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The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has tapped renowned local and international filmmakers for the jury of its 21st edition this 2025.

The main competition jury is composed of veteran actor Christopher de Leon, award-winning director Pepe Diokno, screenwriter Michiko Yamamoto, Japan-based Americann critic Mark Schilling, and script consultant and writer Sophia Wellington.

De Leon has been a staple of Philippine entertainment for over five decades, earning him the title “King of Philippine Drama” and the recipient of numerous honors from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards, the Metro Manila Film Festival and Gawad Urian.

Just a few of his iconic films include “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos,” “Ganito Kami Noon… Paano Kayo Ngayon?,” “Kakabakaba Ka Ba?,” “Aguila,” “Bituing Walang Ningning,” “Madrasta,” “Dekada ’70,” “El Presidente,” “Smaller and Smaller Circles” and “On the Job: The Missing 8.”

Diokno is best known for directing “GomBurZa” and “Isang Himala,” and his first three films “Engkwentro,” “Above The Clouds,” and “Kapatiran” have screened in a number of international film festivals.

“Engkwentro” won a Special Citation at Cinemalaya 2009 before going on to win “Luigi de Laurentiis” Award for a Debut Film and Orizzonti Prize for Best Picture at the Venice Film Festival.

Yamamoto debuted as a screenwriter in 2003’s “Magnifico” and followed it up with the screenplays for “Santa Santita,” “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” and “Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington.”

She also wrote the screenplays of “On the Job,” its sequel “On the Job 2: The Missing 8,” “Kubot: The Aswang Chronicles 2,” and “Honor Thy Father” with her husband, director Erik Matti.

Schilling reviews Japanese films for Japan’s oldest English-language newspaper The Japan Times, covers Japan for Variety, and serves as a program advisor for the Udine Far East Film Festival.

Wellington previously taught at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia’s MA in Film and Dramatic Writing and is currently the Head of Screenwriting at the London Film School.

Three esteemed filmmakers make up the jury for the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award: Loy Arcenas, Ina Feleo, and Pradip Kurbah.

Arcenas started out as a production designer before venturing into writing and directing beginning with “Niño” and “REquieme!” which won back-to-back Cinemalaya Special Jury Prizes.

“Niño” also won supporting actor honors for Arthur Acuña and Shamaine Buencamino and the Best Production Design award while “REquieme!” also won Best Screenplay.

He also wrote and directed “Elehiya” and “Ang Larawan,” the latter a musical film adaptation of Nick Joaquin’s “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” which won five awards at the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival, including Best Picture.

Feleo won Best Actress in Cinemalaya 2007 for her debut performance in “Endo” and two years later won the award again for “Sanglaan.”

Other films she has starred in include “Rewind,” “The Hearing,” “The Healing,” “Family Matters,” and the previously mentioned “On the Job 2: The Missing 8.”

Kurbah is a self-taught Indian filmmaker and a leading voice in Khasi-language cinema. His latest movie “Ha Lyngkha Bneng (The Elysian Field)” served as the opening film for this year’s Cinemalaya.

The 21st Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival runs until Oct. 12, 2025.

Unquestionably, this year has been marked with unforgiving catastrophes. Just this week, in fact, two unrelated tremors hit the country. First was in the Visayas (epicenter was in Bogo City, Cebu) at 9:59 PM on September 30, 2025 and in just a little over four hours, Taal Volcano erupted.

Though Taal Volcano’s eruption was a bit trivial, Bogo City, Cebu and its surrounding municipalities suffered horribly. At 6.9 magnitude, several structures collapsed and scores of lives never made it. Apart from these sad tales, more than five hundred were reported injured. Dejectedly, both happened while we are still trying to fend off the damages brought about by Typhoon Opong in other parts of the country.

Just like many tragedies in the past, however, the recent one also brought about the best character in most of us, generosity. While some sectors took some religious spins on these catastrophes, the fact remains that scientifically, natural tragedies do happen once in a while and depending on their strengths, may or may not bring about destruction to anyone. If it does happen, however, the weaker structures will suffer the most.

Notably, to some extent, nature has also conspired with well-meaning citizens, to do good as well, in unearthing potential anomalies. For instance, the tremor that hit the Visayas in 2013. To recall, as photos revealed, some kilometers of damaged concrete roads and bridges in Bohol didn’t have or have insufficient steel bars. Apparently, poorly built, these roads, bridges and structures were not able to withstand tremors of such magnitude. Thus, certainly, some unscrupulous people must have siphoned enough money and rendered the projects destruction-bound. The same is also true this week as some roads and bridges are rendered unusable.

With this in mind, as reconstruction begins in these badly hit areas, we have more reasons to worry. It is a known fact that politicians wield so much power especially in the countryside. Most of them are astute businessmen too. They are mostly into construction and other related businesses like hardware and sand and gravel. With the LGUs’ Bids and Awards Committees (BACs) under their total control and co-bidders downright cohorts, they’ll surely win, albeit, under cover of their distant relatives’ or close friends’ names. Consequently, undertaken projects, most likely, will be either overpriced or substandard.

Thus, absorptive capacity theory must come into play. Among others, there are salient points in this theory that we must all learn and, hopefully, adhere to. These are, ability to use funds, budget utilization and program implementation. So self-explanatory, isn’t it. However, there are lots of obstacles that hinder absorptive capacity. Among many, in our country’s situation, poor capacity, structural issues as well as efficiency and accountability stand out the most.

Our DPWH and LGU Engineering Departments have unequivocally shown these deficiencies in capacity and structural issues in their respective organizations. Absolutely, apart from nature’s wrath, the Senate and ICI hearings have also uncovered that. More importantly, even COA wasn’t able to adequately perform their role as guardian of the public funds. Explicitly, it is its mandate as granted by the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Its auditors are supposed to ‘examine, audit, and settle all government accounts and expenditures to ensure that public resources are used legally, efficiently, and for their intended purposes, preventing their misuse or misappropriation.’

On the other hand, a question on absorptive capacity is supposed to be dug deeply when such term was mentioned by Sen. Lacson in one of the hearings of the Senate’s Blue-Ribbon Committee. Remember the P51 billion infrastructure budget of the First District of Davao City in the last three years of Pres. Duterte’s presidency? Yes, it should have been given value. Why? If true, the local economy will be largely affected. Yes, infra development will boost the local economy as industries related to construction will rake in a lot. Sadly, however, there are other industries that might be getting the shorter end of the stick here too.

In an assembly dominated by male delegates, it’s once again uplifting to see women heads of state, foreign ministers and country representatives stand and speak at the iconic podium of the UN General Assembly. Our Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, took the honor of conveying at the world stage the Philippines’ national statement during the General Debate of the UN’s 80th General Assembly.

At a time when all is not quiet elsewhere in the world, including in our home front, our country’s top diplomat spoke about our values that are deeply embedded in the aspirations of the UN charter. The Philippines is, after all, one of the 51 founding members of the UN.

I watched our foreign affairs secretary’s speech through the UN live webcast. Like the messenger, the message serves as a wellspring of hope, particularly at a time when we are inundated with a deluge of polarizing ideas. Such messages enliven one’s patriotic spirit and provide us a compass of how we as citizens could participate in nation building.

Peace is at the core of SFA’s message. Yet paradoxically, peace is one of the most elusive quests for the 193 members of the UN. Because at every word uttered about peace, somewhere in the vicinity of the UN headquarters are groups of activists rallying for the end to wars. Within the halls of the GA, a good number of representatives of member-states walked out to support the creation of a Palestinian state.

Precisely why SFA Lazaro voiced a clarion call for peace. Referring to the ‘40,000 cases of violations against children in armed conflict,’ she lamented that this unprecedented record in 30 years ‘is unconscionable.’ I was haunted by painful images of children of war I see and read in the news every day.

I read a UNICEF report from January to June 2025 on the ‘State of Palestine’ that 1.7 million children need humanitarian assistance. From Oct. 7, 2023, there have been ‘over 50,000 children casualties, 17,000 killed and 34,000 injured’ in the Gaza Strip. UNICEF also reported that in the first half of 2025, more than half a million children (over 253,000 girls and 252,000 boys) were screened for acute malnutrition.

A New York Times investigative story on ‘The Trauma of Childhood in Gaza’ tells of a 12-year-old girl named Rahma, whose life has become one of hunger. Like thousands of children, she’s lucky to have one meal a day, consisting mainly of pasta and lentils. If given the choice between crayons and bread, she would choose bread. School for them is now a memory.

I wonder how leaders of countries at war feel about this reality. Are they not horrified? What has become of their sense of compassion?Or have they become so jaded to think of helpless children as mere statistics?

It was against the backdrop of the unthinkable consequences of war did SFA Lazaro reiterate our ‘covenant for peace.’As our country vies for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the period 2027 to 2028, our foreign secretary said that we anticipate the ‘solemn honor of serving this body.’ Should the Philippines’ candidature succeed, our SFA decisively articulated: ‘We recognize the weight of the responsibility of the Security Council. When it acts for the interest of humanity, it is a fulcrum of change, a force for good and a bastion of hope for populations trapped in hopeless situations.’

SFA Lazaro expounded on how middle-income countries like the Philippines play a crucial role in helping achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals, highlighting that ‘together, we are the fastest growing economies, the largest consumer markets and the top sources of human capital.’

As she spoke of where we stand in global developments, SFA Lazaro acknowledged the roles of people, economies and technologies. She hailed Filipino migrants as agents of growth and how our compatriots ‘support health systems, advance education and boost creative economies.’ She cited how, at the International Conference on Seafarers’ Human Rights, Safety and Well-being held in Manila recently, states and stakeholders affirmed readiness to do more for the ‘1.9 million seafarers as the backbone of maritime trade that accounts for 90 percent of global commerce.’

In addressing the world stage, SFA Lazaro was clad in a black dress (the color of strength) and a light blue blazer (the color of the UN) made from Philippine fabric. One could sense the gravity and sincerity of her message when she affirmed: ‘There is no alternative to the United Nations.’

The photos I have seen of SFA Lazaro – from the opening ceremony to the sidelines of the high-level week, remind me of subtle messages diplomats deliver either through symbolic fashion or accessories. Former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright was said to have used the expressive power of a piece of jewelry – the pin or brooch – to communicate a message during her diplomatic term.

From how I viewed them, the style and colors of SFA Lazaro’s suits and dresses exude both savoir-faire and indefatigability (I learned she attended at least 35 bilateral meetings, during which she was also complimented by her counterparts for her stylish outfits).

Toward the end of her address, SFA Lazaro tactfully said that amid threats of foreign encroachment, as a maritime country, we remain relentless in abiding by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ‘as reinforced by the binding 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea.’

While our ships and boats are literally rocked and countries of the world face the promises and threats of AI, SFA Lazaro assured the international community, ‘we offer steady hands’ in Philippine missions and offices where we unwaveringly advance the goals of the UN. Then she took inspiration from General Carlos P. Romulo’s words at the First UNGA in 1946 – that our stake in the UN as a nation is one of ‘an identical destiny, of shared anxiety, of hope and endeavor.’

In 2018, Rex Wallen Tan of the Government-Academe Industry (GAIN) network declared that ‘while the consensus is that the Philippines is superior to its neighboring countries in terms of English proficiency, the advantage is greatly at risk with the improvement of English literacy in other countries such as Singapore and Thailand.’

This distressing news prompted Sen. Pia Cayetano to say that ‘just by looking at the data, the English proficiency of our college students is the same as Malaysian Grade 6 students and Japanese taxi drivers. Nakakahiya, nakakaawa tayo.’

For decades, English proficiency has been our primary advantage, fueling economic pillars that provide essential middle-income jobs and opening opportunities worldwide for our professionals. However, this advantage now faces a two-front challenge: aggressive educational reforms in neighboring countries and a persistent foundational skills gap at home.

The Billion-Dollar English Imperative

Our national economy’s growth engines are critically dependent on English-driven industries.

IT-BPM sector: The information technology and business process management industry is a powerhouse, closing 2024 with $38 billion in revenue and employing 1.82 million Filipinos.

OFW remittances: Remittances from overseas Filipino workers, a lifeline for millions, reached a record $38.34 billion in 2024, secured by Filipinos whose English skills make them globally sought after.

Digital economy: Up to 1.5 million Filipino online freelancers leverage their English abilities on international platforms, making the country a top global destination for digital work.

These sectors require a consistent supply of talent with high-level communication skills to continue thriving.

A new competitive landscape: The Asean race

While historically a leader in English, our ASEAN neighbors are rapidly closing the gap through deliberate national initiatives, which threaten our competitive edge and ability to attract high-value jobs.

It seems that we have grown complacent with our perceived advantage in English proficiency and cannot accept that other nationalities are catching up or have already surpassed us.

Malaysia’s National English Language Roadmap (CEFR B2 for College), Vietnam’s National English as a second language project (2025 to 2035) and Thailand’s mandatory adoption of the CEFR English language tests are prime examples of this strategic push. Beyond ASEAN, nations like Taiwan and Japan are also prioritizing English, intensifying the global competition for talent where English proficiency is the key battleground.

The foundational skills gap at home

This external pressure from our neighbors is compounded by a severe educational crisis at home. International assessments such as Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed in 2022 that over 75 percent of Filipino students are low performers in mathematics, science, reading and creative thinking. In 2022, compared to 81 countries, the Philippines ranks sixth lowest in both mathematics and reading, while it now ranks third lowest in science.

This foundational weakness persists throughout the educational system, leading to a shocking outcome that millions of Filipinos have finished high school despite being functionally illiterate.

A national response to a global threat

Recognizing this urgent threat in 2018, I met with the GAIN Network led by Lyceum University president Peter Laurel and Rex Wallen Tan to discuss this distressing issue.

We started laying the foundational groundwork to enhance the nation’s global competitiveness. The first crucial step was forming the Technical Working Group for the National Roadmap for Global Competitiveness in Communication Skills (TWG-NRGCCS) and providing a grant to fund the meetings with educational stakeholders.

While some sectors and universities wanted CHED to require the inclusion of mandatory English in the curriculum, I argued that this was not a language issue. Instead, we should view English proficiency as a strategic advantage for Filipino graduates, especially in fields such as engineering and technology, medicine and allied health, tourism management and teacher education. These are degree programs where our graduates are highly recognized and tend to practise their professions worldwide.

This TWG-NRGCCS was instrumental in rolling out a multi-pronged national strategy that includes:

Democratizing education: CHED provided a grant to develop free Open Educational Resources (OERs) covering CEFR proficiency levels A2 to B2, which are now publicly accessible on the IAS CHED YouTube channel. In parallel, TWG-NRGCCS members led by Rex Wallen Tan volunteered their expertise to help create the Duolingo ‘English for Tagalog Speakers’ course, which now provides free learning to more than one million users.

Standardizing proficiency: The TWG successfully oriented 94 percent of all state universities and colleges (SUCs) on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), establishing a unified, international benchmark for language skills across the country.

Driving national adoption: The influence of this framework has expanded beyond higher education. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has now adopted the CEFR for all language programs under its National Language Skills Center (NLSC), ensuring a consistent standard for both academic and technical-vocational tracks.

A strategy for economic survival

This CHED-industry-academe collaboration is not merely educational upgrades; these are critical to our national economic survival. By elevating English proficiency, the Philippines can directly address the skills gap, reinforcing the very foundation upon which our most vital industries are built and sustained.

This initiative must now be rolled out to cover more universities nationwide and expand across academic disciplines.

Securing our economic future depends on winning this global competition.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said over national radio Friday, October 3, that the Department of Health (DOH) is next on the radar of anti-corruption crusaders, after uncovering alleged large-scale corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), particularly in flood control projects.

‘Not only DPWH – what’s happening in the DOH is getting close, too,’ he said, referring to mounting concerns over alleged irregularities in the health department following corruption complaints against Health Secretary Ted Herbosa and five other officials.

They were accused of misusing P44.6 million worth of government-procured psychiatric medicines, which were allegedly turned over to a private group without due process.

‘Si (DOH Secretary Ted) Herbosa, malapit na ‘yan,’ Magalong said.

Lawmakers have also flagged the DOH’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), citing unfinished or unusable health centers, with some described as ‘ghost’ facilities.

Others, meanwhile, remain non-operational due to a lack of personnel.

Magalong said the efforts of his group, Mayors for Good Governance, are not limited to infrastructure projects, stressing that public funds are also being wasted in other critical areas, including healthcare – a concern that directly affects ordinary Filipinos.

However, his actions have drawn criticism. Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon questioned Magalong’s own record, citing a P110-million tennis and parking facility project in Baguio linked to Discaya-owned St. Gerrard Construction. Ridon urged Magalong to also explain his involvement in the project.

Magalong, who resigned from the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) after questions over a possible conflict of interest, may need to present stronger evidence of alleged corruption in the DOH, similar to what he submitted against DPWH officials.

Before stepping down from his post as ICI adviser and investigator, Magalong had turned over documents and other evidence to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which helped jumpstart ongoing corruption probes.

The DOH has yet to issue a formal response to Magalong’s latest claims.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is warning the public against groups claiming to provide assistance to victims of fraud.

In its latest advisory, the SEC urged the public to exercise the highest degree of caution against certain individuals or groups operating Facebook pages, online communities, and other social media platforms that appear to offer help to scam victims.

The SEC said these platforms are, in fact, designed to defraud them a second time.

Such schemes are referred to as ‘recovery’ and ‘advance-fee recovery’ scam by the SEC.

‘These online accounts or entities are not authorized by the commission and have no legal authority to provide recovery services,’ the SEC said.

‘On the contrary, they are being utilized as instruments to exploit already vulnerable victims,’ it said.

The SEC said that schemes employed by perpetrators commonly include offering recovery of funds previously lost to scams in exchange for advance fees or personal information.

Such groups also misrepresent affiliation with government agencies or law enforcement authorities as well as fabricate testimonials, documents or credentials to create a false appearance of legitimacy.

The SEC said those involved in these scams likewise employ high-pressure tactics to induce victims into making immediate payments or disclosing 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. Victims of scams are strongly urged to lodge their complaints directly with the proper authorities for appropriate action,’ it said.

Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI), an Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary, has resumed partial operations at its Cebu power plant following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the province earlier this week.

The company confirmed that Unit 2 of its Toledo City coal-fired facility returned online at 3:51 a.m. on October 2 after clearing safety and structural checks, and is now supplying electricity to the grid. Unit 1 is scheduled to restart by October 5 pending final inspection.

Meanwhile, East Asia Utilities Corp. (EAUC), a 37.2-megawatt plant under AboitizPower located in Lapu-Lapu City, reconnected to the Visayas grid at 12:25 p.m. on October 1.

TVI said in a statement that it is coordinating with the Department of Energy, the Energy Regulatory Commission and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to mitigate the earthquake’s impact on power supply and ensure grid stability.

The company added that it will provide further operational updates as it works to restore full capacity at its facilities.

We have become a battered and traumatized people.

Notice how frantic we become when a storm threatens. Every precaution is taken. Work and school are suspended. We buckle down and expect the worst.

We are among the most disaster-prone countries in the world. But until lately, we have confronted calamity with a certain elan. We cultivated a certain confidence that we would always pull together and surmount the challenges we are fated to endure.

Some of that elan has dissipated. We have lost confidence in our public infrastructure. We fear that, because of corruption, our bridges would fall, our dams would break and our hospitals would collapse.

When a major quake struck northern Cebu a few days ago, patients were evacuated from the only hospital in Bogo City. People were reluctant to return to the facility even after engineers declared the hospital safe. They did not trust government engineers.

For days, people subsisted under plastic trash bags to keep out the rain, refusing the safety of evacuation centers. There is such distrust for edifices built under government contracts.

At the slightest rainfall, our streets flood. There is enough evidence that the ill-conceived flood control projects did not just fail to solve the problem. They aggravated the flooding. Many of these projects after all were intended simply to facilitate looting.

We have been betrayed by the political class. This fact taxes our pride in our nationhood.

Our government has failed us on every front. Our educational system was allowed to rot, leaving the next generation ill-equipped to thrive in the world ahead. Our public health system is barely there. Our agriculture is unable to feed our people. Our economy is unable to keep our people meaningfully employed.

The calamities that hit us are worsened by failure in governance. We wasted trillions in useless projects by a government that seeks to win acceptability through political patronage.

We cannot stop storms and earthquakes. But adept governance should have enabled us to mitigate their effects. Denied adept governance, robbed by those who are supposed to lead us, we have become more vulnerable as a community.

I was moved by a post circulating widely in social media. It read: How can we love our country if we cannot trust our government?

Dissembling

Indeed, how can we rebuild trust in government if the political class itself appears to be dissembling.

In the face of continuing revelations related to the public works scandals, the ruling majority’s grip on power appears to be weakening as our politicians turn against each other. Our congressmen and senators are now in open verbal warfare. The freshly installed majority in the Senate appears to be in danger of collapsing.

The dominant faction emerging after the election of Bongbong Marcos in 2022 seemed omnipotent at the beginning. But it succumbed to its own project of dynastic continuity.

The person in charge of this project, Martin Romualdez, attempted to change the Constitution early on. That attempt was so clumsily managed. It relied entirely on funding congressmen to gather signatures for Charter change. The congressmen simply pocketed the funds. The political project collapsed almost as soon as it began.

Unable to continue along the route of altering the constitutional order, the effort abruptly changed course. Again, relying on the illusory power of congressmen who simply wanted another source of funding, Romualdez and company targeted Vice President Sara Duterte. She was seen as a hindrance to dynastic continuity, vastly overshadowing Romualdez’s popularity.

The goal this time was to discredit Sara, have her impeached by a cooperative Senate and banned from holding public office.

This strategy seemed entirely doable. The congressmen of the majority coalition will sign anything in exchange for public works projects. We saw that when, on a moment’s notice, they lined up to sign the impeachment complaint last February.

But the Senate was not very cooperative. Nor was the Supreme Court, which pointed out the unconstitutionality by which the impeachment complaint was signed and delivered.

At this point, it does not seem possible to revive the discredited impeachment complaint. The transactional legislators will not likely cooperate with this sort of unpopular political project unless they are richly rewarded. The scandal over the looting of infra funds through congressional insertions guarantees there will be no funds available to win legislative support.

The project of dynastic continuity is now dead in the water. Its principal architect and intended beneficiary has been consigned to the gallery of political rogues. It is inconceivable he could ever be politically rehabilitated.

This political project had a fatal flaw. It was entirely reliant on transactional politics. Therefore, it needed a large volume of undocumented funds constantly flowing to buy political support. Such funds can only be produced through systematic looting of the budget. It required a mafia of legislators, bureaucrats and unscrupulous contractors to plunder public funds on a sustained basis.

The political project of dynastic continuity collapsed under the weight of unbridled greed. The perpetrators were not loyal to the political project. They pocketed the loot and betrayed their own principals.

The public works scandal did not just blow up in the faces of the main perpetrators. It blew up on the entire system of patronage politics that passed itself off as a democracy.

Now we need to reinvent our entire system of politics.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has teamed up with the University of the Philippines (UP) to equip computer and engineering students with digital skills for the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

Converge yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with UP for the development of AI talents, as the Philippines gears up for a future dominated by automated systems.

The agreement, which runs for three years, sets up a collaboration framework between Converge and UP with the goal of putting up a dedicated space for innovation in the long term.

The partnership aims to raise the level of education in UP on cloud computing, machine learning, smart manufacturing and digital business.

The program will benefit students taking up computer engineering, computer science, electronics engineering and business administration.

Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy said the company has decided to work with UP to ensure students are well prepared for the future.

Likewise, the agreement seeks to build the country’s pipeline of tech leaders and talents.

‘This collaboration represents more than skills development, as it is about creating a sustainable pipeline of Filipino technology leaders,’ Uy said.

The partnership is designed for rollout in three phases, with Converge and UP kicking it off with exploratory initiatives and expanding further into integration efforts by 2026.

The first leg of the program will launch a nine-month pilot aimed at graduating students, giving them the opportunity to specialize in AI systems, digital technology and product development.

Uy said the partnership would try to address the knowledge gap between classroom learning and industry application. Students included in the program will be given access to global benchmarks on AI, with Converge supplying educators who can share industry practices.

Later on, the agreement would evolve into an internship model where students can participate in competitions, forums, hackathons and mentoring.

If feasible, Converge also plans to establish an innovation lab in UP devoted to AI prototyping and research.

UP vice president for digital transformation Peter Sy said the tie-up with Converge could become a model of how academe-industry alliances could be shaped in the future.

The Department of Trade and Industry sees AI contributing $92 billion to the economy, making up 12 percent of the gross domestic product by 2030.

At least nine Korean nationals with Red Notices issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) were arrested by the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO-7) in Cebu City for illegal detention and online gambling operations.

The apprehended foreign nationals, whose names were not disclosed by PRO-7, were recently charged on October 2 with a separate complaint for violation of the Presidential Decree 1602 in relation to Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

They were arrested on September 26 through warrants of arrest initially for serious illegal detention under Article 267 and slight illegal detention under Article 268 of the Revised Penal Code.

The said warrants were issued on September 23, following the report of an unidentified employee who alleged that he was illegally detained and deprived of two months’ worth of salary.

The complaint was positively verified by the Regional Special Project Unit (RSPU)-7, leading to the successful arrest of the nine suspects.

Some of the accused face no bail, while the others were meted with a fine of ?120,000 each, based on the court records.

Authorities also disclosed that five of the nine suspects were subjects of Red Notices from their home country, South Korea.

As of this writing, five suspects are currently detained at the custody of RSPU-7 while the other four are under the city’s detention facility, pending the filing of cases.