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All roads lead to General Santos City in Mindanao as the Philippine Sports Commission rolls the red carpet for the biggest Batang Pinoy edition in history with hopes of producing the next Manny Pacquiao, Caloy Yulo and Hidilyn Diaz today at the Antonio C. Acharon Sports Complex here.

No less than Pacquiao, a bonafide son of GenSan before his unparalleled rise to the world boxing annals as the only eight-division champion, and Diaz, the country’s first Olympic gold medalist, will grace the opening ceremony featuring almost 25,000 delegates.

Pacquiao and Diaz will spearhead the torch relay and the cauldron lighting to start the games after the keynote addresses of GenSan Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao, Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla and Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Pato Gregorio.

‘This is the biggest edition and we have to make sure it’s the best, too,’ said Gregorio.

‘Batang Pinoy is really an important and integral part of our sports development program in the PSC. From grassroots to gold and from gold to greatness – that’s our national sports program.’

Also in the fray is PSC Commissioner, Batang Pinoy project director and bowling legend Olivia ‘Bong’ Coo, who promises an edition for the ages as the national youth games troop to Mindanao from Palawan last year.

‘We welcome you to what’s shaping up as the biggest and most exciting edition of the Philippine Youth Games. We are more than ready. The PSC will take charge as we continue to shape the future of Philippine sports,’ said Coo.

GenSan will welcome standouts from a record-breaking 101 Local Government Units (LGUs) across the archipelago as the PSC beefs up its grassroots development program to pave the way for the country’s next champions and gold medalists abroad.

ABS-CBN’s newest suspense thriller ‘What Lies Beneath’ made a strong debut, rising to the top of Netflix Philippines’ most-watched TV titles and recording 517,436 peak concurrent views online via Kapamilya Online Live last Monday, October 20.

The pilot episode immediately drew viewers into the intertwined lives of four women – Alice (Janella Salvador), Mel (Sue Ramirez), Erica (Kaila Estrada), and Beth (Charlie Dizon) – whose once-unbreakable friendship was fractured by a traumatic event 14 years ago. Back then, they witnessed the brutal murder of their best friend Louisa and faced pressure from the whole community of Amurao to accuse Edong (Jake Cuenca) of the crime.

Years later, the women have tried to move on: Alice, Mel, and Beth continue to pursue their shared dream of building a retirement home, while Erica distances herself to start anew. But the past comes knocking once more when Edong resurfaces, vowing to make them pay for the injustice they inflicted upon him.

As early as its debut episode, ‘What Lies Beneath’ has sparked online discussions and fan theories, with viewers praising how the series keeps them analyzing and guessing after every turn. Many also highlighted how the show explores the strength and fragility of female friendship amid pain, betrayal, and the search for healing.

‘It’s so good to see a series that talks about friendship that goes beyond struggles, trauma, and how to overcome it. Sobrang galing talaga ng @RCDNarratives sa mga ganitong mystery series – more of this please!’ wrote @dellnario.

Netizens also commended the show’s direction, pacing, and casting choices, noting the seamless transitions between the characters’ younger and present-day portrayals.

‘RCD Narratives never disappoints! Ang ganda ng pilot episode considering di pa ganun katagal since it was shot. Maganda pacing ng flashbacks, di baduy! And perfect match ‘yung mga gumanap at younger versions, pero stand out sina Mutya, Krystal, and Allyson,’ shared @forkoffubiatch.

The series’ stellar cast – Janella Salvador, Sue Ramirez, Kaila Estrada, and Charlie Dizon, together with their younger counterparts Eliza Borromeo, Reich Alim, Krystal Mejes, and Allyson McBride – earned widespread praise for their nuanced performances that balance strength, vulnerability, and emotional truth. Each portrayal deepens the story’s exploration of guilt, survival, and the weight of buried secrets.

As ‘What Lies Beneath’ continues, viewers can expect how Edong will disrupt the lives of the Mabels and how he will seek justice. ‘What Lies Beneath’ airs weeknights at 8:45 pm on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z, and TV5. It can be streamed in advance on iWant and Netflix.

Brilliant – the gambit of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla.

Thursday morning (Oct. 23), he gave an extended interview with Karen Davila on ANC. He disclosed he was drafting a letter to Senate President Tito Sotto asking the Senate to implement Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales’ dismissal of Senator Joel Villanueva. On Nov. 14, 2016, Morales had ordered Villanueva’s dismissal from public service for ‘grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service’ over alleged misuse of his P10-million PDAF.

Thursday afternoon, Villanueva disclosed he had actually been cleared, by Morales’ successor, Samuel Martires. ‘To my surprise, when I got to the office, I was confronted with a decision signed by former ombudsman (Samuel) Martires dated July 2019,’ Ombudsman Remulla told reporters.

Martires reversed Carpio Morales’ 2016 decision. But nobody knew about the reversal, until late Thursday. The implication: Joel Villanueva and the unlamented Martires had a secret deal.

Ordinarily, if you are cleared or acquitted of a crime, especially graft or thievery, you announce it to the whole world. Hallelujah! Instead, you keep it a secret. For six years! Why?

By telegraphing his intention to write a letter to SP Sotto, Remulla was able to unearth a pact with the devil.

Result: Joel Villanueva seems cleared, for now. But the Bible-quoting senator struts into the Senate hall with a cloud of doubt over his head. He is what Pinoys would call ‘bahag ang buntot’ – he cannot face the truth (hindi makaharap sa problema or kaharap).

By his gambit, Remulla in effect indicted both Martires and Villanueva before the court of public opinion.

Who believes Martires? The worst ombudsman; zero credibility. Who believes Villanueva? By now, in the eyes of an angry public, a recidivist. A repeat offender.

Villanueva was implicated by dismissed DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara when he testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing in September 2025. In 2022, Villanueva asked for a multi-purpose building costing P1.5 billion but was only given P600 million from flood control funds in the unprogrammed funds.

Villanueva was first entangled in the pork barrel scam of 2016, called the Napoles PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) scandal. PDAF was a P10-billion lump-sum discretionary fund granted congressmen for priority projects. But the money was laundered into private pockets, stolen. A party-list congressman (2002-2010), Villanueva received a P10-million PDAF but the money went to a non-existent project, then Ombudsman Morales found out.

Ombudsman Martires reversed Morales’ decision on two grounds – Villanueva’s signatures were forged, allegedly, and the P10 million was credited to the wrong party-list.

C’mon. Carpio-Morales (ombudsman from 2011-2018), 84, is not stupid nor incompetent. A UP law graduate, she spent eight years at the Court of Appeals (1994-2002) and nine years at the Supreme Court (2002-2011) before President Noynoy Aquino named her ombudsman. She won the Magsaysay Award for being a ‘fearless and indefatigable ombudsman whose integrity and dignity restored the people’s faith in the rule of law.’

Martires became a judge in July 2000, in Agoo, La Union. In 2002, a fellow La Union judge filed an administrative complaint against Martires for ‘gross ignorance of the law, incompetence, abuse of authority and dereliction of duty.’ Martires allegedly refused to issue a warrant of arrest for a murder suspect despite the presence of evidence and the urgings of the prosecution. The complaint was dismissed for lack of merit.

Meanwhile, the Senate wants to make the Independent Commission for Infrastructure a permanent structure – to fight graft.

SP Sotto and Senators Erwin Tulfo and Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Bill 1215 creating a five-person Independent People’s Commission to investigate anomalies in all government infrastructure projects. ‘IPC will be a permanent non-partisan government agency focused on investigating graft and anomalies in infrastructure projects – in public works, education, agriculture, flood control, disaster resilience,’ explained Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, chair of the Senate committee on justice and human rights. The bill in effect strengthens the present Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

The bill grants ICI the power not just to investigate but also to prosecute cases, offer witness protection, freeze assets, put suspects under preventive suspension and impose hold departure orders, explains SP Sotto.

Pangilinan said the bill was prompted by the news that the biggest of the corrupt contractors, the spouses Curlee and Sarah Discaya (they bagged P207 billion of DPWH contracts and P180-billion cash went to their bank accounts), called a presscon to announce they would not cooperate with the ICI. They thumbed their noses at ICI, heckling it as toothless.

‘The Discayas are hustlers,’ harrumphed Ombudsman Remulla.

‘We need this body (IPC) because of the unrest that we feel in our midst and the need to restore the faith of our people in our democratic system of government,’ former Senate president and justice secretary Franklin Drilon told the Senate committee.

Before the committee, ICI chair Andy Reyes complained that ICI during its first month had only three lawyers attending to hundreds, if not thousands, of flood control scam cases. Reyes asked that ICI be given the power to check bank accounts and scan text messages of culprits. ICI commissioner Babes Singson wants ICI commissioners to be immune from suits.

‘There is nothing in the Senate bill that protects the members of the Commission from harassment suits, especially after their term of office expires,’ notes former Chief Justice Reynato Puno. He also asks that the commission be empowered to ‘subpoena bank records, tax returns, SALNs, data from the AMLC and, especially, if they belong to such personalities as the president, the members of Congress or the justices of the Supreme Court and other independent bodies.’ And lower courts, except the Supreme Court, should be prohibited from issuing TROs on the ICI.

Over P1 trillion of the DPWH was stolen disguised as flood control money, the biggest syndicated stealing ever. Jailed so far: Zero.

Saavedra-led Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has secured $55 million in financing from Singapore-based Pentagreen Capital to accelerate the rollout of its solar and battery storage projects across the country.

The loan, facilitated under Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P) initiative, will support CREC’s deployment of up to 2,000 megawatts of solar power and 760 MW-hours of storage capacity.

In particular, the deal will initially finance eight solar farms totaling 610 MW?peak across Pangasinan, Pampanga, Batangas and Negros Occidental, with three sites incorporating a battery energy storage system (BESS).

‘In 2023, Pentagreen trusted our ability to scale toward our ambitious renewable energy goals. With our first one gigawatt nearing completion and preparation for our next GW, Pentagreen remains an integral partner to Citicore,’ CREC president and CEO Oliver Tan said.

‘Their continued vote of confidence and support for our undertakings through this agreement will help us further accelerate our renewable energy developments, bringing clean, sustainable and more affordable electricity for the country,’ Tan added.

With this new funding, CREC expects to deliver an additional 914 GW-hours of clean energy to the country’s power grid, enough to power 240,000 homes annually while displacing around 630,000 tons of carbon emissions.

‘Pentagreen Capital, with support of our partners in connection with Singapore’s FAST-P initiative, stands ready to support Citicore and its innovative approach to accelerating the region’s transition toward stable and reliable renewable energy sources,’ Pentagreen CEO Marat Zapparov said.

The Philippines reduced its borrowings from offshore creditors by 71 percent in the third quarter as fewer foreign loans were secured for government projects, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

Latest data from the central bank showed that the Monetary Board approved only $1.1 billion worth of proposed public sector foreign borrowings from July to September, a steep 71.13-percent decline from $3.81 billion in the same period last year.

In a statement, the BSP said the approved borrowings all have medium to long-term maturities, consisting of two loans for social protection projects.

From January to September, total public sector foreign borrowings reached $12.28 billion, 16 percent higher than the $10.58 billion in the nine-month period a year ago.

Under Philippine law, all foreign borrowing proposals by the national government, its agencies and government financial institutions, as well as loans guaranteed by the national government, must first be approved by the Monetary Board.

Likewise, all foreign borrowing proposals of the government, government agencies and government financial institutions have to be submitted for approval-in-principle by the Monetary Board before commencement of actual negotiations, as mandated under Letter of Instruction 158 issued in January 1974.

The central bank said this requirement is in line with its mandate to ensure that the country’s foreign debt remains manageable.

The Philippines borrows heavily from foreign and domestic creditors to finance the country’s budget deficit as it spends more than what it actually earns.

Currently, the country’s outstanding debt has eased to P17.47 trillion as of end-August from P17.56 trillion as of end-July.

The amount of damage to school buildings caused by the recent magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck Manay, Davao Oriental has reached P8.5 billion, the Department of Education said yesterday.

The DepEd disaster risk reduction and management service (DRRMS) said in-person classes remained suspended in most schools affected by the temblor.

‘Alternative learning modes have been implemented across affected schools to ensure learning continuity,’ the DepEd-DRRMS said, noting it has been closely coordinating with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to speed up response operations, assess the extent of damage and identify immediate needs in affected areas.

The DepEd said 2,703 schools were severely damaged by the quake including 1,219 in Davao region, 474 in Caraga, 407 in Central Visayas, 318 in Northern Mindanao, 140 in Negros Island Region, 70 in Eastern Visayas, 45 in Western Visayas and 30 in Soccsksargen.

Other schools recorded minor damage to classrooms and facilities.

President Marcos will be at the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Malaysia from Oct. 26 to 28 and will witness the turnover of the chairmanship of the regional bloc to the Philippines and the signing of several key agreements.

Marcos will join 14 leaders’ level meetings and three signing ceremonies during the summit, according to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Angelica Escalona.

The meetings to be attended by the President include the 28th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Leaders’ Summit, 20th East Asia Summit, 15th ASEAN-United Nations Summit, 38th ASEAN-China Summit, ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit and the 5th ASEAN-Australia Summit.

He will also sign the declaration on the admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN as its 11th member and witness the forging of the second protocol to amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade.

Eighty outcome documents are expected to be issued, adopted or noted during the summits.

A closing and handover ceremony of the ASEAN chairship from Malaysia to the Philippines will be held on the last day of the regional meet.

‘Building upon the success of previous ASEAN chairs, the Philippines will take this opportunity to introduce how we will steer the future of the region and beyond by galvanizing community-building efforts during our chairship,’ Escalona said.

‘The leaders are also expected to discuss various global issues that impact the region and beyond – these include the situation in Myanmar, the economic uncertainty and other geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges that affect the region,’ she said.

Fidel Concepcion captured his first-ever Philippine Golf Tour crown in the ICTSI Apo Golf Classic here Friday – but not before enduring one of the toughest, most nerve-wracking finishes imaginable.

What looked like a walk in the park quickly turned into a test of will and composure. Concepcion, who had built a commanding six-stroke lead midway through the final round of the P3.5 million championship, needed a career-defining birdie from 10 feet on the second playoff hole to edge Korea’s Jaehyun Jung and capture the elusive victory.

‘Honestly, it’s unreal,’ said Concepcion, visibly emotional as he struggled to find the right words. ‘It’s one of those things you never know if it will ever happen. And somehow – it did.’

The path to the playoff was anything but smooth. After birdies on Nos. 1 and 3, Concepcion appeared in total control at two-under through seven, six shots clear of Tony Lascuna. But a double bogey on the par-4 eighth and another dropped shot on No. 10 cracked the door open for the field.

Senators Francis Pangilinan and Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday made public their statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Pangilinan, who made his SALN public in an event of the Liberal Party yesterday, declared a net worth of P26.7 million, with no liabilities.

In his SALN, he declared that he bought P5.8 million worth of agricultural and residential properties from 1992 to 2017. He also declared ownership of P20.8 million in cash, furniture, jewelry, vehicles and stock shares.

He declared business interests in Sweet Spring Country Farm Corp. and FRD Food and Spices Inc., where he has been a shareholder since 2017.

Pangilinan declared no relatives in government.

Based on his declaration as of Dec. 31, 2024, Gatchalian reported total assets of P89.5 million and no liabilities.

His filing listed two real estate properties with a combined acquisition cost of P40.1 million and personal assets amounting to P49.3 million. His declared cash in the bank stood at P38,062.79.

The senator also disclosed business interests in Wellex Industries, Iloilo Country Club, Universal Leisure Club, The Orchard and Valley Golf.

Gatchalian identified his brothers – Social Welfare Secretary Rexlon Gatchalian and Valenzuela City Mayor Weslie Gatchalian – as relatives in government service.

Meanwhile, members of the Marcos Cabinet are expected to meet today to discuss matters relating to the release of their SALN, according to Palace press officer Claire Castro.

The Sandiganbayan has sentenced businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, together with Gondelina Amata, the former president of the defunct state-owned firm National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC), and Michael Lim Benjamin, the former chief political officer of former senator Gregorio Honasan II, to up to 68 years in prison in connection with the alleged misuse of the latter’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

In a decision promulgated yesterday, the anti-graft court’s Third Division found Napoles, Amata and Benjamin guilty of one count each of violation of Section (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, one count each of malversation of public funds and three counts each of the complex crime of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents.

For the graft offense they were sentenced to six up to 10 years imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office.

For the malversation offense, they were sentenced to imprisonment of 12 up to 17 years and four months.

While for the two counts of malversation through falsification, they were sentenced to six up to 12 years for each count and 12 up to 17 years for the third count.

They, however, would not have to actually serve the total period of their sentence behind bars, as the country’s penal justice system limits maximum imprisonment for a felony to only 40 years.

Napoles, Amata and Benjamin were also ordered to each pay a fine totaling P15 million. The court said this was on top of another P15 million that they must jointly pay the government as their civil liability.

The civil liability shall incur an interest of six percent per annum to be reckoned from the finality of the decision until full payment.

The decision was penned by Third Division chairperson Associate Justice Ronald Moreno with the concurrence of Associate Justices Kevin Narce Vivero and Edgardo Caldona.

Napoles attended via online video conference from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong where she is currently detained for her conviction of plunder in connection with the misuse of the PDAF of former senator Bong Revilla.

Lawyers of Amata and Benjamin, meanwhile, manifested before the court that they will be filing their respective motions for reconsideration.

The Third Division, upon the motion of both lawyers and without objection from the prosecution panel, allowed Amata and Benjamin to no longer double the amount of the bail bond they previously posted in order to continue enjoying their provisional liberty while the decision is under appeal.

Amata and Benjamin each posted P510,000 bail bond when the cases were filed in 2022.

The Third Division has yet to release the copy of the decision as of yesterday afternoon.

The cases stemmed from the allocation of a total of P29.1 million in PDAF of Honasan in 2009 to 2010 to dubious non-government organization Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation, Inc. (AEPFFI), allegedly owned by Napoles. Honasan was not charged in the cases.