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The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has confirmed a coastal uplift in a village in Bogo City following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu last week.

In its field assessment released Tuesday, Phivolcs reported that the shoreline in Barangay Nailon rose by about a meter, as evidenced by exposed tidal flats, raised tidal notches, and elevated high-tide markers. It attributed the phenomenon to the movement of the Bogo Bay Fault, which triggered the powerful quake on September 30.

The uplifted zone was previously submerged in seawater, as indicated by dry seagrass beds and distinct changes in tidal formations along the coast. These features provide visible proof of the vertical displacement of land near the fault line during the seismic event.

The earthquake caused widespread destruction across northern Cebu, leaving 72 people dead and over 550 injured and affecting around 611,000 residents, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

‘Zone of avoidance’

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said it would assist local governments in enforcing a 5-meter ‘zone of avoidance’ along the Bogo Bay Fault, following Phivolcs’ recommendation to prohibit construction near the active fault line.

Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police units in the Central Visayas region had been instructed to coordinate with disaster response councils and assist in establishing safety perimeters around the identified fault trace.

He said police stations in Bogo City and neighboring areas had been tasked to assist in ‘information dissemination, patrol vulnerable communities, and help local authorities enforce safety perimeters within the 5-meter zone of avoidance.’

The PVL on Wednesday announced it has decided to replay the two opening game matches that were played without imports, giving all teams a fair shot with their full squads.

The decision was made with the backing of stakeholders and the teams, citing ‘spirit of fairness, competitive parity, and delivering the best possible experience’ for the fans.

The new schedule of the games will be announced at a later date.

On Tuesday, ZUS Coffee, Akari, Choco Mucho and Capital1 opened their Reinforced Conference-the tournament that showcases international talents- campaigns without their reinforcements due to a dispute over International Transfer Certificates.

In the all-Filipino battles, the Flying Titans and the Thunderbelles prevailed.

PVL pointed the blame on the Philippine National Volleyball Federation for their alleged refusal to endorse the ITCs required for foreign guest players to compete.

All the ITCs for imports and Filipino-Foreign players were activated and signed on Wednesday at 6:30 a.m.

With the issue sorted out, Petro Gazz can begin its bid with returning import Lindsey Vander Weide on board as well Filipino-Americans Brooke Van Sickle and MJ Phillips. They battle the Galeries, which has Montenegrin Jelena Cvijovic, on Thursday at Dasmariñas Arena at 4 p.m.

Nxled’s Paola Martinez and Farm Fresh’s Helene Rousseaux are also cleared to play for the second game at 6:30 p.m.

Responding to public outcry, Sen. Erwin Tulfo has proposed an ‘extraordinary measure’ granting a one-month income tax holiday amid the multi-billion-peso flood control projects scandal rocking the government.

‘The exposure of alleged anomalies in flood control projects, involving billions of pesos in public funds, has gravely eroded public trust in government fiscal stewardship. The Filipino people have raised a clear and resounding clamor-‘Return the people’s money. Lower the taxes,” Tulfo said when he filed Senate Bill No. 1446 on Tuesday.

‘The welfare of the people is the supreme law. It is therefore just and necessary that the State respond by providing tangible relief to the very taxpayers who sustain it,’ he added.

Under the bill, all individual taxpayers receiving compensation income may enjoy a ‘one-time, one-month income tax holiday,’ which will be reflected in the first payroll month immediately following the bill’s approval.

For mixed-income earners, only the portion classified as compensation income will be exempt from tax.

‘Towards this end, the state shall, as an extraordinary measure, grant a one-time, one-month tax holiday on compensation income, without prejudice to existing social security contributions and benefits,’ according to the bill.

It states that the proposed tax holiday will not cover the mandatory contributions to the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, PhilHealth, Home Development Mutual Fund, and loan amortizations and other payments voluntarily authorized by the employee.

The bill also includes a non-diminution clause, which will ensure that employers cannot reduce employee wages during the tax holiday month.

‘While taxation is recognized as the lifeblood of the State, we must equally recognize that this lifeblood flows from the people themselves,’ Tulfo said.

‘At a time when public confidence has been shaken, this bill provides a fair, extraordinary, and immediate form of relief that returns benefits directly to the people,’ he added.

Various protest rallies were recently held in parts of the country following revelations of alleged massive corruption in the government’s flood control projects.

Separate investigations in Congress also revealed the alleged involvement of some senators and congressmen, who were accused of receiving kickbacks in exchange for these infrastructure projects. /mcm

On September 30,2025, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) participated in the ‘LAB for All’ Program held in Valenzuela City, demonstrating its commitment to expanding health and charity services to local communities.

Leading the PCSO team were Director Imelda Papin and Assistant General Manager for the Charity Sector, Atty. Lauro Patiag. They oversaw the distribution of 1,500 Charitimba relief packages to the city’s residents who attended the caravan.

In addition, the PCSO also turned over ?3,892,214.85 in Lotto Shares to the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Valenzuela. This amount covers the city’s share of lotto sales generated from January to June 2025 and is mandated to be used for local health and medical services.

The ‘LAB for All’ initiative, spearheaded by First Lady Marie Louise ‘Liza’ Araneta Marcos, is a collaborative program designed to mobilize various government agencies to bring direct medical and social services to citizens.

The PCSO’s participation and assistance directly support the directive of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. to strengthen the country’s healthcare system and ensure that medical services are accessible in every community. The agency remains dedicated to continuous collaboration with government programs for the welfare of all Filipinos in need.

Citing low completion rates and idle infrastructure projects, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian vowed to transfer the P3-billion allocation for the Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad (TIKAS) Program from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to the Department of National Defense (DND).

During the budget hearing on the DND’s P295-billion 2026 budget on Tuesday, the Senate finance committee chair highlighted several unfinished DPWH projects, including two multipurpose buildings for the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in Pasay City, valued at P72 million and P51 million, both tagged as completed but still unfinished.

Two other PAF projects, valued at P60 million and P17 million, also lack complete funding.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro reported that of 944 approved TIKAS projects since 2019, only 648 have been completed, with several remaining unfinished or unusable.

‘For 2026, we will transfer the P3 billion to the DND. What’s important is to finish these structures and to ensure that our soldiers benefit from every peso of the funds,’ Gatchalian said.

‘The buildings are being put to waste, they are standing but are not being used. It would be better if the DND itself would implement the projects because they know what their needs are,’ he added.

Teodoro said there was no validation of whether or not they can use the structures.

‘That’s why the remedy is to meticulously check these projects. We will also report these to the committee. We already have the inventory that we’re willing to submit,’ he said.

Teodoro added that they will discuss with DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon the possible filing of appropriate cases against the people behind the unfinished projects.

‘These structures were essential, but these were not part of the core infrastructure-based development program. these do not fall in line anymore with our strategic basing and operational security requirements.and henceforth these will not be pursued anymore, yet recovery must be done,’ he said. /mcm

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Wednesday called for a comprehensive Senate inquiry into the condition and structural integrity of bridges nationwide.

His call came following the collapse of the 50-year-old Piggatan Bridge in Alcala, Cagayan – the second bridge collapse in the Cagayan Valley region in just eight months.

In February, the newly retrofitted Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela province collapsed, injuring six people while also leading to the fall of four cars into the Cagayan River.

Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) assessment revealed that the Sta. Maria-Cabagan bridge suffered from ‘under-design.’

Under-design refers to a situation where a structure, system or component is designed with insufficient capacity, strength or performance to meet expected loads, stresses, or operational requirements.

The Piggatan Bridge, a 74.7-meter steel structure built in 1974, collapsed on October 5, 2025, after reportedly being weighed down by three heavily loaded trucks carrying palay and corn.

The bridge, certified by the DPWH as being in ‘good overall condition’ just a year earlier, served as a vital link along the Maharlika Highway, connecting Alcala town to the rest of Cagayan province and Tuguegarao City.

The incident, which injured seven people, has paralyzed travel and trade in and out of Alcala, forcing trucks transporting agricultural goods to take longer and costlier routes.

Estrada’s Senate Resolution No. 153 urged the appropriate committee to conduct the inquiry, underscoring the need to review existing bridge designs and maintenance systems, and assess the economic and tourism impacts of such incidents.

He said the committee should recommend measures to safeguard public welfare and ensure the integrity of the country’s infrastructure.

‘Will we wait for another bridge to collapse before we take action? We must act swiftly to identify vulnerable structures, especially in agricultural regions,’ the senator said in a statement.

‘It’s not just the roads that get cut off during incidents involving bridge collapse. Transportation, safety, and livelihood of people are also affected,’ he noted.

Through the proposed inquiry, the Senate aims to identify aging and high-risk bridges that may require retrofitting or replacement, strengthen infrastructure audit systems, and reinforce government accountability in maintaining safe, reliable public structures.

Estrada urged the DPWH and other agencies to prioritize the retrofitting and replacement of aging bridges, and to ensure that new constructions meet modern standards capable of handling increased traffic and heavier loads.

He stressed that the recurrence of such incidents raises serious questions about the durability, inspection protocols, and design standards of public infrastructure. /apl

Consumers might pay more for electricity this month as power generation charges could rise, utility firm Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said.

‘This is due to the depreciation of the peso, which affects costs of our suppliers that are mostly dollar-denominated,’ Joe Zaldarriaga said in a statement on Tuesday. He is vice president and head of corporate communications at Meralco.

The generation charge accounts for more than half of the monthly electricity bill.

With the US dollar gaining more ground against the local currency, this means that costs related to power producers and supply deals that are dollar-denominated could become more expensive.

But Zaldarriaga remained optimistic that the possible hike could be softened by the reduction in prices at the spot market.

Spot prices down 34%

On Monday, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said the prices of electricity traded at the spot market dropped by 33.8 percent in September. This settled to its lowest in the last seven months.

IEMOP operates the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. It is a platform where power is traded between producers and distributors to boost their supply.

The systemwide power rates covering the September supply declined to P3.04 per kilowatt hour (kWh) from the previous month’s P4.59 per kWh. This will reflect in consumers’ October bills.

This, as the supply volume slightly rose to 20,712 megawatts (MW). Meanwhile, demand fell by 2.9 percent to 13,640 MW.

All three major island groups booked lower prices amid weaker demand. Both the Visayas and Mindanao grids saw a 37-percent drop in prices. – INQ

Pinky Amador threw shade at radio host Anthony Taberna after visiting his restaurant to buy ‘fake news,’ following his claims that Senator Risa Hontiveros, too, made insertions or amendments to the 2025 national budget.

On her social media pages, the screen veteran drew laughs among her followers when she shared a video of her visit at one of Taberna’s restaurant branches, in which she could be seen walking toward the store’s cake shelf where a variety of goodies are displayed.

Amador then told the person taking the video, ‘Bibili sana ako ng fake news.’ (I was planning to buy fake news.)

The camera then panned to the restaurant’s signboard before focusing again on Amador who flashed a smile and a V hand sign.

She added in the caption, ‘Ingat po tayong lahat sa mga papapakin natin. Maging mapanuri sa mga balita, iwasan ang pagpapakalat ng maling impormasyon.’

(Let us all be careful with what we consume. Be critical of the news and avoid spreading false information.)

While Amador did not expound on her remark, it noticeably came after Taberna claimed on his radio program that Hontiveros made insertions in the 2025 budget. Taberna made the claims amid the corruption allegations now hounding other members of the Senate.

Taberna later on claimed in his program there was ‘nothing wrong’ with amendment insertion, unless a lawmaker received a kickback for pipelined projects.

Hontiveros vehemently denied making insertions, saying she even opposed the passage of the controversial 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA). As part of the minority, she and former Sen. Koko Pimentel were the only ones who did not sign the national budget.

Amador’s video has so far garnered over 46,000 Facebook reactions and more than 4,400 comments-most of them were from netizens who apparently approved of the actress’ remark.

Taberna has yet to respond to Amador’s post. He has limited commenting on his platforms.

Gretchen Ho said Philippine ambassador to Norway was ‘surprised’ after she informed him of her family member’s experience of being denied service at a foreign exchange counter at Oslo Gardermoen Airport.

The broadcast journalist earlier said that a foreign exchange counter personnel at the airport refused to exchange her unnamed family member’s money ‘because of the corruption and money laundering in the Philippines.’

As per Ho’s Facebook page on Tuesday, Oct. 7, she received a call from ambassador Enrico T. Fos after she sent an official incident report on the matter.

‘I have already spoken with the Philippine Ambassador to Norway. The Ambassador was surprised,’ she said.

‘As far as he knows, these incidents shouldn’t be happening. He says he’ll be meeting with the Norwegian foreign ministry to address the issue,’ she added.

Ho then underscored the need to clarify the policy on foreign exchange in Oslo, as she pointed out that the Philippines has already been taken out of the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The list includes the ‘jurisdictions under increased monitoring and that are working closely with FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.’

Ho further noted in her post that her effort to seek clarity on the matter is not only for her family.

‘I believe getting some clarity would help not just our family, but other Filipinos who have shared similar experiences at the same airport in Oslo, saying they have been declined foreign exchange services upon knowing their country of origin is the Philippines,’ she stated.

‘Bon Appétit, Your Majesty,’ starring Lim Yoo-na and Lee Chae-min, recently emerged as tvN’s breakout hit of 2025.

But this should not have been surprising at all. Bring together a successful 21st century chef, an antique recipe book that probably belongs in a museum, and a tyrant king from Joseon era that causes the death of many – who changes for the love of his life, by the way – and you have one clear formula for success. Turn it all into a romance and drama-filled survival cooking show and suddenly you’re shipping Jeonha (honorific for king in Korean) and Yeon Seoksu.

Not only will it have your mouth watering; it will also get you hooked on historical K-dramas once again.

Bring your hanbok out and prepare to bow to the kings. Here are five other historical K-dramas to binge-watch after ‘Bon Appétit, Your Majesty’.

Mr. Queen

Starring Shin Hye-sun and Kim Jung-hyun, ‘Mr. Queen’ takes its viewers on a comedic journey to South Korea’s Joseon dynasty. This K-drama features Choi Jin-hyuk as Jang Bong-hwan, a womanizer head chef at the Blue House – the residence of the President.

Trying to escape the police, Bong-hwan jumps and drowns in a pool, but magically swapping souls with Kim So-yong (Shin), who is soon to be wed to King Cheoljong (Kim Jung-hyun).

Like ‘Bon Appetit,’ the series makes use of Joseon’s cuisine as a prominent element of the story. If you enjoy Joseon palace politics mixed with lots of comedic relief scenes, this drama is for you.

The King’s Affection

If you like ‘The Parent Trap’ and ‘It Takes Two,’ then add this drama to your list. Rowoon makes hearts swoon as the king’s tutor, while Park Eun-bin of ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ fame proves she’s one Korea’s best actresses.

In a time when twins were considered bad omen, and only males were allowed to lead, the Crown Princess decides to keep her son in the palace so that he may inherit the throne, and send her daughter away to save her life.

This compelling 20-episode series will let you feel the ‘impostor syndrome’ of a woman, raised as a lowly citizen then pretended to be a royal man. The romance between the two leads, Dam-yi (Park) and Jung Ji-woon (Rowoon) was carefully built – a perfect slow-burn set in the Joseon era.

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

You either love it or you haven’t watched it yet.

This 2016 K-drama brings big-named cast members, an unforgettable soundtrack, and a heartbreaking story to the table. This is a series that balanced reality and fantasy so well, it becomes immersive and pulls you into Korea’s past.

Hae Soo, who is played by singer-actress IU, falls into a lake during an eclipse. When she emerges, she’s in the Goryeo Dynasty, not knowing anyone, or anything about what had happened.

She meets eight of Goryeo’s founder, King Taejo’s sons who are played by Kim San-hi, Hong Jong-hyub, Lee Joon-gi, Kang Ha-neul, Yoon Sun-woo, Byeon Baek-hyun (EXO), Nam Joo-hyuk, and Ji-soo.

Hae-soo gets stuck in an era where sitting on the throne means to betray or be betrayed, and the more she tries to keep the brothers close, the more she gets dragged along a treacherous and mortifying path.

If you’re looking for a historical drama to cry, laugh, and get attached to, this is definitely the one for you.

Hwarang

Now that we’re talking star-studded dramas, ‘Hwarang’ checks all categories.

With prominent actors Park Seo-jun, Park Hyung-sik, and Go A-ra taking main leads, to K-Pop idol-actors V of BTS and Choi Min-ho of SHINee, this series ticks all boxes of star-studded casting.

The drama shows a group of men banded together to create a group of ‘flowering knights’ meant to protect the Queen and defend her royal family. Unbeknownst to them, the King himself joins the group, masking his identity.

This drama will make you smile wide with cutesy bromance scenes, a wonderful kilig chemistry between the male and female leads, and gripping your chair with action, and betrayal.

If you’re looking for a family-type of drama, you should check this out.

The Emperor: Owner if the Mask

If you like it, you like it.

This drama received mixed reviews from many, the deep and heavily political themes and the whopping 40 episodes making it an acquired taste type of drama.

It starts with a Crown Prince who grew up wearing a mask to hide his identity from a group of powerful tyrants that seek to control the throne. Crown Prince Lee Sun played by Yoo Seung-ho (I’m Not A Robot), becomes a beacon of hope for his people amid a water drought caused by the same group that controls the King.