TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2026
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IN BRIEF
‘DSWD chief is among top Cabinet members’
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday welcomed the results of the latest Tangere survey, which recognized Secretary Rex Gatchalian as one of the top-performing Cabinet members of the Marcos administration.
“Secretary Rex Gatchalian extends his deepest gratitude to the public for the trust they continue to place in the agency.
This reflects confidence in the hard work and dedication of the entire DSWD workforce. The survey results will serve as an inspiration for the entire Department to further strengthen, improve, and make the government’s social welfare and development programs and services more inclusive,” DSWD assistant secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in Filipino.
Based on the Tangere survey held June 23-27, the DSWD chief ranked first in the national satisfaction rating with 48 percent, and the second in the trust rating with 47.96 percent.
Maricel V. Cruz
BI arrests three aliens for breach of visa rules
THE Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) nationwide crackdown against illegal foreign nationals has resulted in the arrest of a Cameroonian, a Turkish national, and an Italian in separate operations across Luzon and the Visayas.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the three foreigners were apprehended on July 1 and 2 in Cainta, Rizal; Sagbayan, Bohol; and Baguio City for overstaying their visas and illegally working in the country.
Those arrested were identified as Cameroonian Henri Joel Atanga Betayene a Cameroonian, Murat Fentci Turkish and Italian national Mario Angelai. Betayene and Fentci were apprehended for exceeding their authorized period of stay, while Angelai was collared for working as a restaurant chef in Baguio without government permit. Vito Barcelo
Nine rebels surrender in Northern Samar town
THE government’s peace and reintegration efforts in Eastern Visayas continue to gain ground as nine communist rebels voluntarily surrendered in Las Navas, Northern Samar.
The surrenderees were presented before the Municipal Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (MTFELCAC) of Las Navas on July 6.
During the event, the group also turned over several firearms, signifying their commitment to leave behind violence and begin a new life as peaceful and productive members of society.
Las Navas Mayor and MTF-ELCAC chair John Philbert Tan welcomed the rebel-returnees and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting their reintegration through various assistance programs, including financial aid and sustainable livelihood opportunities. Rex Espiritu
Probe eyed on ERC’s ‘unfair’ rules
By Joel E. Zurbano
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros has filed a resolution to investigate what she described as “ironically unfair” consumer protection policies of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in light of reports regarding incorrect electricity billings stemming from inaccurate meter readings, as consumers continue to face escalating power rates.
“The ERC is tasked with safeguarding electric consumers, yet some of its existing policies may inadvertently impose burdens on those it is meant to protect. These policies need to be examined and updated if necessary,” Hontiveros stated.
The proposed Senate Resolution No. 509 aims to assess whether Republic Act No. 9136, known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), along
with the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers, offers adequate protection for households that have expressed concerns over irregular electricity bills resulting from erroneous meter readings for several months.
The resolution highlighted complaints from consumers who have received abnormally high electricity bills due to incorrect meter readings.
While the ERC has advised consumers to pay disputed bills under protest to prevent potential disconnection, Meralco clarified that customers with ongoing billing disputes are not obligated to pay the contested amounts while their cases are being reviewed.
Furthermore, the resolution indicated that although the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers acknowledges the right to challenge electricity bills, the ERC’s advisory mandates that households must pay disputed charges as a condition for contesting the erroneous billing.
“Why is it the consumer’s responsibility to rectify the incorrect billing directed at us? We are required to pay the erroneous bill to avoid disconnection, and we must also present evidence and documentation. If a consumer does not detect an error in the reading, no one will be aware of the issue,” Hontiveros said. The resolution also highlighted that
“while the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers grants consumers the right to contest a disputed bill, it fails to consider the repercussions of bill shock on vulnerable consumers who, confronted with ambiguous policies, feel pressured to pay the disputed amount to avoid disconnection.”
“What I see as necessary is to amend the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers. It should be clear that when there is an erroneous charge, our fellow citizens should not be forced to pay to avoid inconvenience,” Hontiveros said.
The senator emphasized that the situation has become increasingly urgent as consumers are confronted with rising electricity costs. Since February, power rates have seen multiple increases, including this month’s rise of ₱0.3428 per kilowatt-hour in generation charges, which further exacerbates the financial burden on Filipino families.
Teodoro joins Cebu in celebrating WPS Victory Day
By Rex Espiritu
CEBU City—Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday said the commemoration of the Philippines’ legal victory in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) should lead to stronger resilience, deterrence, infrastructure security, and cybersecurity. Teodoro issued the remark as Cebu officials called for concrete action beyond symbolic support to the WPS issue. The Defense chief joined Vice Mayor To-
mas Osmeña, other Cebu City officials, and personnel for the celebration of the West Philippine Sea Victory Day at Cebu City Hall.
“It’s indeed a big honor and an obligation that I join you today because, several weeks back, we read in the papers the heroic stand that the city council of Cebu made to join the rest of the Philippines in honoring the 10th anniversary of our victory in the South China Sea Arbitral Award,” Teodoro said.
“And against officious and misplaced meddling in our internal affairs by the Con-
Fire-hit Culiat Bridge remains closed to traffic
By Rio N. Araja
velopment
The Quezon City Engineering Department and the Department of Public Works and Highways are coordinating on the assessment and determining the fastest and most effective way to repair the bridge.
sul General of China here, Cebu City put them in the right place – that they are visitors here, they have no business interfering in our internal affairs,” Teodoro stressed. The 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award, anchored on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights and rejects “contrived history” to justify expansive claims in the West Philippine Sea. Secretary Teodoro emphasized that to enforce this legal victory, the Philippines must converge its efforts across sectors.
Philippines’ destiny largely is on our awareness of our blue water economy potential, how important we are to international trade and commerce because of our seafarers, and the potentials that remain untapped – our shipbuilding industry, higher technology, and development in marine and other marine biology sciences,” Teodoro explained. “That, to me, in a country which is 80% water and 20% land, is the obvious way to go for all of us.”
Solon flags half-hearted drive vs. cigarette smuggling rings
AMID mounting losses from the illicit tobacco trade, lawmakers and government officials are calling for intensified efforts to prosecute and convict syndicates behind cigarette smuggling illegal market, saying seizures alone have failed to deter offenders.
Speaking at the Third International Tobacco Summit, officials led by Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano urged law enforcement agencies to shift their focus from merely confiscating illicit tobacco products to ensuring that those responsible are successfully prosecuted and convicted.
“As lawmakers, we often hear reports about successful seizures. We see photographs of confiscated products. We read about warehouses being discovered. Those are important victories,” said Valeriano, chair of the House Committee
on Public Order and Safety.
“But after the press conference, after the inventory, after the seizure, an important question remains: What happened to the case? Was somebody prosecuted? Was somebody convicted?” he added. Valeriano said the objective should be to make illicit trade “risky, costly, and ultimately unsustainable.”
“If no one is convicted, no one is afraid and illicit trade will never stop,” he said. His remarks came amid continuing concerns over the scale of the illicit tobacco market in the Philippines. A recent study by the EU-ASEAN Business Council and Euromonitor International estimated that the government lost at least $2.5 billion, or around P141 billion, in revenues over the past two years due to illicit tobacco products.
RICE SUBSIDY. Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval, along with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, and former congressman Ricky Sandoval, lead the distribution of rice packs to 3,000 city residents. The mayor says since the program was launched on May 6, the city government gave away 15,799 packs of the cereal, representing 76 percent of its targeted 20,629 beneficiaries under the first tranche. Andrew Rabulan
DOUBLE WHAMMY. With the pain of the June 8 strong earthquake that wreaked havoc on Sarangani hardly healed, typhoon ‘Inday’ bore down on the province leaving this week, leaving another wide swathe of destruction on crops as shown by this farmer in the municipality of Glan whose corn field was flattened to nothingness by the storm. Dave Leprozo
BACK TO THE FUTURE. Student leaders from various schools launch in Quezon City their own version of State of the Nation dubbed ‘We Want Our Future Back,’ kicking off a nationwide youth mobilization that calls for government accountability over alleged attacks on students, unfulfilled promises, and diminishing opportunities for them. Manny Palmero