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More than 200,000 individuals were affected by Severe Tropical Storm Paolo (international name: Matmo), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Sunday, October 5.

As of 8 a.m. on Sunday, Paolo, which exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Saturday, was estimated to be 1,060 kilometers north of extreme Northern Luzon, moving west-northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour.

The NDRRMC said 225,557 individuals, or 70,575 families, were affected by Paolo in 22 provinces and 135 cities/municipalities.

A total of 6,505 individuals were pre-emptively evacuated in Regions 1, 2 and 3. There are also 20,549 individuals evacuated, with 8,586 outside evacuation centers and 11,964 inside evacuation centers.

There are no deaths or injuries recorded as of writing.

A total of 98 areas in Region 1, 3 and Region IV-A were also flooded. There are also 13 partially damaged houses.

Damaged infrastructure. Ninety-eight road sections were affected due to the inclement weather, while 34 bridges were also affected.

Sixteen seaports were also affected, with 176 passengers, 37 Rolling Cargoes, 32 Vessels, and 7 motobancas currently stranded.

The total estimated cost of assistance provided to affected families, LGUs, and regional agencies reached P1,718,352.10, comprising P389,566.10 allocated to families and P1,328,786 given to local government units and regional agencies.

Every job has its share of after-work pains, including daily 9 to 5s behind a desk (plus overtime for some).

“Sitting is the new smoking,” quips Ma. Elena Lourdes R. Tan of Makati Medical Center’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “That means the lack of activity increases your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers – conditions associated with regular tobacco use.”

Beyond those conditions, another risk that could occur from being hunched over a desk is musculoskeletal pain, with Dr. Tan pointing out common issue among office workers is lower back pain.

Because people have curved postures when they’re seated, pain is also felt in the shoulders and neck.

Dr. Tan describes it as “tech neck” or “text neck” as it’s common among those who frequently use gadgets, “It’s stress caused from keeping your shoulders and head slumped forward and your chin practically touching your chest.”

The hands and wrists may also feel pain or weakness, especially when using a computer, and the doctor says that it is likely carpal tunnel syndrome.

“The carpal tunnel is a space in your wrist bone that serves as a passageway for tendons, ligaments, and nerves to reach your hand,” Dr. Tan explained. “When the median nerve in your carpal tunnel is irritated or damaged due to repetitive motions, it sends pain to your hand, wrist, and fingers.”

Speaking of computer use, hours of looking at a screen can affect one’s eyes leading to blurred vision, dryness, and headaches.

As such, Dr. Tan listed down a number of tips to avoid the risks of office-related pains and to work more comfortably.

Sitting right

Dr. Tan advises using a chair that supports the spine, and its height can be adjusted.

“Feet are flat on the floor, knees at the same level as the hips, and head straight, not bent forward,” she reminded.

The doctor added ensure one is at arm’s length from the computer, the wrists are straight and the hands level with the elbows.

Breaks

A five-minute break, not long ones, every 30 minutes can relax and recharge the body and brain, as well as give the eyes a rest.

How one spends their break varies – go for a walk, meditate, stretch, listen to music, read, eat, or chat with an officemate.

Ergonomic products

Standing desks are in these days because, as Dr. Tan points out, one isn’t hunched over when using one so the posture is more aligned.

“Still, you might have to take walking and sitting breaks with this type of desk, as standing for too long can be tough on your joints and the soles of your feet,” she added.

Other ergonomic products could be footrests or laptop risers, all of them designed to make the work environment more comfortable.

Exercise

Dr. Tan said exercise improves posture by strengthening the muscles that support the back, shoulders, and core.

Excercising also releases mood-enhancing endorphins that lift the spirit to relax oneself after a long day.

The doctor advises simple stretches like neck shoulder rolls, chest stretches, and torso twists, as well as quick exercises such as squats and triceps dip using a chair, seated movements like calf raises and knee to chest, and wall push-ups and sits.

With 14 episodes released so far, boys’ love (BL) series “Got My Eyes on You” has ensnared viewers with its kilig moments, leaving them craving for more after each five-minute drop.

Set in the picturesque S-Cape Villa, the series is a catchy blend of swoon-worthy BL romance and a grounded and earnest look at the sacrifices Filipino breadwinners make for their families.

At its very core, “Got My Eyes on You” is a charming enemies-to-lovers tale about Drew (Mikoy Morales), the dedicated villa operations manager, and Shawn (Esteban Mara), the always-calm-and-collected guest relations officer, who are both vying for the post of S-Cape General Manager.

However, the story is not a simple clash between ambition and attraction.

Shawn, who comes from a well-off family, wants to prove his independence and capability despite a privileged background, while Drew carries the heavier burden: as a breadwinner, he supports his family and pays for his younger sibling’s education.

“May pinapatapos pa akong bunso, eh. Kung prangkahan lang din naman, kailangan ko talaga ang posisyon na yon. Kaya ayoko ‘yang lovelife-lovelife na ‘yan. Hindi ko priority ‘yan,’ Drew stresses, showing how young Filipino adults are inclined to set aside romance for responsibility.

Still, sparks fly between Drew and Shawn. Viewers have witnessed their playful bickering amid frequent teasing by villa co-workers, accountant Moira (Hannah Lee), and events coordinator Wilfred (Darwin Yu).

The undeniable chemistry shines not just in heated exchanges but in softer moments, like when they hang out with their dogs, Matcha and Miller.

Fans could not get over a scene after the office party, where Drew – drunk and vulnerable – accidentally fell asleep beside Shawn and woke up in his arms.

More than these moments of kilig, the series remains authentic. Drew’s struggle reflects a reality often underrepresented on screen – for many Filipinos, love feels like a luxury when there are mouths to feed and bills to pay.

In the forthcoming episodes, viewers find answers to the question: will Drew’s heart win over his strong sense of responsibility, or will love remain out of reach?

Listed mining firm OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. said yesterday that it has appointed a new chair of its board of directors, marking a major leadership change in the company which posted $30.3 million in revenue in 2024.

In a statement, the Australian-Canadian mining firm said the position was assumed by Brian Martin on Sept. 24, noting that he has more than two decades of experience in the metals and mining industry.

He specializes in corporate strategy, investor relations and business development.

Martin also serves as senior vice president for business development and investor relations at OceanaGold Corp., the parent company listed in Australia and Canada.

‘I look forward to working closely with the Board of Directors and management team to continue delivering strong operational performance and value creation for our shareholders. With a high-quality asset in Didipio and an experienced and dedicated team, we are well positioned to build on our success and contribute meaningfully to the Philippines and the communities we serve,’ Martin said.

In his first week as chair, Martin met with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan to reaffirm OceanaGold’s commitment to sell at least 25 percent of its annual gold dore output directly to the BSP.

The arrangement, the company said, would help boost the country’s gold reserves and reinforce financial stability.

Martin also visited the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) where he met with chief operating officer Roel Refran to highlight the company’s growth prospects and long-term value creation for shareholders.

OceanaGold Philippines, which operates the Didipio gold-copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya, has been gaining visibility in the local equities market since its initial public offering in May 2024.

The firm was added to the PSE MidCap Index in August, signaling investor recognition of its performance and governance record.

‘Our recent inclusion in the PSE MidCap Index is a strong endorsement of the trust investors and regulators place in us. It reflects our consistent performance, transparent governance and commitment to responsible mining,’ Martin said.

The company said it would continue strengthening collaboration with government agencies and host communities as it seeks to sustain growth while ensuring benefits extend beyond its mining operations.

In medical emergencies, response teams conduct triage, assessing who among the patients have the most urgent need for attention.

The Supreme Court may want to implement a similar system in dealing with the many cases that call for its action. The SC can start with the legal challenge against yet another one-year postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections or BSKE.

President Marcos signed into law last August Republic Act 12232, which not only reset the BSKE from Dec. 1 this year to Nov. 2, 2026, but also gave BSK officials a longer term of four years from the current three.

RA 12232 effectively extended the terms of the current BSK officials by a year through an overly long postponement of the vote. These are acts that the SC had struck down as unconstitutional the first time that Marcos signed an earlier law, RA 11935, which postponed the BSKE scheduled in December 2022.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, who successfully challenged RA 11935 before the SC, is also spearheading the legal challenge against RA 12232, the latest move of the 19th Congress and the executive to pander to their grassroots political operators.

A key argument in the postponement of the BSKE this year is to give full attention to the first-ever parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The BARMM vote, however, is no longer pushing through, after the SC struck down the redistribution of seats in the BARMM parliament following the exclusion of Sulu from the region.

Bowing to the SC, Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia said the BARMM vote has been reset to March 31, 2026. With the postponement, P1 billion worth of ballots, other election paraphernalia and Comelec preparations have gone to waste, Garcia said. Replacing the wasted items will also require additional funds, which could be greater than P1 billion.

In the case of the BSKE this December, a one-year postponement will cost taxpayers an additional P4.3 billion, Garcia said last month.

In the absence of a temporary restraining order from the SC, the Comelec has stopped preparations for the BSKE. But the SC might issue a ruling similar to the one on RA 11935, in which case it will save billions in public funds – and a lot of confusion – if it would issue a TRO on this year’s BSKE postponement.

Better yet, the SC might want to hand down its ruling on the case, giving the Comelec and other stakeholders sufficient time to prepare if the decision favors Macalintal’s challenge.

Trillions in public funds have already gone down the drain due to corruption in flood control projects. If only to save several precious billions, the BSKE postponement case deserves urgent judicial action.

Construction firms owned by contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya could face fines totaling as much as P300 billion due to alleged bid rigging in over 1,200 flood control projects, the Department of Public Works and Highways announced yesterday.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the department has referred cases of bid manipulation and bid rigging to the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for a preliminary inquiry and possible filing of charges under Republic Act 10667, the Philippine Competition Act.

The cases involve 12 flood control projects in Bulacan and Oriental Mindoro, which include five contractors. Among them is St. Timothy Construction Corp., owned by the Discaya couple, which secured two of these projects.

Other contractors implicated include Wawao Builders and Sunwest Inc., each with three projects, as well as IM Construction Corp. and SYMS Construction Trading Inc., each with two projects.

‘What we are asking from the PCC is to investigate the bid manipulation with the appropriate penalty per contract violation,’ Dizon said in Filipino during a press conference in Quezon City.

Dizon estimated penalties for the 12 projects at around P2.3 billion but warned the Discaya couple could face much steeper fines for the rest of the projects they obtained from the government.

From 2016 to 2025, companies owned by the Discayas reportedly won 1,214 flood control projects worth a total of P77.934 billion.

With the maximum penalty set at P250 million per contract, Dizon projected the Discayas could be fined up to P300 billion.

The DPWH chief also pointed to the couple’s admission before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, where they acknowledged their companies’ participation in bid rigging, as critical evidence.

‘We have to throw everything at these people. We will file every possible case because they need to be held accountable,’ Dizon stressed, underscoring the government’s determination to recover billions of pesos in public funds lost through questionable flood control projects.

In addition, the DPWH has forwarded a list of 18 properties owned by the Discaya couple to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for possible forfeiture in favor of the government.

These properties, including the couple’s mansion in Pasig City, have an appraised value of around P1 billion and have been targeted by angry protesters.

License revocation

The DPWH is also moving to revoke the licenses of 20 engineers and other professionals implicated in anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.

Dizon submitted yesterday to Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Chair Charito Zamora pieces of evidence for the revocation of the licenses of engineers, accountants and architects allegedly involved in the projects.

Among those tagged as ‘superstars’ in the anomaly are former Bulacan first district engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Ericson Hernandez, Jaypee Mendoza and Paul Jayson Duya.

Dizon said the move is in compliance with President Marcos’ directive to hold accountable not only contractors but also DPWH officials and other professionals linked to the corruption scandal.

The evidence turned over included fraud audit reports from the Commission on Audit and findings from the DPWH’s internal audit service.

To institutionalize cooperation, Dizon and Zamora signed a memorandum of agreement to strengthen coordination between the two agencies in imposing sanctions against professionals involved in government corruption.

‘It’s not just about accountability, but it’s also about safeguarding the institutions and the projects that DPWH is doing from now moving forward,’ Dizon added.

For her part, Zamora gave assurance that the PRC will act on the request with substantial evidence but emphasized that due process will be observed.

‘We will give them a chance to reply and after that, the body will decide,’ she said, noting that those implicated will have 15 days to respond.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said local government units have reported substandard and ghost flood control projects nationwide, with findings set to be submitted to President Marcos by month’s end.

More assets frozen

Beyond administrative sanctions, financial regulators have also intensified their crackdown.

The AMLC has secured a fourth freeze order from the Court of Appeals, bringing the total value of immobilized assets linked to alleged corruption in flood control projects to more than P4 billion.

In a resolution dated Oct. 3, the appellate court ordered the freezing of 57 bank accounts, 10 real properties and nine motor vehicles identified by the AMLC as potentially connected to irregular infrastructure spending.

‘This marks another firm step in the government’s broader crackdown on corruption in public infrastructure projects,’ the AMLC said, noting that the action builds on earlier directives that froze billions in alleged illicit wealth.

To date, four separate freeze orders have covered 1,620 bank accounts, 54 insurance policies, 163 motor vehicles, 40 real properties and 12 e-wallet accounts.

Investigators said these include a luxury compound in a prime urban district, high-end vehicles, virtual currencies and unit investment trust funds.

‘These freezes are real actions that stop corruption,’ AMLC executive director Matthew David said. ‘Every peso frozen is a peso that cannot be used to sustain corruption.’

The cumulative value of immobilized assets has now exceeded P4 billion, with the amount expected to rise as financial trails are further uncovered.

The latest freeze order is part of ongoing investigations into irregularities in flood control spending, a sector repeatedly flagged by oversight bodies for leakages, overpriced contracts and misuse of public funds.

The AMLC, created under Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, has the authority to investigate suspicious transactions and secure judicial orders to immobilize assets suspected of being tied to unlawful activities.

‘The AMLC remains committed to tracing financial links to public sector anomalies,’ David stressed, underscoring the agency’s role in dismantling networks that profit from misused taxpayer money.

Victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that rocked Cebu can now avail themselves of free orthopedic treatment under PhilHealth’s ‘Z benefits’ package, the Department of Health (DOH) announced Saturday, October 4.

DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said the expanded benefit was approved by the PhilHealth Board to help survivors who suffered fractures and other bone injuries after being hit or trapped by falling debris.

“‘Yung sa orthopedic Z benefit package kaya importante ‘yan dun sa gawi ng PhilHealth, kasi kunwari nabalian ang isang tao dahil nga dun sa lindol. Ang karaniwang ginagawa po ng mga orthopedic surgeons, naglalagay po ng mga tinatawag na implants. ‘Yan po ay mga bakal na kung tawagin nga po. Mahal po yan kaya nahihirapan ang ating mga kababayan,” Domingo said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.

(The orthopedic Z benefit package is important under PhilHealth’s system because, for instance, if a person suffers a bone fracture due to the earthquake, orthopedic surgeons typically insert what are called implants, which are metal components used to stabilize broken bones. These implants are very expensive, which is why many Filipinos struggle to afford them.)

The new orthopedic Z package will allow patients to undergo surgery and receive implants at no cost, under a zero-balance billing policy.

‘Wala na po silang kailangang gastusin (They will no longer have to spend anything),’ Domingo said.

The DOH official clarified that the benefit will cover even patients confined in non-accredited private hospitals, as long as their injuries were caused by the earthquake or its aftershocks.

He also clarified that the benefit is retroactive to the date of the quake.

“Retroactive to the time of the incident kailan nag-lindol, kahit po kayo ay nadischarge at ngayon lang nag-approve, ‘wag kayong magalala sasaklawan ‘yung bill ninyo,” the DOH official said.

(It’s retroactive to the time of the earthquake. Even if you’ve already been discharged and the approval came only now, don’t worry, your hospital bill will still be covered.)

To fast-track implementation, the DOH said it has coordinated with hospitals across Cebu and will issue provisional accreditations where necessary.

The health department continues to operate under Code Blue Alert, the highest emergency status, while aftershocks persist in the province.

Domingo said the DOH maintains round-the-clock monitoring and has so far deployed 163 medical personnel to assist affected communities.

‘Every 24 hours, nagrereport at nag-aassess kung ilan ang nadeploy at kung saan pa kailangan,’ Domingo added.

(Every 24 hours, they report and assess how many personnel have been deployed and where else they are needed.)

In a separate interview on Saturday, Domingo said the DOH will deploy additional mental health and psychosocial support teams to Cebu on a rotational basis.

‘Mayroon tayong Mental Health and Psychosocial Service team na ide-deploy sa Cebu province para iyon ang mag-aasikaso doon sa mental health,’ he said.

(We have a Mental Health and Psychosocial Service team that will be deployed to Cebu province to take care of the mental health needs there.)

The earthquake killed at least 68 people, injured nearly 600 and displaced over 77,000 residents in hard-hit towns like Bogo City and Medellin.

Officials declared a state of calamity in Cebu province to unlock emergency funds and give local governments flexibility to hasten rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.