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Can they help unravel the biggest political crisis in the Philippines in the last 127 years – the syndicated stealing of over P1 trillion of flood control money in the last 10 years?

This question faces the 15 outstanding young women of 2025, announced Sept. 17, by the TOWNS Foundation. It is a relevant challenge, given that some of the awardees are in the fields of governance, national and local; human rights, education and journalism, to name a few critical fields.

Women are the majority, the ruling class in the Philippines, certainly not the weaker or lesser sex. They constitute more than half of our population of 115 million.

When governance fails, it is women who are hit hardest. Nearly all our 25 million households are managed by women, often thanklessly and without compensation. When things go wrong, they are the fulcrum of stability and hope.

Our second highest official is a woman, Sara Duterte, the first vice president to be impeached. For graft, for corruption, for malversation of P612 million of taxpayers’ money. She produced thousands of fake receipts (named after fictitious restaurants and chichiria) to cover her trail.

Sara was rescued by Senate president Chiz Escudero, who did not act forthwith on her impeachment, enabling the Supreme Court to concoct new ideas how to derail any House impeachment. Now every impeachable official has nothing to fear – impeachment is nearly impossible to engineer in the House.

Chiz’s wife is angry. Heart has reaped the whirlwind of people’s wrath after Chiz spiraled into ignominy in the gyre of the P1-trillion flood-gate. A trophy wife, she was recently gifted with a $1-million diamond ring, thanks to Chiz’s hard work. Heart has a stupendous luxury watch and bag collection, her hard work.

Chiz was ousted as Senate president Sept. 8, 2025 when it surfaced he benefitted from dirty FC money, got a P30-million campaign donation from a, FC contractor and that he engineered P142 billion worth of ‘insertions’ into the 2025 national budget, which money was stolen.

Two of the 2025 TOWNS awardees easily stand out: economist Maria Cielo Magno and lawyer Maria Kristina Conti.

Cielo is a professor at the UP School of Economics, and was undersecretary for fiscal policy at the Department of Finance. She quit her job at DOF, apparently in disgust over how government finances are run. Now, she is at the forefront of civil society’s campaign to demand accountability for the P1-trillion flood-gate, using her brilliant mind and beautiful personality. To her, good governance is a human right of Filipinos. Sadly, good governance is will-o’-the-wisp, a doomed spirit.

Kristina Conti risks her life and her future in the legal profession while seeking accountability from former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in jail in The Hague and facing trial for allegedly killing between 7,000 and 30,000 Filipinos. Her job is to document the killings and convince the International Criminal Court of Duterte’s culpability.

The TOWNS (The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service) Foundation Inc. makes the selection only once every three years, adding to the prestige and significance of the much-coveted award.

‘Each of our awardees embodies the very essence of what the TOWNS Foundation stands for: visionary leadership rooted in service to others,’ enthused Patricia Prodigalidad, president of TOWNS Foundation Inc. ‘At a time when our country faces deep challenges but also great opportunities, these women offer us not just hope, but concrete pathways toward progress. They remind us that real change is possible when brilliance meets compassion and purpose.’

‘This year’s selection process brought forward extraordinary women from across the country whose stories moved, challenged and inspired us,’ said Olivia Ferry, chairperson of the 2025 TOWNS Search Committee. ‘The awardees are not only leaders in their fields, but they are also agents of change – fearlessly confronting inequality, championing innovation and building stronger, more inclusive communities. Choosing from among such an outstanding group was incredibly difficult but also reaffirming.’

The TOWNS Awards recognize exceptional Filipino women who have made transformative contributions to Philippine society through excellence, leadership and service in their respective fields. From science and technology to public service, culture, social entrepreneurship and more, the award celebrates women whose work has had a meaningful and measurable impact on the nation.

The awardees were selected after a rigorous nationwide search and vetting process led by a panel of respected leaders and past awardees.

The 2025 awardees join over 200 women who have inspired generations through their courage, commitment and leadership. The 15 batch 2025 outstanding women exemplify service to country with purpose and integrity and to uplift others.

The 2025 TOWNS awardees, in alphabetical order:

ALBA, Sha Elijah B. Dumama for Peace Building and Good Governance

ALINDOGAN, Jamela for Courageous and Honest Journalism

CONTI, Maria Kristina for Human Rights for All

DICIANO, Christine Pauline for Maritime Law Enforcement and Public Service

DUPLITO, Salve for Financial Empowerment

ESLAVA, Decibel Faustino for Environmental Science for Local Learning Communities

HATAMAN, Sitti Djalia for Peacebuilding, Courageous Governance and Social Economic Development

JOCSON, Jennie for Innovations in Teacher Education and Access

LIM, Nur-Ainee Tan for Ethical Public Service, Social Services and Development

MACAPAGAL, Gail for Information Technology and Entrepreneurship

MAGNO, Maria Cielo for Financial Accountability and Good Governance

OSIAL, Lorelie for Business Innovation and Corporate Citizenship

PADILLA, Francel Margareth for Cybersecurity, Military Service and Transformative Engagement with Local Communities

REYES, Katherine Ann for Service, Research and Leadership in Public Health Delivery

YANG, Georgina for Leadership in Innovations in Local Governance and Education

Since 1974, TOWNS now has over 200 awardees. They should lead our house cleaning from corruption.

TOWNS is an offshoot of the TOYM – The Outstanding Young Men – after outstanding young women felt left out from the prestigious plum. So they put up their own TOWNS awards. Still, women join the annual TOYM search now open to women.

Two of the four people believed to be among those who instigated the Sept. 21 violent protests against corruption in Mendiola, Manila are facing charges for snubbing the subpoenas issued by the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

CIDG spokesperson Maj. Helen de la Cruz said yesterday they are preparing complaints for indirect contempt against the two.

One of those summoned, Park Alamada Pangawilan, appeared at the CIDG on Monday and explained his side about a viral video of him asking the protesters if they have lighters with them.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co criticized the CIDG for allegedly harassing Kalayaan Kontra Korapsyon officer Aldrin Kitsune and Alyansa ng Kabataang Mamamahayag chairperson Jacob Baluyut through subpoenas.

Co said a student of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines was also summoned by the CIDG in connection with the unrest that marred the anti-corruption protests on Sept. 21.

De la Cruz, however, maintained that there is nothing irregular in the actions of the CIDG.

‘Crimes and violations have been committed during the protests so an investigation is ongoing,’ she said.

One silver lining from this jaw-dropping anomaly on flood control projects at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is that the public has now been made aware of how the looting of state coffers has become so deeply rooted and well-entrenched.

But let’s not be fooled. Corruption is not confined to the DPWH. We are learning a harsh reality – it is severe, systematic and widespread across the bureaucracy.

Take the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for instance. Corruption at the department that is supposed to protect, conserve and manage our environment and natural resources is as dangerous as corruption within the DPWH.

For one, such a crime is also a major reason for flooding in the metropolis. While the flood control thievery results in the absence of structures that are supposed to prevent flash floods, anomalies in the issuance of environmental permits and land titles result in the destruction of our forests, watersheds and mountain ranges.

These, in turn, cause landslides and massive flooding in our cities.

Quietly, and while it seems nobody is watching, there have been crooks at the DENR who have been giving away forest lands or protected areas when this should not be the case.

To be fair to DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla, we’ve been hearing of corruption within the department, especially at the local level, long before he took the helm in May.

But this is a challenge for the good secretary, to look into syndicates and crooks that endanger our environment instead of protecting it.

Watershed syndicates

One major problem is the watershed syndicates.

Did you know that the Marikina and the Kaliwa Watersheds are plagued by syndicates that destroy the natural wealth of the country? The government, it seems, has lost control of some of our watersheds to unscrupulous individuals, who managed to secure rights in protected areas, in cahoots with corrupt DENR executives.

This shouldn’t be the case because the area is a declared sanctuary.

Proclamation 1636, signed by Ferdinand Marcos Sr. on April 18, 1977, declared as a ‘national park wildlife sanctuary and game preserve a certain parcel of land of the public domain embraced and situated in the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Quezon, Island of Luzon.’

‘I, Ferdinand E. Marcos, President of the Philippines, do hereby withdraw from sale, settlement, exploration or exploitation and set aside and declare as national park, wildlife sanctuary and game preserve, subject to private rights, if any there be, and to the operation of previous proclamations reserving portions thereof for specific purposes, a certain parcel of land of the public domain embraced and situated in the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Quezon, Island of Luzon… The hunting, wounding, taking or killing within said territory of any wild animals or birds and/or the destruction of any vegetation or any act causing disturbances to the habitat of the wildlife herein protected are hereby prohibited,’ according to the presidential proclamation.

And yet some of these areas have been developed into housing projects, private resorts and the like, as if the developers have rights over the public lands of the Republic of the Philippines.

By the way, these occupants are not homeless. On the contrary, some of them are powerful families and businesses.

How did we get here? Apparently, some of these occupants managed to secure title-like patents over the land with the help of PENROs or the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office of the DENR.

This is much like the DPWH district engineering offices in different localities.

The PENROs, apparently, issue free patents – which give them rights over the property – to those who can afford them, instead of protecting these national parks. Sources said this is in exchange for an amount these PENRO executives could not resist.

To make matters worse, in this area, there are three large-scale quarrying Mineral Production Sharing Agreements signed in 1998 and 1999.

These quarrying projects, straddling parts of the Masungi Geopark, occupy an aggregate area of 1,344 hectares.

If these continue, the day will come when the mountains are leveled to the ground, destroying the geological heritage, water reservoir and the area’s biodiversity.

Previous DENR secretaries have blocked the issuance of free patents, survey plans and other tenurial instruments and yet there are hectares and hectares of inalienable lands of the public domain that have free patents.

Some as far back as the 70s, 80s and 90s.

I heard that this is happening not just in the Rizal, Laguna and Quezon areas but in many other parts of the country from Mindanao to the Visayas.

It is with utmost urgency that Secretary Popo addresses this problem. To be fair, he said that he is indeed looking into this.

Cases must be filed against illegal occupants in our protected areas and the DENR executives who allowed this to happen.

ECC: ‘Early campaign contribution’

This harsh reality is a testament that corruption at the DENR, just like at the DPWH, is also widespread. The so-called ECC or environment clearance certificate is, in fact, sometimes called early campaign contribution as applicants sometimes feel the whole ECC process feels like spending for an election campaign.

With this sad reality at the DENR, there is no better time to address the corruption at the department than now, while the Marcos administration is trying to restore public trust in government institutions.

A week after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake forced families in Bogo City out of their homes and into makeshift tents, a new challenge has emerged among the displaced: increasing number of people with coughs, colds, and fever.

The City Health Office of Bogo has recorded an increase in patients complaining of respiratory illnesses since families began staying outdoors after the September 30 tremor.

Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Shiela Faciol said health workers continue to provide services despite their office being partially inaccessible.

Faciol explained that medical teams have been deployed to barangays to reach the sick among quake-affected families. On average, each medical team attends to 80 to 100 patients in various barangays visited, she said.

Meanwhile, the city health department itself receives 50 to 80 walk-in patients daily. ‘Since Day One after the earthquake, open jud ang atong city health,’ Faciol said.

Most of the reported cases are cough, colds, and fever. Parents often attribute the illnesses to children sleeping outside in makeshift shelters, exposed to the sweltering daytime heat and the cold nighttime air. ‘In daytime init kaayo kay makaubo sad unya ig gabii sad matun-ogan. Prone jud to ubo-ubo,’ Faciol said.

While food supplies remain a challenge, she clarified that there have been no reports of diarrhea or food poisoning among evacuees.

The city health office, supported by donations from private groups and other LGUs, continues to distribute medicines and vitamins. ‘Tanang patients na moanhi diri tagaan jud namog vitamins para makuan pud ilang resistensiya,’ she noted.

For many families, however, sickness is only one layer of hardship. In Barangay Gairan, Sally, a mother of two young girls, has been living in a cramped tent together with six other families.

Eight days after the quake, they still refuse to return home out of fear of stronger aftershocks. Their tarpaulin shelter offers little comfort against the blistering heat in the day and the cold winds at night.

Her daughters have since fallen ill – one has had a fever for two days, while the other is suffering from cough and colds.

‘Nalisang, na trauma. Gamayng uyog mahadlok dayon, mag panic ba,’ Sally said, adding that her children have yet to see a doctor, relying only on donated medicines and vitamins. She hopes her daughters recover soon.

Across Cebu province, official reports place the number of affected families at 192,489, equivalent to over 411,000 individuals. Bogo City alone accounts for more than 34,000 families displaced.

The 11 in Hacienda Filomena

The skies wept over Bogo City yesterday, October 8, as eleven dead victims of the rockslide in Hacienda Filomena, Barangay Binabag, were finally laid to rest.

The gray weather mirrored the sorrow of a community still reeling from tragedy. Ten coffins were laid side by side in a mass grave, while another was buried separately.

They were residents who perished when the mountainside collapsed during the 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday night, September 30.

In an instant, families were buried alive beneath massive boulders that crashed down from the hills. Among the victims was a two-year-old child, the youngest to die in the disaster.

At the final wake Mass, the father of the child sat in silence, his grief too deep for words. Just three months ago, he had already buried his wife, who died of illness. Now, he has lost not only his partner in life but also their only child.

The Malinao family was among the hardest hit. Parents Janice and Philip John, along with their children Carl Justin and John Steve, were buried together.

In another home, siblings Zachary, 5, and Thirdy Josh, 8, of the same family also lost their lives when their house was crushed by falling rocks.

Ariana Faith Tapang and her daughter, Regina Mae, were also among those who did not survive.

But one story that touched many was that of 17-year-old Lady Jean Ytang, who died a hero.

When the earth shook and their house began to collapse, she ran back inside to shield her mother and baby sibling from the falling rocks.

Barangay Binabag, a mountain-foot village in Bogo City, at least 15 lives were lost in the barangay alone, and many more were displaced as homes were destroyed

Beneath the earth, three feet under, the bodies in coffins now rest together.

Kapuso actress Carla Abellana will reportedly get married by the end of the year, according to talent manager and vlogger Ogie Diaz.

On the latest video of Ogie’s YouTube channel series “Showbiz Update,” a source told him that Carla will tie the knot with a non-showbiz partner.

The lucky man, according to his source, is a chief medical officer of a private Quezon City hospital.

The doctor reportedly dated Carla in high school and recently rekindled their friendship and romantic relationship. “Guwapo raw ito in person, ha. At chinito!” Ogie quipped.

Carla did confirm last August she was currently seeing someone, saying at the time she was opening herself to dating and meeting people.

“I decided to try it,” Carla said then. “Yes, there’s a second date. We’ll see if there’s gonna be more dates.”

The actress was previously married to Tom Rodriguez but their union only lasted a few months, eventually ending in divorce. Tom is now a father to an infant son, Korben, also with a non-showbiz partner.

Ogie reiterated in his video that it is up to Carla to confirm, deny, or give details about a supposed partner and wedding.

The local stock market climbed for a second straight session, buoyed by the country’s August labor market data.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.25 percent or 14.91 points to end at 6,098.74 yesterday.

The broader All Shares index also advanced by 0.31 percent or 11.43 points to 3,684.65.

RCBC chief economist Michael Ricafort said the market was boosted after a generally better local employment data.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported yesterday that unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in August from 5.3 percent in July.

Ricafort said investors also continued to digest the better-than-expected local inflation data at 1.7 percent, which was below the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s inflation target range and could still support a possible 25-basis-point rate cut.

Economists are divided on whether the BSP will deliver another rate cut today or hold fire, against a backdrop of subdued inflation and still-soft growth momentum.

The BSP has so far cut policy rates by a total of 150 basis points since August 2024, bringing the benchmark rate to five percent.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with mining and oil posting the highest jump at 4.91 percent, while financials lost the most with a 1.09-percent decline.

Total value turnover thinned to P6.38 billion from the P10.35 billion recorded the previous day.

Market breadth stayed positive as advancers edged out decliners in a tight contest, 94 to 92, while 65 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was again the session’s most actively traded stock, rising by 3.02 percent to P528 per share, followed by Philex Mining with a 12.22-percent increase to P10.10.

Amid ongoing political noise and flood control projects controversy in the country, President Marcos gamely answered personal questions about his family in a podcast interview.

In the last part of his latest podcast, the President credited First Lady Liza Marcos for her accomplishments in the past three years of his presidency.

Marcos said he was amazed at how his wife worked to ‘bring back to its old glory’ the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City in time for the country’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit next year.

Asked how many ‘brownie points’ he earned for praising his wife during the recent reopening of the PICC, the President responded laughing, ‘I hope a lot. I’m going to live off that for as long as I can.’

Marcos described his wife as smart and very effective.

‘She just doesn’t let go of something. Once she gets a hold of something and she decides to do it, she actually gets it done. And she’s very effective,’ the President said.

Marcos added: ‘Her legal training serves her well.’

Presidential investment czar Frederick Go on Thursday, October 9, clarified that reports claiming the corruption scandal caused the Philippine market to dive were false, even if Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Francis Lim himself was the one who cited them.

During the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines conference, Lim said that P1.7 trillion was wiped out from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) due to the corruption issue. This represented a 12% decline in the market.

Go said that Lim cited false information.

‘Unfortunately, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman was quoting from a confirmed fake news socmed post designed to catch attention and falsely sensationalize,’ Go said in a press conference in Malacañang Palace.

Go said he also confirmed this with the PSE president himself.

The only legitimate drop in the PSE was 1.6% from August 11 to 29. Go also cited Inquirer’s Biz Buzz, which debunked the P1.7-trillion meltdown as early as September.

As far as Go knew, there were also no businesses that pulled out their investments in the country because of the corruption issue.

‘I think sometimes when there is unpredictability in the environment, people might temporarily think about their investment projects. But we’re quite confident that when this is all resolved, they will all come back. So, they have not pulled out. They will continue rather, that they will continue with their projects,’ Go said.

Go declined to comment on whether Lim will face any consequences for sharing misinformation in a public forum.

Addressing the US State Department’s report that found corruption as a barrier to investment in the Philippines, Go said that this is nothing new.

Red tape and corruption have long been flagged by other international chambers and groups, he said.

The difference now is that the administration is more keen on addressing the matter, Go said.

‘This administration sees the fight against corruption and red tape as a core part of its economic strategy. Again, the president himself initiated the current investigation as a catalyst for governance reform and to address long-standing issues decisively,’ Go said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways will build a detour bridge within two months to allow the resumption of vehicle traffic in the section of the Piggatan bridge in Alcala, Cagayan, which collapsed earlier this week, according to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon.

Dizon, who went to Cagayan to inspect the Piggatan bridge with Gov. Edgar Aglipay, said they also wanted to tap alternate modes of transportation to address the province’s needs for both its people and goods, mainly agricultural crops.

Dizon said that while the DPWH will work to build a detour bridge that people can use in place of the collapsed bridge, the detour will still be too long for convenience.

‘The most pressing issue we’re facing now is the distance of the detour,’ he said. ‘For trucks, it adds about 80 kilometers more to their route. You can just imagine the effect on logistics costs, especially for essential goods like food. That’s a huge impact – more than two additional hours of travel for an 82-kilometer detour.’

According to the DPWH chief, the move would help speed up the transport of agricultural products during the harvest season and reduce the heavy dependence on long-haul trucking routes.

ARROW Law IRR being drafted

Meanwhile, the DPWH will start drafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act 12289 or the Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-way (ARROW) Law, which expedites the government’s right-of-way land acquisitions for infrastructure projects.

Dizon named DPWH Undersecretary for legal service Samuel Rufino Turgano to chair the ARROW Act IRR Committee and to form the team that will lead the drafting.

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearings on the ghost and substandard flood control projects had revealed that delays in ROW acquisitions for the projects were used to justify stopping work and abandoning the projects.

Meanwhile, the DPWH should lower the prices of their infrastructure projects so as to discourage engineers from getting kickbacks or commissions, Batangas’ Rep. Leandro Leviste said.

He suggested that it would be best if the agency ‘lower project prices by 25 percent to prevent kickbacks’ and to be ‘fully transparent about the 2026 DPWH budget before it is voted on by Congress’ on third and final reading.

Tennis sensation Alex Eala captured her breakthrough WTA singles title and served as anchor as Philippine athletes made it a ‘September to remember’.

On a high from her milestone first-round victory at the US Open main draw in August, Eala followed up with her maiden championship run at the Guadalajara 125 Open in Mexico.

The 20-year-old ace fought with much intensity and passion all the way through, sealing it with a searing comeback from a set down to beat Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

With her exploits, Eala smashed her way to the top of the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s roster of achievers for the ninth month of 2025.

Aside from the elite netter, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, the Alas Pilipinas Men, darter Lovely Mae ‘Bebang’ Orbeta, and pickleball player Bambi Zoleta produced noteworthy performances in the other fronts.

Obiena helped stage a world-class street pole vault event, the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge at the Ayala Triangle, and gave Pinoy fans a complete treat by beating his foreign rivals for the gold with his season’s best 5.80 meters.

Alas spiked its stint in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship at home with a massive upset of No. 21 Egypt, 29-27, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21. It was the country’s first-ever win in the global meet and Alas nearly made more history but lost to No. 14 Iran, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 20-22, in a close battle for a Last-16 berth.

Writing history for Philippine darts, Orbeta hit the bull’s eye at the World Darts Federation (WDF) World Cup in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, capping an exceptional run with a dominant 7-2 victory over seasoned American Paula Murphy in the finale.

A decorated soft tennis player, Zoleta showed topnotch skills in another sport, copping a pair of gold medals at the World Pickleball Championship Tier 5 in Bali. Zoleta beat Indonesian Angie Bong, 21-15, for the tiara in the women’s singles 19+ 4.5 category, and teamed with Patricia Raymundo in overpowering Marine Demol and Mila Yatmi, 21-6, for the doubles mint.

Also making it to the September honor roll were Joseph Arcilla, Samuel Nuguit, Patrick Mendoza, Bien Zoleta, Princess Catindig and Christy Sañosa, who topped the mixed team division of the 9th Asian Soft Tennis Championships in Mungyeong City, Korea, and the Philippine delegation that claimed the Overall Nation Championship Trophy at the FIA Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship in Sri Lanka.