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The aggressive promos of developers to sell out their ready-for-occupancy (RFO) units paid off in the first nine months of the year, with the middle-income sector gaining ground and dominating demand.

Real estate broker Colliers Philippines on Wednesday reported the affordable to middle-income segments accounted for 94 percent of the total 9,000-unit residential condominium takeup in the January to September period in Metro Manila. These units are worth around P3.2 million to P12 million each.

‘This only indicates that the RFO promos being offered by developers right now, which continue to abound, have really been doing wonders for the residential sector here in Metro Manila,’ Colliers Philippines head of research Joey Bondoc said during their third quarter report briefing.

Discounts

According to Colliers’ research, developers offered discounts of up to 60 percent for spot cash payment to push remaining inventory out.

At the same time, some developers are offering free parking slots with their condominium units, 36 months rent-to-own promos and furnished units for those who will pay a 5-percent down payment outright.

‘That’s positive news for a lot of Filipinos because this is the segment that can be acquired by a mid-level employee,’ Bondoc said. ‘And this should bode well for the Philippine property [sector], especially the condominium market in Metro Manila in general.’

As a result of this heightened demand, middle-income launches have also staged a comeback.

Demand improvement

In the first nine months, middle-income launches accounted for 64 percent of the total 11,000 new units, versus only 43 percent in the same period last year.

The share of launches in the luxury segment, or those worth at least P20 million per unit, shrunk to 9 percent from 20 percent previously.

Geographically, units in the Manila North, Fort Bonifacio Fringe, Manila South and Makati Fringe areas have seen the most demand improvement.

At the same time, however, Bondoc pointed out that developers may need to evaluate the sustainability of their RFO promos.

‘How many anniversary discounts can you give out in a year? . Developers should be more creative and innovative with their RFO promos,’ he said.

As of end-September remaining RFO inventory in Metro Manila was at 30,400 units, with the lower mid-income sector accounting for 35 percent.

Back outs have also declined, with those dropping their RFO purchases sliding by 26 percent to 2,700 units during the period.

The family, supporters, and lawyers of Mary Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipino worker convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking, appealed to the Supreme Court on Thursday to expedite the resolution of the cases against her alleged recruiters and traffickers.In a letter addressed to Court Administrator Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta, Veloso’s counsel, urged the Supreme Court to act on a Nueva Ecija court’s referral regarding its order granting motions to conduct hearings at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, where Veloso remains detained.

‘In view of the exceptional circumstances and the compelling humanitarian considerations attendant to this case, we respectfully request the prompt and favorable action of your Office. Such action would substantially advance the interests of justice and provide critical relief to Ms. Veloso and her family,’ the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said.

Celia, Veloso’s mother, urged the high court to act on the matter, lamenting the repeated postponements of her daughter’s supposed testimony.

Veloso returned to the Philippines in 2024 after 14 years in prison in Indonesia, nine of which she spent on death row for a drug trafficking conviction.

She was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 after 2.6 kilos of heroin were discovered concealed in her suitcase. She claimed the illegal drugs were put there by her recruiters.

Jakarta allowed her transfer to her home country last year after commuting her death sentence. Under the agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia, Veloso will serve the remainder of her unspecified prison term in Manila, where the death penalty is not imposed.

Since her return on Dec. 18, 2024, Veloso has been attending hearings remotely on the pending qualified trafficking and estafa cases filed against her recruiters, according to the NUPL.

The group noted that on June 11, the Regional Trial Court Branch 89 in Baloc, Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija, granted separate motions from both the prosecution and the defense to conduct hearings at the CIW.

The court order, the NUPL said, was then referred to the Supreme Court for appropriate action.

Ultimately, Veloso’s family reiterated their appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant her executive clemency.

‘My mother has been feeling a lot of pain. She keeps complaining about different ailments, so she told us to beg the President to please let her come home. She’s suffering so much in prison,’ Mark Candelaria told reporters at the Supreme Court.

The Philippine peso eased back to the 58:$1 level, closing on Wednesday at 58.69 against the greenback after trading at as weak as 59.26.

The local currency firmed up after reaching a new record low of 59.13 on Tuesday.

Following that, Radhika Rao, senior economist at Singapore-based DBS, said in a research note that the peso bucked the regional trend amid signs of restrained intervention by the central bank.

Rao noted that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) maintained that the peso’s trading value continues to be determined by market forces, ‘signaling they might not act strongly to arrest the peso’s move.’

‘[The peso joined] the year-to-date regional underperformers, helping to partly offset the impact of tariffs,’ Rao said.

‘This was balanced by expectations that the currency would stand to benefit from structural tailwinds of remittances, services trade, low inflation, and ongoing reforms in the medium-term,’ she added.

Federal Reserve

According to DBS, the US dollar was soft ahead of a potential dovish tilt at the meeting of the policy-setting body of the US Federal Reserve.

In a separate commentary, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said that with inflation at manageable levels, the BSP might see the recent depreciation as tolerable.

The peso’s depreciation ‘might not be a concern from their perspective as long as the inflation forecast for the next two years remains within the target,’ said Jun Neri, lead economist at BPI.

‘Also, allowing the Peso to weaken might be a strategic move for them since a weaker peso could support growth and household spending through its impact on remittances,’ Neri said.

He added that recent statements from central bank officials indicate that supporting growth is a greater priority in the near term.

‘However, technical indicators suggest the peso might be in oversold territory, which means a correction or a sideways movement is possible,’ Neri said.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands-based ING said that there was no sufficient data yet for hints of the US dollar’s direction.

ING’s Chris Turner said the markets are awaiting the release of jobs data as well as the results of the latest consumer confidence survey in the US and data on the house price index.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered other government agencies with infrastructure items in their budgets to follow the move of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to reduce the cost for construction materials by as much as 50 percent.

The directive covers the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, National Irrigation Administration, and other relevant agencies.

This will result in the reduction by half of the costs for 2026 of farm-to-market roads, classrooms, hospitals and irrigation canals, among other government projects.

Quality not compromised

‘So let me be clear. The quality of what we build will not be compromised. The only thing weakened will be corruption,’ the President said in a speech before his departure to South Korea to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.

‘This is the accountability that our citizens deserve. It will not be limited to the public works, but we shall be the norm across all of government,’ he added.

According to the President, the funds that the government would save by cutting the costs of the projects would be used to support other social programs.

‘The savings we secure will go where they matter most. The programs that uplift families, support livelihoods, and strengthen communities. Because when our people grow in capability and confidence, the nation grows with them,’ Marcos said.

‘A government that honors public trust, a nation that stands firm on integrity this is our promise, and real change for Filipinos today and for all generations to come,’ he added.

On Oct. 25, before he attended the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Malaysia, Marcos ordered DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to cut the agency’s standard costs for construction materials by half after learning that these were overpriced.

According to Marcos, the reform would align the project costs of DPWH with real market prices and reduce if not prevent corruption in the agency.

The cost reduction comes in the wake of the corruption scandal that cost the government multibillion-peso losses from irregular, incomplete, substandard and ‘ghost’ flood control projects that the president himself exposed in August.

Dizon himself called the President’s directive ‘single biggest reform ever in the DPWH.’

‘The lowering of material costs is just one of the many reforms and changes we need to implement in the DPWH,’ Dizon said. ‘In my view, that is the most important one because if we can bring those costs down, we automatically bring down corruption as well.’

Coach Jong Uichico and NLEX started another week of games in the PBA with a victory that assured them of at least a share of the lead heading into what he knows is a tough stretch for the Road Warriors in the Philippine Cup.

But after improving to a 4-1 win-loss slate by defeating the Blackwater Bossing, 99-88, on Wednesday at Ynares Center here, Uichico stressed the need to remedy some kinks in the Road Warriors’ armor.

‘We always have that lull,’ said Uichico after NLEX saw Blackwater threaten in the third quarter before JB Bahio was among those who helped restore order in the fourth. ‘We got to find out why we also had that and overcome that.’

How they overcome that during the course of the eliminations will be key for the Road Warriors as they enter a stretch of big games that will test their resolve in the All-Filipino tournament.

Demanding stretch

Next up for NLEX on Sunday at this venue is Barangay Ginebra, which still carries its reputation as a legitimate contender despite a 1-3 start that came after a loss to San Miguel Beer in Dubai.

On deck is Rain or Shine, the team that eliminated NLEX in the quarterfinals of the same conference last season despite a twice-to-beat advantage, on Nov. 8, in this city.

At least, as far as Uichico is concerned, the Road Warriors’ worries are emerging early, rather than late.

‘It’s a concern, but at least we can find our adjustments moving forward,’ he said.

Bahio scored a career-high 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting on top of six rebounds in a performance that continued to solidify his place in the rotation as someone who could score at times while also providing toughness, defense and rebounding underneath.

Bahio scored nine of his total in the fourth quarter as the Road Warriors completed their breakaway from a tight third frame.

Robert Bolick who added 15 points and 12 assists. Kevin Alas and Xyrus Torres also came up big for NLEX in breaking a five-way tie for the lead with TNT, Magnolia, Converge and Rain or Shine.

Torres, meanwhile, had his heroics coming in the opening frame, where he tallied eight of his 18 points.

TNT may join the Road Warriors by night’s end if it goes on to win over Meralco in a game being played at press time.

Blackwater absorbed a third straight defeat to go down at 1-3 despite big numbers anew from ace guard Sedrick Barefield.

Barefield had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Bossing.

‘Over 40 individuals’ will be sued over the riots during the Sept. 21 anti-corruption rallies, the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP CIDG) announced.

The violence erupted at the foot of Ayala Bridge and the Mendiola Peace Arch in Manila, killing one, injuring hundreds and leading to the arrest of at least 216 people 91 of whom were minors.

These apprehensions prompted condemnation from human rights groups, but the PNP is not bothered.

‘We are going to file cases already. We will file cases against more than 40 people also stemming from the Sept. 21 incident. It will not stop,’ CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II said in an interview with reporters in Camp Crame on Thursday.

‘What we are investigating is the commission of a criminal act. It’s not the conduct of a peaceful rally,’ Morico made the distinction. ‘Everybody involved there will be investigated so that this unfortunate incident will not happen again.’

Morico did not detail whom they will file cases against and what cases they will submit to government prosecutors.

He stressed, ‘We are investigating all those involved, especially the high-profile people.’

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, citing intelligence reports, previously hinted that rioters ‘may have been paid’ and instigated by a Filipino-Chinese politician and lawyer.

Asked whether the CIDG was looking into Moreno’s claims, Morico simply replied, ‘If the mayor mentioned people, any information the CIDG gets, we exploit and investigate it.’

While he and the CIDG again declined to name the persons being investigated, at least six individuals have been identified on social media as respondents of its subpoenas:

Aldrin Kitsune – film student, De La Salle University – College of Saint Benilde; officer, anti-corruption group Kabataan Kontra Korapsyon

Park Alamada Pangawilan – vlogger, also known as Kuya Park

Jacob Baluyot – journalism student, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Sta Mesa; associate editor, PUP student publication The Catalyst

Joaquin Buenaflor – political science student, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman; chairperson, UP Diliman University Student Council

Tiffany Brillante – political science student, PUP Sta. Mesa; president, PUP Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral

Harry Angping former Manila 3rd District representative; former chairman, Philippine Sports Commission

All six respondents have denied involvement in the riots.

A 20-minute ash emission was observed at Kanlaon Volcano’s crater, state seismologists confirmed on Thursday.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), in a post on X (formerly Twitter) shared a timelapse footage of the ash emission at the summit crater of Kanlaon Volcano that occurred from 12:37 p.m. and ended at 12:57 p.m. on October 30.

‘This event generated grayish plumes that rose up to 300 meters above the crater before drifting to the general west as recorded by the Kanlaon Volcano Observatory – Canlaon City IP Camera,’ said Phivolcs.

The volcano is under Alert Level 2, which means that entry into its four-kilometer permanent danger zone remains prohibited.

Sudden steam-driven or phreatic eruptions, as well as precursory magmatic activities, are also possible at this alert level.

The abrupt suspension of the Senate investigation into the substandard and ghost flood control projects has left everyone in suspense, whetting the public’s appetite for more revelations about this systemic corruption that has plagued the body politic for so long.

The vacuum left by Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s sudden decision more than three weeks ago to quit as chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee (BRC) is so immense that not one of his gallant colleagues in the majority is willing to take his place proof that he was doing a good job despite the brickbats thrown his way throughout the inquiry.

He may, however, return as BRC chair once the Senate resumes session on Nov. 10.

But the agonizing wait for the resumption of the investigation does not sit well with a suspicious public wary of behind-the-scenes machinations by those implicated in flood control anomalies. For as long as these lawmakers and contractors are scot-free, justice is kept at bay.

Our Judiciary has a spotty record when it comes to holding the powerful accountable.

Exhibit A is the P10-billion scam involving lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund, which our then enterprising Inquirer reporter, Nancy Carvajal, exposed in 2013. None of the three accused senators has been convicted of plunder, and most of the indicted House members have been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan. The latest verdict (see ‘Enrile, Reyes, Napoles cleared in ‘pork’ case,’ 10/25/25) speaks for itself.

Suspended animation. Many questions remain unanswered since the last public hearing conducted by the BRC on Sept. 25, the day when former Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo dropped a bombshell by finally admitting to wrongdoing in the flood control mess. He and former DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara are key figures in the flood control mess.

Bernardo acted as the conduit between Alcantara (and his cabal of three conniving thieves at the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office or DEO) and the ‘project proponents,’ the code for lawmakers who received millions of kickbacks (up to 25 percent of the total project cost) in exchange for downloading flood control funds to Bulacan and elsewhere.

Bernardo’s tell-all has riveted an otherwise skeptical public. He mentioned big names one current and two former senators, a lawmaker who has since resigned, an education undersecretary of a former senator, and a Commission on Audit commissioner whose spouse owns a construction firm that bagged nearly P2.3 billion in public works contracts since 2022.

Bernardo completed the cast of characters that ran this once-secretive enterprise. However, he maintained that he had neither ‘personal knowledge on the exact actions they took [to] accomplish this scheme’ nor participation in ghost projects. He then implicated resigned Ako Bicol party list Rep. Zaldy Co, the once-powerful chair of the House appropriations committee, who has since fled the country, for receiving a 25 percent ‘commission’ from flood control projects.

However, it was former Bulacan assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez who earlier provided more substance to Co’s alleged role in this sordid affair. At one point, Co, through his staff ‘Paul,’ allegedly received at least P1 billion in cash as kickbacks stuffed in more than 20 suitcases that were transported using six or seven vans, Hernandez and his colleague, engineer Jaypee Mendoza, testified at the BRC hearing on Sept. 23. Moreover, Hernandez claimed to have personally met Co during the latter’s meeting with Alcantara.

Differing figures. Co and lawmakers implicated in this corrupt scheme have claimed innocence, but serious questions persist in some of the details provided by the witnesses.

Bernardo claimed to have given lawmakers ‘commissions’ ranging from 15 percent to 25 percent, but why did Alcantara maintain that the kickback was always pegged at 25 percent? Sen. Erwin Tulfo was correct in inquiring about the fate of the 10 percent (in at least two flood control cases).

Quoting resigned DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan and Hernandez, Bernardo also mentioned a ’20-20-20-40 scheme’ for ‘apportioning the profits amongst themselves,’ referring to the four Bulacan first DEO engineers. However, Bernardo also insisted that he and Alcantara only retained a measly 2 percent of the total cost of projects identified by Co.

As some quarters attempt to mar the investigation by obfuscating the truth, let us not forget that it was President Marcos who first exposed this rampant pillage of national coffers when he disclosed on Aug. 11 that 15 contractors had secured P100 billion of the P545 billion allocated for flood control projects since 2022.

Moving the needle, the President himself made public the list of all flood control projects undertaken by DPWH nationwide since 2022 by launching the sumbongsapangulo.ph website. That unprecedented move was a game changer, elevating accountability to new heights.

Due to the expected surge of passengers returning to the provinces for Undas, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it would temporarily allow provincial buses to use Edsa starting at 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30.

Provincial buses may use Edsa until 5 a.m. on November 3.

The MMDA said that the move was in response to a request from the United Association of Provincial Bus Operators in the Philippines, Inc., a decision approved by MMDA Chairman Don Artes.

‘As part of Oplan Undas 2025, the temporary passage of provincial buses along Edsa aims to speed up their turnaround time and ensure continuous trips for their passengers,’ the MMDA said in an advisory on Wednesday evening.

According to MMDA, provincial buses from North Luzon may stop at terminals in Cubao, Quezon City, while buses from South Luzon may travel only up to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange and Pasay.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged all local government units (LGUs) to audit infrastructure in their areas of responsibility in preparation for possible earthquakes.

The agency’s appeal to local officials comes amid a series of tremors that have jolted parts of the country in recent weeks, including the magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu on Sept. 30 and the magnitude 7.4 tremor that hit Davao on Oct. 10.

‘To help communities prepare for the threat of high-magnitude earthquakes, the DILG is calling on all LGUs to conduct comprehensive infrastructure audits on both public and private buildings within their jurisdictions,’ the agency said in a statement on Thursday.

‘With the increasing frequency and intensity of earthquakes, proactive preparedness is our best defense,’ it added.

The DILG said it has developed a ‘harmonized’ infrastructure audit tool, in partnership with the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, to identify potential vulnerabilities in buildings before earthquakes.

According to the department, 18 LGUs from the National Capital Region, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon have already been oriented on the tool, with 42 more LGUs in the same regions scheduled for orientation.

To support the tool’s rollout, the DILG said it formed a team of experts from professional organizations, academic institutions, and local government agencies across 74 LGUs nationwide.