Author: Nouman Ali

Community journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma was among 19 people killed in a clash between government soldiers and suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Negros Occidental province on Sunday, Altermidya Network confirmed on Wednesday.

The Philippine Army earlier reported that Sunday’s series of armed encounters with supposed NPA remnants resulted in 19 rebels slain, but it has yet to release the full list of fatalities.

Altermidya, in a statement on Wednesday, said it mourns the killing of Ledesma, writer and editor of Paghimutad Negros Island Alternative Media and its coordinator in the region, from Sunday’s incident.

Ledesma, 30, was killed in a supposed military operation at Barangay Salamanca in Toboso town, but he was in the area doing community work and immersion, reporting on the effects of renewable energy projects on farming communities, Altermidya said.

It identified Ledesma as a community journalist, editor and poet, a career path he chose after his stint as student leader and campus writer.

He served as editor in chief of Spectrum, the student publication of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod, where he graduated with a degree in psychology. Since 2020, he led Paghimutad Negros, an alternative media outfit focused on human rights reporting and grassroots storytelling.

He later joined Altermidya as coordinator for the Negros Island Region.

‘Highest honor’

Ledesma’s recent work documented the struggles of communities facing displacement due to large-scale renewable energy projects, including the expansion of solar farms, windmill installations, and hydropower ventures, Altermidya said.

He also reported on reclamation projects in Bacolod City, the expansion of a palm oil plantation in Candoni, and the conditions of ‘sakada’ (farm laborers) and sugar farmworkers, it added.

Paghimutad Negros, the community media outfit that Ledesma led, had long been subjected to Red-tagging and vilification, the group said.

Human Rights Advocates Negros said Ledesma was not in the initial clash site at Sitio Sinugmawan in Barangay Salamanca. He was attacked in a separate community at Sitio Plariding during a pursuit operation by government troops also on Sunday.

‘We give the highest honor to our colleague RJ, who until his last breath served marginalized communities by immersing and reporting on their stories. Together with his family and colleagues, we demand justice for RJ Ledesma,’ Altermidya said.

Ledesma was the seventh nominee of the Kabataan party list in the 2022 elections.

The Inquirer on Wednesday reached out to the Army but had yet to receive a response.

In October 2022, the Facebook page of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Brigade called one of Paghimutad’s human rights reports as ‘propaganda’ and linked it to the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. The post circulated across police and military platforms, including the Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Western Visayas, Altermidya said.

Paghimutad also reported on coordinated attacks against the radio program ‘Kaling Kag Tugda,’ as well as cases of journalists in Negros being profiled or followed by suspected government intelligence agents. It stressed that these efforts aimed to hide from the public the worsening human rights violations in their communities, it added.

The results of the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (Upcat) are out. It isn’t just students who were anxious, but their families also waited with bated breath. Yesterday, families finally woke up to the news of whether their child can consider UP their new academic home. Out of 147,437 Upcat applicants, 18,350 or 12.44 percent were accepted or waitlisted, making it one of the most competitive universities in the country. After all, getting into UP means the opportunity to get quality education for zero tuition, a rare combination. With rising inflation and more economic uncertainty on the horizon, few families can opt to ignore a school’s price tag.

College admissions are already a stressful rite of passage for senior high students. Our uncertainty about our future, brought about by political and economic instability and a fast-evolving job market, has only served to increase the stakes of such milestone decisions as to which college to go to. Moreover, preparing for college is no longer just the student’s challenge; it has become the family’s cross to bear.

The day the results come out is the culmination of the years it took to get there. The student, of course, does the main work. They go through their schoolwork with the added pressure of knowing that their academic transcript can make or break their college application. This is also the student who went through the pandemic disruptions and the back-and-forth pivots to remote learning. They sacrifice social and recreation time to attend review classes to gain a competitive edge, just at the time when they should be relishing their friendships before they go their separate ways.

Parents do their parallel responsibility. They also sacrifice time and effort, best exemplified by the daily morning routine: getting kids ready for school. In the Philippines, this could mean as early as 5 a.m., depending on traffic and commuting conditions. The school drop-off is also a fast-becoming exercise in patience. Parents sacrifice on the big things as well. They save up money for years, perhaps decades, so that their child can afford as many quality choices for schools as they can get into. I know of parents who have strategized their career paths, such as working for an academic institution and gaining employee benefits or choosing a job that allows them the time to tutor their kids personally, based on what will help their children get into their school of choice.

All this emotional investment is based on a firm belief that college is a guarantee for a better life. Currently, however, a college degree has never felt more useless and at the same time more essential than now. A college degree alone no longer provides the financial security it once did. Even a diploma from the ‘big four’ universities no longer gets you in front of the line. Latin honors do not make a dent in hiring. And yet, gosh, go try looking for a job without a college degree. It is practically impossible to get one, even for jobs that do not seem to require college-level skills, such as being a server or a salesperson.

The increased stakes of our children’s education no longer begin at college. As I began looking into preschool for my child, I am disheartened to see exorbitant tuition, limited slots, and rigorous admissions testing, eerily similar to the college process. The stakes aren’t just higher; they have come for us earlier.

With such a stacked scenario, we have no choice but to follow where the pressure leads us. Every decision regarding our child’s education feels high-stakes. There is no room for error or mistakes. We need to optimize every decision and enroll them in the ‘best’ schools, even if it breaks the bank, ironically worsening our financial stability.

Unfortunately, we can pass this anxiety onto our children. They get anxious about their grades and their chances for college. They have a low tolerance for mistakes. They feel the need to be perfect to compensate for the extremely competitive environment. This can lead to them burning out and increasing their discomfort with the new and unfamiliar, making them less able to succeed in college, becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Increased uncertainty about our future can push us into an all-or-nothing mindset. For example, some families abide by ‘UP or bust.’ When the stakes feel overwhelmingly high, it is good to remember that not all decisions are as final as they feel. There are multiple routes to a desired outcome. It can be through the Upcat, via transferring, via another school, or via another path entirely. And all those choices can lead to good things.

As parents, we can share in this moment with our children and help them decide how much weight they should put into the results, whether accepted or not. We can be with them as they go through uncertainty and help them feel confident in their choices, even when no guarantees are offered. There is so much more to gain in college admissions letters than just the results.

The local government of Calanasan in Apayao province was placed under a state of calamity on Wednesday due to the worsening socioeconomic effects of the ongoing energy crisis.In a statement, the local government said the town council has passed a resolution on the calamity declaration, and Mayor Shamir Bulut approved it.The resolution came as an offshoot of the recommendation from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC), which found that the current situation has ‘significantly disrupted local livelihoods, transportation, and the delivery of basic goods and services.’The crisis, driven by global oil supply disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East, has caused fuel prices to surge to unprecedented levels, the statement added.

After weeks of silence, Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday denied that there were billions of pesos’ worth of transactions in her bank accounts and blasted not just former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV for these allegations, but also the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for now being part of a ‘machinery.’

In a lengthy statement issued hours after she responded to the ‘last-minute’ travel authority for her, Duterte said Trillanes, one of her fiercest critics, has been ‘peddling the same incredible story about alleged billions in bank accounts.’

‘From 2016 to 2026, nothing in his narrative has changed,’ Duterte said. ‘What has changed, however, is the machinery now backing him.’

The embattled vice president alleged that Trillanes is now being backed by the ‘machinery,’ which she said included her former political ally and now nemesis, President Marcos, whom she said ‘must be compelled to submit to a simple drug test,’ referring to the repeated calls for a hair-follicle test.

She also claimed that the House lawmakers have also been a part of the so-called ‘machinery’ backing Trillanes, accusing them of receiving ‘maletas and having repeatedly disregarded constitutional limits on her impeachment.

This time, however, Duterte included the COA, supposedly ‘backing’ Trillanes, questioning the timing of the state audit agency’s issuance of its findings on the use of her confidential funds ‘in a manner that conveniently aligns with political attacks.’

Lastly, she also criticized the newly-installed AMLC officials ‘who remain silent and refuse to clarify that there have been no findings of violations of anti-money laundering laws, and the billions of peso in bank accounts are untrue.’

Amid all the accusations against her, Duterte said she has one ‘simple’ response to the ‘attacks’ against her: her service record is ‘clean.’

‘[H]indi ako kailanman nagkaroon ng kaso sa paggamit ng pondo ng bayan. Lahat ng aking ari-arian at pera ay idineklara ko sa aking SALN (Not once have I been charged for using public funds. All of my properties and money are declared on my statement of assets, liabilities and net worth),’ she said.

Philippines-University of Santo Tomas star Josh Ybañez is back on his throne with a third Most Valuable Player award in the UAAP men’s volleyball tournament.

After missing out on individual honors in Season 87 due to injuries, Ybañez returned to peak form in Season 88, leading the league with 90.192 statistical points (SP) to become the first UST men’s volleyball player to win three MVP awards.

The 23-year-old senior dominated in all departments, ranking fourth in spiking with a 45.19 percent success rate, second in aces with 0.35 per set, and second in receptions with a remarkable 65.68 percent efficiency.

He also finished as the league’s second-leading scorer with 278 points built on 244 spikes, 16 blocks, and 18 aces.

Ybañez will likewise secure his third Best Outside Spiker plum after finishing with 329 ranking points (RP), while National University’s Michaelo Buddin earned the other nod-his second-with 269 RP. Buddin led the UAAP in aces at 0.48 per set while also placing eighth in spiking with a 41.27 percent success rate.

NU’s Leo Ordiales will capture his first Best Opposite Spiker award after finishing with 232 RP, backed by strong all-around numbers ranking third in spiking (46.12 percent), sixth in blocking (0.67 per set), and seventh in aces (0.21 per set).

La Salle’ Issa Ousseini (196 RP) and Far Eastern University’s Lirick Mendoza (191 RP) will be named Best Middle Blockers.

The Cameroonian Green Spiker finished as the highest-scoring middle blocker with 191 points-eighth-best overall-on 139 attacks, 39 blocks, and 13 aces. He also ranked fifth in blocking with a 0.71 per set average and fourth in aces at 0.24 per set.

Mendoza, meanwhile, emerged as the league’s top blocker with 46 total kill blocks and a 0.87 per set average.

FEU’s Ariel Cacao edged out Ateneo’s Enzo Gutierrez for the Best Setter award, while Tamaraws teammate Vennie Ceballos ran away with the Best Libero plum.

Cacao finished with 200 RP, just 13 ahead of Gutierrez, to claim his first positional award. The Tamaraw playmaker led the league in setting with a 6.3 average per set while also emerging as the only setter inside the top 50 in scoring with 44 points.

Ceballos, meanwhile, topped the reception charts with a 70.67 percent efficiency rate and ranked second in digging with 2.13 per set.

Actress Sheena Halili is expecting her third child with husband Jeron Manzanero, as they confirm that their family is set to grow to five.

Halili shared the news via an Instagram reel posted on April 21, where she and her family staged a playful reveal. The video showed Halili, Manzanero, and their two children reacting to a positive pregnancy test before the actress revealed her baby bump. She captioned the post, ‘1…2…THREE!’

The announcement drew congratulatory messages from fellow celebrities including Nadine Samonte, Iya Villania, Chariz Solomon, Yasmien Kurdi, Shaira Diaz, Ryza Cenon, Isabel Oli, and Rita Daniela, among others.

Halili and Manzanero tied the knot in February 2020 in Quezon City. They welcomed their first child, Martina, 10 months later, followed by their son, Jio, in August 2024.

In January 2024, the 39-year-old actress opened up in an interview that she struggles being a first-time mom, explaining that it’s important for women to give themselves the grace to navigate through motherhood

The actress rose to fame after joining the first season of the talent search show ‘StarStruck.’ Halili, who is now a full-time mom, last appeared in the 2019 series ‘Ika-5 Utos.’

Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. on Wednesday ordered a sweeping audit of all regional police training units nationwide following allegations that police trainees in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were forced to shoulder part of their superiors’ housing expenses through a rent ‘kickback’ scheme.

‘I have ordered a mandatory audit of all lease agreements involving trainees,’ Nartatez said in a statement. ‘Every cent must be transparent and documented. If you are found guilty of squeezing money from our recruits, you are out of the service immediately.’

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Anti-Cybercrime Group, along with the Directorate for Education and Training, were tasked to determine whether the rent kickback scheme was also being done in other PNP regional special training units (RSTU).

They will also gather evidence for the possible filing of criminal and administrative cases against those involved in the illegal activity. Seven RSTU-CAR police officials were earlier relieved over the alleged kickback scheme.

Period covered

The PNP’s initial findings revealed supposedly irregular lease agreements between 2023 and 2025. Although trainees were each charged up to P3,000 monthly for temporary housing, they were forced to pay an additional P600, allegedly to cover the rent for their superior officers’ housing.

A report from the PNP Training Service dated April 19 noted that while the last batch of affected trainees graduated in the middle of last year, records suggested the practice may still be ongoing.

‘We want to give the trainees and the public the assurance that this practice is illegal,’ Nartatez said.

‘Our move to check and review all our training units nationwide will give them peace of mind that we will never tolerate any form of wrongdoings,’ he added.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered police officers conducting checkpoint operations to speed up inspections of trucks transporting essential goods.

‘Amid the challenging situations that our country is experiencing, our personnel on the ground stationed at checkpoints will ensure that the flow of goods remains unhampered and uninterrupted,’ Nartatez said in a statement on Thursday.

He also said the new directive will not affect the police force’s crackdown on smuggled goods.

‘Checkpoint operations will continue to support law enforcement objectives without compromising the movement of legitimate cargo,’ the PNP chief said.

The top cop added that the police force will coordinate with local government units (LGUs) and other agencies to ensure that regulations are still enforced without disrupting essential transport.

Nartatez’ statement came after Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said ‘unnecessary and unreasonable’ checks and inspections of food trucks conducted by the police and LGUs at checkpoints delayed travel and wasted fuel.

Recto made the pronouncement on Tuesday, appealing to government agencies to help farmers and traders take advantage of reduced toll and port fees to soften the impact of high fuel prices on food.

The Police Regional Office Negros Island Region (PRO NIR) has activated a Special Investigation Task Group to establish the identities of bodies recovered following a series of ‘encounters’ in Toboso, Negros Occidental, on Sunday.

Through forensic examination, documentation, and coordination with local government units and relatives, the task group aims to provide a formal accounting of the deceased, said the PRO NIR statement.

The Philippine Army earlier said that 19 alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were killed during a series of encounters with soldiers of the 79th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, on April 19.

On Wednesday, PRO NIR confirmed that six of the 19 fatalities have been positively identified and claimed by their respective families. They were Rene Villarin Sr., alias Kumader Pikot, 58, of Sitio Huwebisan, Barangay Marcelo, Calatrava; Roger Fabillar Tapang, alias Jhong or Arnel, 36, of Sitio Malig-on, Barangay Bandila, Toboso; Ruel Sabillo, 19, of Sitio Singiton, Barangay Tabun-ak, Toboso; Sonny Boy Manayon Caramihan, 28, of Sitio Batbataw, Barangay Bagonbon, San Carlos City; Pedro Agustin Bonghanoy, 32, of Barangay Libertad, Escalante City; and Arnel Mahilum Javoc, 32, of Sitio Labay-ao, Barangay Lalong, Calatrava.

Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas C. Ibay, PRO NIR Director, said that the successful identification and release of the remains reflect their commitment to professionalism and humanitarian considerations.

He noted that while the police are carrying out lawful duties, they remain dedicated to showing compassion to the families involved.

Meanwhile, Altermidya Network had said its NIR coordinator. RJ Nichole Ledesma was among those killed, while the UP Diliman University Student Council confirmed the death of Alyssa Alano in Sunday’s incident.

Continuing efforts are now focused on identifying the other fatalities, the PRO NIR said.

Police authorities are currently validating submitted information, reviewing available records, and conducting further medico-legal and forensic documentation, it added.

The PRO NIR said they are facilitating the orderly release of all confirmed cadavers once the necessary documentary and legal requirements are fully completed.

The Sandiganbayan on Wednesday issued a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) against former Speaker Martin Romualdez, a travel restriction sought by the Ombudsman in connection with the case it is preparing against the lawmaker and several others being linked to the flood control corruption scandal.

The anti-graft court’s Seventh Division granted a petition filed earlier that day by the Office of the Ombudsman through a special panel of investigators, who said Romualdez ‘presents an exceptionally high probability of flight.’

The investigators, led by Deputy Special Prosecutor Omar Sagadal, said they had already made a preliminary finding of probable cause against Romualdez for plunder, direct and indirect bribery, and money laundering.

‘Evade arrest’

‘The complaint-affidavit involves the alleged kickback scheme tied to flood control projects, purportedly masterminded by the respondent (Romualdez), with the total amount of such kickbacks reaching approximately [P56 billion],’ they said in their petition dated April 20.

In the PHDO it issued, the Seventh Division said it found probable cause ‘to believe that respondent will depart from the Philippines to evade arrest and prosecution of crime/s being charged against him.’

The court ordered the Bureau of Immigration to include Romualdez in its hold-departure list.

The Leyte congressman, who is also a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., earlier sought clearance from the House leadership to be in Singapore from April 20 to May 4 ‘for a long overdue follow-up on my angioplasty surgery.’

Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III granted his predecessor’s request for a travel clearance on Tuesday.

‘Other people’s corruption’

On the same day, however, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla held a press conference to say he was blocking Romualdez’s overseas trip.

Remulla also disclosed that his office had taken initial steps to secure a freeze order on the former Speaker’s assets, and that a plunder complaint may be filed against him in May.

Later in the day, Romualdez released a video defending himself against allegations implicating him in the public works mess and in the controversial insertions made in the 2025 national budget.

‘I will not be the fall guy for other people’s corruption,’ said Romualdez, who stepped down two months into his second term as speaker in the current 20th Congress, after he was dragged into the corruption scandal.

He stressed that he was not part of the bicameral conference committee or the ‘small committee’ that introduced changes to the budget bill.

The insertions, he said, were decided by Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero, then Senate President, and former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co, then House appropriations chair.

Also on Wednesday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Romualdez should have appeared before the Senate during its inquiry into the flood control projects.

Lacson, who heads the Senate blue ribbon committee, said the former House leader should have ‘heeded [our] invitations’ to attend the panel’s hearings, especially after Co, in a series of video recordings in November last year, claimed that Romualdez took part in ‘mangling’ the 2025 budget.

No ‘modus’ in Senate

Sen. JV Ejercito also on Wednesday noted that the ‘modus of selling [infrastructure] projects’ was prevalent among ‘contractors’ – a portmanteau of congressmen and contractors.

There is no way the Senate could ‘gain’ from this scheme, Ejercito said. ‘It’s not that I’m defending the Senate, but you’ll never hear about that here [in this chamber].’

‘I hope those involved will be held accountable,’ the senator said.

A former member of the chamber, Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr., is currently detained over graft and malversation charges in connection with the flood works mess. The former senator and two others had also been implicated in the 2013 pork barrel scandal.