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Spain’s Alejandro Huerta and Adrian Gavira and Finland’s Anniina Parkkinen and Valma Prihti walked the tightrope before snatching the gold medals in the Volleyball World Beach Volley Pro Tour Challenge yesterday at the Nuvali Sands Court by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Huerta and Gavira went through three sets, 21-17, 19-21, 17-15, in disposing of crowd-favorite twins Joaquin and Javier Bello of England, and so did Parkkinen and Prihti against Lithuania’s Leva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite, 17-21, 21-14, 15-11.

‘Adrian (Gavira) made an outstanding defense particularly in the deciding set and we kept everything close,’ Huerta said.

Italy’s Manuel Alfieri and Alex Ranghieri and Australia’s Stefanie Fejes and Jasmine Fleming, meanwhile, also went three sets in clinching the bronze medals..

Alfieri and Ranghieri rallied past Christoph Dressler and Philip Waller of Austria, 17-21, 21-18, 15-12, while Fejes and Fleming recovered from a sluggish opening set to defeat No. 45 Kylie Neuschaeferova and Martina Maixnerova of Czechia, 13-21, 21-15, 15-13.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the Senate could continue holding four persons cited in contempt for refusing to cooperate with its flood control corruption probe, until the 20th Congress adjourns in 2028, unless the courts order them arrested for prosecution or their release.

The Supreme Court (SC), Sotto said, has ruled that Congress can maintain custody of individuals it cites in contempt ‘while investigations remain alive’ or for as long as the inquiry remains active.

‘Based on the SC ruling, we will be forced to release them in June 2028,’ he told dzBB in Filipino, referring to the detention of contractor Curlee Discaya, and of former Department of Public Works and Highways Bulacan district engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee Mendoza.

Sotto added that the Senate would comply immediately if a regular court orders their arrest or transfer to another detention facility.

‘Of course. That’s a different matter. Once a court orders their arrest, we have to comply,’ he said.

Hernandez was cited in contempt by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Sept. 8 for supposedly lying during a hearing, while Alcantara, Mendoza and Discaya were cited in contempt and ordered detained on Sept. 18.

Sotto earlier said the three former district engineers had requested house arrest, while Discaya filed a habeas corpus petition that was denied by a regional trial court (RTC).

‘Discaya’s lawyer went to the RTC, which denied the habeas. Why would I allow their request for house arrest? They were begging for mercy. But did they ever give mercy to those that they hurt with what they did back then?’ Sotto said.

He said the Senate is expediting the passage of his bill creating an Independent People’s Commission to continue investigating corruption in infrastructure projects, with Senate justice committee chair Sen. Francis Pangilinan set to hold hearings for the bill this week.

Sotto said he might ask President Marcos to certify the bill as urgent.

A telecommunications company said it has joined forces with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and local stakeholders in Zamboanga City to strengthen the fight against Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Material (CSAEM).

The campaign, according to Globe, gathered over 300 participants, including officials from the Department of Justice, the Commission on Human Rights, the NBI, the PNP, and the Zamboanga City Local Government Unit, underscoring the urgency of a whole-of-community approach in safeguarding children.

‘Protecting children online requires more than technology, it demands collective action. Globe is proud to stand with IACAT, government agencies, and civil society to address both the digital and social drivers of exploitation. Together, we can help ensure every Filipino child grows up in a safer, more inclusive digital world,’ said Yoly Crisanto, Globe’s chief sustainability and corporate communications officer.

Beyond addressing poverty, Globe said its advocacy to promote online safety through education and awareness. For instance, it said its Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP), aimed toward providing digital skills, has reached over 12,000 students across 43 schools this year alone, contributing to safer families and communities in the digital space. Complementing this, the company said its MakeItSafe website equips parents with practical tools to recognize online risks and protect their children.

The firm added it has co-developed Safe Space: A Kid’s Guide to Data Privacy with the Center for Art, New Ventures and Sustainable Development (CANVAS), an award-winning children’s book teaching kids how to safeguard their personal data. This book is on display at Tumba-Tumba: A Retrospective, a year-long exhibit at the National Museum promoting children’s rights, creativity, and digital responsibility.

Globe said it is ramping up efforts to keep Filipinos safe online. In the first half of 2025 alone, the company said it has blocked over 484 million scam and spam messages, shut down 5,707 malicious domains linked to child exploitation and harmful content, and dismantled 2,785 illegal gambling sites.

It said its filtering system also barred access to 248,552 URLs containing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials, including 8,385 AI generated materials, in partnership with local authorities and international watchdogs. Meanwhile, the StopSpam portal processed 87,624 SIM reports, resulting in 9,961 SIM deactivations on Globe’s network and 77,065 blacklisted SIMs from other operators.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) is accelerating the completion of a second Bayanihan Village, this time, in Barangay Pajo, Daanbantayan, Cebu to provide safer and more dignified shelter for families displaced by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck northern Cebu last month.

This directive comes directly from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., after visiting the first completed Bayanihan Village in Barangay Poblacion, San Remigio, and emphasized the need for swift and coordinated government action to support affected communities.

DHSUD secretary Jose Ramon Aliling personally inspected the ongoing construction in Daanbantayan following his visit with the president to San Remigio, where 45 modular shelter units (MSUs) were turned over to the local government and are now occupied by initial beneficiaries.

The San Remigio site was set up in just one week through the convergence of national agencies including the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Office of Civil Defense, and other support units.

Aliling noted that the second site in Daanbantayan, one of the hardest-hit towns, has already been prepared in close coordination with the DPWH, and installation of MSUs is underway.

After the town was hit by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake, Mayor Gilbert Arrabis Jr. mobilized the town’s own emergency shelter efforts.

Arrabis assured residents that temporary shelters will be established for those whose homes were destroyed or damaged during the earthquake.

With support from the DSWD, which provided tents and personnel, evacuation centers have been set up across various barangays, now housing hundreds of families and individuals displaced by the disaster.

Aside from the MSUs, last Friday, the LGU of Daanbantayan also facilitated the distribution of financial assistance under the Emergency Housing Assistance Program for households whose homes were destroyed.

The National Housing Authority (NHA), in coordination with the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, led the distribution of ?30,000 to each of the 186 validated households.

Arrabis thanked the NHA for its swift response and clarified that initial assessments were conducted by barangay officials and forwarded to the NHA. These were revalidated by the Municipal Engineering Office based on criteria set by the housing authority.

Households not included in the initial payout but listed as destroyed will be called to their respective barangays for orientation by engineers from the NHA and LGU Daanbantayan.

Reassessment will begin today to ensure accurate damage verification.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has suspended the driver’s license of a pickup truck driver for 90 days after a viral video showed him physically assaulting an elderly bus driver in Silang, Cavite.

In a show-cause order dated October 19, the LTO identified the driver as Arny Jose Montes, who was directed to explain why his license should not be permanently revoked and why he should not face charges for reckless driving.

Montes has been summoned to appear before the LTO’s Intelligence and Investigation Division on October 24 to respond to administrative complaints for Reckless Driving, Obstruction, and being an Improper Person to Operate a Motor Vehicle. Such offenses that could lead to the permanent cancelation of his license.

Viral assault video. According to a report from the Silang Municipal Police Station, the altercation began after a collision between Montes’ Toyota Hilux and a public utility bus.

A video of the incident, which quickly spread on social media, showed Montes punching and shoving the elderly bus driver, prompting public outrage and calls for disciplinary action.

The LTO said the Toyota Hilux has also been placed under ‘alarm’ status, blocking any and all transactions related to the vehicle.

Warning from LTO. ‘Failure to appear and submit the verified or sworn comment/explanation as required shall be construed by this Office as a waiver of your rights to be heard,’ the order read. ‘The case shall be decided based on the evidence at hand.’

The agency said the temporary suspension was imposed to ensure public safety and allow time for a full investigation into the driver’s conduct.

Two teams from the National Youth Basketball League (NYBL)-Central Visayas will carry a daunting mission as they represent the Philippines in the 13th Asia Pacific Cup slated on October 22-26 in Singapore.

In the 16 Under category, NYBL will be bannered by Mohan Xandre Alin, Charles Emmanuele Arias, Ric Dominic Armecin, Mackenzie Bual, Kryz Daniel Cabajes, Vinz Aishley Fuentes, Johan Pierre Lastimosa, Kennie Jie Lugatiman, Rainier Daniel Malungtad, Charles Ruel Ocado, Ken Ni o Puerto, Walter Saavedra, Bench Sanchez, and Jose Emmanuel Tundag.

Under the guidance of coaches Kristoffer KD Cabajes and Arquiles Jun Togonon, they will go up against Proform Basketball of Singapore, St. Joseph Higher Secondary School of Bangladesh, and School of Nations of Macau in Pool H.

In the 14 Under division, Zachary Meil Arangcon, Jacob Atad, Kurt Lexter Awing, Jose Cadiz III,

Al Raffy Dimaro, Mohammad Oswald Timothy Fernandez, Jhomari Vincent Genilla, Rudolf Bel Labis, Johan Pierre Lastimosa, Kyrvyn Sime Marquez, Randi Samuelle Ong, Glenn Claude Ortiz, Zachary Dwayne Quimno, Jovit Matthew Ramo, and Jaydeh Andrae Tumala will be donning the country s tri-colors.

Head coach Adolph Flores and his assistant coach Sharon Flores will call the shots for NYBL s U14 cagers, who will take on Next Level B of Vietnam, Academy 13 of Singapore, and WABA of Australia in Pool B.

An 80-year-old woman was rescued after her drunk son held her hostage for two hours at their house in Barangay Highway Hills, Mandaluyong on Saturday night.

Barangay watchmen immediately alerted authorities after the victim managed to peek from the balcony of the house and call for help.

The Special Weapons and Tactics team arrived within 10 minutes and negotiated with the 53-year-old suspect for nearly an hour before storming the house and rescuing the victim.

Capt. Juanito Arabejo, commander of the Mandaluyong police Sector 6, said relatives provided the layout of the house, allowing lawmen to carefully plan the rescue operation.

A mockup gun used by the suspect to threaten his mother was recovered at the scene.

Probers said the suspect had a history of physically abusing his mother whenever he got drunk.

The victim was brought to a hospital for medical examination and counseling due to trauma.

Civic group Tindig Pilipinas has urged newly appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to investigate allegations forming the basis of the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a two-page letter dated October 20, the group said the Ombudsman has the duty to ‘look into any serious misconduct in the office allegedly committed by officials removable by impeachment.’

‘Your appointment to the Office of the Ombudsman comes at the heels of the darkest era of that venerable institution,’ the letter read. ‘With cautious optimism, we hope that your good office will once again be a true protector of the people as mandated by the 1987 Constitution.’

The group said its call is made ‘in the capacity of citizen-complainants in the impeachment of Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte,’ urging Remulla to ‘urgently investigate the grave allegations’ tied to the case.

‘Stand against impunity’

The group pressed the Ombudsman to ‘make a firm stand against this display of impunity,’ recalling Duterte’s earlier assault on a Davao court sheriff when she was city mayor – an incident for which she avoided sanctions.

‘We cannot allow a culture of impunity to take root, where actions that threaten our democratic stability and public accountability are simply forgotten, or worse, seen as a new acceptable standard for our leaders,’ Tindig Pilipinas wrote.

The letter further called for a ‘comprehensive and impartial investigation’ to help restore public trust and uphold the rule of law.

Remulla, who assumed office on October 7, wields the authority to investigate and prosecute public officials accused of graft, corruption, or misconduct under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and related laws.

The Ombudsman’s jurisdiction extends to abuse of authority, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes involving public office.

Duterte’s impeachment background. Duterte, who does not enjoy presidential immunity, was impeached by the House of Representatives in February 2025, with 215 of 306 lawmakers signing and verifying the complaint before it was transmitted to the Senate for trial.

The impeachment complaint accused her of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, conspiracy to commit murder, and other high crimes.

Specific charges included public death threats allegedly made by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

However, the Supreme Court struck down the impeachment complaint in July, ruling it unconstitutional for violating the one-year ban on filing successive impeachment cases.

It may be easier said than done, but attracting and capturing quality tourists who are resilient, and perhaps resistant to the vagaries of the global economic movement, is the way to go for countries that are reliant on their tourism sector to bring in foreign investments and revenues.

According to a recently released tourism study titled ‘Capturing High Quality Tourism for Southeast Asia’ by Oxford Economics, Southeast Asian policymakers are increasingly focused on attracting quality tourists to enhance their tourism industry.

This means, Oxford Economics said, ‘focusing on boosting the levels of spend per visitor, rather than the overall number of visitors that arrive. The goal is to maximize the economic gains from tourism, while minimizing some of the environmental and social challenges that it can present.’

For travelers, the study said, quality tourism means unique, personalized and immersive experiences that allow high quality tourists to engage with local culture, enjoy the natural environment and feel comfortable in their surroundings.

However, the market for travelers who are willing to pay more for quality experience is highly competitive, Oxford Economics pointed out, with Southeast Asia’s leading destinations vying for position against the world’s tourism hotspots.

Oxford Economics surveyed 1,800 potential Southeast Asian tourists from the region’s five major source markets: China, Korea, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. These source markets accounted for 46 percent of all travel and tourism spending in Southeast Asia in 2019.

Using a discrete-choice experiment to understand how prospective tourists value different aspects of their trips, Oxford Economics uncovered the factors that determine the destination choices travelers make, with a special focus on food and beverage (F and B) experiences, and assessed how much different traveler segments are willing to pay for premium offerings.

Premium experiences were defined by high quality F and B products and dining options, a wide variety of choices, easy access to F and B venues and exceptional service when travelers arrive.

Among the key insights Oxford Economics learned was that F and B offering is one of the big drivers of destination choice. Seven out of 10 potential Southeast Asia tourists regard F and B experiences as ‘important or very important’ to their destination choice.

For high-income travelers, the share rises to 75 percent. In fact, the quality of the F and B offering in a destination is more important to the average tourist than the historical and cultural sites the destination offers.

The second insight is that high-quality tourists are attracted to premium experiences around F and B. The study showed that Southeast Asia is globally renowned for its cuisine, but the quality food is not sufficient in its own right to attract quality tourism.

Oxford Economics found that certain ‘premium’ features of the F and B experience are instrumental in driving destination choice for potential Southeast Asia tourists, which suggests that a prospective tourist to Southeast Asia is 2.5 times more likely to choose a destination when premium F and B experiences are available, compared to another destination with more standard service offerings, all else being equal.

Premium F and B experiences include high-quality F and B products and diverse, high-quality options from award-winning chefs and a full range of value, standard and premium alcoholic drinks.

Additionally, they found out that there must be a wide variety of options that are convenient to access, and numerous venues serving a variety of beers, wines, premium spirits and innovative cocktails; easy and convenient to access, with early opening and late closing, with exceptional, personalized service and knowledgeable staff, skilled and trained restaurant and bar staff, qualified mixologists and expert sommeliers.

The third insight was that visitors to Southeast Asia are willing to pay $250 more per person per day on average, to visit destinations that offer premium F and B experiences. This preference is not held exclusively by the wealthy, niche or luxury travelers.

In fact, visitors from lower, middle and higher income categories are all willing to pay more to upgrade the F and B experience in their travel destination. A majority of potential Southeast Asian tourists, or 71 percent, regard F and B experiences as important to their destination choice.

However, Oxford Economics emphasized that although travelers are willing to spend more for premium experiences, value for money was among the most important universal influences on a traveller’s choice of destination in Southeast Asia’s major tourism markets.

Ultimately, Oxford Economics found, there is a limit to any traveler’s budget. Their analysis suggests that a $20 increase in price (per person per day) for a premium F and B experience would cause 10 percent of travelers to trade down to a less-premium option, indicating that there is a willingness to pay for premium, but not at any cost.

Another insight was that there are differing aspects of premium F and B to different source markets. Oxford Economics learned that a premium experience is multi-dimensional, with different aspects appealing to different travel segments.

Visitors from China, for instance, are more than three times as likely to choose destinations where F and B options are conveniently accessible, and they prioritize F and B more heavily in their travel plans, compared to visitors from other markets. They also demonstrate a higher willingness to spend on premium F and B experiences over basic alternatives than visitors from other source markets in our study.

Chinese travelers, the study showed, were most willing to pay for F and B options that are easily accessible.

The availability of premium F and B experiences was valued by all categories of travelers in the study. This insight highlights how traveler preferences across Southeast Asia’s major tourism markets vary, and the importance of being able to tailor premium tourism experiences in a destination to meet the nuanced demands of different travel segments.

The Emilio Aguinaldo College coach sounded the alarm bells, and his wards responded with a solid game, routing San Sebastian, 86-71, yesterday and jumping back into the thick of things in NCAA Season 101 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

‘I just told the boys we needed this game badly because our group has Letran, St. Benilde and San Beda,’ said EAC mentor Jerson Cabiltes. ‘We need to catch up. It would be very hard for us if we lose this one.’

The Generals worked on a massive second-half splurge, turning a slim 38-37 halftime edge into a huge lead en route to gaining a share of No. 3 with the Jose Rizal U Bombers and the Knights on 3-3 records in Group B.

In the other game, Arellano turned back St. Benilde, 72-67.

T-Mc Ongotan delivered a career-high 28-point performance as the Chiefs stayed at third in Group A with a 3-3 mark.