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President Marcos had approved the amnesty application of nine former rebels, in a first batch of grantees more than a year after he set off such a process.

In a document for the National Amnesty Commission (NAC) dated Sept. 24, the Office of the President listed eight former communist rebels and one former Moro rebel as amnesty grantees.

According to the NAC, five of them are women and four are men. Two of the women are ages 20 and 21 years old.

The NAC is the agency mandated to oversee the amnesty process, receiving and evaluating applications through its Local Amnesty Boards (LABs) established throughout the country.

The commission had aimed to help facilitate the reintegration of former rebels into mainstream society, and for those still applying, grant them safe conduct pass so they can go through the legal processes without fear of being arrested on account of their pending criminal charges.

Confidence building

When he issued four proclamations in November 2023 to set off the amnesty grant for four rebel groups, the President said he did so in the spirit of achieving peace and reconciliation, and build confidence as part of a broader national strategy to address the root causes of insurgency and conflict.

The lone Moro rebel granted amnesty is Basit Sarip Abbas, a top commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Lanao del Sur who is now a Member of Parliament (MP) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

‘We are happy that MP Abbas has finally achieved his dream of receiving amnesty from the government. It is our hope that he will serve as an inspiration to his other comrades to apply for amnesty and complete their transformation as peaceful, productive and law-abiding members of society,’ Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., himself a former rebel-soldier who joined the 1989 coup attempt, said in a statement on Friday.

Historic milestone

Galvez described the amnesty grants as a ‘historic milestone’ in the country’s journey toward complete healing and reconciliation.

‘We are very happy with this positive development and we thank President Marcos Jr. for granting amnesty to these individuals. We hope that more names will be released soon,’ Galvez added.

He hoped more eligible individuals will avail of the amnesty grant before such opportunity ends in March 2026.

On Nov. 22, 2023, President Marcos issued Proclamation Nos. 403, 404, 405, and 406 granting amnesty to members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade, Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front, MILF and Moro National Liberation Front, respectively.

The House of Representatives concurred with the proclamations on Dec. 15, 2023, while the Senate did so on March 4, 2024 and March 13

University of the Santo Tomas made sure to bounce back in its own backyard on Saturday in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.

Following a close loss to National U, the Growling Tigers gave the Thomasians at Quadricentennial Pavilion a treat with a dominant 111-99 victory over the hapless University of the East.

‘We have so much confidence from coach Pido. He gave it to our vets like Nic (Cabanero) and Forthsky (Padrigao) and even to Collins (Akowe), who’s been playing under the weather for almost two weeks now,’ assistant coach Juben Ledesma said. ‘Of course, we also saw the support of the whole community. We thank them because we really feel it playing in our home court.’

The home bets barely led the Red Warriors at the intermission, 59-55, setting up what could’ve been a classic barn burner.

But UST found its stride in the penultimate frame with 24 quarter points, all while limiting the opposition to 12 points, en route to 3-1 card.

Cabañero headlined the UST victory with 22 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two steals. Padrigao finished with 18 points, like Akowe did in his double-double along with 17 rebounds.

John Abate scored a game-high 27 points for UE, which dropped to 0-4. Dray Caoile scored 23 while Precious Momowei notched a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds in a losing effort.

University of Santo Tomas became the first team to breach the 100-point mark in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at its own Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The Growling Tigers dismantled University of the East, 111-99, with Nic Cabañero leading the way on offense as usual.

The graduating guard, though, deflected the credit and said his teammates pushed him to headline the highest-scoring output of a UAAP team in recent years.

‘It’s my fifth year here in the UAAP, I already know our approaches with different teams and I just stick to the system given to me,’ he said after UST improved to 3-1.

‘Without my teammates, I wouldn’t score this much. They just give me confidence,’ he added.

Cabañero tallied a team-high 22 points to go along with eight assists, three rebounds and two steals in the squad’s third win of the season.

The Growling Tigers’ victory is also the second-highest scoring output of any team in the post-pandemic era, just behind La Salle’s 112-83 win over-coincidentally-UST in 2022.

Cabañero had plenty of help as Forthsky Padrigao and Collins Akowe also posted 18 points apiece in the win.

UST looks to unload more high-powered offense when it faces Ateneo next Saturday at Blue Eagle Gym.

Victims of financial fraud will have to be extra careful when transacting with people or organizations claiming to offer help, as they can potentially be scammed the second time around, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned.

The corporate watchdog on Friday said these ‘recovery’ and ‘advance-fee recovery’ schemes had been proliferating on social media platforms.

These accounts are not authorized by the SEC to provide fund recovery services, the regulator clarified.

In an advisory, the SEC said perpetrators typically offered to retrieve funds previously lost to scams or other fraudulent schemes in exchange for advance fees or personal information.

Some will claim to be affiliated with government agencies or law enforcement authorities without any lawful basis. They will also likely fabricate testimonials, documents or credentials to appear credible and legitimate, the commission pointed out.

At the same time, these individuals or entities may employ ‘high-pressure tactics’ to force victims to make immediate payments or disclose sensitive personal or financial information.

‘The commission warns the public not to transact with, remit any sum to or disclose personal information to such individuals or groups,’ the SEC said in its advisory.

‘Victims of scams are strongly urged to lodge their complaints directly with the proper authorities for appropriate action,’ it added.

Intensified crackdown

This comes as the regulator intensifies its crackdown on individuals and entities potentially defrauding the public, including unauthorized online lending platforms (OLPs).

Separately, the SEC Financing and Lending Companies Department ordered Microdot Lending Corp. to stop its operations, saying that the company had supposedly been operating two undisclosed OLPs, Credit Peso and MF Cash.

Under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 19, Series of 2019, all financing and lending companies are required to disclose the OLPs they operate.

The SEC has also been receiving complaints about Microdot for alleged unfair debt collection practices, violating the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act of 2022. INQ

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has authorized the importation of onions, carrots and broccoli in small quantities to alleviate rising food prices due to weather disturbances.

On the sidelines of the 47th Meeting of the Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA has observed significant price spikes in certain agricultural goods based on their recent monitoring.

Tiu Laurel said the price of red onion, for instance, increased to as much as P140 to P160 per kilogram (kg) about one or two weeks ago, ‘which is kind of too much.’

‘I have a feeling that the remaining local are being held back a bit [to maximize profits], so that’s why I ordered silently to import last week,’ Tiu Laurel said.

‘We are now addressing that and hopefully inflation will stabilize . as we have already ordered the importation of white onions, red onions, carrots, broccoli to augment the supply disruption due to storms, rains and floods,’ he said.

Before harvest

The agriculture chief said he allowed the entry of 3,000 to 5,000 metric tons (MT) of red onions until about one month before the harvest season for this commodity starts in February.

As for carrots, Tiu Laurel said the DA allowed the importation of ‘a few hundred tons’ to assess the situation, as prices have surged as well. These can come from China and the Netherlands.

‘The importation of carrots from China is done on a trial basis. It is the first time we have allowed it. Carrots from New Zealand and Australia have been allowed for a long time, but prices are quite high,’ he told reporters.

As of Friday, the farm sector incurred P2.93 billion in losses, according to the DA’s latest bulletin on the southwest monsoon (‘habagat’) and tropical cyclones Mirasol, Nando and Opong.

The weather disturbances damaged 213,164 MT of agricultural produce in 84,267 hectares of land, mostly rice and high-value crops.

Per the DA’s price monitoring of Metro Manila markets, carrot retailed from P200 to P300 per kg as of Sept. 30, higher than last year’s P80-P160 per kg.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is stepping up safeguards when handling government transactions, vowing closer scrutiny of cash withdrawals as a flood control probe widens.

DBP president and chief executive Michael de Jesus said the state-run lender had moved to shore up safeguards at front-line units that handle government transactions, instructing them to exercise ‘more vigilance and prudence’ when red flags emerge, particularly those triggered by adverse media reports.

He added that the bank is also exploring new monitoring scenarios to broaden its ability to detect other cash-based transactions.

‘The Bank is primarily focused on operationalizing compliance . specifically on the setting of additional layers of controls and requirements, which extends to all types of customers and transactions, including those involving government agencies and offices,’ de Jesus told the Inquirer.

‘We shall also be undertaking a series of education and awareness campaigns on these recent regulatory issuances to sustain heightened level of compliance culture within the organization,’ he added.

The stricter stance comes as banks face growing pressure to show they can detect and block suspicious transactions.

This, after congressional hearings featured testimonies describing vast sums of money being withdrawn in cash and allegedly funneled to lawmakers tied to irregular flood control projects.

Photos of stacks of banknotes-presented as evidence of kickbacks-have fueled public outrage and sparked protests in the capital last month.

LandBank claps back

In one session, senators grilled contractor Sally Santos, who admitted withdrawing P457 million in cash over just two days from a Land Bank of the Philippines branch in Bulacan.

Santos, owner of Syms Construction Trading, is among several contractors accused of channeling state funds into the scheme.

LandBank, meanwhile, ‘strongly refuted’ any insinuations of irregularity in its handling of government contractor accounts, stressing that all questioned transactions had complied with mandated procedures.

LandBank said the funds were legitimate government allocations under the annual national budget law, not private or unverified sources. Therefore, it argued that the bank, ‘or any other financial institution, has no legal authority to block or question duly appropriated government disbursements.’

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has launched its probe into potential vulnerabilities of concerned banks in relation to transactions involving flood control projects.

The review, it said, was aimed at determining the scope of any lapses and holding lenders accountable where shortcomings are found.

The delegates of the 2025 Miss Asia Pacific International pageant did not just stop at packing relief goods in their effort to help those affected by the magnitude-6.9 earthquake that rocked the province on Sept. 30.

After volunteering to help pack goods at the Cebu Province Warehouse for two consecutive days, the ladies went to three towns in the northernmost tip of the island to deliver not just aid, but to provide cheer to the people.

Loaded in two buses, and accompanied by trucks carrying relief goods, including water and uncooked rice, 32 of the 43 delegates to this year’s competition rolled out their mission to Daanbantayan, Medellin, and San Remigio.

Miss Asia Pacific International Executive Director Jacqueline Tan-Sainz told Inquirer Entertainment in an interview at the covered court of Barangay Poblacion in San Remigio that the three towns were strategically chosen.

‘We did a research, and Bogo is really popular in terms of media, in places hit by the earthquake. But all the northern parts of Cebu were hit equally. So these are the areas not reached by help, so we really prioritized these areas,’ she explained.

At the chapel of a small community in Daanbantayan where several families are taking shelter after the earthquake, the ladies met a large group of residents.

There, they played with the children, comforted their parents and grandparents, and handed out aid. Little boys and girls flashed huge smiles as they approached the delegates for hugs.

The ladies then proceeded to the municipal hall of Medellin to deliver a truckload of goods, which still included gallons of potable water and sacks of uncooked rice.

In San Remigio, they personally handed out bags of relief goods and gallon-bottles of drinking water to the residents, most of whom still do not have access to potable water.

Belgian beauty Selena Ali, second runner-up in last year’s competition, joined the ladies, and offered assistance to her compatriot Jana Janssens, who was in crutches after sustaining a minor injury during a commotion when the earthquake struck.

‘I believe it’s the right thing to do, to start giving to the people back and helping. Pageants are not about only beauty and about competing on stage. But it is about our hearts, and showing that we care about people. So it’s great that we can do this instead of our normal activities. And it feels amazing to be helping all of the victims of the earthquake,’ she told Inquirer Entertainment.

Ali said she became emotional when she saw the devastation caused by the earthquake on the houses and other structures, and the people on the streets begging for food and water.

‘It’s something that we only see in movies. And normally I don’t go through this myself. It’s heartbreaking to know that people lost their homes. But still that’s something the Filipino mindset is all about. The people are still smiling when they see us. And it’s so amazing that there’s so much love even in these hard times,’ she shared.

The Miss Asia Pacific International organizers opted to ditch all the planned activities prior to the final competition, and realigned the pageant to serve as a vehicle for relief missions.

The earthquake halted the pageant’s benefit gala night on Sept. 30 just as the ceremonies were about to close. It happened on the delegates’ first day in the province. The coronation night will still push through at the Cebu Coliseum on Oct. 8. /ra