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DOLE ISSUES PAY RULES FOR NOV. HOLIDAYS

MERALCO TO RAISE POWER RATES THIS OCTOBER

9 YOUNG PINOY ATHLETES TO DAKAR YOUTH OLYMPICS

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BUSINESS / B1

SPORTS / A8

VP debunks NBI property claim; Matibag open to Duterte’s lie test By Katrina Manubay and Gwyneth Nolasco

PBBM trust ratings up; VP Sara’s still higher—SWS

VICE President Sara Duterte on Tuesday disputed the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) claim about an alleged undeclared property, saying the lot shown in a photo was not hers. In a statement, Duterte questioned

NEWS / A3 spending taxpayers’ money on NBI operations that provide no clear public benefit.

VOL. XL • NO. 239 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

3 impeach raps vs. VP dropped Defense seeks mistrial; Prosecution all in on unexplained wealth

No to resignation, yes to presidential bid in‘28—VP Sara

By Maricel Cruz, Katrina Manubay and Joel Zurbano

HE Senate impeachment court on Tuesday granted prosecutors’ request to drop three out of four charges against Vice President Sara Duterte, leaving accusations of unexplained wealth the sole remaining count against her.

• Sub judice rule lifted on dropped impeach articles

Prosecutors, who last week requested a bribery • Defense to start presentation Nov. 9 charge be removed from the case, asked yesterday that allegations of misused confidential funds and a death threat made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also be eliminated. Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero approved the prosecution’s move, but qualified that Articles I (confidential funds) and IV (grave threats) presented impeachment articles that were subsequently dropped may no longer be revived against Duterte. Article III (bribery) may still be filed in a separate impeachment case, but not in the ongoing trial. Escudero said the defense no longer needs to present for the three Next page

END GAME. Senator-judges led by presiding judge

Sen. Francis Escudero hold an impromptu meeting during a break in the proceedings of the Senate Impeachment Court. Chief counsels for the defense and prosecution, Sheila Sison and Rep. Gerville Luistro, take to the floor after the withdrawal of three of the four impeachment articles by the prosecution. Lino Santos

VICE President Sara Duterte on Tuesday reiterated that she would not resign from office, and declared her intention to run for president in 2028, saying the impeachment trial gives her a chance to be scrutinized by the electorate. Meanwhile, Malacañang accused the Vice President of misleading the public about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s warning that alleged Chinese funding linked to her camp could pose a national security threat. In a chance interview on the sidelines of the 52nd Philippine Business Conference and Expo, Duterte maintained that resigning from her post was not an option, describing the ongoing impeachment trial as an opportunity for the public to examine questions surrounding her character. “No, no, no. I will not resign. I will never resign from the Office of the Vice President,” she said. Next page

AFP backs Gibo in halting PH-China military communications By Rex Espiritu ANY communication mechanisms between the military and the Chinese embassy in Manila must be anchored on mutual trust and sincere actions on the ground, including in the West Philippine Sea, the Armed Forces of the Phil-

ippines said. This as the military expressed firm support for Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s decision to suspend direct communication channels with China. “For communication mechanisms to work, they have to be anchored on mutual trust, sincerity and support for

international law,” AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Navy reservist Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said. Teodoro has disallowed contact between the DND and the Chinese Embassy since a courtesy call by then-Chinese Ambassador Huang

Xilian in July 2023. “I reiterate that I have disallowed any contact between the DND and the Chinese Embassy since the courtesy call of Ambassador Huang Xilian, a few days after I assumed office in July of last year. During the said courtesy call, there was Next page

SSS chief de Claro replaces Aguda as DICT secretary By Charles Dantes

EL NIÑO RESPONSES. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. presides over a meeting of key agencies involved in responding to super Niño’s impact on agriculture, water, and energy. Inset shows workers setting up devices to conduct real-time monitoring on the effects of extreme El Niño in various areas across the Philippines. PCO, DENR

DENR deploys tech devices to monitor El Nino episodes By Rio N. Araja and Charles Dantes THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Tuesday reported deploying tech networks for real-time El Niño monitoring, using current environmental data and advanced monitoring technologies to identify vulnerable areas and guide

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. named Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Joseph Montes de Claro as secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), replacing Henry Aguda. Mr. Marcos announced De Claro’s appointment on Tuesday after confirming that he had accepted Aguda’s resignation, saying the outgoing secretary would remain temporarily while the administration selected a replacement. De Claro became SSS president and

CEO in December 2024 after serving as the agency’s officer-in-charge beginning in October that year. Earlier, the President confirmed that People’s Television Network Inc. (PTV-4) General Manager Lino Cayetano would replace Dave Gomez as secretary of the Presidential Communications Office. During a ‘kapihan’ session with reporters in Singapore, Mr. Marcos said Gomez had been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments. “Dave was bypassed. So, I guess immediately, at least, Lino will take his place,” he said. Next page

INAUGURAL ASEAN YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT 2026. SM mounts the first-ever ASEAN

timely action to protect forests, coral reefs, water resources, and communities from El Niño’s impacts. Meanwhile, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ordered government agencies to strengthen preparations for a potentially severe El Niño, prioritizing hospital readiness, food and water security, and agricultural Next page

Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (AYES 2026), debuting with an attendance of more than 8,000 young Filipinos at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Hosted with the Global Peace Foundation Philippines, and in partnership with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines, the large-scale youth-oriented forum equipped emerging entrepreneurs with regional learnings and connections to support that empowers their ambitions. The effort comes as a national initiative following the Philippine ASEAN chairship.

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

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SSS... From A1 dropped articles, but added that the sub judice rule will also no longer cover the three dropped charges, which means all parties, including the Vice President herself, may discuss or respond to the pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution. Escudero clarified the withdrawal does not prevent possible criminal, civil, administrative or other legal proceedings involving the same allegations. “It does not grant immunity, nor does it constitute double jeopardy against the prosecution for any underlying conduct,” he said. While he ruled in favor of the prosecution, Escudero warned them that filing impeachment charges should be done with careful consideration. “Congress must never be light handed in initiating and prosecuting articles of impeachment. Impeachment is not a charge that may simply be filed, pursued through the presentation of evidence and thereafter withdrawn without the respondent’s consent. It is a grave constitutional process that affects not only the respondent, but also the stability of government, the orderly conduct of public affairs, public confidence in constitutional institutions and the nation as a whole, not to mention the expenses associated and related to this process. It likewise demands substantial time and resources from the impeachment court, the parties and the

public as well,” he said. “Having elected to withdraw the Articles after resting its case, the prosecution must therefore accept the legal consequences of that withdrawal,” Escudero added. Defense lead counsel Sheila Sison called the ruling “completely unfair,” adding that allowing the dropping of three impeachment articles showed the “unmistakable characteristics of a mistrial.” “Even as we respect the prosecution’s decision to withdraw the three articles or the two articles in addition to Article III or the bribery article, the prosecution nonetheless cannot unilaterally determine how the defense will proceed, or which accusations the judges may hear, and which accusations the respondent may be permitted to answer,” Sison said. Sison defined a mistrial as a state where the “fundamental balance” between allegations and defense has been compromised. “The defense would now appear to be forced to limit its presentation or its rebuttal to those (pieces of) evidence, to whatever it is that the prosecution had decided to retain in the articles of impeachment. This we will never allow,” she added. Sison noted that prosecutors had already put 14 witnesses on the stand to lay out evidence against the Vice President. In a press briefing after yesterday’s proceedings, Duterte’s defense spokesman, Michael Poa, clarified that they were not objecting to the move of the prosecution as withdrawing certain articles of impeach-

ment was within its prerogative. “Just to be clear, we were not objecting to that because it is really the position of the defense that it is the prerogative of each side how they represent the evidence...Our concern regarding the grave threat and confidential funds articles is that the testimonies of their witnesses have already been presented, yet we are not being given the opportunity to present rebuttal evidence through the testimonies of our own witnesses. That is the issue we are raising: How do we proceed? Can we still present evidence, or is that no longer an option?” Poa said. “With some of those articles—if I may say bluntly—you’ve already tarnished my client’s reputation. So, we certainly won’t stand for that...They (prosecution) presented their evidence in accordance with their strategy. We wanted to present rebuttal evidence. That’s all we wanted,” he added. House lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro, for her part, said they have presented “sufficient evidence” for Article II, which covers allegations of unexplained wealth, inaccurate asset declarations and prohibited business interests, to stand on its own. “We’re all in on Article II,” Luistro said. “We believe that evidence is substantial and compelling, and warrants the respondent’s removal from office for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.” Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, for her part, questioned why the defense camp seemed unhappy when they should have welcomed the dropping of three impeach-

ment complaints against their client. “I’m sure if you’re the Vice President, instead of facing four complaints, you will only have to contend with one. Shouldn’t you be happy?” she said. “Why are the defense lawyers unhappy? We don’t know why they’re sad,” Kapunan added. The court gave the Vice President 26 calendar days to prepare her defense, with hearings scheduled to resume Nov. 9. Senate impeachment court spokesman Reginald Tongol, however, said there is no guarantee that the proceedings will be finished by November. “I am aware that Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian mentioned November as the target date for concluding the impeachment trial. However, that schedule is subject to change, depending on whether the respondent decides to drop certain witnesses. Our current timeline is based on the witnesses disclosed in the pre-trial order,” he said in a press conference after yesterday’s proceedings. “As for a verdict in November, that remains a moving target, contingent upon various actions the respondent might take,” he added. Last month, in a ruling widely seen as a blow to Duterte, the Senate approved a lower threshold of votes needed to find her guilty, potentially making it easier to execute her removal from office. Senators voted that the constitutionally required two-thirds guilty verdict by “all members of the Senate” referred only to those “capable of participating.” With AFP

AFP... From A1

VP... From A1

LRA-verified maps, 22 land titles covering 14 properties, and surveillance photos and videos.

no discussion or briefing on any ‘gentleman’s agreement’ or ‘new model,’ contrary to the Chinese Embassy’s pronouncements,” the Defense chief said in a statement in 2024. Trinidad said bilateral dialogue would only be effective if China’s messages were consistent with its actions at sea, in the air and on the ground. “Unfortunately, this has not been the case,” Trinidad said. Trinidad accused the Chinese Communist Party of using direct communication channels as a “smokescreen” to perpetuate what he described as China’s illegal presence, coercive and aggressive actions, and deceptive messaging in the Philippines’ maritime domain and on land. The Chinese Embassy in Manila, meanwhile, argued that suspending military-to-military communication would fuel mistrust, narrow opportunities for crisis management and increase the risk of confrontation between the two countries. Despite the suspension, Trinidad said the AFP would continue carrying out its mandated operations, including maritime patrols, aerial patrols and maritime domain awareness activities.

“Nakakabahala na ang National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), na pinopondohan ng taumbayan, ay ginagamit ang kanilang mga operasyon para sa mga gawaing walang malinaw na pakinabang sa publiko,” her statement read. “Ang lote sa larawan na sinabi niyang nasa aking Statement of Assets, Liability, and Net Worth o SALN ay hindi sa akin,” she added. On Monday, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said they found possible discrepancies between the properties declared by the vice president in her SALN and the actual assets she and her husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, possessed. The vice president earlier rejected the allegations, saying that the NBI probe into her family’s alleged undeclared properties was an attempt to undermine her and her planned 2028 presidential bid. Duterte also questioned the NBI’s credibility, linking what she described as the agency’s misleading statements to its removal from the prosecution’s witness list in her impeachment trial. In a chance interview on Monday, Duterte claimed that the administration was behind Rodolfo Gracioso Jr.’s emer-

gence, citing what she characterized as the NBI’s favorable treatment of him. The vice president likewise emphasized that government agencies must ensure their actions are lawful and truthful. At a press conference, the NBI released photos and videos of its surveillance of the Dutertes’ real estate properties, saying that its findings on her properties were part of the investigation into the affidavit of dismissed police officer Gracioso. “Maganda po siguro baka sama-sama puntahan natin yung property nila kung may permission nila, para po makita natin. Ipakita po nila, huwag lamang yung salita,” he said. Matibag said the bureau is prepared to provide additional records and serve as a witness if requested by the Office of the Ombudsman. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday referred its findings on the alleged discrepancies in Vice President Sara Duterte’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth to the Ombudsman. NBI agents turned over boxes of documents related to its investigation into Duterte’s alleged misdeclarations of her properties in her 2024 and 2025 SALNs. The submitted documents include the SALNs, an intelligence report, 14

Matibag also responded to Vice President Sara Duterte’s remarks that she has no problem taking a lie detector test, saying that the NBI is open anytime to accommodate her. He said the NBI is open to cooperating with her regarding its probe into the allegations by dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. that he delivered suitcases of cash to the Dutertes. “NBI will always be here. “NBI will always be here. We will always accommodate any time of the day,” Matibag added. This followed Duterte’s statements in her Oct. 6 press briefing in Davao City, where she challenged Gracioso to release his polygraph results and alleged that Gracioso only claimed that he passed the lie detector test. “They shouldn’t dare me to take a lie detector test. If you look at the evidence, I have already addressed everything contained in the Gracioso affidavit. What we want to see is the video of Gracioso’s lie detector test and how he passed it since they were the only ones who conducted it, assuming it was actually done at all,” she pointed out.

No to... From A1

Duterte leads voter preferences in all five alternative scenarios for the May 2028 presidential election, maintaining a near-majority share of support across candidate matchups, according to a survey by Pulse Asia Research, Inc. In the latest Ulat ng Bayan poll, results showed that 50 percent of Filipino adults said they would vote for Duterte in a long-list scenario, ahead of Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo at 26 percent and Sen. Raffy Tulfo at 12 percent. Following Tulfo is Sen. Risa Hontiveros (3 percent), Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (1 percent) and

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon (1 percent) are tied, followed by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (0.3 percent). Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro rejected Duterte’s claim that President Marcos’ remarks suggested the administration had considered her a threat since 2023, saying the president was referring to the possibility that foreign funds could be used to finance political activities. “The one who is accustomed to making threats is the vice president,” said Castro

“Do not react immediately without reading the president’s exact words because your message could be entirely false or irrelevant because it is wrong,” she said. Castro emphasized that President Marcos’ warning was conditional on evidence establishing the allegations. “The president said that if there is evidence, it could be considered a national threat,” she added. Mr. Marcos made the remarks in Singapore on Sunday, saying alleged Chinese funding linked to Duterte could constitute a national security threat if proven true.

strengthen water conservation efforts in vulnerable areas. Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the application of these technologies aims to mitigate environmental hazards, marine degradation, forest fires, and water resource stress triggered by rising temperatures “In an era of accelerating climate extremes, timely information saves ecosystems and lives... At the same time, we are strengthening water conservation and resource management efforts to help communities and institutions cope with the growing risks of drought and water scarcity,” Cuna said. “We are equipping our field teams and local chief executives with real-time environmental intelligence to

safeguard our forests, coral reefs, water resources, and coastal communities before severe damage occurs,” he added. The DENR Central Office has since reminded all regional offices to ensure that all AWS facilities maintain continuous data telemetry, marine monitoring teams submit weekly reef assessment logs to the national portal, and environmental monitoring data continue to support local drought preparedness, water-use efficiency initiatives, and climate adaptation measures.

prolonged dry conditions. His directives include ensuring hospitals have adequate electricity, medicines, and medical supplies, protecting local food production, improving water management and irrigation, and maintaining sufficient energy and fuel supplies. The National Irrigation Administration is currently preparing measures to help farmers cope with reduced water availability, including identifying potential groundwater sources for solar-powered irrigation systems and repairing and rehabilitating existing irrigation pumps. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture has been strengthening preparations by securing food stocks and agricultural inputs, expanding storage

3Fromimpeach... A1

“Kaya nga, in one way, nakikita ko as a blessing yung impeachment trial dahil diyan ay makikilatis at ma-scrutinize na ng mga tao yung mga katanungan nila sa pagkatao ko,” she added. At a news briefing, Duterte thanked the public for her continued high ratings despite what she called were instances of defamation and accusations against her. Asked if she was still decided to run in 2028, Duterte said, “Yes.”

DENR... From A1 production as the weather phenomenon threatens to intensify toward the end of the year. The department has operationalized a robust early warning framework leveraging automated weather stations (AWS), satellite heat stress mapping, and geographic information system-based risk modeling. By translating complex meteorological and oceanographic data into actionable field alerts, the DENR enables local government units, water managers, and field personnel to respond preemptively to localized climate threats and

Matibag challenge

Contingency measures

Mr. Marcos convened key agencies on Tuesday to reinforce contingency measures and ensure hospitals, dams, and farms are prepared for possibly

NBI open anytime for VP to take lie detector test

In a Facebook post, Gomez simple said: Private citizen. Mr. Marcos Jr. attributed the frequent turnover of Presidential Communications Office (PCO) chiefs to the shifting demands of the job, which he said has become more political. He made the remarks as he explained the appointment of former Taguig mayor and PTV General Manager Lino Cayetano as the new PCO secretary, saying the changing nature of the office requires adjustments to its structure and priorities. “The reason that we keep turning, we have this high turnover is because the job keeps changing in terms of what we are trying to put forward,” Mr. Marcos said. “In the beginning we were talking about policy and now we are talking about...then we started talking about what we had to do in terms of implementation. And then we started having to talk, now we are having to talk about getting more towards the more political aspects of the communications job,” he added. Before leading the state-run pension fund, De Claro represented the employers’ sector in the Social Security Commission, where he served on committees overseeing information technology, collections, investments and corporate governance. He has more than three decades of business experience, including executive positions at technology and business services companies. He holds a computer science degree specializing in information technology from De La Salle University. As DICT secretary, De Claro will oversee programs to improve internet access, strengthen cybersecurity and expand digital government services. The department, under Aguda, has also faced scrutiny over alleged irregularities involving government-funded internet projects, which have been the subject of an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman. Twelve Cabinet members, including Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, remain in an acting capacity because the Commission on Appointments has not confirmed their appointments.

Garin open to being replaced

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said she would follow the President’s decision as some groups called for her resignation over her failure to immediately and fully address the power shortage in the Visayas. “I work at the pleasure of the President. Whatever the President decides, we will follow his direction,” Garin said. She said the entire Department of Energy and its attached agencies had been working hard to address the supply shortage in the Visayas. Garin, however, acknowledged that there had been inadequate planning to meet the future requirements of the Visayas grid. “I think what hasn’t been done before is proper planning in the energy sector. When you make plans, their effects are felt five years from now. So we’re trying to fast-track everything that wasn’t planned before,” the energy chief said. “So I think, as far as the DOE is concerned, given what we have been presented with since the start of President Marcos’ administration, I think they have done very well,” Garin said. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Tuesday it welcomed the appointment of Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Robert Joseph de Claro as the agency’s new secretary, succeeding Henry Aguda. The DICT and its attached agencies said De Claro had pushed to improve service delivery and advance digitalization at the SSS.

capacity and preparing targeted interventions for areas expected to be most affected by drought. Malacañang also defended the President’s advice to households to store water in buckets, saying the government is taking the El Niño threat seriously and plans to teach residents how to filter rainwater for household use.

Using rain water collectors no joke

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro dismissed criticism of the advice, saying the chief executive has repeatedly raised concerns about the weather phenomenon and its potential to worsen in the coming months.

NEWS Palace vows tighter scrutiny of nat’l budget

A3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

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MINE TUNNEL CLOSED.

Authorities seal a tunnel entrance in Barangay Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, following the deaths of seven miners late last month. Dave Leprozo

By Charles Dantes MALACAÑANG on Tuesday vowed tighter controls over the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, saying government agencies must justify projects and submit complete documentation before funds can be released. Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Department of Budget and Management, acting on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s instructions, would ensure that public funds were spent properly as the spending plan moved through the remaining stages of the budget process. The administration would not allow funds to be used improperly, Castro said in response to questions about changes made by the House of Representatives to the administration’s original proposal. The House-approved version includes about P116 billion in amendments intended to strengthen essential public services and address urgent needs, according to the chamber. The proposed budget retains P1.107 trillion for education. Castro said the legislative process was not yet complete and that the administration would continue to scrutinize the spending plan. She stressed that much of the proposed budget would be subject to later release, requiring agencies to meet documentary and other requirements before the DBM could make the funds available. Funds designated for later release would not be disbursed without proper documents, feasibility studies and proof that projects needed to be implemented, Castro said.

Garin acquitted of graft raps in Dengvaxia case By Maricel V. Cruz THE Sandiganbayan Special Second Division has acquitted Iloilo City Rep. Janette Garin of graft and illegal use of public funds in connection with the P3.5-billion procurement of Dengvaxia vaccines from French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur during her tenure as Health secretary. Garin, a House deputy speaker, welcomed the decision and personally attended its promulgation. “This is a vindication not for me but for scientists, our public health experts, and doctors who continue to believe in the importance of serving every Filipino,” Garin said. She said she had maintained a clear conscience and stood by the facts throughout the proceedings. “My conscience is clear. We have nothing to hide, and we will continue to stand by the truth,” Garin said. She added that all the accused had attended hearings and respected the judicial process, confident that the facts and evidence would speak for themselves. “Health should not be politicized. Public health decisions must be guided by science, evidence, and the best interests of the people,” she said.

PBBM trust rating rises to 36%, Sara at 56%—SWS By Rex Espiritu

UBLIC trust in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rose slightly in September, driven by an 18-percentage-point increase in Mindanao, while Vice President Sara Duterte continued to post a higher trust rating amid her ongoing impeachment trial. This was according to the latest Stratbase Group-commissioned Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, conducted nationwide from Sept. 21 to 27 among 1,500 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. For the period, 36% of Filipinos said they had “much trust” in Mr. Marcos, two percentage points higher than his 34% rating in June 2026. Meanwhile, 40% said they had “little trust” in the President, five percentage points lower than in the previous survey, while 22% were undecided. Mr. Marcos’ trust rating, however,

remained substantially lower than his 64% rating in July 2024. His numbers declined through much of 2025, briefly recovering to 48% in June before falling again. Mr. Marcos’ ratings varied little across regions, except in Mindanao, where 35% expressed much trust in him, up from 17% in June, while 44% said they had little trust. In Metro Manila, 31% expressed much trust, 43% little trust and 25% were undecided. In Balance Luzon, 40% expressed much trust, 35% little trust and 24% were undecided. In the Visayas, 33% expressed much trust, 44% little trust and 22% were undecided. Duterte, who is facing an ongoing Senate impeachment trial, continued to enjoy higher public trust, with 56% saying they had much trust in her in September, one percentage point lower than her June rating. Meanwhile, 26% said they had little trust in Duterte, while 17% were undecided. Her strongest support remained in Mindanao, where 87% expressed much trust and 4% little trust. In the Visayas, 60% expressed much trust and 24% little trust. In Metro Manila, 46% expressed much trust in Duterte, compared with 33% who had little trust. In Balance

Luzon, 41% expressed much trust, four percentage points lower than her 45% rating in June, while 35% expressed little trust. Stratbase President and CEO Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit said the figures showed that both leaders would continue to face scrutiny over issues involving their administrations and families. “Filipinos’ eyes are on President Marcos and how he deals with the issues that directly affect their lives: from the rising costs of living, the aftermath of high-profile arrests from the flood control scandal, and Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial,” Manhit said. Duterte, meanwhile, would continue to face scrutiny as the impeachment proceedings put her financial and business dealings under examination, he added. “The latest hearings in the impeachment trial have made fresh revelations about her and her husband’s alleged business dealings, including those supposedly related to Chinese state-linked entities. How she addresses these allegations and explains the financial records presented in the proceedings will also be closely watched by the public,” he said.

LOCAL BROCCOLI. Freshly harvested broccoli from Tuba, Benguet, heads to Baguio City markets as farmers call for support for local produce amid rising imports. Dave Leprozo

DOLE issues pay rules for Nov. holidays By Vito Barcelo

MAKATI FAMILY DAY. Makati Mayor Nancy Binay leads 2,000 participants from 500 families in the city’s Family Thanksgiving Day at Enchanted Kingdom in Santa Rosa, Laguna, on Oct. 9. Makati City LGU

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has issued guidelines requiring employers to pay workers 130% of their basic daily wage for the first eight hours of work on Nov. 1 and 2, both special nonworking days. Employees who do not report for work are generally covered by the “no work, no pay” rule, unless company policy, practice or a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise. Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino signed Labor Advisory No. 18, Series of 2026, on Oct. 12, outlining the compensation rules for the November holidays. The advisory classifies Nov. 1, All Saints’ Day, and Nov. 2, All Souls’

Day, as special non-working days, while Nov. 30, Bonifacio Day, is a regular holiday. Workers who report for duty on either special non-working day that falls on their scheduled rest day are entitled to 150% of their basic daily wage for the first eight hours. For Bonifacio Day, employees who do not work are entitled to 100% of their basic daily wage, while those who work receive 200% for the first eight hours. Higher rates apply when the regular holiday falls on an employee’s scheduled rest day. Workers who render overtime on these holidays are entitled to additional premiums based on the applicable hourly rate. The advisory also specifies the formulas for computing overtime pay and rest-day premiums.

IN BRIEF SC junks contempt plea vs. Sotto over remarks THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition for indirect contempt against Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III over his remarks on the High Court’s ruling declaring the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte unconstitutional. The SC En Banc said Sotto’s statements were protected by the constitutional freedoms of speech and expression, particularly on matters of public interest. The petitioners, including Manuelito Delos Reyes Luna, Michael Defensor, Harold Respicio, Mary Catherine Diaz Binag, Ferdinand Topacio and Virgilio Garcia, alleged in February that Sotto had acted improperly in interviews about the ruling. Sotto questioned the decision, saying its ponente was unfamiliar with congressional rules and that the ruling effectively amended the Constitution. The SC found no basis to cite Sotto for contempt, noting that most of his remarks were responses to media questions and showed no indication of bad faith or malice. It stressed that its contempt power should not be used to punish criticism of judicial rulings. Pot Chavez

60 fatalities in MV June Aster fire identified THE 60 fatalities in the MV June Aster fire tragedy last September have been identified, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Tuesday. PCG spokesperson Commodore Noemie Cayabyab said the Philippine National Police Forensic Group had identified the victims, while 11 others were still undergoing identification. The Emergency Operations Center in Coron, Palawan, has coordinated with 60 families on the identification and claiming process. Two claimants have visited the center to complete the requirements, but no remains have been formally claimed, Cayabyab said. The Coron local government has established a one-stop assistance desk at the center to facilitate the release of remains. It operates Monday to Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Rex Espiritu

SC, LRA, SEC sign circulars for eNotarization The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday held a ceremonial signing of joint memorandum circulars with the Land Registration Authority (LRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to prepare for the implementation of electronic notarization (eNotarization). SC chief communications officer Mike Navallo said the initiative aims to make processes and transactions faster and more efficient. The circulars provide guidelines for accepting electronically notarized documents in LRA transactions and establish a framework for integrating them into SEC transactions. LRA Administrator Gerardo Sirios said eNotarization could speed up transactions at Register of Deeds offices and help protect transactions against fraud. He thanked Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa for allowing the agency to participate in drafting the agreement. Pot Chavez

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IN BRIEF Alice Guo loses plea to reverse conviction THE Court of Appeals (CA) has denied Alice Leal Guo’s motion for reconsideration challenging the dismissal of her petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, ruling that her detention was based from a Regional Trial Court (RTC) decision and not on any warrant or order by the Bureau of Immigration (BI). In an eight-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Emily San Gaspar-Gito, the CA’s former First Division saw no reason to reverse its June 29, 2026 decision tossing Guo’s petition and supplemental petitions for lack of merit. Alice Leal Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, served as a former mayor in Bamban, Tarlac from June 2022 to August 2024, and was linked to the outlawed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) operations. Gwyneth Nolasco

MMFF announces last batch of four entries ORGANIZERS of the 52nd Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) have announced the second and final batch of four official entries. The entries include “Los Salvajes Bravos,” a historical drama that stars Romnick Sarmenta and Ruru Madrid, highlighting significant events in history. The second film, “Little Hope,” is a comedydrama featuring Yassi Pressman and Pepe Herrera, offering a blend of humor and emotional depth. The third entry, “Seeds of Peace: The Life of Fr. Rhoel Gallardo,” is a documentary anchored on the life of Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, starring Zaijian Jaranilla. Joel E. Zurbano

Norway assists PH in circular economy THE Royal Norwegian Embassy in Manila has facilitated a study tour for a Philippine delegation held Oct. 4-9 to explore Norway’s practices in sustainable waste management, recycling, and implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Deposit Return Systems (DRS). In a statement on Tuesday, Norwegian Ambassador to the Manila Kristian Netland said the activities aimed to help the Philippines hasten its transition to a circular economy. “Moving towards a circular economy takes collaboration across government, business and communities. Norway is pleased to share our experience and learn from the Philippines as both countries work to reduce waste, improve recycling and make better use of resources. This visit is an opportunity to turn shared ambitions into practical cooperation,” he said. Katrina Manubay

UNDAS BREAK. Speaker Faustino Dy III presides at the last day of session of the House of Representatives ahead of their Halloween break. Office of the Speaker

House shores up agri assistance amid super El Niño—Speaker Dy By Maricel V. Cruz

PEAKER Faustino Dy III said the House of Representatives has boosted allocations for agricultural assistance, irrigation, and rural infrastructure in the proposed 2027 national budget to help farmers and fisherfolk prepare for the threats of El Niño.

In his session break closing speech, the Speaker said the House moved early to provide additional support for sectors whose livelihoods could be affected by the prolonged hot season. “Even before its arrival, we acted proactively to secure additional funding for preparations against the so-called ‘Super El Niño,’ which is

expected to affect thousands of our fisherfolk and farmers,” Dy said. The House initiatives included an additional ₱10 billion for Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk, providing a larger allocation for assistance to the two vulnerable sectors. The former Isabela governor

also announced an additional ₱500 million for Expanded Fertilizer Assistance and ₱4.09 billion for irrigation projects nationwide, supporting farm production and access to water. The spending proposal likewise includes an additional ₱4.96 billion for Farm-to-Market Roads and ₱150 million for agricultural transport infrastructure to support the movement of agricultural products. Another ₱100 million was added for high-value crops, while ₱331 million was allocated for the Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support. The allocations form part of the House-approved 2027 budget under House Bill No. 10858, which

DOJ’s free legal assistance logs 76k clients in ‘26

GOING CRABBING.

A fisherman checks his crab trap called ‘bintol’ beside a fishpond in Masbate province. Andrew Rabulan

By Gwyneth Nolasco

PNP chief vows justice over broadcast journalist’s murder By Vince Lopez THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday called for an indepth investigation and a focused manhunt for the suspect in the fatal shooting of a broadcaster in Daraga, Albay. PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez, Jr. condemned the attack on Adrian “Golden Boy” Loterte, anchor at RBN News Television, as he directed the Daraga police and the Albay provincial police to intensify their probe, preserve critical evidence, and identify and apprehend the suspect.

“We strongly condemn this act of violence and we are committed to ensuring that those responsible are identified and brought to justice. An attack on a member of the media must be investigated with urgency, impartiality, and respect for the rule of law,” Nartatez said. Loterte was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his bakery in Barangay San Roque, Daraga, Albay around 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12. According to the police, one of two suspects fired multiple shots at Loterte before fleeing on a white-andblack motorcycle toward Barangay

Kimantong. Nartatez said the investigators must establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting and determine the motive based on evidence. He stressed that the case must move forward without delay while observing due process. He said the PNP will also coordinate with the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) to determine whether the attack was connected to Loterte’s work as a media practitioner. “I have directed the concerned police units to exhaust all investigative leads, gather and preserve criti-

cal evidence, and intensify efforts to identify and apprehend the suspect. We must establish the motive through evidence, pursue the case without delay, and ensure that accountability is achieved through due process,” he noted. Nartatez also called on anyone with credible information, photographs, or video footage related to the incident to cooperate with investigators. “We assure the media community that the PNP will pursue the truth without fear or favor, because violence must never be allowed to replace the rule of law,” the PNP chief said.

BI-AFP team nabs 76 in POGO hub raid By Vito Barcelo

PMC MAKES WAVES IN UK. The Philippine Marine Corps bags a silver

medal at the Cambrian Patrol 2026, an international military patrol exercise hosted by the British Army in Wales, United Kingdom on Oct. 8 to 10. The eight-man PMC’s team led by Marine 1Lt. James Daryl Tagsip, competed against 140 participants representing 35 nations at the Sennybridge Training area, navigating rugged terrain amid unforgiving weather and grueling exercise which tested their endurance, leadership, discipline and combat skills. PMC photo

passed third and final reading on Monday. “We ensured that the most important criteria were the needs of our fellow citizens—ranging from education and health to preparedness for climate change-induced disasters, such as El Niño,” the Speaker said. Dy assured farmers and fisherfolk that the government and the House would help them prepare for challenges to their livelihoods. “To our farmers and fisherfolk, this is our pledge: do not worry, for no matter what storm may come, the entire government and the House of Representatives are here, standing with you as we prepare to face these challenges.” Dy said.

A COMBINED team of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the military had arrested 76 foreign nationals during a raid on a suspected illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO)-related facility allegedly being used for online scam operations in Barangay Socorro, Cubao, Quezon City on Monday, Oct. 12. The raid was conducted by the BI Intelligence Division’s Special Response Team and Region 4 Regional Intelligence Operations Unit, in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ National Capital

Region Command. BI Intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. said that the arrested foreigners consisted of 74 Chinese and two Myanmar nationals. The group is undergoing inquest proceedings and may face deportation under Philippine immigration laws. Once deportation orders are issued, they will be placed on the BI blacklist, preventing them from reentering the Philippines. The operation was part of the implementation of Republic Act No. 12312, or the Anti-POGO Act of 2025, and adhered to the government’s directive to end illegal POGO activities.

THE Department of Justice’s public service reach out program has served over 76,000 Filipinos in 2026, bringing free legal consultations, notarial services and other government assistance closer to communities. This was disclosed by the DOJ during its recent roll out of the Katarungan Caravan in Guiguinto, Bulacan. The DOJ said the Katarungan Caravan served 76,756 Filipinos nationwide from June 2022 to June 2026, four times the number served before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office. Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the program aims to make justice more accessible to the people by bringing government services directly to the communities. “As we bring the Katarungan Caravan to Guiguinto, let this be a reminder to our fellow countrymen that we do not limit the delivery of justice within the walls of the department. We will come to you,” Vida said. Through the DOJ Action Center, people involved in court cases received free legal consultations and notarial services, as well as assistance with government clearances, immigration concerns, civil registry documents and National ID issues. The President attended the event held Sept. 21. at the Guiguinto Municipal Athletic and Cultural Center, in partnership with Bulacan 5th District Rep. Agatha Cruz. Participating agencies included the DOJ National Prosecution Service, National Bureau of Investigation, Land Registration Authority, Bureau of Immigration, Public Attorney’s Office and Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Sara Duterte’s wealth THE revelations before the Senate impeachment court about Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, raise serious questions. These go beyond expensive shopping trips and millions of pesos changing hands. At the heart of the issue is a simple question: Can the couple’s declared income explain their wealth, spending, and financial transactions? The testimony of forensic financial analyst lawyer Alexander Cabrera has brought these questions into focus. Consider the couple’s shopping expenses. According to Cabrera, Duterte and Carpio spent ₱256,882.50 at a Nike store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They also spent ₱300,000 in two transactions at Nike SM Davao on the same day. In another reported transaction, they charged ₱205,000 to their credit card for a single meal at a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. There is nothing illegal about buying expensive shoes or eating at an upscale restaurant. People who can afford such luxuries are free to spend their money as they wish. But when the people involved, include a sitting vice president whose finances are under investigation, questions about the source of their money are fair and necessary. Cabrera reportedly flagged these transactions as unusual based on the financial records he examined. Their importance lies not simply in the amount spent, but in whether the spending fits the couple’s declared income and assets. Other transactions raise further questions. Cabrera’s testimony reportedly covered ₱11.35 million in checks issued to Lourdes Libosada, identified as Duterte’s family dentist and Carpio’s business partner in Cale88, a banana chips company. The prosecution also cited alleged financial dealings involving Cale88 and foreign companies. These included Chinese state-owned firms and a Ukrainian company that had previously faced a money-laundering lawsuit. These connections deserve closer examination. A business relationship alone does not by itself prove wrongdoing. Nor does the identity of a payment recipient make a transaction suspicious by itself. Investigators must establish whether the payments had legitimate business purposes, whether the money came from lawful sources, and whether the transactions were properly recorded and disclosed. The larger figures presented by Cabrera make the issue even more serious. His analysis reportedly placed the couple’s undeclared assets and unexplained wealth at ₱817.87 million from

2022 to 2025. This estimate covered cash, personal and real properties, and unreported income. It also included substantial amounts allegedly linked to Cale88, Metro City, and GenCorp. These are serious allegations, but they are not yet proven facts. Cabrera’s estimates must be tested against financial records and other evidence. The couple can challenge the figures and explain the transactions. The impeachment court must judge what the evidence proves, not simply what the numbers seem to show.

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These are questions that demand answers. Still, the public has every right to demand answers. The vice presidency does not place anyone beyond scrutiny. Public officials hold positions of trust, and their financial disclosures help guard against corruption, conflicts of interest, and hidden wealth. The main issue is not whether Sara Duterte and her husband live well. It is whether their declared assets, legitimate earnings, business interests, and financial transactions can account for the wealth attributed to them. If the prosecution can support its claims with reliable evidence, the consequences could be serious. If the figures are wrong or the transactions have valid explanations, the couple can present their side. Accountability requires a thorough investigation, but it also requires due process. The Senate impeachment court now has a duty that goes beyond the political fate of one vice president. It must weigh the evidence fairly and apply the law without fear, favor, or partisan bias. Filipinos have seen too many controversies in which huge sums of money are discussed but clear answers never come. The country cannot afford another political spectacle that produces more accusations than accountability. At the end of the day, the question is simple: Can the wealth attributed to Sara Duterte and Mans Carpio be explained by their legitimate and properly declared sources of income? The answer must rest on evidence, clear financial records, and the rule of law. No public official should be condemned simply for spending lavishly. But neither should public office serve as a convenient shield against questions about unexplained wealth. In a democracy, accountability is essential. In our case, no one, not even the Vice President, is above scrutiny. (Email: ernhl@yahoo.com)

Attacks on Russian data centers spur hopes for less disinformation By Aurélie Mayembo RECENT Ukrainian bombings of Russian data centers have drastically slashed the Kremlin’s online propaganda and disinformation activities, some Ukrainian allies and internet users said Monday. “The Russian troll bots in my own feed have dropped dramatically already,” exiled Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov told millions of followers on X. Many internet users claim to have noticed a sharp reduction in social media content in favour of US President Donald Trump, Russia or the AfD, a German anti-immigration and proRussian party. They say the reduction is a direct result of strikes against Russian data centers, which have cut off Russian “bots” –- autonomous computer programmes used to disseminate large quantities of low-quality content, often in the form of propaganda and disinformation. At the Warsaw Security Forum on Monday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius recommended such attacks to ensure the security of the forthcoming elections in his country and in Poland. “We should ask Mr Zelensky to strike more data centers

in Russia; I think that might help,” he said, referring to Ukraine’s president. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky told the forum that since his country began targeting Russian data centers, “it has suddenly become a little easier to breathe on many social media platforms.”

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It has suddenly become a little easier to breathe on many social media platforms, says Zelensky. Three attacks were reported last week against facilities belonging to Yandex – nicknamed the “Russian Google” – which has tens of millions of users for the country’s most popular search engine, as well as its food delivery and taxi-booking apps. Internet traffic originating from Yandex fell around 35 percent following an attack on the Sasovo site, then plummeted 99 percent compared with a week earlier following the closure of the Vladimir site, according to Cloud-

Impeaching the expert

HE defense team’s mission was clear and unabashed on Monday’s impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte: discredit the prosecution’s last witness, forensic accounting expert, lawyer Alexander Cabrera.

Lawyers tried to show that he was out of his depth in reviewing and arriving at a conclusion on the charge of unexplained wealth against the second-highest official of the land. His lack of experience as a government employee was questioned. It followed, then, said that the defense, that he had never filed a Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth – the same documents of Duterte’s he supposedly analyzed – himself. He also spent many years in tax practice, rendering his experience in audit inadequate. The defense lawyer also used the words “allegedly” way too often; Cabrera pointed out that he was not alleging and that his words were a result of his own analysis. A senator-judge also twisted Cabrera’s words on having to look at voluminous documents in so short a time given the trial’s tight deadlines. The expert only received his engagement letter in June. “Minadali” was wrongly equated to a haphazard job. Patiently and food naturedly, the witness explained that it was entirely possible to accomplish something under pressure while also adhering to the highest standards. Only a simple mind would offer an either-or view. The same senator-judge, who has always been notorious for his bravado amid the dearth of intellectual depth, tried to mar Cabrera’s solid industry reputation by linking his firm, which

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Claims of political persecution and invented charges now only sound laughable. Cabrera set one condition when he committed to be an expert witness for the case. He would offer his services pro-bono, but he should be left to do this job independently without any expectations of the outcome. He would use his expertise to look at the evidence and would not guarantee a finding favorable to the prosecution. And what he found were the following: That between the years 2022 and 2025, the VP’s SALN were “untruthful with a substantial amount of assets” unreported by Ms. Duterte and her husband;

A REFORM agenda begins on paper, but it takes shape through public spending. Plans can be ambitious. Laws can open new possibilities. Teachers can be trained, classrooms built, curricula improved, and institutions strengthened. But sooner or later, every promise has to appear in a budget. That was the heart of a keynote talk I delivered recently at Chulalongkorn University, where I had the privilege of delivering a high-level talk during Oxfam’s High Level Conference on An Asia for Everyone: Public Services, Social Protection and the Promise of Shared Prosperity. The discussion was about financing. The deeper question was about choices. Where do we put our resources? Who benefits from them? And what changes because we spent the money? We begin with focus. The Philippines has made real progress. Our 2026 education budget reached about ₱1.35 trillion, roughly 4.4 percent of GDP, the largest allocation for education in our history. That is a major commitment. Now every peso has to work harder. Our experience in EDCOM II keeps bringing us back to the foundations. A child who struggles to read in the early grades carries that difficulty into later lessons. The effects travel with the learner—to high school, college, skills training, and eventually the workplace. Funding has to follow that journey. Reading and nutrition deserve early investment. So do teachers, classrooms, learning materials, student support, higher education, technical training, and

the bridge from school to work. These investments work best when they connect. A peso spent well in the early years can keep paying dividends for decades. Human capital is capital. The knowledge, skills, confidence, and abilities of our people shape the productive strength of the country. Then there is fairness. This becomes very real when we look at the life of an ordinary student.

Free tuition may open the school gate. The learner still has to get there. There is fare to pay, food to buy, books to find, connectivity to maintain, and sometimes rent or boarding expenses far from home. For a family living from one payday to the next, any one of these can decide whether a child stays in school. That is why access has to mean more than enrollment. Public support should give a learner the chance to enter school, remain there, learn, finish the course, and move on to productive work or further study. The test of fairness is easy to understand. A child born into a poor family should be able to dream as boldly as anyone else. A student living far from a city should still have a real path forward. Public money should widen that path. Shared prosperity starts becoming real when opportunity reaches people who have had the least of it.

And we need follow-through. Education results rarely fit neatly inside one budget year. We appropriate funds today and see some of their most important effects years later. A Grade 1 learner becomes a high school student, then a college student or trainee, and eventually a worker, entrepreneur, parent, or public servant. So we have to keep asking what happened along the way. Can children read with understanding? Are students staying in school? Are they completing their programs? Do graduates have skills that lead to meaningful work? Are poorer learners moving forward with the rest? Those questions should shape the way we judge education spending. The size of the budget counts because ambition requires resources. The direction of that spending counts because every peso has a purpose. Results count because families experience education reform through changed lives, rather than through figures printed in an appropriations law. Education deserves the same long view we give to highways, ports, power systems, and other investments that build the country’s future. Its returns are everywhere—in stronger workers, more capable communities, better opportunities, and families whose children can go further than the generation before them. That is the kind of investment worth sustaining. With focus, fairness, and followthrough, education financing can help turn growth into shared prosperity. More importantly, it can widen what Filipinos believe is possible for their lives.

flare Radar, which monitors and analyses internet traffic worldwide. However, experts on Russian online propaganda say it is too early to establish such a cause-and-effect relationship. “There is currently no evidence to support the claim that the attack on the data centers silenced the Kremlin’s ‘troll farms’,” Nikola Tulechki, a spe-

cialist in monitoring online disinformation operations for the organization “Data for Good” told AFP. He said a widely shared Cloudflare graphic shows a drop in automated requests from a network controlled by Yandex to websites, and not from bots on social media. The Antibot4Navalny collective,

which tracks influence operations linked to Russia, also believes that the interpretation of the Cloudflare Radar charts is incorrect. “To those implying that Kremlincontrolled social media bot/troll farms became silent after Ukraine hit a Yandex data center: Hate to disappoint you all,” it posted on X. AFP

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Every peso has to work harder

Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser

Emil P. Jurado+ Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

ROLANDO G. ESTABILLO Publisher

can be accessed at: manilastandard.net

MEMBER

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Financing education for shared prosperity

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 8-5646225 and 8-5646229 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.manilastandard.net

acted as an independent auditor, to a company that supposedly defrauded overseas Filipino workers to the tune of billions of pesos. The controversy happened under Cabrera’s watch, the senator said. But public prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno made the distinction between the mother company that had been cleared and the actual erring entity.

That Ms. Duterte continued to participate in various businesses even when she was already VP; That her unexplained wealth amounted to P817.87 million based on limited documents examined, and excluding documents in the possession of the spouses; That there was a pattern of yearon-year constitutional violations from 2022 to 2025; That other laws aside from the Constitution were violated by the VP. It must also be noted that Cabrera said he used a conservative approach in his computations, and that if he used the higher end of estimates he would arrive instead at a total amount of P1.5 billion in unexplained wealth. Expert witnesses generally build their solid reputations over decades of hard work and conscientious performance of their jobs. They will gain nothing by throwing all those decades away for fleeting gains. Cabrera, from his industry acceptability and calm demeanor, appears to be one such example. To be fair to the defense lawyers, they were just doing their jobs. They could not have done otherwise. Unfortunately for them, something else was stronger and more unimpeachable than the lawyer Cabrera: the documents themselves. With the strength of the paper trail, anybody claiming that they were being subjected to political persecution with invented charges would now only sound laughable. Let’s just hope that those tasked to decide on the outcome base their judgment on the evidence, their conscience, and plain common sense.

Mario R. Policarpio Jr. Head - Finance

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Opinion Editor

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Aytch dela Cruz

Online Editor

Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

News Editor

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WORLD

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

India detains top ‘cockroach’ leaders after flash protest

NEW DELHI – India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said Tuesday that key leaders had been detained after entering an iconic protest site in New Delhi blocked by police. Opposition parties and supporters of the movement have taken to the streets in recent days, defying a security clampdown to demand the resignation of the head of India’s election commission, accusing it of manipulating voter rolls to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party. The Election Commission of India, which oversees the voting process in the world’s most populous nation, has denied any wrongdoing. Delhi Police said on Monday that Jantar Mantar in the heart of the capital had been taken off the list of designated official protest sites. The site has been sealed off for several days by yellow metal barricades and guarded by a heavy police presence. But a video posted online by CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday showed protesters clambering over the barricades, running into the empty space and waving the national flag – before police chased and detained them. “CJP sneaks inside to reclaim Jantar Mantar,” the group said in a post on social media, adding that those detained included leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde. “All of them have been detained by Delhi Police,” it added. AFP

EL NIÑO IMPACT. This aerial picture shows a villager walking across a dried-up rice field with cracked soil caused by a prolonged dry season at Wening Galih village in Bogor, West Java on August 28, 2026. AFP

EL NIÑO WATCH:

The impacts around the world this week IN BRIEF B Several hurt, 1 in ‘cardiac arrest’ in Sokor stabbing

SEOUL – One person was in cardiac arrest and several others wounded in a stabbing incident on Tuesday at a supermarket in South Korea’s coastal city of Incheon, authorities told AFP. “One person is in cardiac arrest and around seven others have been injured,” an official from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said. Local media reported that a male suspect had been arrested. South Korea is generally considered a safe country, with a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to official statistics, well below the global average of about six per 100,000. The country has, however, seen a number of stabbing attacks in recent years. In May 2025, a man stabbed three police officers, while three people were stabbed to death at a Seoul pizza restaurant that September. AFP

ANGKOK – Food security concerns, wildfires and power warnings are among the impacts around the world this week from an exceptionally strong El Niño weather cycle.

Here is a look at how this year’s phenomenon, in which a warmer sea surface shifts global weather patterns, has been affecting people globally: Indonesia and Amazon fires, orangutans rescued El Niño is associated with strong drought in Indonesia, where tracts of forest and plantations have been burning in biodiverse Borneo and the South Sumatra region for months. The fires have caused a regional haze crisis, with Malaysia last week closing schools in several regions and Singapore announcing subsidies for people seeking medical treatment for haze-linked illness.

Malaysia has called for a meeting of regional body ASEAN to discuss the haze, and offered firefighting assistance. Experts say years of deforestation and peatland drainage in Indonesia have made it more vulnerable to fires during dry periods. The fires have sickened tens of thousands of people, while conservationists have rescued dozens of orangutans trapped by smoke and flames, including Novita, a female found clinging to a treetop with burns on her hands and feet. “She had to leave her habitat, and we had to rescue her, primarily because of the flames,” said Andi Muhammad

Khadafi, head of the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency. Haze from fires also blanketed Manaus, the largest city in the Brazilian Amazon, where public schools were shut on Friday. Amazonas state recorded nearly four times more fire hotspots this September than the year before. On Wednesday alone, over 749 fires were burning. Myanmar power outages, Philippines prepares Myanmar warned citizens to expect power outages as the electricity grid is strained by an unseasonal heatwave authorities blamed on El Niño. “Due to the effects of severe El Niño conditions, temperatures across the country have risen significantly, resulting in increased electricity consumption,” the energy ministry said. Weather officials also warned the country to expect “abnormal” rainfall,

‘Mexican man run over by ICE agents intentionally’ HOUSTON – Federal immigration agents in an unmarked SUV ran over a Mexican man during a pursuit in Texas, breaking his right leg in three places, his lawyer said Monday. On Saturday, 48-year-old construction worker Miguel Parra was on his way to work when he was struck during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Houston, Texas. Surveillance video captured the moment when the dark SUV caught up with Parra, who was fleeing his vehicle on foot, and ran over him. ICE officials told Houston Public Media that Parra “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck.” Parra’s lawyer Kim Bruno challenged that characterization, telling reporters: “What happened is not an accident, it is something (done) intentionally and that is abuse.” ICE said they were seeking to detain Parra’s passenger, who had a criminal record. AFP

Pakistan train derailment kills 4, injures over a dozen MULTAN, Pakistan – At least four people were killed and over a dozen others injured in a train derailment Tuesday near Multan in the south of Pakistan’s Punjab province, emergency services and a rescue worker told AFP. Farooq Ahmed, a spokesman for Punjab’s emergency services department, said four people had been killed and at least 17 injured while the cause of the incident remained unknown. Ahmed added 11 ambulances and 30 rescue workers had been dispatched to the scene after the accident was called in at 5:21 am (0021 GMT). A rescue worker at the derailment site confirmed at least four people were killed in the incident, giving a higher figure of 25 people injured. An AFP journalist saw the body of one person who had perished in the accident inside a train carriage. AFP

REGIONAL HAZE. Infographic shows PM2.5 levels in Borneo where endangered animals live. AFP

drought, extreme heat and drinking water shortages. In the Philippines, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the government was preparing for higher demand and the possibility of hydropower declines due to hotter and drier weather. “The appeal is for the public to be aware of this so that we can all start having the mindset of energy savings,” she said. IMF ‘very concerned’ on food International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva told AFP she is “very concerned” about El Nino’s global impacts, particularly on food security. The IMF is “getting ready” to offer support to countries that may struggle to absorb the impact, she added. The United Nations Development Program also warned Sunday that the combined impacts of higher borrowing costs, surging energy prices and the powerful El Nino created “a perfect storm that could throw tens if not hundreds of millions of people back into poverty.” In southern Madagascar, aid workers told AFP they are already battling the effects of a famine and conditions are expected to worsen as El Nino’s full impact on Africa takes hold from this month. What scientists say El Niño will continue intensifying until a December peak, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said Thursday. “It is likely to bring above-average temperatures to much of the globe and shift rainfall patterns, increasing the risk of drought and floods in different regions,” the body said in its monthly update. Sea-surface temperatures in a key monitoring region in the Pacific reached an “all-time high” last month, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said, while Japan’s weather agency on Friday declared this El Niño was of “the strongest intensity on record.” Not all forecasters use the same scale to interpret El Nino, and the comparison is complicated by the background effects of climate change. By the numbers 29.70C: the all-time high sea-surface temperature recorded in part of the Pacific by Copernicus 1: number of hurricanes this Atlantic season, which has been exceptionally light due to El Nino, unlike the busy Pacific season 71: death toll in Thailand floods since mid-September 46: orangutans rescued from Indonesia fires by authorities and conservation group YIARI between August and October 9 ‘Super El Niño’ explained El Niño is associated with higher global temperatures, and a stronger cycle intensifies the extreme weather patterns it brings to different regions, like drought or heavy rain. This year’s cycle has been called a “super El Niño” but the term many scientists use is “very strong”. The World Meteorological Organization last month said it expected this cycle to meet that definition before it peaks in December. The benchmark for the definition is the sea-surface temperature anomaly in part of the Pacific Ocean, which is now at record levels. Climate change complicates the picture because the oceans are now warmer, but scientists can strip out that background effect to determine the absolute rise. AFP

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

Magnolia’s Lucero named PBA’s best for the week

Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero drives to the basket in a PBA game won by the Hotshots against the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 112-93. PBA

Sweep nets Filipinas U17 squad berth in Asian Cup T

ASHKENT—The Philippine Under-17 Women’s National Football Team (Filipinas U17) qualified for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup for the third consecutive time, sweeping Group H of the 2027 qualifying tournament with a 3-0 win over Bangladesh on Sunday at Do’stlik Stadium Training Pitch 1. The Philippines had earlier beaten host Uzbekistan, 4-0, on October 5. “Qualifying once is an achievement. Qualifying three times in a row tells us the work behind this program is sustainable. Each batch of the Filipinas U17 has built on the one before it, and we are proud of every player, staff member, and supporter who made this possible,” said PFF president John Anthony Gutierrez. Bangladesh held the Philippines scoreless for 72 minutes. Noelle Granger had a shot in front saved by goalkeeper Meghla Rani Roy in the 5th minute, and Aryanna Capsa’s shot from the left was saved in the 6th. Ariana Enderes’s lob from the top was saved in the 16th, and Granger’s running shot from the

right was saved in the 24th. Bangladesh created chances of its own before halftime. Defender Mousumi Akter headed a left corner slightly wide in the 44th minute, and striker Alpi Akter’s lob from outside the box hit the crossbar in first-half stoppage time. The Philippines broke through in the 73rd minute. Right back Maya Rose Bascara tapped the ball in during a scramble after a left corner. Goalkeeper Abigail Garcia kept the lead intact in the 79th by saving Alpi Akter in a oneon-one counterattack. Granger sealed the result late. In the 90th minute, she scored from the front right off a nifty midfield through ball from substitute Ariana Gementiza. Granger completed her brace less

Defender Maya Rose Bascara (14) celebrates as she broke the goalless deadlock in the 73rd minute.

than a minute later, scoring again off a running strike, after Savannah Chheng’s interception and long ball. The incoming Florida Gator scored five goals in the two qualification games, having scored a hat-trick against Uzbekistan last Monday. The result extends a run of Asian Cup qualifications by the Filipinas U17,

and players from earlier batches are now part of the senior Filipinas squad. Alexa Pino, Jael Guy and Ariana Markey of Batch ‘24, and Aiselyn Sia, Tea Pidding and Leah Bradley of Batch ‘26, are now regular members of the national team. The senior Filipinas are seeking a second straight FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance next year.

Junior Altas cruise past Junior Pirates for 6th straight victory By Dennis Abrina

Rookie Sizco Roquid scored a game-high 17 points, to go with 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Dennis Abrina

THE Perpetual Help Junior Altas’ dominant run continued as they routed the LPU GenTri Junior Pirates, 117-75, on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, in the NCAA Season 102 Juniors Basketball Tournament at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. Rookie transferee Sizco Roquid, formerly of UE, delivered a stellar all-around game to lead Perpetual to its sixth consecutive victory. Roquid dropped a game-high 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals, steering the Junior Altas to an impressive 6-1 record. Four other Junior Altas finished in double figures to contribute to the blowout win. Francis Rosales caught fire from deep, scoring 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point territory alongside three

rebounds and three assists, while Brian Orca Jr., Lord Dulanas, and Louie Rosales added 13 points apiece. Fil-Aussie 6’7” big man Max Maurice also chipped in a career-high nine points, three rebounds, and an assist in under 13 minutes of action. Head coach Joph Cleopas’ squad set the tone early with a 14-2 opening burst, building a 30-16 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Junior Altas then broke the game wide open in the second, using a 13-1 run powered by hot outside shooting to take a commanding 67-27 cushion at halftime. “It’s a long way to go, and there are still many games left,” said Cleopas. “I always tell them to give 100 percent in every game, especially on defense, and the points will follow.”

Scorching 67 hands Zaragosa share of ICTSI Pueblo de Oro lead CAGAYAN DE ORO—Under the punishing heat and amid a dizzying shuffle atop the leaderboard, Rupert Zaragosa kept his composure, closed with a flourish and surged into a share of the lead with Russel Bautista halfway lead in the ICTSI Pueblo de Oro Championship here on Tuesday. Zaragosa produced a scorching five-under 67, putting together a solid round highlighted by timely birdies and a strong finish to erase the gap and catch Bautista at the helm at eight-under 136. While the pressure intensified and the lead changed hands several times at Pueblo de Oro Golf and Country Club, Zaragosa remained steady, capitalizing on his opportunities to position himself for a serious title bid heading into the next two rounds. Bautista, meanwhile, appeared poised to preserve his solo lead after another gutsy round but saw his advantage slip away with a costly bogey on the 18th. The late miscue left him with a 69 and forced him to settle for a share of the halfway lead, setting the stage for a compelling battle as the championship enters its decisive stretch. While the scorching conditions tested the players’ stamina and concentration, Zaragosa stayed focused, making three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine to cap another steady round on the

demanding 6,974-yard layout. “I had a solid round, especially with my driving and putting. I also hit a lot of good second shots, which gave me plenty of birdie opportunities,” said Zaragosa in Filipino, who made up for his lack of distance with smart course management and precise execution. Knowing the course could be a long challenge for him, Zaragosa stuck to a simple game plan. “I know the course is a bit long for me, so my strategy is to make pars on the long holes and create birdie opportunities on the shorter ones,” he said. His only blemish was a three-putt bogey on No. 16, which interrupted an early charge highlighted by three birdies in his first six holes at the back. But Zaragosa quickly regained momentum on the front side, birdying Nos. 3, 6 and 8 to tie Bautista. He fell short of his bid for a hat-trick in Negros Occidental last month, but his latest performance put him in familiar territory, with a cluster of proven winners still within striking distance. Bautista, meanwhile, appeared poised to stay on top at nine-under heading into the final hole. He had kept pace with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, then held firm with pars on the next two holes before his late miscue proved costly.

Rupert Zaragosa Manny Marcelo

THE long break didn’t prevent Magnolia from keeping its momentum going in the PBA Governors’ Cup. And Zavier Lucero was one of the reasons why the Hotshots stretched their winning streak to five straight games following a 1-3 start. “For us, it’s just about getting our rhythm through practice, working hard and staying ready because we know that we want to make it further this conference,” Lucero said. His performance against Blackwater and Barangay Ginebra earned him the nod as the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period of Oct. 7 to 11. He averaged 19.0 points on 50-percent shooting with 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks for the Hotshots, who became the first team from Group B to qualify for the quarterfinals. Lucero was chosen with the weekly honor for the first time this season by Press Corps members covering the PBA beat over Converge rookie Juan Gomez de Liano, with TNT’s Calvin Oftana also given consideration. He came up big in Sunday’s Manila Clasico showdown with Ginebra, posting 21 points and nine rebounds plus two steals in a 112-93 victory that cemented Magnolia’s place in the quarters. “A lot of the time, I’m guarding the import, but (against Ginebra), my teammates were,” Lucero said. “And then credit to the coaching staff for putting us in positions to run our offense, and all my points come through the offense.”

Sarip seeks ‘double’ at Palawan tilt MUHAMMAD Keyan Sarip rides the momentum of a twin-podium finish in Dipolog as he leads a talent-laden field in the Governor’s Cup Juniors Age Group Tennis Championships, which unfolds Thursday (Oct. 15) at the Dao courts in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur. The top-seeded Marawi City standout is coming off a strong showing in the Palawan Pawnshop series, capturing the boys’ 16-andunder crown and finishing runner-up in the 18-and-U division in Dipolog last Sunday. He now sets his sights on the premier 18-and-U title, with a chance to avenge his recent loss to unranked Sky Bacongga. Bacongga, ranked No. 6, stunned Sarip, 6-4, 6-4, in Dipolog, putting the rising Siquijor star in the spotlight as he seeks to prove that victory was no f luke. But a deep field of emerging talents stands in the way of a possible title rematch between the two in the Group 2 tournament held in honor of Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Divina Grace Yu and Vice Gov. Roy Ariosa. Among the leading contenders in the 18-and-U class are Crislance Iglupas, Christian Dalida, Kim Tatad, Hazer Malicay, Rossil Feraro and Kevin Gallenero. Sarip, meanwhile, could face a stern challenge from Prince Centino in the 16-and-U division, where Krisnel Batilo, Angelo Naraga, Tatad, Gallenero, Feraro and Bacongga are also in the hunt. In the girls’ side, Bogo City’s Etha Seno has opted to take a much-needed rest after sweeping the 14-and-U and 16-and-U titles in Dipolog, leaving the 16-and-U race wide open. Leading the contenders are Justine Gumbao, Kyth Solis, Princess Canillas and Francesh Navarrez. Cloe Joy Busig, meanwhile, seeks a payback against Marlyn Mesiona in the girls’ 18-and-U division of the tournament, which serves as part of the Palawan Pawnshop nationwide talent-search program spearheaded by president and CEO Bobby Castro. Princess Hilot, Gabrielle Bulado, Summer Regalado, Joy Paculaba and Rime Pampula are also expected to figure prominently in the title race in the premier category of the event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) and Universal Tennis, with support from Dunlop, ICON Golf & Sports and the Palawan Group of Companies.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

RIERA U. MALLARI, Editor RANDY M. CALUAG, Asst. Editor

PH vows better Paragames’ finish even sans chess AFTER a record medal harvest in the 20th Asian Games, the Philippines pins its hopes on its 69 athletes for the 5th Asian Para Games scheduled Oct. 18 to 24 in Nagoya, Japan. Philippine Paralympic Committee president Mike Barredo is confident that the delegation will deliver despite the absence of chess, which provided eight of the 10 gold medals for the country in the 2023 edition in Hangzhou. “They made sure chess is not included because we will surely win. But I pushed for it. Pinilit natin,” said Barredo in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission media room. “But we will make up for that,” said Barredo, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission for the full support in the campaign. The Philippines bagged 10 gold, four silver and five bronze medals for ninth place overall in the last Asian Para Games. “We promise to do better even without chess,” added Barredo, who was joined in the forum by taekwondo Para coach Gershon Bautista. In the recent Asian Games, the Philippines bagged four gold, nine silver and 16 bronze for a total of 29 medals, the most since the country brought home 42 medals (2-15-25) in the 1966 Games in Thailand. Barredo said China, which ran away with the overall crown in 2023 with 214 golds, 167 silvers and 140 bronzes, remains as the nation to beat.

Mike Barredo and Gershon Bautista

Ajido

Caesar

Coleman

Justiniane

Krog

It’s on to the 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar for nine young athletes aged no older than 17 seeing action in the games’ fourth edition from October 31 to November 13, 2026.

Palles

Wangkay

Polo

Maayo

9 young Filipino athletes set for ‘26 Dakar Youth Olympics

INE Filipino athletes, all aged 17 and below, will carry the country’s colors at the fourth edition of the 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, Senegal, from October 31 to November 13.

“They are the future Olympians, future world champions and the Dakar YOG will provide them the platform to follow the footsteps of the Diazes and Yulos,” Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said, referring to Olympic gold medalists Hidilyn DiazNaranjo and Carlos Yulo. The Philippine delegation will be represented by Pi Durden

Wangkay in the men’s 200 meters and Naomi Marjorie Caesar in the women’s 800 meters in athletics; Jamesray Mishael Ajido in the men’s 100-meter butterf ly and Riannah Chantelle Coleman in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke in aquatics; and Maritanya Krog in the women’s road race and individual time trial in cycling. Tchelzy Maayo and Hillarion Palles III will compete in artistic

gymnastics, while Angel Polo will see action in the women’s combined taijiquan event in wushu. Jade Justiniane completes the nine-athlete roster in windsurfing under sailing. Philippine Taekwondo Association secretary-general Rocky Samson will serve as the country’s Chef de Mission. Held every four years, the Youth Olympic Games previously took place in Singapore in 2010, Nanjing in 2014 and Buenos Aires in 2018. The Dakar edition marks a historic milestone as the first Olympic event to be staged on African soil. The YOG come off the heels of the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games where the country posted an im-

Rising tennis star Fiel bags twin titles in Baybay tour By Randy M. Caluag ORMOC City’s Ma. Caroliean “Bibilin” Fiel captured two girls’ singles titles in the Cebuana Lhuillier Tennis Tour in Baybay City, Leyte, adding to her growing collection of victories following her inclusion in the Philippine Tennis Association’s national junior training pool. The 13-year-old Fiel topped the 14-under and 16-under divisions, finishing ahead of Cebu City’s Alessandra Garcia and Manila’s Maria Astrid Cablitas, respectively, to reinforce her standing among the region’s promising young players. The twin-title performance marked another encouraging step for the Leyte standout, whose selection to the PHILTA junior pool opens opportunities for further development and higher-level competition. “Congratulations, my Bbilin. We are very proud of you. Just continue the process. Long way to go. Strive more and be patient,” her mother, Liezl, said in a social media post. Fiel’s progress highlights the potential of young players outside Metro Manila to reach the national stage through regular competition, coaching and family support.

Her inclusion in the training pool also gives her an opportunity to build on her tournament experience as Philippine tennis develops more prospects inspired by the achievements of Alexandra “Alex” Eala. While the road to international competition remains long, Fiel’s latest victories provide another boost as she prepares for the demands of the national junior program. Sharing the spotlight in Baybay was hometown bet Xian Wynn Calagos, who likewise secured a double championship in the boys’ division. Calagos ruled the 14-under category ahead of Bogo, Cebu’s Everett Pete Niere and claimed the 16-under crown over Bohol’s Madison Rago. Cablitas, the runner-up to Fiel in the girls’ 16-under event, captured the 18-under championship, with Maasin’s Molly Tan finishing second. Cebu City’s Arianna Tiongko won the girls’ 12-under title, while Baybay’s Mary Leanne Modina took runner-up honors. In the boys’ 12-under division, Baybay’s John Niño Araneta emerged champion, with Maasin’s Carlisle Zane Ramoso placing second. Ma. Caroliean “Bibilin” Fiel with her pair of trophies.

Ma. Caroliean ‘Bibilin’ Fiel

Lee erases 5-shot deficit, seizes 4-shot lead with solid 67 CAGAYAN DE ORO—Tiffany Lee turned a fiveshot deficit into a commanding four-stroke lead in a stunning reversal of fortunes, firing a bogeyfree 67 to seize control of the ICTSI Pueblo de Oro Championship on Tuesday and move within 18 holes of ending a two-year title drought. In a dramatic turnaround at the P1.25-million Ladies Philippine Golf Tour event, the young Korean capitalized on Yvon Bisera’s back-nine meltdown, transforming a seemingly comfortable deficit into a commanding position heading into Wednesday’s final round. Lee, who opened with a 73, surged from five shots behind with a two-day 140, while Bisera, the overnight leader after a superb opening 68, saw her lead evaporate in a disastrous stretch that featured back-to-back double bogeys. She limped home with a 76 for a 144, leaving her four strokes behind the player she had comfortably led through the first 18 holes. It was a remarkable reversal on a course that demands resilience at every turn – and one that proved unforgiving when Bisera’s game began to unravel. Bisera appeared firmly in control early, recovering from two opening bogeys in the first round to reel off six birdies and build a four-shot cushion over Sarah Ababa. She looked poised to consolidate that advantage

Tiffany Lee Manny Marcelo

Tuesday, matching Lee’s early charge with a steady frontside 35 as the Korean scorched the front nine in 32. But the momentum swung violently at the turn. Bisera suffered costly double bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11, while Lee kept her card clean with routine

pars, suddenly vaulting into a two-shot lead. The overnight leader could not arrest the slide, managing six consecutive pars before dropping another stroke on the 18th for a disastrous 76. Lee, meanwhile, kept her nerve and refused to give the course – or the pressure – an opening. She birdied No. 16 for the second straight day and closed with a fiveunder card without a bogey, completing an eight-stroke swing from Bisera’s opening-round advantage. “My putting was excellent today, and I hit a lot of greens in regulation, so I’m really happy with how I played,” said Lee. A timely equipment change also helped fuel her charge. On her father’s advice, she switched from a 10-degree driver to a 9-degree model after struggling to find the desired distance in the opening round. “It was windy out there, and changing drivers gave me more distance. That meant shorter clubs into the greens, which was a big key to my low score,” said Lee. Although she found only seven fairways, Lee made up for her wayward driving with improved distance off the tee, shorter approaches and a putter that repeatedly came to the rescue. Still, her round was far from a trouble-free march to the top.

proved performance with four gold, nine silver and 16 bronze medals, and before the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh from December 13 to 21. The Philippines has so far two medals in the YOG—Luis Gabriel Moreno won a gold medal in mixed international team event of archery with China’s Li Jiaman in Nanjing and Christian Tio silver in boys’ twin-tip racing of kiteboarding. Some 2,700 athletes from more than 200 National Olympic Committees, including a Youth Refugee Olympic Team, are seeing action in 25 competition and 10 engagement sports.

FEU battles UST, eyes 5th straight win Games Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 10 a.m. – UST vs FEU (Women’s) 12 noon – NU vs UE (Women’s) 3 p.m. – UST vs FEU (Men’s) 5:30 p.m. – AdU vs UP (Men’s)

FAR Eastern University stakes its hold on the top spot as it takes on the University of Santo Tomas, while Adamson University and the University of the Philippines clash with third place at stake today (Wednesday) in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Enjoying their best start in 11 years, the Tamaraws shoot for a fifth consecutive win when they face the Growling Tigers, who have lost their last two games, at 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the Falcons, who have alternated wins and losses through their first five games, aim to notch their first winning streak of the season when they take on the Fighting Maroons at 5:30 p.m. FEU holds a 4-1 record, ahead of National University, which sports a 4-2 slate. Adamson and UP share third place at 3-2. Archrivals De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University are just outside the top four with identical 3-3 records, while UST sits in seventh place at 2-3. When asked whether the Tamaraws have become a “giant” this season, head coach Sean Chambers was quick to dismiss the notion, pointing to their difficult matchups against UST and NU. “No, not at all. What I told the guys in the locker room was that, ‘The two teams that have been the hardest since I’ve been here have been UST.’ They pretty much had our number and I think we’ve only beaten NU once,” Chambers said. Since Chambers took over in 2024, FEU has defeated UST just once, in the second round of last year’s eliminations. All eyes will be on the matchup between the Tamaraws’ Mo Konateh and the Growling Tigers’ Collins Akowe.

BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

extrastory2000@gmail.com RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ, Editor ALENA MAE S. FLORES, Asst. Editor

Meralco announces higher power rates in October By Alena Mae S. Flores MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) announced Tuesday electricity rates will rise by P0.3191 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in October 2026, lifting the overall rate for a typical household to P15.0615 per kWh from P14.7424 in September. It said that for residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment adds about P64 to the total monthly bill. “We would like to announce that after reductions in electricity rates over the past two months, we will have an increase of P0.32 per kWh this October,” said Meralco vice-president for corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga. Zaldarriaga said a P0.4973 per kWh rise in the generation charge drove the increase. Charges from Meralco’s independent power producers (IPPs) rose because of higher fuel costs linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East

and the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar. Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) climbed P3.5167 per kWh on higher bill adjustments and tighter supply in the Luzon grid during the September supply month. Charges from power supply agreements (PSAs) fell P0.7567 per kWh. South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC) cut its fuel costs by using Malampaya natural gas, which softened the effect of peso depreciation on the roughly 54 percent of PSA costs denominated in dollars. IPPs, WESM and PSAs accounted for 24 percent, 2 percent and 74 percent, respectively, of Meralco’s total supply requirements for the period. Lower transmission charges from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and a net reduction in taxes and other fees partly offset the higher generation charge.

DBM COMPASS. Department of Budget and Management (DBM) acting Secretary Kim Robert De Leon says the agency aims to expand its COMPASS system into an end-to-end public spending monitor by 2027, so Filipinos can see where government money goes, who receives it and whether projects are completed.

Foreign direct investments drop 44% Net FDI inflows in

$689 million

July 2026

$1.23 billion Net FDI inflows in July 2025

$4.07 billion

Net FDI inflows in 7 months

By Thony Rose Lesaca

OREIGN direct investments (FDI) to the Philippines fell 44.12 percent in July 2026 from a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday. Data from the BSP showed that net FDI inflows slowed to $689 million in July 2026 from $1.23 billion in the same month last year amid lower net investment inflows. This was led by a 49-percent drop in nonresidents’ investments in debt instruments to $365 million from $717 million last year. Equity and investment fund shares also declined by 37.33 percent to

$324 million from $517 million in July 2025. These comprised $138 million in reinvested earnings and $186 million in net equity capital investments. The BSP said FDI net inflows in the first seven months of 2026 also declined 23.91 percent to $4.07 billion from $5.35 billion in the same period last year. The BSP said equity capital

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort

placements came mainly from Japan, the United States and Singapore, and flowed largely to the manufacturing, financial and insurance and real estate industries. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the combined effects of slower economic growth, elevated inflation and higher borrowing costs likely weighed on overall FDI growth. Ricafort said catch-up spending by the government and priority reform measures for better governance standards could help accelerate economic growth. “[These] could support confidence by both local and foreign investors,” said Ricafort.

BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

extrastory2000@gmail.com

PSEi slips 0.73% to hold above 5,700 on Middle East tensions PHILIPPINE shares fell Tuesday but held slightly above the 5,700 level in broad-based selling after two consecutive sessions of gains, while the peso weakened further against the US dollar. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 41.64 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 5,701.54. The broader all shares index lost 19.76 points, or 0.62 percent, ending at 3,183.35. The peso closed weaker against the US dollar at 62.80 from 62.76 on Monday. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael Ricafort said the local market declined as oil prices rose amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, particularly following recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Brent crude climbed to around $106 per barrel from $104 in the previous session. AB Capital Securities said the PSEi remained weak throughout the trading session as investors stayed on the sidelines. “The 5,700 [level] remains the immediate pivot, but thin turnover offers little evidence of strong dipbuying,” AB Capital said. All six sectoral indices ended in negative territory. Holding firms and services led the decline, both falling 0.85 percent to close at 4,241.32 and 3,065.98, respectively. Financials slipped 0.8 percent to 1,739.14, while property fell 0.72 percent to 1,738.92. Industrials declined 0.54 percent to 7,383, and mining and oil shed 0.36 percent to 19,142.55. Market breadth was negative, with 112 Manila decliners against 77 advancers, Standard while 59 stocks ended unchanged. TODAY Value turnover reached P3.98 billion, with foreign investors recording net outflows of P469 million. PLDT Inc. was the day’s top index gainer, rising 3.91 percent to P1,195, while ACEN Corp. led the laggards, falling 4.48 percent to P2.56. Jenniffer B. Austria

PSE seeks to create green index to boost sustainable investing T By Jenniffer B. Austria

HE Philippine Stock Exchange is looking to create a green index as the Securities and Exchange Commission proposes giving the bourse authority to grant the Philippine Green Equity Label to qualifying listed companies.

PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran said creating a green index is among the long-term plans of the exchange after identifying several listed companies that could qualify for the green label classification. So far, the SEC has granted the “Green Equity” label to only two companies: Maynilad Water Ser-

vices Inc. and Alternergy Holdings Corp. Under the proposed rules, the PSE would take over the evaluation of applications and the granting of the green equity label from the SEC’s Markets and Securities Regulation Department. The move aims to streamline

of agreement to ensure persons deprived of liberty across the country are registered with PhilHealth and can access comprehensive healthcare benefits. The agreement was signed by PhilHealth acting president and CEO Beverly Lorraine Ho and BJMP jail director Efren Nemeño.

Cebu Landmasters sells 70% of Ormoc residential project NOW Telecom CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Applications may be sent to: PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. hqrecruitment@jtexpress.ph Company hereby declares that the above-named foreign national is able, willing, and qualified to perform the services and job description for this position. The company has the intention to employ the said foreign national and apply for an Alien Employment Permit with the Department of Labor and Employment - National Capital Region located at 967 Maligaya Street Malate Manila Any Filipino jobseeker who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is intended to be hired for, may file an objection at National Capital Region located at 967 Maligaya Street Malate Manila

32nd ST Cor. 9th Ave. BGC Taguig 1630 Nature of business: Other Services Activity Name of foreign national intending to apply for the position Name: CHENG FEI Address: Bonifacio Global Taguig BGC Nationality: CHINESE Intended period of employment: Two (2) year/s

placed in CLI. We are building on that trust by offering attainable homes with the space, amenities and convenience families need every day,” said CLI president and chief executive Jose Franco Soberano. Phase 1 of the development includes a function hall, playground and pocket parks. A clubhouse, basketball court and swimming pools are planned for Phase 2. The project features underground secondary power lines and solar-ready roof designs for its Cielo homes. Located along the highway beside the Barangay Macabug Sports Complex, Casa Mira Prime Ormoc is a 10- to 15-minute drive from the city center. Nearby establishments include the University of San Jose-Recoletos Ormoc Campus, Ormoc Doctors Hospital, government offices and shopping centers. A retail block is also planned across from the development. The project brings CLI’s Casa Mira portfolio to nearly 20,000 units across the Visayas and Mindanao. Jenniffer B. Austria

Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offences committed by the foreign nationals.

Position title – Administrative Manager Job Description: - oversees daily office operations, manages administrative staff, and ensures efficient workflow and communication across departments. This role involves supervising support personnel, maintaining office systems and procedures, and assisting in the development and enforcement of company policies and through the use of Mandarin native language to senior professionals in China, Taiwan and other Mandarin speaking counterpart and clients Qualification (Education, Experience, Professional License, Skills Certification, Specialized Training): -College or University Graduate -Bilingual in Mandarin and English -Business/Management Related Experience Applications may be sent to: PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. hqrecruitment@jtexpress.ph Company hereby declares that the above-named foreign national is able, willing, and qualified to perform the services and job description for this position. The company has the intention to employ the said foreign national and apply for an Alien Employment Permit with the Department of Labor and Employment - National Capital Region located at 967 Maligaya Street Malate Manila Any Filipino jobseeker who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is intended to be hired for, may file an objection at DOLE Regional Office National Capital Region located at 967 Maligaya Street Malate Manila

Company/ Employer PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. 20th and 21st floor ECOPRIME BLDG 32nd ST Cor. 9th Ave. BGC Taguig 1630 Nature of business: Other Services Activity Name of foreign national intending to apply for the position Name: ZHONG YOU Address: Bonifacio Global City Taguig Nationality: CHINESE Intended period of employment: Three (3) year/s Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offences committed by the foreign nationals.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. unveils the Tamaraw Modern Public Utility Vehicle (MPUV) on Tuesday at its manufacturing plant and headquarters in Santa Rosa, Laguna, following a soft launch in September. TMP targets initial sales of 50 units a month for the new vehicle, with volumes expected to increase as market acceptance grows.

Toyota PH unveils next-gen Tamaraw MPUV By Othel V. Campos

Position title – Quality Control Supervisor Job Description: - Possesses complete knowledge and understanding of the of the company operating system by providing analyze system functions and failures to isolate and define problem areas and resolving engaged to provide significant support, and constant communication with the senior professionals in China, Taiwan and other Mandarin speaking counterpart and clients. Qualification (Education, Experience, Professional License, Skills Certification, Specialized Training): -College or University Graduate -Bilingual in Mandarin and English -Quality Control Related Experience Applications may be sent to: PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. hqrecruitment@jtexpress.ph Company hereby declares that the above-named foreign national is able, willing, and qualified to perform the services and job description for this position. The company has the intention to employ the said foreign national and apply for an Alien Employment Permit with the Department of Labor and Employment - National Capital Region located at 967 Maligaya Street Malate Manila Any Filipino jobseeker who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is intended to be hired for, may file an objection at DOLE Regional Office National Capital Region located at 967 Maligaya Street Malate Manila

providers. To qualify for the Philippine Green Equity Label, more than 50 percent of a company’s total revenue, based on its latest audited annual financial statements, must come from environmentally sustainable activities. The SEC hopes to finalize the rule before the end of the year. Meanwhile, the SEC is also proposing to extend until the end of 2026 the transition period for companies to fully align with either the Philippine Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Guidelines or the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.

HEALTHCARE ACCESS. The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) sign a memorandum

CEBU Landmasters Inc. said it sold nearly 70 percent of available units at its second residential project in Ormoc, Leyte, within two weeks of its public launch, driven by strong demand from end-users. CLI said it opened inventory for Casa Mira Prime Ormoc on Sept. 25, offering townhouse, duplex and single-detached homes priced from P2.7 million to P3.5 million. The project targets buyers in the affordable to mid-market segment. Townhouse A units feature floor areas of 47 square meters and lot areas ranging from 54 to 78 square meters. The duplex Calista units offer 50.04 square meters of floor area on 80-square-meter lots, Position title – IT Manager while the single-detached Job Description: - is responsible for planning, coordinating, and overseeing the organization’s Cielo homes provide 48.63 technology operations. This role ensures the secure and efficient use of information systems, manages IT staff, and leads technology projects to support business goals. The IT Manager also square meters of floor area on plays a key role in developing IT strategies, managing infrastructure, and ensuring data security 100-square-meter lots. and compliance and with constant communication with the senior professionals in China, Taiwan and other Mandarin speaking counterpart and clients. “The strong response to Qualification (Education, Experience, Professional Company/ Employer Casa Mira Prime Ormoc License, Skills Certification, Specialized Training): PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. -College or University Graduate 20 and 21 floor ECOPRIME BLDG affirms the trust families have -Bilingual in Mandarin and English -IT/Management Related Experience

applications, avoid duplication of functions and align the Philippine framework with international practices, the SEC said. The proposal follows the exchange-based approach under the World Federation of Exchanges’ Green Equity Principles. Other exchanges have similar programs, including Nasdaq’s Green Designation and the London Stock Exchange’s Green Economy Mark. The draft rules would also allow the PSE to accredit external reviewers that assess listed companies’ compliance with green equity criteria. The exchange would likewise monitor these review

Company/ Employer PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. 20th and 21st floor ECOPRIME BLDG 32nd ST Cor. 9th Ave. BGC Taguig 1630 Nature of business: Other Services Activity Name of foreign national intending to apply for the position Name: YIN XU Address: Bonifacio Global City Taguig Nationality: CHINESE Intended period of employment: One (1) year Please inform DOLE NCR if you have any information on criminal offences committed by the foreign nationals.

TOYOTA Motor Philippines Corp. is expanding its locally manufactured Next Generation Tamaraw into public transportation, targeting initial sales of 50 units a month for the new Modern Public Utility Vehicle, with volumes expected to increase as market acceptance grows, a company official said Tuesday. TMP formally unveiled the Tamaraw MPUV on Tuesday at its manufacturing plant and headquarters in Santa Rosa, Laguna, following a soft launch in September 2026. The vehicle received Class 1 Modern PUV certification from the Department of Transportation in May 2026 and can carry 11 passengers on intra-city routes. TMP president Masando Hashimoto said the MPUV adds public transportation to the Tamaraw’s range of applications.

“Today, we add an important missing piece: a jeepney. By becoming part of everyday public transportation, the Tamaraw becomes a true national car—a vehicle for all Filipinos and visitors to the Philippines,” Hashimoto said. TMP chairman Alfred Ty said Toyota’s aftersales service and warranty support would give operators and drivers greater peace of mind. “It’s a game changer. A Toyota Tamaraw MPUV was made for public transportation,” Ty said, expressing hope that the vehicle would remain on Manila’s roads for many years. The 1-ton cab-over vehicle was developed with input from local government units, transport cooperatives, operators and government agencies to address local transport requirements. TMP said its nationwide dealer and after-sales service network would support operators adopting the vehicle.

disputes P4-b fee assessment By Darwin G. Amojelar NOW Telecom Co. Inc. is disputing a P4.04 billion assessment by the National Telecommunications Commission, seeking a review and reconciliation of supervision and regulation fees dating back to 2005. In a disclosure, parent firm NOW Corp. said it formally received a copy of the NTC’s demand letter to its associate, NOW Telecom, dated Sept. 9, 2026. The assessment covers principal amounts and penalties, net of payments reflected in the regulator’s computation. The NTC required NOW Telecom to settle the amount on or before Sept. 30, 2026. However, NOW Telecom disputed the basis of the assessment and requested a review of how the fees were calculated. In a letter dated Oct. 9, NOW Telecom asked the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the NTC to review, recompute and reconcile the supervision and regulation fee assessments for each year beginning in 2005. “The request principally concerns discrepancies between the capital amounts reflected in NOW Telecom’s audited financial statements and those applied in the NTC’s assessment, particularly the treatment of additional paid-in capital following changes in NOW Telecom’s capital structure,” NOW Corp. said. NOW Telecom has also asked the agencies to suspend collection or enforcement actions covering the disputed portions of the assessment while the review and reconciliation are pending. NOW Corp. did not indicate whether the request had been granted. The NTC’s Sept. 9 demand letter references a Supreme Court resolution dated April 21, 2026, involving NOW Telecom and the regulator. NOW Corp. clarified that the assessment was directed at NOW Telecom, a separate juridical entity, and does not, by itself, constitute a direct liability of the listed company. The company acknowledged that the regulatory dispute could have financial implications for its investment in NOW Telecom, particularly if developments materially affect the associate’s financial position and future cash flows.

BUSINESS

B3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

extrastory2000@gmail.com

ERC extends disconnection ban for low-income power users THE Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday extended its suspension of service disconnections for low-income residential consumers who fail to pay their electricity bills through December. The extension applies to households with a monthly electricity consumption of 200 kilowatt-hours or less and covers billing periods from November through December 2026. The ERC said in an advisory that residential consumers with monthly consumption exceeding 200 kWh and non-residential consumers, regardless of consumption, are not covered by the suspension under the new period. “They are urged to pay their electricity

ROOFTOP SOLAR. KFC Philippines, together with renewable energy partner Motolite Energy Solutions, continues to scale the adoption of solar power across its restaurant network, reducing reliance on conventional energy sources and lowering the environmental impact of its operations. A total of 87 KFC locations nationwide are now equipped with solar panels.

ERC suspends reserve market after Visayas prices surged By Alena Mae S. Flores

HE Energy Regulatory Commission has temporarily suspended the commercial dispatch and settlement of the reserve market in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market to curb elevated prices of ancillary services. The ERC said the suspension will allow time for adjustments to the policy and regulatory framework governing how ancillary services are procured and how their costs are recovered from consumers. “This is a corrective and temporary intervention, not a retreat from the reserves market. Consumers, especially in the Visayas, have been paying reserve prices that are far more expensive than the energy they use and with what contracted reserves cost,” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Francis Saturnino Juan said. “The ERC could not stand by while these costs piled up on consumers’ bills. We acted together with the DOE, which shares our concern, to pause the market, keep every contracted and must-run reserve in place so the grid stays reliable, and fix the rules on how reserves are bought and how their costs are passed on to consumers,” Juan said. The order was approved by the commission on Oct. 8 in consultation with, and with the concurrence of, the secretary of the Department of Energy. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin indicated during an Oct. 2 congressional hearing in Bacolod that the agency was studying the suspension of the reserve market to mitigate elevated ancillary service prices, especially in the Visayas. Ancillary services are standby power capacity that the grid keeps on hand to balance supply and demand and ensure continuous reliability during sudden power plant trips or demand spikes. The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines is the sole buyer of these services. It purchases them through two methods: long-term contracts at pre-approved rates called ancillary service procurement agreements, and the reserve market, where reserves are bought at spot prices for remaining requirements after contracted capacity is counted. The cost of both appears on consumers’ electricity bills as an ancillary service charge.

DEPDev framework aligns provincial planning, budgets By Thony Rose Lesaca THE Department of Economy, Planning and Development launched the Provincial Development Planning framework on Tuesday to help provinces align development plans, public investments, budgets and implementation efforts with measurable results. The framework adopts a results-oriented approach that identifies where development should take place, what the province seeks to achieve and the investments needed to make it happen. It will also enable provinces to track whether programs achieve intended results, identify implementation bottlenecks and adjust strategies whenever necessary. DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the objective is to make development planning and budgeting operate as a single, coherent process. “The links among development priorities, programs and projects, budgets, implementation, and monitoring are not always clear,” Balisacan said during the framework’s launch. Balisacan noted that provinces face difficulty translating national and regional priorities into a coherent provincial agenda while ensuring their provincial development plan, physical framework plan and investment programs are aligned and mutually reinforcing. The framework builds on the 2007 provincial and local planning and expenditure management guidelines, with support from the Asian Development Bank. The agency said the framework was developed based on an assessment covering about 90 percent of the country’s provinces, which identified key constraints faced by provincial planning offices. These included limited manpower, data gaps, difficulties in updating plans and weak connections between goals, projects and implementation.

bills during these new covered billing period on or before their due dates, to avoid any disconnection,” the ERC said. To avail of the suspension for the new period, eligible consumers must pay all unpaid regular bills and installment payments due under flexible payment arrangements for the May to July 2026 billing period on or before Nov. 26, 2026. The regulator warned that failure to settle unpaid bills for the May to July period by Nov. 26 will disqualify consumers from the extension, allowing distribution utilities to disconnect service upon prior written notice. Alena Mae S. Flores

BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

extrastory2000@gmail.com RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ, Editor ALENA MAE S. FLORES, Asst. Editor

SMPC accuses DOE of blocking bid

By Alena Mae S. Flores

EMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) on Tuesday accused the Department of Energy (DOE) of blocking the company from the upcoming auction for the Semirara mine through restrictive new rules and a lack of transparency.

The current mine operator said the bidding framework for the Semirara coal resource violates standard protocols and forces the company out of the process. “There were no bid bulletins, no pre-qualification to screen the unqualified, no official reply to questions

raised, no reply to all the letters sent by the current mine operator, no model contract, no minutes, and complete secrecy on how the award would be reached,” SMPC said in a statement. SMPC pointed to a newly-issued joint administrative order that allows the company to join a second bidding

round only if it turns over its heavy equipment and proprietary assets to the government. The company said the DOE has ignored multiple letters on bidding issues while abruptly shifting the auction’s core ranking criteria from technical capability to the highest financial bid. “In other words, the DOE is telling us not to bid,” SMPC said. SMPC said it has invested more than P55 billion in its mining operations, deploying hundreds of pieces of heavy equipment to reach coal deposits about 350 meters below sea level, along with haul trucks with tires nearly 9 feet tall. It cited

Presidential Decree 972, which grants it ownership of the equipment it has deployed. The company warned that an inexperienced winner could take over the complex deep-mining operations by July 2027 without the machinery, specialized workforce and water-pumping infrastructure required. Such an outcome would likely result in zero coal output and zero government revenue, it said. “It is also not clear what penalty will be imposed on the highest bidder if it does not produce coal by July next year when it takes over the mine.

IN BRIEF Alsons Power expands solar, hydro projects

SCAM READY.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expresses its full support to the ‘Scam Ready ASEAN Program’ during the kickoff of its Philippine leg at the BSP Head Office in Manila on Oct. 12, 2026. The capacitybuilding initiative, led by the ASEAN Foundation, aims to equip 3 million people across Southeast Asia with practical skills to recognize, avoid and respond to online scams.

DTI logs zero price hike requests on stable goods supply By Othel V. Campos TRADE Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque said prices of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) remain stable, with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) yet to report price adjustments among the 204 stock-keeping units (SKUs) on its suggested retail price (SRP) list. Roque said supplies of essential goods remain sufficient despite concerns over the potential effects of El Niño and inflation on prices.

“There is no need to panic,” Roque said in a chance interview on the sidelines of the Consumer Welfare Month 2026 celebration at SM Megamall in Ortigas. The DTI is monitoring prices and supply conditions as it prepares for possible weather-related pressure on food production and distribution. Roque said in a Sept. 28 report the agency had received no requests from manufacturers to raise prices of BNPCs, even after successive fuel price increases.

NTC denies plan to ban sale of second-hand mobile phones By Darwin G. Amojelar THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said Tuesday its proposed rules on selling and importing refurbished mobile devices will not wipe out the second-hand market. It said the rules aim to protect buyers while keeping cheaper gadgets within reach. The NTC said the draft rules would make sure refurbished phones and other devices come from legitimate sources and are fixed up, tested and sold only by licensed dealers. This gives buyers safer and cheaper options as prices of new devices climb, it said. “People can still buy or sell their own goods in the market. The NTC is just expanding their options,” NTC deputy commissioner Alvin Blanco said. Under the proposal, people can still buy, sell or swap their own phones

with each other, as long as they are not doing it in bulk as a business. The requirements, including a minimum amount of money a business must have, will apply only to those seeking a dealers permit for used, reconditioned, or refurbished mobile devices (DPURRMD). The NTC said the funding requirement is meant to make sure dealers and importers can supply NTC-approved, properly refurbished devices and can afford to honor a required 1-year repair or replacement warranty on every unit they sell. The rules would also require refurbished devices to work with mobile networks in the Philippines, be cleaned and wiped of the previous owner’s data, be rated by physical condition and work fully. These steps aim to shield buyers from smuggled, stolen, poorly refurbished and potentially unsafe devices.

The DTI ordered its regional offices to step up market monitoring to prevent unjustified price increases. It also assured consumers of adequate bottled water supplies amid concerns that El Niño could affect availability, and warned retailers against price manipulation and SRP violations. The SRP list covers essential household goods including canned fish, processed milk, bread, coffee, instant noodles, bottled water, laundry soap, candles and salt. It serves as a pricing guide for consumers and retailers.

ALSONS Consolidated Resources Corp. said Tuesday it is expanding and diversifying its energy portfolio through solar and hydropower projects to meet Mindanao’s future power demand/. Peak demand in Mindanao reached 2,775 megawatts (MW) in May, up from 2,682 MW in 2025. Demand is projected to hit about 3,585 MW by 2030, exceed 6,000 MW by 2040 and approach 9,800 MW by 2050. The Department of Energy estimates the region will need roughly 23,000 MW of installed capacity by 2050 to maintain reliability and support economic expansion. Mindanao has experienced occasional yellow and red alerts every year, signaling increasingly tight power supply margins. “At the end of the day, energy security is about people and communities. Behind every megawatt we deliver are people who depend on us, and that is why we power with care,” Alsons Power vice-president for corporate affairs Ruben Tungpalan said at a recent forum. “For more than three decades, we have grown alongside Mindanao. When businesses have the confidence to expand, communities benefit. When industries grow, jobs are created. And when energy is secure, economic development continues to move forward,” he said. Alena Mae S. Flores

PCCI convenes over 1,000 business leaders

THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said it is convening more than 1,000 business leaders, policymakers, economists and development partners on Oct. 13 to 14 to advance reforms that strengthen business competitiveness and help enterprises, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), benefit from new investment opportunities. The 52nd Philippine Business

Dr. Roberto de Ocampo, chairman emeritus of Veterans Bank and former secretary of the Department of Finance, is set to receive the inaugural Global Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business on Oct. 16, 2026. Established in 2026, the award recognizes Michigan Ross alumni whose professional accomplishments, public service, humanitarian initiatives, and civic leadership have made a significant and lasting impact across countries, industries, and communities. De Ocampo was selected for the honor in recognition of his distinguished contributions to public finance and economic development.

DA to expand ube farming in Cagayan Valley

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is ramping up ube production in Cagayan Valley, targeting an initial 100 hectares in Isabela and 500 hectares by 2028 to tap growing global demand and boost export opportunities for Filipino farmers. Cagayan Valley regional executivedirector Rose Mary Aquino said the DA is linking small farmers with private investors to secure markets as production expands. In Echague, Isabela, the DA Regional Field Office II (DA RFO 2) is working with the municipal government, farmer cooperatives and associations (FCAs) and private-sector partners to expand production and strengthen market linkages. As of Oct. 7, DA RFO 2 had spent P3.7 million to produce 420,000 ube setts at six research centers and stations. Of these, 211,180 have been delivered to Echague, with 208,820 due for delivery. The program will support an additional 70 hectares, requiring 1.4 million more setts. The DA aims to meet the requirement by December through intensified propagation and supplemental sourcing. Othel V. Campos

By Thony Rose Lesaca

Rockwell joins Pag-IBIG Fund to offer affordable, premium home choices

Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling (center) witnesses the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive Marilene Acosta and Rockwell Land Corp. chairman Nestor Padilla at the Rockwell Leisure Club in Makati City, formalizing the entry of the private developer into Expanded 4PH.

Conference & Expo (PBC&E) at The Manila Hotel will focus on measures to help Philippine businesses navigate geopolitical and economic uncertainties and take a more meaningful part in investment-led growth. PCCI president Perry Ferrer said the conference comes at a critical time as changing geopolitical conditions continue to create economic instability and uncertainty for trade and investment. “The global business environment continues to be shaped by rapidly evolving geopolitical dynamics, which heighten economic instability and introduce persistent uncertainty for trade and investment. Our theme this year is a direct and timely response to these imperatives,” he said. Othel V. Campos

High oil prices to keep BOP position in deficit

GLOBAL ALUMNUS.

ROCKWELL Land Corp, signed a memorandum of understanding with Pag-IBIG Fund on Oct. 13, 2026 in Makati City, joining the fund’s network of developer partners and widening the range of homes, from affordable to premium, that Filipino workers can buy with Pag-IBIG financing. Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive Marilene Acosta and Rockwell president and chief operating officer Valerie Soliven formalized the partnership. The signing was witnessed by Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary and Pag-IBIG Fund board chairman Jose Ramon Aliling, DHSUD Senior Undersecretary Eduardo Robles Jr., Rockwell chairman and chief executive Nestor Padilla and Pag-IBIG Fund deputy chief ex-

Zero coal output means zero government income, the exact opposite of the goal of the Department of Energy to raise more funds for the government,” the company said. SMPC said the winning bidder would have to procure mining equipment and trucks within a few months and hire and train about 4,000 workers to produce coal. The bidder should also have the technical knowledge “to pump out seawater that is one skyscraper deep per hour to get to the coal, something SMPC learned through years of trial and error,” the company said.

ecutive Alexander Hilario Aguilar. Pag-IBIG Fund acting vice presidents Jose Robert Po and Tina Marie Gabiosa also attended. The partnership comes ahead of the 2nd National Housing Expo on Oct. 19 and 20 at the SMX Convention Center Manila in Pasay City, where Rockwell will join more than 80 developer partners. The event is part of Pag-IBIG Fund’s efforts to engage leading developers and expand housing choices under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (Expanded 4PH) Program. Aliling said the growing participation of leading developers, including at the Expo, reflects their confidence in the government’s housing direction and the progress achieved under Expanded 4PH.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) to remain in deficit through 2027 as subdued growth, geopolitical tensions, elevated fuel prices and higher transport costs weigh on the economy. The BSP projects an overall deficit of $9.2 billion in 2026, equal to about 1.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). It expects the shortfall to narrow to $8.5 billion in 2027, or about 1.6 percent of GDP. “These deficits highlight the shock from elevated oil and commodity prices, which continue to weigh on the country’s external position,” the BSP said. The BSP also expects the current account deficit to widen to $19.1 billion this year and $19.4 billion in 2027, led by elevated fuel and commodity prices. Import growth should moderate in the second half of 2026 as firms and households adjust to slower domestic activity and high inflation, it said. “Goods exports, led by electronics, provide resilience, though its momentum is likely to moderate as global demand remains uneven,” the BSP said. Service receipts and remittance inflows will likely continue to support the external position but will not fully offset the trade-driven deficit, it said. Net financial inflows are estimated at $11.4 billion in 2026 and $11.8 billion in 2027. “Other investment inflows will be driven particularly by foreign borrowing by the national government, corporations, and banks. Direct investment remains positive but modest, while portfolio flows are sensitive to global financial conditions,” the BSP said.

COMMUNITY

SPOTLIGHT

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026 digital.manilastandard@gmail.com/ digital.mktg@manilastandard.net Peter Paul Duran, Issue Editor

Opinions matter

Kyle and Dani perform their duo piece, pulling off an impressive partner move. Photo by PARS

By Ruby Asoy-Lebajo

Artistry on wheels By Antonio Gabriel P. Gombio

IGURE skating is often seen on the ice rink— gliding, jumping, and spinning on metal blade skates.

But for a growing local community, the art can also be performed with the use of wheels instead, rolling on streets, indoor courts, and local rinks. Philippine Artistic Roller Skating (PARS) is the organization dedicated to promoting roller figure skating in the country through community gatherings and weekly sessions, established since Oct. 3, 2025. Reviving culture For senior coach and founder Sonny Tabaño, he began artistic roller skating way back in the 70s when the culture was lively in Cubao. However, these community gatherings came to a halt when the EDSA Revolution occurred which led to the local rolling rinks closing. “That’s how important skate rinks are—it sustains the sport and community,” Tabaño reflected. or the junior coaches of PARS, also known as the “Angels,” they began learning artistic roller skating at the comfort of their own homes. “Roller skating became trendy again during the pandemic,” core organizing member Tippy Ocampo added. The majority of the organizing team met each other at a skating rink in Quezon City where they connected and eventually started learning under the senior coaches of PARS after discovering their initiative. “Artistic roller skating was very much alive during Coach Sonny’s era, and it’s about time that they are able to pass it on to the new generations” Ocampo shared, hoping to keep the sport alive and represent themselves on international stages

a g a i n someday. From there, the community kept on growing with a team dedicated to introducing the art to more people. The team behind The organization is currently handled by a team of eight—two senior coaches and six core organizing members. There are at least 20 to 30 active skaters during weekly sessions and more than 1,000 members in their Facebook group. The main community-building initiative of the group is their weekly training program, hosting sessions every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at their current spot at CAI Sports Center in Caloocan. “Because we know it’s hard to start artistic roller skating without the proper foundations, so we just wanna share that to the community,” Ocampo explained why they started hosting training sessions. The initiative also came with practical reasons. For admin member Danika Velasco, inviting people would lessen rental costs since it would be split between more people. “More people meant longer skate time,” she added. Moving forward The organization has recently reached an important milestone—its first year since establishment. Celebrating a year’s worth of community building for artistic roller skating in the country, PARS hosted a recital and workshop in their usual spot at the CAI Sports Center on Oct.

Cebu governor surprises daughter with birthday lunch Cebu Gov. Pam Baricuatro (fourth from left) with daughter Dr. Elisse B. CatalanViscayno (second from left) with her husband Dr. Janus Viscayno and businessman Blake Nelson Go.

IN A quick break from demands of public service, Cebu Governor Pamela “Pam” Baricuatro marked her daughter Dr. Elisse Nicole Baricuatro Catalan-Vizcayno’s birthday today, October 12, with a simple, surprise lunch attended by some provincial government officials and employees. The brief gathering was a heartfelt celebration of family and togetherness, giving the governor and the Provincial Government of Cebu workforce an opportunity to greet Dr. Elisse Nicole on her special day. A medical doctor, Dr. Elisse Nicole shares her mother’s concern for the welfare of others and has been a source of support to Gov. Pam as she carries out her responsibilities to the province. Her commitment to helping people reflects the values of compassion and service that both mother and

daughter hold dear. For Gov. Pam, known to many Cebuanos as the “People’s Governor,” the occasion was a personal moment to celebrate her daughter while sharing the joy with the officials and employees who form part of the provincial government family. The modest birthday lunch underscored that meaningful celebrations do not need to be elaborate. Sometimes, a simple meal, warm greetings, and the presence of colleagues and loved ones are enough to make a special day memorable. As Dr. Elisse Nicole celebrates another year, the occasion also highlights the shared commitment to helping others that connects mother and daughter, both of whom value service and concern for the people of Cebu.

A picture of coach Sonny Tabaño doing artistic roller skating back in the 80s. Photo by PARS

Junior coach and core organizing member Tippy Ocampo performs her routine with grace at the First Anniversary Recital of the Philippine Artistic Roller Skating (PARS) which took place in CAI Sports Center in Caloocan. Photo by PARS

3, 2026. The event provided an intimate space for the skaters to share their love for the art to their close friends and families. While the organization has an indoor space to host its weekly sessions, the group is still facing common concerns such as limited space, high rental costs, and poor ventilation among others. As the organization continues to develop their training program, having a home rink is the goal they are looking to fulfill—a place to call their own. Achieving this would introduce the first artistic roller skating venue in the country that will create a bigger

space for more participants and opportunities to organize events more regularly. But for now, the organization makes do with basketball courts and smaller skating rinks as their training space. “We are still in our early development phase but we have done so much to attract roller skaters to learn artistic skating,” Ocampo said, optimistic. In the next few years, the organization is also looking to tour around the Philippines to share the sport and show that artistic roller skating is alive and thriving in the country.

DESPITE the challenging circumstances facing Filipinos today, can their voices still make an impact? This is precisely why your perspective matters. As a journalist and educator teaching Opinion Writing, your work has never been more vital. Opinion writing actively shapes public discourse, fosters critical thinking among students, and challenges the status quo. It transforms passive news consumption into an active dialogue by offering nuanced perspectives, holding power accountable, and giving a distinct platform to both individual stories and expert insights. Our personal philosophies are shaped by our opinions, but those opinions rarely belong to us alone. In almost every interaction, we exchange our thoughts and beliefs with the people around us. Ultimately, the vast majority of our everyday conversations are built on this dynamic—a continuous dialogue between our own perspectives and those of others. In college, where our opinions allow us to engage meaningfully in academic discourse and broader conversations, the thoughtfulness and delivery of our arguments matter deeply. While online rants may offer entertainment, they rarely persuade others to recognize, understand, or value our perspective. Writing an opinion essay requires students to present distinct perspectives on a topic to support their central thesis. Every argument must be backed by credible evidence—such as academic papers, research studies, or authoritative statistics—to substantiate the writer’s claims. While the author’s opinions and attitudes serve to persuade, the supporting data ultimately provides the logical foundation needed to convince the reader. To write an impactful opinion piece, columnists must anchor their arguments in sound logic and concrete evidence. Selecting a relatable, everyday topic transforms abstract ideas into a compelling narrative that resonates deeply with readers. As American author, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist Ana Quindlen says, “A good column is like a conversation with a smart friend who makes you see the world just a little bit differently.” Ruby Asoy-Lebajo is a veteran Filipino journalist, PR practitioner, and media educator.

As plain as the nose on your face By Robert Harland AN American expat recently posed a question that often puzzles outsiders: “What I don’t understand is this thing about nose reconstruction! Of all the things to be obsessed about, nose reconstruction is just a really odd one. Does anyone else run into Pinays obsessed with getting a different nose?” The responses reveal much about beauty standards in the Philippines, and the cultural currents that shape them. For many, the desire for a “long” nose is tied to class and colonial history. As one commentator put it, “Skin whitening and a long nose are the signs of upper class. It’s our colonial mentality. We grew up thinking

having Spanish or European features is elegant and more attractive.” This echoes a broader pattern: Westerners bake in the sun to get brown, while many Asians strive to be lighter. Each group idealizes what it does not naturally possess. Others take a more personal view. One Filipina shared: “I always think I have a flat nose, but my deceased husband and my ex-boyfriend thought it was cute. I never want to change my button nose to an ugly nose job. God gave me this nose for a reason… to breathe in and breathe out.” Another recalled being urged to “fix” her nose before leaving for the United States in the 1970s. Her husband, however, joked that her flat nose was safer: “If I hit the wall my

pexels.com

nose will be broken, yours will not.” Decades later, she remains proud of her heritage, choosing authenticity over glamour. The obsession is not unique to the Philippines. As one respondent noted, Western women often pursue breast or butt augmentation with equal fervor. The underlying theme is the same: dissatisfaction with what nature provided and the lure of a “better” version promised by cosmetic surgery. Yet regret is common. “Trust me, a lot of Filipinas want nose jobs done. It’s so sad because I think most of them have cute noses. They want that nose job so bad until they get it botched, then they regret it!” There is also humor in the debate. One practical soul suggested that if the problem is sunglasses sliding down, an elastic band might be cheaper than surgery. Ultimately, the nose debate reflects deeper questions of identity, class and self‑image. For some, altering the nose is a way to feel more confident or to align with perceived standards of beauty. For others, it is unnecessary, even tragic, when natural features are already attractive. As one elder summed it up: “I cancelled my surgery. I will be buried with my bunion. No surgery for me. I’m happy for what God has given me.” To put things in perspective, there’s actually a World Nose Championships, held in Bavaria, Germany, where the biggest noses are a source of pride. Proof that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

SHOWBIZ

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com NICKIE WANG, Editor ANGELICA VILLANUEVA, Writer JASPER VALDEZ, Writer

52nd MMFF locks in eight official entries

Sexy stars Kim Yashii, Mayumi de Vera aim for mainstream career

Very Wang

Nickie Wang

By Jasper Valdez KIM Yashii and Mayumi de Vera may still be building their names in VMX, but both are already looking at where acting could take them beyond sexy roles. The two actresses, who host the VMX special Unang Pasok, said they eventually want to explore mainstream projects and other genres, viewing their current work as part of a longer career rather than an endpoint. Kim already has a rough timeline in mind. “I told myself two to three years,” she said during the Unang Pasok press conference. “I want to be here until I establish a name, and if there’s an opportunity to move to mainstream, I’ll grab it.” She referred to Rosanna Roces and Sunshine Cruz as actresses whose careers are often brought up when she tells people about her work with VMX. “When I say that I’m with VMX, especially to people in my family who understand me, they tell me, ‘You know, Rosanna Roces also started there. Look at her now,’” Kim said. “They know I see this as my stepping stone. Rosanna Roces and Sunshine Cruz are probably the people I want to be like in the future.” Mayumi, meanwhile, is less fixed on when she should make that transition. She said she remains open to whatever opportunities come her way and does not see the need to put a deadline on her time with VMX. “If there’s an opportunity three or four years from now and I still get offers, there’s no problem,” she said. “As long as I can do it, I’ll grab it.” She cited Angeli Khang as an example of an actress who began with sexy roles before taking on opportunities outside that space. “She started here, and it became her stepping stone. It led her to other opportunities and other platforms,” Mayumi said, adding that she does not see herself staying in the same kind of roles forever. Their plans come after both had to adjust to the demands of VMX early in their careers. Kim recalled feeling shy during her first movie, particularly with several people around while she worked in front of the camera. “My emotions were mixed. I was shy, of course, because it was my first time,” she said. “But I gained confidence because the production people were very professional.” Mayumi had a similar experience with her first love scene, remembering how nervous she was before eventually becoming more comfortable once filming began. Despite occupying the same space as two rising VMX actresses, Kim and Mayumi said they do not approach their work as a competition. Asked by Manila Standard Entertainment whether sharing the spotlight puts pressure on them to stand out, Kim said their previous work together on Spit or Swallow made the process more collaborative. “We’ve worked together before, so there’s no need to stand out,” Kim said. “We’re both doing our best.” Mayumi said working together had also made them more comfortable helping each other on set. “We’ve become confidants,” she said. “When we’re together, we help each other.” Unang Pasok is now streaming on VMX and can be watched through the platform’s website or app. Kim Yashii (right) and Mayumi de Vera view their current VMX projects as a starting point for wider acting opportunities

Four additional titles round out this year’s MMFF Christmas film selection, bringing together stories across romance, history, family, fantasy, and documentary

ANS of Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino drew attention at Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City on Monday, Oct. 12, as they gathered for the announcement of the second batch of entries for the 52nd Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

The Grand Atrium was filled with fans, media, and movie enthusiasts, many of them waiting for the announcement of A Perfect Marriage, the KimPau starrer that completed this year’s eight-film lineup. Their cheers and excitement made the event livelier, showing the strong following of the popular screen tandem even before their film reaches cinemas. Hosted by Enchong Dee and Jervi “KaladKaren” Wrightson, the program featured appearances by stars and representatives of the newly announced films. Xyriel Manabat and River Joseph performed, while PBB former housemates Emilio Daez, Iñigo Jose, Jarren Garcia, and Vince Maristela serenaded the audience. The event also unveiled the schedule of the festival’s upcoming activities and completed the list of films set to compete during the Christmas season. The second batch consists of four films. A Perfect Marriage, starring Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino, is directed by Dan Villegas and produced by Xyriel Manabat (left) and River Joseph join the entertainment lineup as the festival unveils the final four films competing in this year’s Christmas season

Quantum Films. The historical drama Los Salvajes Bravos, directed by Paolo Dy and co-written by Juan Ekis, stars Romnick Sarmenta and Ruru Madrid. It is produced by JesCom Films. Little Hope, a family drama starring Pepe Herrera and Yassi Pressman, is directed by Benedict Mique and produced by Lonewolf Films. Completing the batch is Seeds of Peace: The Life of Fr. Rhoel D. G a l l a rd o , CMF, a documentary directed by Rommel Galapia Ruiz. Zaijian Jaranilla portrays the priest. These films join the four entries announced in July: Second Miracle in Cell No. 7, starring Aga Muhlach, Xia Vigor, and Jodi Sta. Maria, directed by Nuel Naval; Amir, a fantasy drama featuring Dennis

Trillo, Will Ashley, Glaiza de Castro, Caprice Caayetano, and Argus Aspiras, directed by Zig Dulay; Haunted Carnival, starring Julia Barretto, Fyang Smith, Maricel Soriano, and James Reid; and The Greatest Showdown, featuring Vic Sotto and Vice Ganda, directed by Jun Robles Lana. The complete lineup covers several genres, including comedy, fantasy, family drama, historical storytelling, and documentary. It also features established stars and popular screen pairings, alongside stories based on historical and real-life subjects. The inclusion of Seeds of Peace gives the lineup a documentary entry, while Los Salvajes Bravos brings a historical drama to the festival. Little Hope focuses on family, and A Perfect Marriage is expected to draw

From left: ‘PBB’ alums Iñigo Jose, Emilio Daez, Jarren Garcia, and Vince Maristela entertain moviegoers during the program announcing the festival’s completed slate at Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City

attention from KimPau fans eager to see the pair together on the big screen. The festival’s schedule was also announced. The Parade of Stars will be held on Dec. 12 in Bacolod and on Dec. 19 in San Juan and Mandaluyong. The Gabi ng Parangal is scheduled for Dec. 27.

BINI makes history as first Filipino act nominated at Kids’ Choice Awards 2026

Tom Cruise plays an eccentric oil baron in Alejandro Iñárritu’s eco-satire, which struggles to draw audiences despite its costly production and the actor’s star power

Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ faces $245m box-office disaster TOM Cruise’s eco-satire Digger, expected to signal the actor’s return to serious acting, has flopped at the box office, with industry insiders estimating losses of about $245 million. Directed by Alejandro Inarritu, the comedy stars Cruise as an eccentric oil baron tasked with fixing a crisis he helped create. The film has struggled to attract audiences despite Cruise’s star power, leaving Warner Bros. facing a costly setback as its merger with Paramount Skydance approaches completion. After two weeks in theaters, Digger has earned just $14.4 million in North America and $35.3 million worldwide. Its production budget reportedly reached $160 million to $180 million, excluding marketing costs that could add another $100 million. “Financially it has to be considered a disaster,” Christopher Rosen of Hollywood trade publication The Ankler told AFP. Daniel Loria of Boxoffice Pro said the film was approved under outgoing Warner Bros. executives Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, who backed original and unconventional projects. Loria suggested the film’s satire of American culture, told through the perspective of Mexican filmmaker Inarritu, made it difficult to sell to mainstream audiences. Cruise’s involvement had raised expectations. The actor helped revive theatrical moviegoing with Top Gun: Maverick, but Digger has failed to replicate the success of his blockbuster franchises. Rentrak market analyst Paul Dergarabedian told AFP that Cruise’s star power placed the film under intense scrutiny. Loria said the problem may have been how the film was marketed. “Unfortunately, I think this was marketed as a general audience movie, when at heart, this is an arthouse film,” he said. AFP

BINI is taking Filipino pop to the global stage, becoming the first Filipino act to represent Asia in the Favorite Global Music Star category of Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards 2026. The nation’s girl group earned a nomination alongside international stars Taylor Swift, Zara Larsson, Olivia Dean, Tyla, Karol G, and Tame Impala. Previous Asian nominees in the category include K-pop acts Bigbang, BTS, Blackpink, and Stray Kids. “Very grateful, honored, and blessed. Iyon naman po talaga yung goal namin so ngayon it’s very humbling at nakataba ng puso kasi naisip kami na magpresent sa Asia,” member Stacey told TV Patrol. The group has also made its debut at Vevo Studios in Los Angeles, performing “Blush” for its first project with the USbased music video platform. The performance is now available on BINI’s official YouTube channel. These achievements follow the group’s wins for Artist of the Year and Tour of the Year for its Signals World Tour at the Filipino Music

Awards 2026. BINI is also preparing for Bloom Membership Day on Oct. 21, with online and in-person activities for fans with Weverse membership. The lineup includes livestreams, one-on-one fancalls, and an intimate studio audience experience. The group’s Signals World Tour will continue in Singapore on Oct. 25 and Taiwan on Nov. 15, keeping its international concert schedule busy through the final months of the year. BINI is also set to headline major music festivals in 2027, beginning with the inaugural Asia Pop Girl Fest alongside HANA and 4EVE. The festival is scheduled for Chiba, Japan, on Jan. 22 and 23; Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 13; and the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Feb. 19. The group will also perform at LaLaLa Fest Manila 2027, joining British singer Olivia Dean and Filipino acts Up Dharma Down, Lola Amour, and Sunkissed Lola. Fans can vote for BINI through this link: https://kca.nick.tv/vote/ favorite-global-music-star

BINI brings “Blush” to Vevo Studios in Los Angeles as the group adds another international appearance to a year of overseas performances and industry recognition

LIFE

C3 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

‘Kokuho’ makes three hours of Kabuki worth every minute

Nena Saguil’s circles, dots, and layered abstractions continue to attract attention decades after the Filipina modernist built much of her career in Paris

By Angelica Villanueva

ATCHING Kokuho felt like being invited into a world I knew very little about and leaving the cinema with a deeper appreciation for it.

Nena Saguil’s art finds a new life beyond the gallery By Jasper Valdez

Lee Sang-il uses Kabuki as the setting for a story about artistic discipline, rivalry, and the demands of carrying a traditional craft across generations At almost three hours, the Japanese film is a long watch, but I never felt its length. Every minute felt earned. Kokuho is not just a film about Kabuki, but it also introduced me to the discipline, culture, and artistry of this longstanding traditional Japanese art form. Directed by Lee Sang-il, the film follows Kikuo and Shunsuke, two young men whose lives become closely tied to Kabuki. Ryo Yoshizawa plays Kikuo, while Ryusei Yokohama portrays Shunsuke. Both actors deliver performances so convincing that I found myself looking beyond the actors and into the lives of the Kabuki performers they portray. Their movements, expressions, and stage presence show the amount of work behind their performances. Yoshizawa, in particular, gives Kikuo a layered portrayal as he grows from an ambitious young performer into a seasoned Kabuki actor. Yokohama matches him with a performance filled with pride, restraint, and vulnerability. The younger actors deserve equal attention. Sōya Kurokawa plays young Kikuo, while Keitatsu Koshiyama portrays young Shunsuke. Both performances help establish the foundation for the older characters without making the transition feel forced. I have been following Kurokawa since his remarkable performance in Monster, so seeing him in Kokuho was especially rewarding. His performance here reminded me why he is an actor worth watching. Even in quiet moments, he

knows how to hold the frame. Ken Watanabe also brings weight to the film as Hanjiro Hanai, the Kabuki actor who takes Kikuo under his wing. His presence gives the story another layer of authority and experience. I felt especially privileged to watch Kokuho with Lee himself. Seeing the director in the same cinema while experiencing his work made the screening more meaningful. It felt like being given a closer look at a culture through the filmmaker’s own perspective. Lee explained during the opening that the Oscar-nominated film is not simply designed to teach audiences about Kabuki. Instead, Kabuki becomes the art form through which the film portrays the life of an artist and the struggles involved in pursuing it. “When it is being passed down to different generations, there is a struggle, a challenge. These people are fighting and trying to persevere and show what they are facing in their lives,” Lee said. His words helped me understand why the film reaches beyond Kabuki. Filipino audiences also have traditional art forms passed from one generation to another, along with artists who face the challenge of preserving them. By the end, Kokuho left me with more than an appreciation for its beautiful performances. It made me curious about Kabuki itself. Three hours is a long commitment. After watching Kokuho, I believe it was time well spent.

MORE than three decades after her death, the work of Filipina modernist Nena Saguil is reaching audiences beyond museums, galleries, and auction houses. A recent collaboration with Easy Brand is taking parts of Saguil’s artistic identity into a more everyday setting. Unveiled during an event on Sept. 30, the partnership gives Easy Brand permission from the Nena Saguil estate to use selected elements associated with the artist, including her signature watermark and other motifs, in future products and creative projects. For Easy Brand president and founder Lawrence Wang, the collaboration began with his own interest in Saguil’s work. “She was actually one of the first artists I collected,” Wang said. “I learned more about collecting art through her work.” He recalled being immediately drawn to the colors of the first Saguil painting he encountered. “When I saw the painting, it made me happy. It had yellow, green, and orange,” he said, adding that he later noticed how blue became more prominent in many of her works. That interest eventually led Wang to Saguil’s family and to learning more about how her art developed over time. He pointed to the difference between her earlier figurative pieces and the circles and repeated dots that became closely associated with her later work. “Before she went to Paris, her work was more figurative,” Wang said. “Those pieces are considered rare. Later on, the dots became part of the style people recognize her for.” Born Simplicia Laconico Saguil in 1914, Saguil was among the Philippines’ early modernists and pioneers of abstraction. She trained at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts before receiving the Walter Damrosch Scholarship in From left: Robinson Siao, Kenito Romero, Benjamin Saguil, 1954, which allowed her to pursue Lawrence Wang, and Peter Limquiaco support efforts to introduce further studies abroad. She later Nena Saguil’s visual language to new audiences through licensed studied and worked in Paris, where creative projects

The ‘Reyna’ in Europe AT the International Cultural Diversity Organization (ICDO) art exhibition at the Yunus Emre Institute in Vienna, one painting catches the eye: a portrait of a dark-haired woman with a steady gaze and a golden crown that appears to melt into her face and body. Beneath her image is a single word: Reyna. To Spanish speakers, the spelling may seem incorrect. The word should be reina, meaning queen. But in this painting, the altered spelling is no mistake. It offers a clue to the story Filipino visual artist Harold Khan seeks to tell the European art community about his hometown. His painting explores how centuries of encounters between Spain and the Philippines transformed language and culture. Spanish colonial rule left a lasting imprint on Filipino life, from religion and architecture to food, celebrations, and everyday speech. Yet Filipinos adapted these influences, blending them with existing traditions to create something distinctly their own. In Reyna, that transformation takes shape through three elements: the woman, the crown, and the word itself. The Crown that melts into culture For Harold, the crown represents Spain’s more than 330 years of colonial rule in the Philippines. Its melting gold, flowing over the woman’s face and body, symbolizes cultural influences that endured long after Spanish rule ended. Filipinos absorbed these influences, reshaped them, and wove them into life, creating a distinct identity. The title reinforces this transformation. The Spanish reina became reyna in Filipino usage, a small change in spelling that reflects a much larger process of cultural adaptation. Rather than portraying Filipino culture as Spanish culture transplanted to Asia, the painting

Harold Khan draws on the Philippines’ Spanish colonial past in ‘Reyna,’ using language and symbolism to examine how Filipinos reshape outside influences into their own identity

Glazing Life Glaiza Lee

celebrates how Filipinos made outside influences their own without losing their identity. An artist between cultures A Filipino visual artist based in Vienna, Harold explores identity, memory, and human connection through expressive portraiture and contemporary visual storytelling. He has also helped bring Filipino arts and culture into European cultural spaces. Like the woman in Reyna, Harold navigates different cultural communities while maintaining a distinct identity. His painting presents Filipino culture in a European setting not as something distant or exotic, but as a living culture shaped by centuries of exchange. The result is a conversation between the Philippines and Europe, inviting viewers to consider how cultures influence and transform one another.

she spent much of her artistic career. Her abstractions often revolve around circles, dots, and layered geometric forms that can resemble cells, planets, or larger cosmic systems. That visual language received renewed international attention in 2024, when her 1972 work Untitled (Abstract) was included in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale. Wang said Saguil’s family also shared with him a more personal interpretation of the blue that appears across some of her work. “Her family told me that she was often alone in Paris, and that sense of loneliness came through in the blue tones of her paintings,” he said. Wang said Easy Brand plans to incorporate elements associated with her work into items people can use in everyday life. “We want more people to appreciate her work, so we plan to bring elements of it into things people can actually use,” he said. “For example, we made a notebook and a tote bag.” For Wang, the project also shows how art can move into a different field without being confined to gallery spaces. “It shows that two different industries can come together and collaborate,” he said He also hopes that wider exposure can help younger audiences become more familiar with Saguil’s art. “I hope her style and use of color can inspire a new generation of painters,” Wang said.

Norlie Meimban helps bring Filipino artists into intercultural spaces in Vienna, where art becomes a starting point for conversations on identity and cultural exchange

Art as a meeting place That conversation is central to ICDO’s Long Nights of Interculturality, an initiative that brings artists, communities, and cultural perspectives together in Vienna through art, stories, performances, and shared experiences. ICDO president Josipa Palac believes such encounters are essential to challenging stereotypes and prejudice. “Throughout my life, I have been fascinated by other cultures and by travelling. The more I travelled and met people from different backgrounds, the more I realized how little we often actually know about one another. And when we don’t know each other, it is very easy for stereotypes, assumptions and prejudices to take their place,” Palac said. The initiative creates opportunities for people to meet, talk, and share their traditions and stories. “For one week, we bring different cultures, communities, artists and

perspectives together here in Vienna, and people have an opportunity to discover a little of the world through each other,” she added. For Norlie Meimban, ICDO ambassador for art, artworks can become starting points for conversations that might not otherwise happen, building connections across communities. The exhibition features artists from diverse backgrounds, including Addie Cukingnan, Anna Kaufmann, Anna Rabko, Azor Pazcoguin, Balint Andrei, Bernhard Schneider, Camille Tournereau, Fabian Garcia, Francisco Rubiel Osorio Faber, Franck Asso, Günter Lippl, Harold Khan, Hüseyin Cahit Karadana, Iman Hussein, Inga Pernes, Jairo Araque, Janddie Castillo, Jorge Gonçalves Rome-

ro, and Juliana Herrero. Also part of the lineup are Lorena Patiño, Marco Grajeda, Maria Teresa Berrios, Marie Andrée Gonçalves, Martín Vásquez, NATU (Nathalie Nguyen), Nicolás Rueda, Noel Bueza, Norlie Meimban, Paula Flores, Pedro Rojas, Polina Frydmann, Rey Aurelio, Roger Diaz-Cajamarca, Sansan Michel Noufé, Sofía Andretta Juárez, Sonia Siblik, Yasemin Demir, Thierry Livasse Gopré, Wilfried Kouame, and Yu-Chen Lin. Together, their works offer visitors different perspectives within a single exhibition space. In Vienna, Reyna brings to life a story spanning centuries and thousands of kilometers, from the Philippines to Europe. It speaks of an identity shaped by the cultures it encounters. Presenting Filipino art internationally is not simply about showing the world what the Philippines looks like, but offering a fuller picture that tells its truths. *** GLAZING Life is published every Wednesday in Manila Standard, featuring stories that celebrate the arts, culture, and the people who bring them to life. For inquiries and collaborations, email glazinglife. manilastandard@gmail.com.

Visual artist Harold Khan (center) brings a Filipino perspective to the ICDO exhibition in Vienna as participating artists explore culture, memory, and belonging across different communities

LIFE

C4 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026

lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com NICKIE WANG, Editor ANGELICA VILLANUEVA, Writer JASPER VALDEZ, Writer

Traditional kattukong hats made from dried gourds reflect a generationsold craft practiced by Ilocano artisans

NOW & NEXT

Ilocano artisan races to save family’s kattukong craft from extinction

Ilocano artisan Saturnino Mandac showcases his kattukong hats at the ‘LIKHA 5: Likha Ko, Lahi Ko’ exhibition The process involves growing and drying gourds before shaping them into wearable headgear

By Jasper Valdez

OR nearly four decades, Ilocano artisan Saturnino Mandac has been making traditional kattukong hats, a skill passed down through his family. But with fewer people taking up the craft, he is now looking for someone willing to learn it and continue the work. The Vigan City native, who participated in the recent LIKHA 5: Likha Ko, Lahi Ko exhibition in Pasay City, learned the craft from his father. He initially helped with the designs before gradually taking on more responsibilities as his father grew older. “I started making kattukong hats when my father was getting older and could no longer do as much work. Before that, I was already helping him with the designs, but I couldn’t make an entire hat on my own. When he passed away, I took over the whole process,” Saturnino told Manila Standard Lifestyle. The craft has been practiced in his family for generations, with Saturnino continuing the work his father and grandfather had done before him. “We kept making kattukong hats because it’s something our parents passed down to us. We wanted to continue what they started,” he said. Traditionally worn by Ilocano farmers, the kattukong is made from a dried gourd and provides

protection from the sun and rain. Making one begins long before the actual assembly, as the gourds must first be grown and allowed to mature. According to Saturnino, growing the gourds takes around three to four months. Once harvested, he cuts them, removes the seeds and other contents, and soaks the shells in water for three days before removing the outer skin and drying them under the sun. The process requires patience and considerable physical effort, especially for someone who has spent much of his life making the hats by hand. “Making a kattukong isn’t easy. You really need patience to do this kind of work. Sometimes my hands and body hurt from working on the hats,” he said. Over the years, Saturnino has also adjusted his designs to accommodate changing preferences. While the traditional kattukong was primarily used by farmers, he said the craft has since taken on other forms.

The ‘LIKHA 5: Likha Ko, Lahi Ko’ exhibition features traditional kattukong hats alongside other Filipino crafts

“The designs used to be very simple. Now we’ve started making more modern ones,” he explained. Despite the difficulties of making the hats, the craft has provided an important source of income for his family. Saturnino said earnings from kattukong making helped him and his wife send their children through college. “Making kattukong hats helped us a lot, especially because sending children to school is expensive. Thankfully, we were able to put our children through college with the money we earned from making them,” he said. However, none of his children learned to make the hats, leaving him uncertain about who will continue the family tradition. “None of my children learned

how to make the hats. They’ve all finished school. I think that when I’m gone, this craft might disappear with me. That’s why I’m looking for someone who can take over and keep it going,” he said. Saturnino has also noticed that fewer people in his community are making kattukong hats, with some moving away to pursue other opportunities. “It used to be very important because many people in our community made these hats. But things have changed. More people have gone to school, and fewer are doing this kind of work,” he said. Despite the decline, he continues to receive inquiries from students and teachers interested in learning about the craft. “A lot of students and teachers come to me to ask about the hats. Some are working on school projects or theses, so they want to know how they’re made and how long the process takes,” he added. While these inquiries show continued interest in kattukong making, Saturnino is still hoping to find someone willing to learn the actual production process

and eventually take over the work. His participation in LIKHA 5, held from Oct. 2 to 4, provided an opportunity to introduce kattukong making to visitors outside Ilocos Sur. The exhibition brought together Filipino artisans showcasing traditional crafts, handmade products, and regional techniques. “I’m really happy to be part of LIKHA 5 here in Pasay City. It’s important for us because more people get to see the things we make in Ilocos,” he said. Saturnino also received encouraging reactions from visitors who stopped by to examine his hats. He recalled people expressing admiration for the craftsmanship. For Saturnino, however, greater exposure is only part of what the craft needs. He is also appealing to the government for assistance to help artisans continue their work while encouraging younger people to learn the skills needed to keep the tradition alive. “I’m only asking for some support so we can continue making these hats and keep this Filipino craft from disappearing,” he said.

How Filipino creativity finds its place in Japanese floral art

Ikebana practitioner Reynaldo ‘Rey’ Legarda incorporates gold mizuhiki cords into his floral arrangement

By Jasper Valdez FOR Filipino practitioners of ikebana, learning the Japanese art of flower arrangement involves understanding its principles while finding room for their own ideas, materials, and personal styles. These different approaches were on display during the 16th Asian Regional Conference of Ikebana International, held from Oct. 1 to 4 at Conrad Manila in Pasay City. Hosted by Ikebana International Manila Chapter 108, the gathering brought together practitioners from different countries under the theme Sama-sama, or togetherness. Among the Filipino participants was retired banker Maria Susana “Suzie” Yap, who took up ikebana after leaving a 40-year career in banking. For her, one of the challenges has been learning to balance her preference for elaborate arrangements with the restraint associated with Japanese floral art. “The Filipino is very different from the Japanese. Filipinos like things bongga. They like borloloy, whereas the Japanese are very disciplined and restrained,” she said. “Sometimes, I catch myself overdoing the flowers. So it’s also good to learn restraint. You always have to learn how to cut back.” Yap’s exhibited arrangement drew from an earlier lesson involving a structure made of thin bamboo pieces, a technique she initially found difficult. Participating in the international conference presented another challenge, particularly with

Architect and ikebana practitioner Lora B. Rivera incorporates dried leaves, branches and computer cables into an arrangement that reflects her interest in unconventional and recycled materials

experienced practitioners from other countries exhibiting alongside her. Architect Lora Rivera, meanwhile, approached her arrangement through materials more commonly associated with construction and technology. She combined computer cables with dried leaves and branches to create a piece that reflected her interest in unconventional materials. Rivera, who has practiced ikebana for a little over four years, said her architectural background influences her choice of materials, which have included cardboard, wires, metals, and acoustic ceiling boards.

“I’m also very interested in using recycled materials in my arrangements. That’s another source of inspiration,” she said. As a practitioner of the Sogetsu School, Rivera believes learning the fundamentals allows artists to develop their own creative approaches. “Of course, you have to learn the basics. But once you know them, it becomes freestyle,” she said. “Eventually, your personality comes out as well.” That individuality also shapes the work of Reynaldo “Rey” Legarda, who lived in Japan for about 15 to 16 years before taking up ikebana in the Philippines. Still relatively new to the practice, Legarda chose a modern vase and incorporated gold mizuhiki, decorative Japanese cords commonly used for celebrations, into his arrangement.

Rather than relying on large flowers, he kept the design simple, reflecting both his appreciation for Japanese aesthetics and his desire to continue learning. “When you have a single cord, it doesn’t mean anything. But when you have many cords, and you bind them together, they become strong,” he said, relating the arrangement to the conference’s Samasama theme and the collective effort behind the international gathering. For Singaporean practitioner Linda Soo-Tan, vice president of Ikebana International Singapore Chapter 135, international exhibitions offer opportunities to discover how artists interpret the same art form differently. Having exhibited in Japan and elsewhere, she continues to find inspiration in the work of other practitioners. “I feel very humbled, actually, because I feel that everyone does their work so well,” she said. “I feel that I’m learning a lot just by attending these exhibitions. You feel inspired again.” Soo-Tan also hopes the exhibition encouraged visitors to consider trying ikebana themselves. “I want them to feel inspired and think, ‘I want to do it. I think I can do it,’” she said. “You want to share the joy of flower arrangement.”

The 16th Asian Regional Conference of Ikebana International showcases different interpretations of Japanese floral art Retired banker Maria under the theme ‘Sama-sama’ Susana ‘Suzie’ Yap explores the balance between elaborate Filipino tastes and the restraint associated with Japanese floral art through her ikebana arrangement

The event highlights the diverse interpretations of ikebana and encouraged visitors to explore the art form