives are trying to take the word back. Academy Award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda brought up being “woke” while receiving the Screen Actors Guild lifetime achievement award in front of an A-list audience.

“Make no mistake, empathy is not weak or woke. By the way, woke just means you give a damn about other people,” Fonda said.

Seena Hodges started her own business as a DEI strategist for individuals and groups in 2018 and called it The Woke Coach. She and her team consult on everything from workplace interactions to best recruiting practices. She touches on inclusion for groups from people of color to breastfeeding mothers. The “bastardization” of “woke” and DEI as words akin to slurs doesn’t bother her, she said. To her, at its core being “woke” is about awareness.

“What it really boils down to is helping people develop a more acute level of emotional intelligence,” she said.

Maiden China by Alexis Monsanto at New York Fashion Week

AFTER showcasing an exquisite collection at the Bower Museum in California in May, Filipino-American couturier Alexis Monsanto was commissioned by the Art Hearts Fashion Production to present his Spring/ Summer 2026 Collection at Art Hearts Fashion at New York Fashion Week this September.

Founded in 2010, Art Hearts Fashion is a “leading platform dedicated to bringing innovative designers and artists to the forefront of Fashion Weeks in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas.

“Monsanto’s presentation is theatrical and high fashion. It sets the tone of the evening. He never disappoints,” said Erik Rosete, the president of AHF who handpicked Monsanto to headline the show at Angel Orenzans Foundation on September 13.

“It is always an honor to be asked by Erik Rosete to participate, and then to open the most coveted time slot of Saturday evening. I have done several shows with them in the past, and I was told that we needed to maintain the momentum after I was asked to open the Las Vegas swim show,” said the Misamis Occidentalborn Monsanto.

The New York collection, called “Chinoiserie,” is a further exploration of his “Qin Court Collection,” which is in conjunction with the ongoing exhibition “World of the Terracotta Warriors: New Archaeological Discoveries” at the Bowers Museum Orange County in Santa Ana, California, which opened on May 24 and closes on October 19, 2025.

“The ‘Chinoiserie Collection’ is totally different from what I presented in May at the Bowers Museum, which was all about the Terracotta Warrior exhibition. I expanded it to Oriental art from the 17th and 18th centuries,” said Monsanto via email. “For instance, the hand-painting on the cape I made was all about landscape and scenery from the past centuries. I also infused cherry blossoms on my embroideries in addition to the existing lotus flowers I previously made.”

True to his haute-couture streak, Monsanto showed his signature elegance and timeless feminine style with menswear inspired by ancient Chinese warriors for good measure. Some of his stupendous designs include a black windowpane shift dress with laser-cut cranes, lotus and koi details; a long sleeves nude bodysuit with cherry blossoms embroidery; A gray men’s three-piece ensemble and black double-breasted suit with turquoise cascading asymmetrical cherry blossoms; an electric blue bi disc laser-cut design cocktail dress with dragon armor; and a fuchsia phoenix gown with laser-cut design in the center with mermaid ostrich feather skirt. His finale look is an empress gown with a teal origami top with Swarovski crystals-embroidered column skirt and an impasto hand-painted oversized cape with cranes and oriental landscape with Swarovski crystals embroidery detail.

Monsanto, an alumnus of Otis College of Art and Design in LA and founder of the Alexis Monsanto Atelier in Downtown Los Angeles, collaborated with different artisans for the NYFW collection.

Mindful

“I gave them a design direction and the color palette, and then they submitted their interpretation. But I approved it before the execution. Last May, I had Van Cleef & Arpels and Delvaux. This season, I wanted to highlight Filipino artisans like Nanette Catigbe, a painter who has done exhibitions at the Virginia Museum of Art; I had Victoria’s Crafts USA manufacture the minaudiere,” said Monsanto.

“IXXIA made the jewelry that added the bling in the collection. Jojo Bragais, the Miss Universe official footwear at the pageant, designed the shoes and boots while the head pieces were truly a work of art with this young artisan, Deepkie Restauro from Cebu City,” he added.

Dubbed Hollywood’s Newest Fashion Expert, Monsanto’s creations have been worn by Hollywood A-listers such as Charlize Theron, Kate Beckinsale, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Coolidge and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.

He admits that presenting a collection in the Big Apple is a mind-blowing experience.

“NYFW is the most revered in the US like Milan,

Foundation SPF 15 in Coron. This shade is a light medium with olive undertone. I got it for P599. True to its name, the powder is indeed blurring. It’s something that you could wear

It’s not oily and I didn’t get any breakouts because of it.

Paris and London in the fashion calendar with the presence of showrooms and buying offices, as well. LAFW comes next since Los Angeles is the manufacturing capital of the US. Big brands are made here, dye houses operate here and the mills and fabric converters are prevalent in Southern California,” explained Monsanto.

“Showing in the Big Apple is totally different because you are in the battlefield with the big brands and I don’t have a lot of allies. I felt like the little David against Goliath,” he shared. “Showing in LA is different. It’s my turf, my territory. I am comfortable and I have lots of help from crew to stylist.”

He is confident, though, that he is fully equipped to be at par with the best in the world.

“My being a perfectionist is often misunderstood because I am very detail-oriented. I am observant and resourceful and I collaborate and make quick decisions along the way when I need to change course and effectively present innovative ideas to my clients and the target market,” he stressed.

“To be a world-class designer, it takes a lot. You

have to have strong creative and artistic skills and technical expertise in patterns, draping and construction,” said Monsanto. “On top of that, you have to be business-savvy, ready to adapt to stay current by doing constant research on trends, and have a keen forecasting ability.”

HONORARY PRESIDENT OF ITALIAN LUXURY BRAND FENDI NAMED

FENDI recently announced that, from October 1st, Silvia Venturini Fendi is taking on the role of Honorary President of the Italian luxury brand, following her distinguished creative tenure, which included her direction of the women’s collections during the brand’s centennial year.

In her new capacity, she will focus on supporting Fendi’s heritage while continuing to champion the brand worldwide and promoting the house’s rich history, exceptional craftsmanship, and the world of Fendi Casa.

Silvia Venturini Fendi represents the third generation of the Fendi family. From 1992 until 2019, she seconded the late Karl Lagerfeld in the Artistic Direction. Since 1994, she was responsible for the Accessories and Menswear lines and lately, the Women’s collection.

“These have been truly exciting years, a journey I have walked also in the name of my grandmother Adele, my mother Anna, and her sisters. My heart turns to Karl, an extraordinary master who granted me the honor of working by his side, teaching me the art of sharing, a defining quality in my family’s history of women, while guiding me to nurture and protect my own creative vision so that I could then fly on my own,” says Silvia.

“What a wonderful journey it has been, not only creatively but also from a human perspective: first through my bond with Karl Lagerfeld, then with

n Alexis Monsanto Atelier: 1300 W. Olympic Blvd. Ste. 217; Los Angeles, CA 90015; (909) 667-0394 work; alexis. monsanto@gmail.com info@alexismonsanto.com; www.alexismonsanto.com; Facebook: Alexis Monsanto Atelier; Instagram: Alexis Monsanto; X: Alexis Monsanto WHEN

n Mise En Scene Curling Essence 2x Natural (pink tube). I think I got this for around P400 or slightly less than that. My daughter has curly hair and she’s been using this Korean curl cream for around two years now ever since I got it as a freebie from an event. So she has gone over several tubes of it. It’s reasonably priced, not sticky, and holds her curls well.

the stuff that I got: n Colourette Blur Base Everyday Powder

n Dazzle Me Our Secret Cover Concealer. I had been looking for this in the shade Medium because on TikTok Shop, they only have it in Light. At the event, it was on sale for only P90, I think, so I got the only tube left in Medium.

Digital literacy, intersectoral action key to fight against fraud in PHL

What began as simple phishing emails has evolved into a complex network of online schemes that leave many pockets dry. Powered by both cutting-edge AI deepfakes and forged IDs, it is more challenging to battle digital fraud despite financial technology’s undeniable convenience.

According to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, the Philippines has a high rate of digital fraud, accounting for 32 percent of the total number of 10,000 cases in 2024. This translates to an average loss of P198 million, triple the complaints from 2023, as more cases of copycat advertisements, impersonations, and investment scams pile up.

Recognizing that the rise in fraud and scams hurts Filipino consumers, Tala Philippines backed increased exchange of industry knowledge at “Decoding Deceit: A Financial Fraud Forum.” The Consumer Lending Association of the Philippines (CLAP) organized the forum to serve as a platform for both the public and private sector to share insights from real-world incidents and identify practical measures to protect financing companies, other fintech players, and their customers from rampant financial fraud.

“We should empower agencies with AI tools to keep up with evolving scams. At the same time, we can also partner with telcos and social media platforms to block known scam numbers or accounts,” said Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Rogelio V. Quevedo during a panel discussion on forging a fraud-free framework together with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the National Privacy Commission (NPC), and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC).

Quevedo also stressed the critical role of consumers in protecting themselves: “Scammers may reach you, but it’s up to you to verify if the company or name you’re dealing with is legitimate. If it’s not on the SEC Check App, it’s likely fraudulent.” He assured that the government is

JUST ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the moon is at its brightest, TUDOR unveils its first ever watch with a moon phase complication… and some magic from Jay Chou. The Moon occupies a special place in Eastern lore: in the Chinese tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it symbolizes togetherness and the unity of family. It was the most fitting occasion to harness the creative energy from TUDOR’s own family, particularly the multi-talented Jay Chou, to create the first ever moon phase watch in the collection. The subtle sophistication of the 1926 line was the perfect place to start. This line is named after the year when “The Tudor” was first registered as a brand on behalf of Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf. It captures and stays true to TUDOR’s philosophy, representing both beauty and value. Working with TUDOR’s designers, Jay added his magic to the watch, and the

“The Decoding Deceit: a Financial Fraud Forum,” hosted by the Consumer Lending Association of the Philippines, saw experts from the government and industry practitioners discuss the rising issue of fraud and scam attacks, how this affects millions of Filipinos and the way moving forward. staying ahead of fraud: “The government is actively keeping pace with these scammers. When there is money to be earned, the human mind can easily discern, which is why government agencies must remain vigilant.”

The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion for 2022-2028 sets primary objectives of promoting inclusive digital finance and enhancing access to risk protection, among others. When asked about major obstacles to achieving these objectives, Pat Yoder, SVP of Credit at Tala, pointed out the surge in “fixers” and the financial fraud they encourage and exacerbate.

“The rising fraud increases default rates while driving up costs, resulting in tighter approval rates hence hindering financial access,” he explained. “Experiencing the negative effects of fraud, along with the sheer perception of its presence in the industry often drive first-time users to disengage from formal finance.”

To mitigate financial fraud’s detrimental impact on paving the way for more Filipinos to actively use their financial accounts, a panel of lawyers and law enforcement officers advocated for more consideration and resources to build strong, admissible criminal and civil cases. This often requires coordinated investigative efforts and substantial evidence, procured through cyber warrants, to trace virtual crimes to real perpetrators. They agreed that publicizing credible case victories, despite the high costs and complexities involved, is the most significant deterrent, discouraging would-be fraudsters from capitalizing on the Philippines’ push for

digitalization and financial inclusion.

As technical and criminal exploits, such as PhilSys ID forgery by organized syndicates and fake identities, make up a significant portion of digital fraud in the Philippines, critical observations in the forum point at human vulnerability as the weakest link weaponized by scammers.

“Thus, we are championing digital literacy. We believe that Filipinos must understand how to build and use their digital identities responsibly as they are the key to access financial services and effectively guard against fraud,” said Arianne Ferrer, External Affairs Director of Tala Philippines and President of the CLAP. “As responsible and legitimate lenders, we must teach, train and improve our digital management skills, together with our customers.”

Aside from its literacy campaigns like TALAkayan with Salve Ibañez, Tala Philippines observes internationally recognized fraud prevention practices and continuously strengthens its fraud management system, such as by utilizing AI/ML to detect anomalous or automated behavior and by reviewing routinely the safeguards around their customers’ personal information. As a result of industry insights gained during the forum, Tala Philippines renews its commitment to pursue fraudsters targeting and harming its customers online. While it initiated some of the first cases under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act with the National Bureau of Investigation last year, Tala Philippines expects to pursue more stringent legal action to hold criminals accountable.

TUDOR unveils TUDOR 1926 Luna

result is as magnificent as a resplendent full moon lighting up the night sky.

Framed by a perfectly polished bevel, the moon phase indicator appears at 6 o’clock on three brand new dials in 39mm stainless steel cases for the 1926: Blue, Black and Jay’s own, champagnecolour. The moon phase indicator for each dial is distinct, and Jay’s vision for the champagne-colour dial model has come to life in a truly fantastical way, with the phantom moonlight gold disc representing the moon hidden behind an inky black cutout that slowly disappears as the moon waxes and wanes.

In Roman mythology, Luna the goddess personifies the divine beauty and magical mystery of the moon. Most years have 12 full moons that appear once during a lunar cycle lasting roughly 29.5 days, but our calendar doesn’t necessarily sync up perfectly, so some years might see 13 full moons. This is what makes the moon phase complication so mesmerizing – the watch measures our 24-hour days right down to the very second. Meanwhile, it also measures a completely different cycle – the lunar cycle. Not only can you tell the time, but you can also tell when it’s time to… watch out for werewolves.

The dials of the 1926 model are a fine example of TUDOR’s thorough attention to detail. Domed for a vintage touch, the delicate design points to TUDOR’s origins. These dials have applique evennumbered Arabic numerals between faceted arrow-shaped hour markers. The wealth of detail on the dials of the 1926 line creates a striking and intricate play

Fuji-Haya Electric expands footprint in Mindanao with new Davao office

FUJI-HAYA Electric Corporation of the Philippines, one of the country’s most trusted names in electrical engineering and power protection, has expanded its national footprint with the establishment of a new regional office in Davao City. This move reflects the company’s long-term commitment to supporting Mindanao’s growing infrastructure, commercial, and industrial sectors.

Mindanao continues to be a vital center for infrastructure growth, industrial development, and commercial expansion. In response to the region’s increasing demand for reliable electrical solutions, Fuji-Haya is ready to provide stronger support and faster response times through its new regional hub. While the office is based in Davao City, its purpose is to serve the entire Mindanao region with the same commitment to excellence that has defined the company for

nearly five decades.

“Mindanao represents one of the most dynamic growth regions in the Philippines,” said Engr. Vilma Claret Llorin, EPC Head and Senior Sales Manager of Fuji-Haya Electric. “Our presence here enables us to respond more effectively to the unique demands of the market and reinforces our commitment to innovation, service, and partnership.”

The expansion also strengthens FujiHaya’s collaborations with global industry leaders, including Fuji Electric of Japan and LS Electric of Korea, both of which continue to provide advanced technologies and solutions in support of the company’s projects nationwide.

By establishing its Mindanao operations, Fuji-Haya Electric is positioned not only to serve immediate client needs but also to play a strategic role in advancing the region’s power reliability and infrastructure modernization.

Wick Veloso Returns to GSIS, Unveils New Programs for Members, Pensioners

GOVERNMENT Service Insurance System (GSIS)

President and General Manager Wick Veloso recently announced a pipeline of initiatives designed to provide greater support for government employees and pensioners.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay News Forum, Veloso highlighted GSIS’s financial stability.

“GSIS is strong and continues to grow. Our focus is not on the past but on building a future where members and pensioners feel the full value of their contributions. We are committed to completing what we have started,” he said.

The initiatives presented by Veloso include: Review of GSIS dividend policies to better address member concerns; Proposed housing project at Manila North Harbor, in partnership with Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, to redevelop idle GSIS property into livable communities; Potential collaboration with the Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP – PGH), and the Philippine Pharmaceutical Corporation to make affordable medicines accessible to government workers and retirees; Partnership with UP to construct hospital lodging and commercial facilities at UP–PGH in support of government doctors; In line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., a joint project with the Department of Transportation to establish a transportation hub aimed at easing congestion and improving commuter mobility; and Expanded promotion of the Lease With Option to Buy

GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso responds to the questions of veteran journalist Marichu Villanueva during the Kapihan forum, highlighting the pension fund’s financial standing and recent initiatives that will benefit to members and pensioners.

(LWOB) housing program to enable more members to access affordable housing. Veloso also reported continued growth in GSIS assets, which rose from P1.54 trillion in 2022 to P1.88 trillion at present, with 73 percent invested in safe, risk-free instruments.

“Every peso entrusted to us by our 2.1 million active members and nearly 600,000 pensioners is managed with discipline and returned to them through benefits that matter—pensions, loans, housing, and healthcare,” he said.

of light that perfectly complements the sword-shaped hands with their matching colours, and the moon phase indicator is a novel touch that adds a bit of poetry to the watch.

The metal bracelet has taken pride of place in TUDOR design from the very beginning. Much more than a mere accessory, it is an integral part of the brand’s aesthetic and practical heritage. The 1926 line naturally has a purpose-made bracelet designed with comfort, refinement and quality in mind. Made up of seven links of varying sizes, it closely follows the curve of the wrist. Its outer links are satin-brushed while those in the middle are polished – a variety of finish that enhances the elegant appearance of the watch. Meticulously assembled in accordance with TUDOR’s longstanding skill in the field, the bracelet is flexible as well as strong.

Since its creation by Hans Wilsdorf in 1926, and in line with his vision of an ideal watchmaking product, TUDOR has never stopped producing the most robust, durable, reliable and precise watches in existence today. Bolstered by this experience, and confident in the knowledge of the superior quality of its watches, TUDOR offers a fiveyear guarantee on all its products. This guarantee does not require the watch to be registered or any periodic maintenance checks to be performed and is transferable should the watch change ownership during coverage. TUDOR also recommends that its watches should be serviced approximately every 10 years depending on the model and the extent of its use on a day-to-day basis.

AS the rainy season brings in a wave of coughs, colds, and flu, Generics Awareness Month offers a timely reminder: you don’t have to choose between quality and affordability when it comes to medicine. For actress, entrepreneur, and wais mom Dimples Romana, this is not just lip service; it is part of her everyday life.

Dimples wears many hats: artist, businesswoman, and hands-on mom. So for her, it is all about making smart, no-compromise choices, especially when it comes to her family’s health and well-being.

Dimples believes prevention is the first line of defense, especially during the rainy season. At home, she keeps their space dry, disinfected, and germ-free.

“I make sure our home is clean and cozy, lalo na ngayong tag-ulan,” she says. “We disinfect high-touch areas, make sure everyone washes their hands regularly, and we try to keep our space warm and dry to prevent sickness.”

As a host of Gud Morning Kapatid’s “Health Check” segment, she also encourages viewers to eat nutritious meals and stay active, which are essential for building immunity and energy.

“Fitness isn’t just about looking good. It’s about having enough strength and energy to fight off illness,” she says. Beyond a clean home, Dimples makes sure her family’s resistance is strong by supporting daily habits with the right nutrition and supplements.

Dimples knows that proactive care is the foundation of long-term wellness. This is why she includes multivitamins and supplements in their daily routine to

help fill nutritional gaps and boost resistance to illness. For years, she has relied on Actimed Quality Generics, Generika Drugstore’s own line of generic medicines, to meet her family’s needs. As a mom and a practical consumer, her approach is simple: stick to what works, and do not overspend if you don’t have to. So she trusts Actimed due to its quality and affordability.

“It’s what we use at home,” she shares. “Pareho lang ng bisa, pero mas abot-kaya. Even our lolos and lolas rely on these for their daily maintenance.”

With immunity boosters like Vitamin C + Zinc, Vitamin E, and B-complex, Dimples keeps her medicine cabinet stocked with essentials the whole family can benefit

using generics is not a compromise: it is a smart, empowered choice.

“Nobody should have to choose between food and medicines. Both are essential family needs. More importantly, hindi kailangang magtiis sa sakit,” she says. Dimples’

What it means to lead a creative life

IN her book, The Creativity Choice: The Science of Making Decisions to Turn Ideas into Action, Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle writes about how to use emotional intelligence to manage the creative process, regardless of industry or job role. As communicators, we certainly can appreciate her thoughts on this. After all, she is a senior researcher at the Yale Center of Emotional Life. After all, “creativity is the powerhouse that differentiates good organizations from great ones. It goes beyond generating ideas. It is about the long process of developing ideas for more effective performance and the process of building abstract notions into concrete products.” Fast Company recently interviewed Dr. Pringle, and here she shares one of her top tips for fueling creativity.

n Noticing emotions to identify opportunities

“ENTREPRENEURS are skilled at identifying opportunities by reading their own and others’ feelings,” says Dr. Pringle. She cites Apoorva Mehta who

REAL NARRATIVES, POWERFUL STORYTELLING: AUTHENTICITY ANCHORS

ADOBO SHECREATIVE: THE POWER OF PERSUASION SESSION AND THE SECRET FOR THE CREATOR ECONOMY TO THRIVE MANILA, PHILIPPINES—In today’s digital age, content creators and influencers carry a big responsibility for what they release on social media platforms, especially if they have a massive following. Many people who consume their content often take their advice seriously within specific niches.

For the September session of adobo SheCreative, adobo Magazine and the adobo SheCreative Network hosted “The Power of Persuasion,” which brought together content creators who are m asters of their craft in storytelling, influencing, and content creation for the online community.

T he event was held at The Astbury in Poblacion, Makati on September 25, 2025. Host and moderator Justine Peña cheerfully welcomed guests to an insightful evening filled with conversations about the creator economy, how creators are transforming advertising and entertainment, and how brands can forge more authentic and meaningful connections with their audiences.

R em Tuando, adobo Magazine’s Brand Partnerships Direc -

tor, delivered the opening speech a nd shared how adobo SheCreative sessions create “spaces w here women come together, share stories, and walk away feeling more inspired.”

S he also emphasized that the event aims to highlight how women in content creation are using their voices and platforms to build safe spaces and influence culture” for their audiences.

The recipe for online and business success ONLYPANS Taqueria was established during the pandemic as a w ay to survive. Audrey Cruz, Founder of OnlyPans, stressed that she built her little kitchen in Poblacion, Makati from the ground up—no rich parents, no roadmaps, and no blueprints.

With a background in marketing, Audrey admitted she just w ent with the flow even without a business plan.

“With just a lot of passion, stubbornness, and a belief that food could actually change our lives, this is how we started,” she said.

Audrey wore many hats when the business was starting, one of them being a marketing head, which is how she first dipped her toes in content creation. She began posting behind-the-scenes v ideos of her staff working in the kitchen which became an instant hit. From there, she slowly built a following, then loyal customers, then a solid community.

As more customers discovered Audrey’s brand, she started s howing her face and sharing glimpses of her personal life on camera. This deepened her com -

hated everything about the grocery shopping experience, and used this feeling to found Instacart. With this, he created a way to shop for groceries from one’s phone.

Likewise, Melissa Butler founded Lip Bar to counter her frustration with the beauty industry. Its products are vegan and cruelty- free, and offer a wide variety of vibrant lip colors and complexion products.

She encourages innovators inside organizations to do the same. For example, “when a supervisor in a food service unit of a major hospital realizes his workers are exhausted, he’s identifying a problem in need of a creative solution.”

As a result, the hospital redesigned the workflow, reducing worker burnout and improving their accuracy on the job.

n Taking advantage of thinking/ feeling connections

EMOTION scientists have discovered moods boost different kinds of thinking.

When we feel positive, energized, and enthusiastic, these are the best times for brainstorming and charting new ideas.

When we are feeling subdued or even sullen, these are times best for critical thinking.

“To optimize creative work, it takes skill to match different moods and tasks which benefit from them, “says Dr. Pringle. Feeling playful? Come up with new ideas for a project. Feeling down? Review and revise.

n Generating emotions REMEMBER we have more

munity connection which became t he doorstep for her to become a content creator. Her growing audience then followed the journey of her taqueria, which expanded from cities to international popups across Asia.

While she is still recognized by many people as her “Only Pans,” Audrey has made her own image online and in real life: strong, queer, and unstifled.

As a content creator and an advocate of many causes, Audrey emphasized that “authenticity is the new currency,” stressing the importance of staying true to your voice. That became her secret sauce as she runs her kitchen a nd builds her own community that has stayed with her through tough times, one of which is the fire that scorched her store in Poblacion, Makati.

“ Food is never just food to us. It is identity, it is community, and most important, it is protest. And as women, as creators, as founders, we have the power to shape c ulture,” she added.

The power of ethical storytelling MONA MAGNO-VELUZ , popularly known by her online m oniker, Mighty Magulang, is a Filipino genealogist and content creator celebrated for her e ngaging educational videos on Philippine history. As a selfproclaimed ninuno (ancestor) hunter and strong advocate for autism inclusion, she powerfully uses her platform to promote ethical persuasion and truth over misinformation.

Mona noted that history and genealogy are both complex topics, as facts don’t always align.

power over emotions than we realize. You can create the mood that is more helpful at the moment. Recall a past win. Put on a song that inspires you.

Another skill is generating emotions to communicate and inspire. “Leaders skilled at communicating their passion to inspire others end up having workers who are clear about their responsibilities and goals,” says Dr. Pringle.

S he argued that it’s often easy to simplify or sensationalize things, which is the quickest way to achieve persuasion through virality.

With the power that content creators hold today in shaping opinion, trends, and consensus, they should be wary of what they say and produce as it can be dangerous if unregulated.

S he provided a sharp, ethical boundary for her work: “Persuasion without the truth is manipulation.”

A s a researcher, Mona always cites sources and provides e vidence to her audiences, even when it takes longer. She contrasts this with other social media creators who produce “lazy c ontent” that are “faster and easier” but ultimately lack depth and background.

To summarize her framework, Mona shared five key affirmations for ethical and powerful s torytelling:

n Truth over convenience

n Identity as power (selfawareness is the greatest source of persuasion)

n Empathy and storytelling

n Curiosity over cynicism

n Responsibility and influence

Mona closed her keynote declaring that when persuasion i s “grounded in truth, empathy and responsibility, it doesn’t just sell—it transforms.”

From passion project to professional career

CONTINUING the adobo SheCreative session is one of the trailblazers in fashion blogging in the Philippines, fashion and lifestyle

n Using emotional intelligence to build a climate for creativity and innovation

A YALE study including more than 14,000 people across industries in thee US asked workers to describe how their supervisors act in emotionally fraught situations. It shows that emotionally intelligent supervisors do four specific things.

1. They are skilled at reading emotions and acknowledge

content creator Laureen Uy, who is also the Chief Marketing Officer of her food brands, Hungry Homies and Flo All Day Drinking.

Laureen launched her blog, Break My Style, in 2010 which was born out of her hobby and love for clothing. It quickly turned into a professional career as many brands started reaching out to her just six months after launching.

Being an influencer, Laureen believes that authenticity i s what’s more important than trends. She shows this through her content to make her audience feel like they’re part of her journey. She also emphasized that being true to herself built trust and l ongevity in the business.

She notes it’s a constant balancing act: being who she truly i s while simultaneously inspiring people.

Laureen shared the concept of the “influence loop,” which starts with the creator and their audience. Brands then start coming i n, and when those three elements are combined, that’s when y ou “actually set the culture.”

She emphasized the powerful role creators play today, recognizing them as “cultural tastemakers.” This title means their i nfluence extends far “beyond the outfits” or any single niche, as their voice becomes increasingly important to their followers as they grow in popularity.

Although it’s easy to get followers or views through trends, L aureen believes authenticity is vital, urging creators to be mindful of the content they produce a nd ensuring that it aligns with their audience.

them. They realize when people are upset or worried about organizational or industry changes

2. They inspire enthusiasm and model decision-making that takes into account more optimistic and cautious voices.

3. Emotionally intelligent supervisors understand how their decisions or other events affect other people.

4. They are able to successfully manage their own emotions, and also help their team members when they are upset or frustrated.

“If the goal is creativity and innovation, leaders should develop emotional intelligence skills,” says Dr. Pringle.

When leaders develop these skills, “they notice how their team members feel, demonstrate understanding of how their decisions impact others, and help people deal with challenges at work. Investment in leadership development will pay off in capacity for innovation.”

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdombased International Public Relations Association (IPRA), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chair.

We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.

Building trust between creators and agencies

THE final speaker, Kara Santiago-Dagdag, CEO and Co-founder of LINK Strategies and Treasurer of the Creator and Influencer C ouncil of the Philippines (CICP), gave a different perspective: the agency side.

Kara highlighted that authenticity is important because it is t he core of building credibility. For agencies, this means they must find and work with creators who are already organic, whose personal values and authentic voice already align with their numbers.

“Creators shouldn’t have to change who they are known for just to fit a brand brief,” Kara said. Aside from authenticity, Kara emphasized that credibility is the most powerful tool for persuasion. She noted that today’s audience, mostly consisting of aging m illennials and Gen Z, is smart and can easily see through inauthentic content.

To ensure the survival of the creator economy, the industry needs to embrace transparency. Kara argued that there shouldn’t be any “trade secrets,” noting that in order for the creator economy to thrive, there has t o be an openness on how we can keep this growing industry further.

“ The best kept secret is that there shouldn’t be one,” she added.

If the creator economy is to grow and thrive, it must abandon quick, superficial transactions, and instead commit to integrity, longterm trust, and mutual respect between creators and agencies.

Redefining greatness, again

By Josef T. Ramos

JUNE MAR FAJARDO’S era continues to reign over Philippine basketball. San Miguel Beer’s towering anchor, Fajardo notched his record-extending ninth Season Most Valuable Player award on Sunday during the Leo Prieto Awards for the PBA’s 49th season, held at Novotel Manila.

Two returnees, 10 new imports in season-ender

THE 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference gets going on Tuesday at the Ynares Center in Montalban, kicking off eight weeks of fast-paced action.

T he Thunderbelles and Chargers clash at 4 p.m., followed by the Solar Spikers and Flying Titans at 6:30 p.m.

Ten imports are making their PVL debut, each eager to make an impact, while two familiar faces return— Lindsey Vander Weide for Petro Gazz and Jelena Cvijovic for Galeries Tower.

PLDT, riding high after winning both the PVL On Tour and Invitational Conference, brings in Russian spiker Anastasia Bavykina in the bid to complete a season sweep.

C reamline, looking to turn around a disappointing season after last year’s Grand Slam, has tapped Courtney Schwan of the US to replace Erika Staunton and revive its campaign.

C ignal welcomes Greek standout Eva Chantava, Farm Fresh brings in Belgian star Helene Rousseaux, Nxled adds Spain’s Paola Martinez Vela, Anyse Smith of the US suits up for Choco Mucho, and Capital1 brings in Ukraine’s Oleksandra Bytsenko. Chery Tiggo turns to Cuba’s Yunieska Batista, ZUS Coffee parades Amarican Anna DeBeer, and Akari has Annie Mitchem of the US.

With limited time to build chemistry,

I t was a decision that needed no deliberation.

Fajardo amassed a staggering 3,041 total points—drawn from statistics (1,668), media votes (855), and player votes (518)—leaving NLEX playmaker Robert Bolick (1,914) and NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino (1,901), now with Titan Ultra, far behind in a runaway victory. “ Who knows that I can win a

Sports

ninth PBA MVP title? Thankful to God and to all the people who helped me throughout the years, my family, and my teammates,” said the 6-foot-10 behemoth from Cebu after receiving his ninth MVP trophy in 11 full seasons.

From 2014 to 2019, the 35-yearold national team stalwart dominated the league with six consecutive MVP crowns, until Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson broke the streak by claiming the 2021 title. Fajardo reclaimed the throne in 2023—and has held it firmly since, adding the 2024 and 2025 MVP honors to his legacy. With 11 PBA championships and 12 Best Player of the Conference awards under his belt, Fajardo averaged 19.2 points, 15.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.0 blocks across 58 games last season—now gearing up for yet another grueling campaign.

every match could be an upset.

PLDT is the team to beat, while Creamline, Chery Tiggo, and Cignal are hungry for redemption. ZUS Coffee and Farm Fresh are hoping to shake things up. The 12 teams are split into two pools. Pool A includes PLDT, Cignal, Farm Fresh, Nxled, Choco Mucho, and Capital1, while Pool B features Chery Tiggo, Creamline, ZUS Coffee, Akari, Galeries Tower, and Petro Gazz.

The top three from each group then face the bottom three from the opposite pool in a crossover second round. Rankings follow FIVB rules—total wins, match points, set ratio, and point ratio. After the second round, the bottom four are eliminated and the top eight move on to single-elimination quarterfinals (1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc.). Semifinals and medal matches are also knockout rounds.

Davao Ironman 70.3 returns

IRONMAN 70.3 Davao makes a comeback after a one-year hiatus. Its fifth edition is set for March 22, 2026, with organizers hoping to deliver their most spectacular race yet to reinforce its status as the benchmark for 70.3 races in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific. T he event features a refined, world-class course and a festive atmosphere, and is expected to draw a large international field. “The fifth edition will elevate the racing experience like never before— with faster courses, richer cultural immersion, and unmatched community support,” Sunrise Events Inc. president Princess Galura said.

“Ironman 70.3 Davao has evolved into more than just a race. It is a celebration of athletic excellence, cultural pride and community spirit.”

THERE’S a joke going around now—live by the last-minute goal, die by the last-minute goal.

That sums up Liverpool Football Club’s season thus far – five consecutive wins all with a sudden death goal and losses in the last three including a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Look, we know every football club in the Premier League can upset the other on any given day. We certainly do not expect any team to go undefeated in this modern age of football. But as a long-time Reds fan, I have to call out what I feel are concerns.

I

Concerns I have thought of even before this

to

in

a

W hen asked about a po tential tenth MVP in Season 50, Fajardo responded: “I am not after that because my priority is to lead my team San Miguel Beer to another championship. But if it comes, I will be happy about it.” A mong those present at the ceremony was four-time MVP Ramon “Mon” Fernandez, Fajardo’s mentor

FEU beats Adamson for first win after 0-3 start

AR EASTERN UNIVERSITY (FEU) earned its first victory in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 88 basketball, grinding out a 64-58 triumph over Adamson University on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Janrey Pasaol came through in the clutch, sinking a crucial corner threepointer that halted Adamson’s comeback from 11 points down. Pasaol’s shot gave the Tamaraws a two-possession lead, 64-58, with 1:33 remaining.

FEU managed the clock effectively and Adamson missed its only two attempts in the final stretch.

“We could have easily felt pretty down about ourselves but what I like about my guys was after the disappointing loss to La Salle, we actually worked even harder,” said FEU coach Sean Chambers.

to cut the deficit to 58-61 with 1:49 to go.

T he Tamaraws held firm to snap their three-game losing streak and improve to 1-3, tying Adamson at sixth place. Both teams sit ahead of

FEU will look to build on this momentum when it faces defending champion University of the Philippines next Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion. B8

FEU built an eight-point cushion, 61-53, with 3:02 left, but Adamson responded.

Mathew Montebon hit a threepointer and followed it up with a smooth pick-and-roll play with Cedrick Manzano

St. Benilde defeats

OLLEGE OF SAINT BENILDE

Covercame a shaky first two sets before completing a sweep of University of Perpetual Help, 28-26, 26-24, 25-18, on Sunday to secure a spot in the second round of the 2025 Shakey’s Super League Preseason Unity Cup at the Paco Arena.

The Lady Blazers notched their second win in as many outings and

winless University of the East. Gambian center Mo Konateh had with 18 points, 21 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Rookie Kirby Mongcopa added 15 points and five rebounds, while Pasaol contributed 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists. They carried the scoring load as top gunner Jorick Bautista was held to just two points. “I’m really thankful to Coach Sean because he’s the only one in my whole career who’s given me that much confidence. Even in practice, I make sure to repay the trust he gives me,” Pasaol said.

UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS defeated

JANREY PASAOL comes up with the big endgame basket

Perpetual Help to gain playoffs

climbed to solo top spot. Veteran Zam Nolasco delivered 12 points from seven attacks, three kill blocks and two aces, keeping the Lady Blazers calm during anxious moments in the closing stretch of the first two frames.

The Lady Blazers raced to an early lead in the third frame, 20-14. Unlike in the previous sets, CSB maintained a safe distance from the Lady Altas to finish

the match in straight sets. Fiona Inocentes had 10 points, Camila Bartolome scored eight and Shahanna Lleses added seven points for the Lady Blazers. CSB squandered a 24-20 lead in the opening set as Perpetual unleashed a 5-0 counter. The Lady Blazers equalized before Shai Omipon put the Lady Altas back in front, 26-25.

The event will serve as a proving ground for triathletes, attracting competitors from around the world to the King City of the South. The race is known for its top-tier organization, technical excellence, and a course that blends speed, scenery, and soul.

The race starts with a 1.9-kilometer swim in Talomo Bay, framed by the majestic Mt. Apo. This is followed by a quick 90-km bike leg along the Davao City Coastal Road, and a scenic 21.1km run expected to be witnessed by thousands of local supporters.

Klopp later after his first Premier League title as the club was hit by a

of

I am not going to second guess his moves why a midfielder is asked to play in the backline. Every coach does that to make up for injuries or something that isn’t there. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. On occasion, Jurgen dropped James Milner or even then captain Jordan Henderson on defense.

Here’s what I want to point out.

The problem with bringing in all these new star signings is that you have to play them straight away. However, they have not imbibed the culture or their tactical nous. The team of Klopp went through a lot of pain and disappointment before they rose to the occasion.

The new signings know nothing about that.

And Slot started them in place of tried and tested veterans such as Andy Robertson or even Joe Gomez. Wataru Endo is far from his time under Klopp.  I thought it was a mistake to let go of Luis Diaz. While Gakpo has done well, it is Diaz’ speed and 1v1 ability that helps him rule that left wing. The lack of creative forces from the middle and the left has seen Mo Salah double teamed much of the time.

Before Salah had Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Gako.

T ime was when the flanks were raining crosses from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson. The supply of balls into the box is gone.

I believe that Florian Wirtz is struggling because he needs the ball to be effective. As it is, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai handle the bulk of the playmaking. Now, I believe he is in Peter Crouch’s

out a player— that’s a sure way to lose the locker room.  I know this is sounding like a comparison to Klopp, but really, it cannot be helped.  Jurgen made a habit of playing the academy players in big games. It hardly happens now.  Yes, it is a different style, and Slot did win a Premier League title last season. So, I am merely commenting on the shoehorning the new players into the starting eleven right away and the calling out of players. I t is still early in the season, but if they do not arrest this skid