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For the better part of our history, we Filipinos have witnessed major sports events through our television screens, either huddling in a neighbor’s house and erupting into cheers or suppressing glee while watching inside a commuter bus on the way home.

With sports interwoven into so much of our culture, it is easy to turn any free space in the neighborhood into a basketball court or a racetrack.

In the case of Makati City, the 2-hectare Ayala Triangle Gardens presents a massive opportunity for a sports-crazed country brimming with current and future Olympians.

A month ago, the park was abuzz with excitement as World No. 7 pole vaulter EJ Obiena and his fellow athletes came together to celebrate the sport in the Philippines, this time with an actual landing pit, crossbars and uprights.

‘Together with the city of Makati and all supporting stakeholders, we have wanted to explore many ways in giving this community dynamic, inspiring experiences,’ Jasmine Alkhaldi, Olympian and now Atletang Ayala program director at Ayala Foundation Inc. (AFI), tells the Inquirer in an email interview.

Known as a venue for creativity, active transport and mobility at the heart of the Makati central business district, Ayala Triangle became the platform for the Philippines’ first pole vault event sanctioned by World Athletics.

This ultimately means the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge was up to World Athletics standards, placing it beside other global sports competitions.

‘This puts the spotlight on the country’s viability as a sports venue and gives us credibility as a host for international events,’ Alkhaldi says. ‘Hosting this event gave Filipinos the rare opportunity to witness the action live, rather than just through a screen.’ Long game

With nearly three decades of their son’s life dedicated to the sport, it is no surprise that EJ’s parents, Emerson and Jeannete, were one of the main movers of the event.

‘It’s heartwarming to see the kind of support they give their son and, by extension, the sport,’ Alkhaldi says.

For Jeannette, Ayala Triangle was ‘best suited’ for the World Pole Vault Challenge, and work on technical requirements was in full swing as early as April this year.

Before they knew it, AFI and the MVP Sports Foundation were able to mount the event that drew hundreds of Filipino and international sports fans to one of Makati’s most vibrant communities.

For the Ayala Group, uplifting the sports industry is a long game. Sports, after all, is a crucial training ground not only for physical strength but also for the mental strength needed in shaping future leaders.

‘This event is just one of the ways for us to give Filipino athletes greater exposure to elite-level competition, elevate the profile of the Philippines as a host country and sports tourism destination, and give Filipino fans a world-class sporting experience right at home,’ Aklhaldi says.

‘We are making this investment because we believe in the power of sports to uplift not just the individual athlete but the entire nation,’ she adds.

Workers in the private and public sectors can expect less tax burden as the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are proposing higher ceilings for tax-exempt benefits.

The DOF and BIR announced this on Saturday after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that ‘every Filipino worker deserves to benefit from the nation’s growth.’ The President said so before he left for Malaysia to attend the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Summits.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said that if the proposal were realized, households would enjoy some relief from their daily expenses as workers would be able to bring home more of their earnings.

‘These increases will have minimal impact on the government revenues but will definitely make a significant difference for our workers,’ Recto said.

Under the proposal, employees in both private and government service will enjoy higher nontaxable allowances and benefits. This is intended to account for inflation and rising living costs. It is also meant to enhance competitiveness across sectors while maintaining prudent fiscal management on the part of the government.

For example, the tax-exempt ceiling for monetized unused vacation leave credits for private employees will be increased from 10 to 12 days.

However, the current uncapped benefit for government employees’ monetized vacation and sick leave will be retained.

Meanwhile, the limit for medical cash allowances for dependents will also be adjusted from P1,500 to P2,000 per half-year.

Also, rice subsidies will go up from P2,000 to P2,500 per month or its market equivalent.

Further, the nontaxable threshold for uniform and clothing allowance will increase from P7,000 to P8,000 per year.

The DOF and the BIR are also proposing increases in the maximum amount of certain benefits. For example, they want to raise medical assistance from P10,000 to P12,000 per year and the laundry allowance from P300 to P400 per month.

The two agencies also want to raise employee achievement awards from P10,000 to P12,000 per year and Christmas or anniversary gifts from P5,000 to P6,000 per year.

Pedro Taduran applied the pressure from the get-go and showed no letup on his way to a unanimous decision win over Christian Balunan on Monday night at San Andres Sports Complex.

Taduran retained his IBF minimumweight title and more importantly, moved on to focus on chasing a unification fight with Puerto Rico’s Oscar Collazo, who holds the WBA and WBO belts.

‘I’m looking forward to facing Collazo. I want a unification fight,’ said Taduran, who also expressed interest in an all-Filipino scrap with WBC titleholder Melvin Jerusalem, in Filipino.

The 28-year-old Taduran was the heavy favorite and was tipped to steamroll the unheralded Balunan.

But there was nothing easy about it, far as Taduran is concerned.

‘He was tough and strong. He hurt me with some body shots,’ he said.

Taduran (19-4-1, 13KOs) poured it on and kept coming from the second round onwards. He seemed on his way to stopping Balunan midway through the fight but the Cebuano held his ground despite sustaining a cut on his right eye from an accidental clash of heads in the fourth round.

Bloodied, Balunan kept a smile on his face even amid Taduran’s relentless flurries.

‘Giving up was not an option. No surrender,’ said Balunan, who absorbed the first loss of his pro career after 12 straight victories.

In the co-main event, Miel Fajardo overcame Esneth Domingo to claim the IBF Pan Pacific flyweight title in an explosive 10-round flyweight bout.

Fajardo landed a right uppercut that sent Doming to the canvass in the 10th round.

The knockdown sealed it for Fajardo, who earned a unanimous decision victory.

There is one thing the past has taught us about law and politics in our country. When politicians face criminal charges, they often seek absolution not in the courts but in elections. Thus, politics takes precedence over the law, and electoral victory becomes a substitute for accountability.

It is what happens when institutions are weak. In such a setup, politicians are treated as a different species-effectively shielded from criminal liability. Rare is the judge or the Ombudsman who could stand up to politics, impervious to influence and intimidation, and carry the law to its logical conclusion. One such rarity was former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.

True to her mandate, Morales investigated and filed plunder cases against three sitting senators: Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla. All were detained without bail and lost their seats as a result. The cases she built were so airtight that they led to convictions before the Sandiganbayan. Those found guilty had to wait until the fiercely independent lady Ombudsman retired. Only then could they obtain their release from detention.

But there was one legislator implicated in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scandal who managed to elude sanctions-Sen. Joel Villanueva. A three-term congressman for Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (Cibac) patylist group, Villanueva ran and won as senator in 2016 under the administration ticket of President Noynoy Aquino.

Flushed with victory, he must have thought the case involving the misuse of his 2008 P10 million PDAF allotment would remain buried beneath all other cases pending with the Ombudsman. He was mistaken. Defying the unwritten rule that electoral wins erase accountability, Ombudsman Morales pursued the case even after Villanueva had been elected to the Senate. Though the senator had quickly aligned himself with the new President, Rodrigo Duterte, there was little the Duterte administration could do for him while Ombudsman Morales was in office.

To Villanueva’s dismay, in November 2016-barely months into his first term as senator-he was found guilty by the Office of the Ombudsman of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the service. There were two cases: one administrative, the other criminal. The Ombudsman could have ordered his outright dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public office, if he were not a sitting senator. Instead, the Ombudsman endorsed its findings to the Senate for appropriate action.

The Senate leadership referred the matter to its legal counsel, which opined that (1) the Ombudsman had no administrative disciplinary jurisdiction over senators, and (2) Villanueva’s motion for reconsideration-based on his claim that his signature had been forged-made the ruling non-final.

When Ombudsman Morales retired in July 2018, President Duterte appointed former Supreme Court Justice Samuel Martires as Ombudsman. Sometime in 2019, Martires resolved Villanueva’s motion for reconsideration in his favor, reversing Morales’ earlier decision. This reversal, which happened almost three years after the MR was filed, acquitted Villanueva of any administrative liability, and effectively precluded the filing of criminal charges with the Sandiganbayan.

The Martires resolution was not publicly disclosed until very recently-when new Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla moved to enforce the original 2016 dismissal order against Villanueva. Apparently, apart from Ombudsman Martires, only the senator knew about it. Yet he chose not to publicize his ‘vindication’ at that time. Why?

Was he being prudent, thinking silence was the better part of redemption? Or did he fear that calling attention to his case might reopen old questions about his innocence? Whatever his reason, the non-publication of the Martires ruling has fueled suspicion that the decision was deliberately kept under wraps because it could not stand scrutiny. Earlier, in June 2025, the Sandiganbayan convicted Janet Lim Napoles and a few other individuals of graft in connection with the PDAF allotment of Villanueva, then Cibac congressman. The latter was never charged before the Sandiganbayan.

What is certain is that the absence of publicity worked in Villanueva’s favor. When he ran for reelection in 2022, his PDAF record was barely remembered. He won handily. In contrast, his fellow accused-Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla-faced an electorate that had not forgotten. Enrile was trounced in 2019. Estrada, repudiated in 2019, barely squeaked through in 2022. Revilla, who sought reelection in 2025, lost.

The moral seems clear: as long as voters remember, they can be trusted to reject the corrupt at the polls. If we cannot always put the corrupt and powerful in jail, then it falls upon the media-and upon all of us-to keep their cases alive in public memory. Forgetting is the soil in which impunity festers.

Police arrested a truck driver and seized P2 million worth of alleged smuggled cigarettes at a checkpoint in the village of Nagsabaran of Diadi town, Nueva Vizcaya on Saturday, October 25.

Capt. Marvin Deculing, chief of the Philippine National Police 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company in Nueva Vizcaya, said they arrested the driver, whose name was withheld due to data privacy, seized the smuggled cigarettes, and impounded the closed van used in the transport.

Seized were allegedly counterfeit or smuggled 53 boxes of ‘Bon International’ cigarettes, with each box containing 50 reams. Each ream has a street value of P800 or a total of P2.12 million.

The seized items were inventoried in the presence of municipal and provincial police officers and witnesses before they were turned over to the Diadi police station for safekeeping, Deculing said.

‘We have been doing a 24/7 checkpoint as we intensify an all-out war against smuggled items of all closed vans, so this is just one of the seized illegal items in the past,’ he said, adding that they spotted the cigarettes from a partially opened cart inside the van.

The driver, who failed to present transport documents will charge for violation of Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act

National University mounted a strong second-half comeback to turn back Ateneo, 66-50, in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The Bulldogs trailed 40-32 midway through the third quarter before unleashing a decisive 25-4 run bridging the final two periods to seize control, 57-44, with 3:39 left. Jake Figueroa sparked the rally with 11 points, while PJ Palacielo chipped in all seven of his points during the stretch as NU pounded the Blue Eagles inside for 34 points in the paint.

‘They responded well after what happened to us against UP. Credit goes to my team-it’s not about me anymore. They found a way to get it done,’ said NU head coach Jeff Napa.

The Bulldogs completed an elimination-round sweep of Ateneo after also prevailing, 71-66, in their first-round overtime encounter. Coming off a narrow 74-78 loss to University of the Philippines, NU bounced back to stay atop the standings at 7-2, one and a half games ahead of UST, La Salle, and UP.

‘Jake Figueroa is a given. I needed someone else to step up and be a leader to help stabilize us on the floor. At least these two (Enriquez and Jumamoy) showed their leadership,’ Napa said.

Figueroa finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block. Jolo Manansala, Reinhard Jumamoy, and Steve Nash Enriquez added eight points apiece.

NU’s defense held Ateneo to just 26.7 percent shooting, including 5-of-28 from three-point range.

The Blue Eagles also lost Gelo Santiago to a disqualifying foul early in the third quarter after he elbowed Waki Espina during a scramble for position under the basket.

Ateneo, which opened the season at 4-0, has now lost five straight games-its worst skid under coach Tab Baldwin-to drop to sixth place.

Kymani Ladi led Ateneo with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting, while Andrew Bongo added nine points and nine rebounds. Dominic Escobar was limited to six points.

NU will try to build on its momentum when it faces La Salle next Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Friends of Emma ‘Bing’ Kasilag have been storming the heavens with prayers for her healing and recovery after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer with liver metastases.

They have also dug deep into their pockets to help pay for her treatment at a Cavite hospital where she has been confined for the past 12 days.

At 72 years old, Bing’s only source of income is her small government pension. She has tried to seek help from PhilHealth but was told that only patients with Stages 1 to 3 colorectal cancer are qualified for its assistance package.

Bing worked as executive director and curator at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Museum and Historical Library Foundation, Inc. until her retirement in 2007. She has also been active in several religious initiatives, including serving as a program coordinator for the Society of the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City, and in events conducted by the Catholic Biblical Association of the Philippines.

Complications

Since her cancer diagnosis, she has undergone a colostomy procedure and two chemotherapy sessions. Her ongoing hospital confinement was caused by a bad reaction to chemotherapy (watery discharge), with the cause still undetermined.

Because of the difficulty in administering her medication intravenously, Bing will need to have a portacath inserted for her future chemotherapy sessions.

The procedure will cost around P160,000. This is on top of her hospital bill, which has reached P170,000 as of Oct. 22, excluding the professional fees of her five doctors and specialists.

In addition, Bing will also have to shell out P400,000 for her eight chemotherapy sessions in the next six months (P50,000 per session once every three weeks).

Those who want to help her can deposit their donations in her PSBank account (Ma. Emma Y. Kasilag with account number 049361004705) or in her son’s GCash account (09164082047 under account name Emil Carlo Ongchangco). Bing can be contacted through her son at 0916-4082047. -MINERVA GENERALAO

A 45-minute fire destroyed part of the hilltop barracks of the 103rd Infantry (Haribon) Brigade of the Philippine Army at Kampo Ranao in Marawi City on Saturday.

Captain Candidato Panduman, civil-military operations officer, said the fire, which broke out around 3 p.m. on October 25, was reportedly caused by faulty electrical wiring. It was immediately contained by soldiers on duty and personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) from the nearby Provincial Capitol of Lanao del Sur and Marawi City before it could spread to nearby facilities. No casualties or injuries were reported during the incident, while a thorough investigation is ongoing, he said.

The BFP declared the fire out at 3:45 p.m.

Brigadier General Billy O. Dela Rosa, 103rd Brigade commander, said troops immediately conducted preventive safety inspections across the camp’s facilities to ensure the safety and security of all personnel and to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s investigative story on the government’s failed flood mitigation projects in Metro Manila led the roster of winners in the print category of this year’s Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA).

The winning piece, a two-part series by Krixia Subingsubing on the dismal state of the government’s flood control measures, was published in October last year. That was 10 months before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. started drawing attention to top public works contractors and inspecting allegedly anomalous flood control projects, setting off his administration’s biggest corruption scandal yet.

The Inquirer bagged three top honors and three special citations, with five more finalists, in various categories in the 47th edition of the awards founded in 1978 by the late Cardinal Jaime Sin.

Subingsubing, who covers the House of Representatives, won the prize for Best Investigative Report. Her series opened with the story titled ‘Delays, woes clog Metro Manila’s disrupted flood control program’, which came out on Oct. 8, 2024. It was followed by another in-depth piece, ‘Government must eye engineering, social solutions to flood control.’ Maritime issues

Former Inquirer reporters Frances Mangosing and Nestor Corrales were both recognized for their extensive coverage of the maritime tensions and the struggles of Filipino fisherfolk in the face of Chinese harassment in the West Philippine Sea.

Mangosing topped the Best News Coverage category for the story ‘2 PH ships, 40 Chinese vessels: Onboard resupply mission to Escoda Shoal,’ published on Sept. 2 last year.

She shared the award with Corrales, whose two stories, ‘China’s harassment takes toll on PH fishers’ on Sept. 3 and ‘New WPS flashpoint: ‘Brace for impact!” on Sept. 4, were also cited.

Another Inquirer reporter, Jane Bautista, was named a finalist in the same category for her reportage on the plight of Filipino immigrants in the US, ‘US immigration raids keep Pinoys on edge,’ published on March 9.

In the special feature category, the late Julie Alipala, a veteran correspondent for the Inquirer, received a special citation for her story, ‘Church ministry helps nurture ‘sign’ of love,’ published on March 16. It was about a historic wedding ceremony held for a deaf couple at the centuries-old St. James the Greater parish church in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.

Another Inquirer correspondent, Joey Gabieta, was a finalist in the same category for his story, ‘Pope Francis: An inspiration to Yolanda survivors.’

Top honors

Inquirer lensmen were also honored, with Grig C. Montegrande winning the award for Best News Photograph for his March 6 banner photo titled ‘Tactile Yet Spiritual.’ It showed a nun standing in reverence before a replica of the Shroud of Turin on display at the Holy Face of Jesus Museum in Manila.

Five of the six finalists in the news photo category were shots taken by Inquirer photographers.

The late Richard A. Reyes was given a special citation for his gripping ‘Tondo Island Inferno,’ which showed residents and their pets evacuating their homes in the shantytown of Isla Puting Bato on Nov. 24. Another award-winning work of Reyes, ‘Tragedy in Talisay’ that came out on the paper’s Oct. 26, 2024, issue, made it as a finalist.

Former Inquirer photographer Lyn Rillon was also awarded a special citation for her work, ‘Senaku-mall,’ which featured a Lenten ‘cosplay’ at a shopping mall in Cainta, Rizal, on April 13. Her other photograph that advanced to the finals, titled ‘QC’s Urban Forest,’ published on March 2, strikes almost like a painting as it captures a quiet day at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center in Quezon City.

Sociologist Randy David was cited as a finalist in the Best Opinion Column category for his illuminating yet piercing pieces in the Inquirer under ‘Public Lives.’

The announcement of this year’s CMMA winners was held via Facebook Live on Friday night. The date of the awards ceremony is yet to be announced.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan commended the issuance of Executive Order (EO) Nos. 100 and 101 by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., describing these initiatives as a ‘big win’ for farmers and the agricultural sector.

EO No. 100 establishes a floor price for palay (unhusked rice) and activates mechanisms for its implementation to protect farmers from declining farmgate prices.

EO No. 101 directs the full implementation of Republic Act No. 11321, also known as the Sagip Saka Act, which was principally authored and sponsored by Pangilinan. The law allows national government agencies and local government units to purchase food directly from farmers and fisherfolk without the need for public bidding.

According to the executive order, all national government agencies and instrumentalities – including government-owned or -controlled corporations, state universities and colleges, and local government units – are enjoined to implement RA No. 11321.

‘This is a big win for our farmers and the agricultural sector. We thank the President and all our partners in pushing for these two executive orders,’ said the senator, who is also the chair of the Senate committee on agriculture, food and agrarian reform, in a statement.

He added that the directives, along with the ongoing rice import ban, aim to boost the country’s agricultural sector and improve farmer incomes during the harvest season.

Pangilinan said he met with Marcos and various government officials earlier to push for the two directives amid the sharp drop in palay farmgate prices and the volatility of the prices of agricultural goods.

‘These EOs demonstrate that when the government listens to farmers and takes decisive action, we can ensure that those who feed the nation are able to live with dignity,’ he added.

With the EOs now signed, Pangilinan called for a whole-of-nation approach in uplifting the lives of farmers and fisherfolk, achieving food security through a more stable food supply chain, and lowering the prices of goods for Filipinos.

‘With the palay floor price in place, farmers are no longer at the mercy of middlemen. Together, these measures will help uplift the lives of millions of rural families,’ he said.

But he added that the public should ensure that the momentum continues.

‘Let us not stop at these EOs – let us strengthen our entire agri value chain by fighting against rampant corruption and abuse in the sector and putting accountability, transparency, and good governance at the core of our service to the people,’ he stressed.