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The Supreme Court (SC) will conduct an inventory of all projects within the judiciary that may have been contracted to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

This move comes amid the government’s ongoing probe into anomalous infrastructure projects across the country, acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen said on Thursday during the oath-taking of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla. In his message, Leonen said the SC is already implementing reforms to ensure integrity within its ranks, noting that the Court’s public email address ([email protected]) is open for reports on any corruption involving the judicial body.

‘The Court en banc has also agreed to create a working committee to inventory any and all projects within the judiciary that might have been contracted to and undertaken by the DPWH if any and to report soonest to the chief justice as [to] their status,’ said Leonen.

He then emphasized in the same message that the judiciary will fulfill its part in supporting Remulla in his role as Ombudsman.

‘Remember always: While we enjoy these temporary titles, we should do what we should,’ Leonen told Remulla.

‘We trained for this. Your life, all your challenges, brought you to where you are now. I ask of you, do not fail our people. They continue to suffer,’ he told the new ombudsman. /apl

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is stepping up programs to support micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), which make up over 90 percent of all registered businesses in the country but continue to face low productivity and lack of financing. DTI-Bukidnon provincial director Famelah R.D. Villanueva told reporters that while MSMEs contribute 16 percent of national employment, many remain constrained by outdated technology and limited access to affordable credit.

To boost productivity, DTI provides Shared Service Facilities (SSF) that give cooperators access to modern equipment.

After two years of sustained use, these facilities may be awarded to them free of charge.

Other agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), and PhilMech, also extend equipment support, particularly to agri-based enterprises, Villanueva noted.

On financing, Villanueva admitted many micro-entrepreneurs remain ‘non-bankable’ due to a lack of formal records, prompting them toward exploitative informal lenders. To address this, DTI’s financing arm-the Small Business Corporation (SB Corp.)-offers flexible and more affordable loan schemes, with offices in Malaybalay City and Maramag, and applications accessible online or via Negosyo Centers.

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Bukidnon has 23 Negosyo Centers covering all cities and municipalities except Malaybalay, where the DTI provincial office currently serves as the main hub. Plans are underway to open a dedicated Negosyo Center in the city.

‘MSMEs are the backbone of our economy. For them to thrive, we must ensure access to the right tools, technologies, and financing,’ Villanueva said./coa

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas yet again reduced its key policy rate by 0.25 percentage point. It is now at 4.75 percent.

The BSP’s decision was contrary to expectations, even as inflation in the Philippines remained below the BSP’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent The BSP said potential electricity rate adjustments and possible increases in tariffs on rice imports could add some upward pressures. Nonetheless, the risks to the inflation outlook are limited as price pressures are expected to ease.

‘The Monetary Board likewise noted that the outlook for domestic economic growth has weakened,’ the BSP said in a statement. ‘This outlook reflects in part the impact on business confidence of governance concerns about public infrastructure spending. Indications of moderating demand also reflect lingering uncertainty from the external environment.’

The increase in consumer prices registered at 1.7 percent year-on-year in September. This was the seventh straight month that inflation printed below 2 percent.

Also, inflation averaged at 1.7 percent from January to September.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. earlier said that at 5 percent, the benchmark interest rate was at the ‘Goldilocks’ level. This means it is ‘just right,’ neither too high nor too low. Last week, an Inquirer Business poll of 16 analysts showed that 10 of them expected the BSP to keep the policy rate unchanged.

The central bank’s latest move follows three consecutive policy setting meetings when the key rate was lowered by a quarter of a percentage point each time. These meetings were held in April, June and August. INQ

Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima recalled her harrowing experience while in detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center – where she became a victim in a case of hostage-taking – saying she will forever be thankful for the prayers and support she received.

In a statement on Thursday, De Lima said the hostage-taking incident occurred three years ago – a near-death experience she thought she would not survive.

‘Three years ago today, I faced a near-death hostage-taking – a harrowing experience I didn’t think I would survive, as the hostage-taker was already determined to kill me and then to kill himself after. Sa puntong ‘yon, ipinagpasa-Diyos ko na ang lahat,’ de Lima said.

‘I thank God for saving my life. Laking pasasalamat ko rin sa PNP security force na sumagip sa aking buhay,’ she added.

According to de Lima, this incident makes her even more committed to public service and making the most out of this opportunity.

‘As I value life even more now, I have become even more deeply committed to using this blessing from the Lord as an opportunity to make the most of it – for my loved ones, for the Filipino people and for humanity,’ she said.

‘Habambuhay rin po akong magpapasalamat sa inyong suporta, malasakit at pagdarasal: mula nang magsimula akong maglingkod sa pamahalaan, sa pinakamabigat na pagsubok ng aking buhay, hanggang ngayon na muli po ninyo akong binigyan ng pagkakataong makapagsilbi sa bayan. Tuloy ang laban. Hindi ko po kailanman sasayangin ang inyong tiwala,’ she added.

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De Lima, who was detained at the PNP Custodial Center until November 2023, was taken hostage in October 202 by detainee Feliciano Sulayao Jr., who along with his three other fellow inmates tried to escape the facility.

Sulayao and inmates Arnel Cabintoy and Idang Susukan ganged up and stabbed an officer. Another officer saw the incident and shot Cabintoy and Susukan.

After this, reports said Sulayao ran towards de Lima’s cell, holding her hostage. As negotiations between the officers and the hostage-taker appear to fail, police were then forced to neutralize the suspect, saving de Lima. The former senator, a staunch critic of the past administration, said that she felt that she was going to die because Sulayao told her that since his companions were dead, he might as well die in the custodial center and take de Lima with him. De Lima did not suffer any wounds except from the chest pains and a knife mark as the hostage-taker apparently pressed the knife against her chest.

Farm Fresh coach Alessandro Lodi was in awe of Belgian spiker Eli Rousseaux after her explosive 38-point performance in her PVL debut, but he also challenged his local players to raise their level for the Foxies to go far in the 2025 Reinforced Conference.

Losing the first set didn’t stop Rousseaux from having a rousing debut as she tallied 31 kills, four aces, and three blocks on top of 15 excellent receptions and eight digs to lift Farm Fresh past Nxled 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21, in Pool A on Thursday at Dasmariñas Arena here. Lodi said they found not just the right player, but also the right personality to fit his young squad.

‘The good thing I did was picking not only the right player which was kind of easy to do, but picking the right person to integrate very well with these players, to understand them, to not judge them. You have to really find the right player but that’s one part of the deal and the biggest part is finding the right person,’ said the Foxies’ Italian coach.

‘Eli is the perfect person to complement this team, to work with this team, work for the others and the others work for her so we’re very optimistic for this league.’ Rousseaux, a 34-year-old former Belgium national team player, came from a gruesome ankle injury in Turkey last March and dazzled in her first PVL game.

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She thanked Lodi for trusting her and giving her the confidence that led to her major comeback.

‘ I was already really grateful the last couple of weeks being here and feeling healthy again and getting my shape back. Today I just went to this game without expectations whatsoever, to be honest. I just wanted to enjoy volleyball again,’ said Rousseaux.

‘We talked before coming here with Alessandro a lot. I feel that he trusted and helped me to get this level back, and this is something that for sure helped me to go into this game in a very positive way.’

Despite the impressive debut of Rousseaux, the Farm Fresh coach stressed that they can’t rely on the Belgian super scorer alone.

‘She cannot save us, you know? She can’t carry us. This is not fair to expect and we would never expect us. Yes she is gonna be the top scorer but we need more people to contribute, we need to lower her load because we want her to finish this league alive, both for performers’ sake and also for the rest of her career, it’s not gonna end in November. Great job for her,’ said Lodi.

Don Trollano took responsibility for San Miguel Beer’s narrow 85-84 loss to NLEX that got their quest to defend the PBA Philippine Cup off to a rough start.

Trollano had a chance to save the Beermen from the jaws of defeat on Wednesday at Ynares Center in Antipolo City in the final seconds, but made an errant decision to go for a pass instead of taking a shot before the buzzer, allowing the Road Warriors to complete a comeback win. ‘That’s on me. It’s my mistake,’ Trollano said. ‘I guess I didn’t calculate how much time was left.’

The Beermen guard was actually leading San Miguel’s bid to preserve the victory with some outside shots in the fourth quarter, and had knocked down a four-pointer in the final seconds that cut the Road Warriors’ lead to one.

JB Bahio’s two missed free throws gave San Miguel a chance to take the victory, but to no avail.

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‘There were no specific instructions for me to be the first option. The only instruction was for the open man to take the shot,’ said Trollano, who finished with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting with five assists and three steals.

A silver lining is that it was only San Miguel’s first game of the conference, and there’s plenty of chances for Trollano to atone for his late-game miscue.

‘I’ll make up for it next time,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Trollano was chosen by the PBA Press Corps as its Mr. Quality Minutes for Season 49 for his impact in the Beermen’s run to the all-Filipino title. The award is equivalent to the Sixth Man of the Year.

Zelda Williams, daughter of the late actor-comedian Robin Williams, urged the public to stop sending her artificial intelligence (AI)-generated videos of her father, saying she doesn’t want to see them.

The American actress and filmmaker made the appeal in a now-expired Instagram Story, where she reiterated that the AI-generated videos are a ‘waste of time and energy.’

‘Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad. Stop believing I wanna see it or that I’ll understand, I don’t and I won’t. If you’re just trying to troll me, I’ve seen way worse, I’ll restrict and move on,’ she said.

‘But please, if you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop. It’s dumb, it’s a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it’s NOT what he’d want,’ she continued.

Zelda also stressed that AI-generated content of real people ‘condenses down [their] legacies’ for TikTok and other social media platforms, likening it to ‘over-processed hotdogs.’

‘To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough,’ just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening,’ she said.

‘You’re not making art, you’re making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it. Gross,’ she further said.

Doubling down on her frustration toward AI, Zelda said to stop calling it the ‘future.’ ‘AI is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be reconsumed,’ she said. ‘You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very end of the line, all while the folks at the front laugh and laugh, consume and consume.’

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Zelda, who is the daughter of Robin and film producer Marsha Garces Williams, and is popular for voicing Kuvira in the hit animated series ‘The Legend of Korra.’ She also directed Liza Soberano as one of the stars of the Hollywood movie, ‘Lisa Frankestein,’ topbilled by Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse.

Her father, Robin, is one of the greatest actor-comedians of all time, died in August 2014 after a battle with depression amid his struggle with Lewy body dementia. He was 63 years old.

Calvin Abueva’s career night that gave Titan Ultra a winning start to its PBA campaign was quite remarkable, given his age.

Turns out, Abueva’s 41-point performance in Wednesday’s 100-96 win over Meralco at Ynares Center in Antipolo City made him the second-oldest player to score at least 40 in a PBA game. PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon said the 37-year-old Abueva was two months and 11 days shy of the record held by the great Ramon Fernandez.

Fernandez was 37 years, 10 months and 19 days old when he also scored 41 for San Miguel Beer in a 101-99 loss to Alaska in Game 1 of the best-of-three series for third place in the 1991 All-Filipino Conference.

Abueva was 37 years, eight months and four days old during his unlikely scoring output that broke his previous high of 31 when he was with Alaska in 2017.

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Mangonon also mentioned that Abueva is the eighth active player to record 40 in a game during their current careers, joining June Mar Fajardo, Don Trollano, Robert Bolick, RR Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, Chris Newsome and Stanley Pringle.

Abueva made 14 of 27 shots, including four triples, during the contest that saw Titan Ultra buck an 11-0 deficit at the start.

His 16 in the third actually blew the game wide open in the Giant Risers’ favor, before preventing the Bolts from completing a comeback from 19 down in the final minutes.

The Senate on Thursday asserted that the contempt order against controversial contractor Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya was issued within the chamber’s constitutional authority.

The office of Senate President Vicente Sotto III made the remark following Discaya’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, in which he cited alleged irregularities in his detention under contempt.

‘The Senate remains firm in its decision, asserting that the contempt order against Discaya was issued within its constitutional authority,’ the statement reads. In a hearing held before the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City, Branch 298, presided over by Hon. Melvin Cydrick Bughao, the court ordered that Discaya remain under the safekeeping of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms. Lawyers representing Discaya argued on the legality of his continued detention, while the respondents were represented by the Senate Legal Counsel.

Meanwhile, Sotto’s office said the case is scheduled to resume on Monday., after which it will be turned over to the Office of the Solicitor General for the succeeding hearings.

Discaya was cited for contempt during the Senate panel on blue ribbon’s September 18 hearing into anomalous flood control projects after the controversial contractor allegedly lied.

The decision by the committee stemmed from Sotto’s query as to why Discaya’s wife, Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya, failed to attend the hearing.

A historic day unfolded at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as top government officials came together to address the sharp decline in farmgate prices of palay (unpolished rice) and push for stronger national support for Filipino rice farmers.

Convened at the Department of Agrarian Reform office in Quezon City, under the direction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the special caucus brought together leaders from both the executive and legislative branches, including Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., House Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III, and Senator Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan, along with key provincial and local executives from major rice-producing areas.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III underscored the urgency of the discussion, saying, ‘There is urgency. These are the peak harvest months from October to December, and we must act now to protect our farmers’ livelihoods.’

He added that the meeting was not just a routine consultation but a call to action for the entire government to stand behind the country’s farmers.

‘Our palay farmers are the backbone of our food security. Under the President’s direction, we are appealing to all government agencies, including GOCCs, to procure rice directly from local producers. Every sack of rice we buy from our own farmers strengthens stability, dignity, and nation-building.’

This unified initiative, guided by the Bagong Pilipinas vision of Marcos, aims to stabilize palay prices, create stronger market demand, and provide immediate relief to farming communities.

The group will submit a formal recommendation to the President for a policy directive requiring all government offices and GOCCs to prioritize the procurement of locally produced rice.

This moment marks a renewed sense of unity, compassion, and decisive leadership-a clear reflection of how government can work together for the hands that feed the nation