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Several schools have either taken a health break or shifted to online classes amid a reported spike in flu-like symptoms.

Adamson University said it is implementing deep cleaning and disinfection from Friday to Saturday, during which the university will be closed. Students will take their lessons online.

Normal office operations will continue on Monday, the university said.

National University Fairview has announced limited onsite classes, only allowing lab work for college students. However, both senior high school and college students will have most of their sessions online until October 11.

Prior to these announcements, several other schools had already issued a health break.

The University of Santo Tomas Junior High School also announced a three-day academic health break following an increase in flu-like symptoms among students and faculty. The school shifted from onsite to online classes from October 7 to October 9.

San Beda College Alabang had also announced a health break from October 6 to 7, ‘due to the increasing number of health and medical concerns among learners.’

While Ateneo de Manila University did not implement a health break, the school issued a health advisory for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines season.

‘Whether in crowded events or small group gatherings, we are exposed to health risks like respiratory diseases, especially in indoor activities where ventilation may be limited. The cold and damp environment promotes the proliferation of many viruses, including flu and rhinoviruses, particularly during rainy days,’ Ateneo said in a memo.

Some of the measures the university encouraged people to take include proper handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes.

People are also encouraged to routinely clean the surfaces of commonly touched objects and improve ventilation in their homes.

Besides hundreds of non-existent or ghost flood control projects, the nation is now learning about ‘haunted hospitals.’

Unlike the flood control projects, the government health centers are in existence. But only 200 of 600 health centers built under the health facilities enhancement program or HFEP of the Department of Health are reportedly functional as of this year.

DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa had described the HFEP as the department’s own version of the flood control mess. Herbosa disclosed this during the plenary debates at the House of Representatives on the P253-billion budget proposed by the DOH for 2026.

Launched in 2008, the HFEP is supposed to provide funds for government health facilities to enhance access of the poor to health care. At the outset, the program aimed to augment the number of barangay health stations, rural health units, district and provincial hospitals as well as medical specialty centers. But many of the facilities could not operate due to lack of health professionals and other personnel.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno noted that over P170 billion had been allocated in the past decade for DOH infrastructure and equipment requirements alone. Including funds for personnel and commodities, the amount rises to P400 billion.

Despite those billions and the existence of the hundreds of health facilities under the HFEP, the government found it necessary to launch separate healthcare programs such as those under the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations.

AICS and other unconditional dole-outs received more official attention apparently because they politicized healthcare and other ayuda programs, with politicians allowed to endorse patients and use the programs for their self-promotion by taking personal credit for state-funded aid.

The HFEP highlights the waste of precious public funds when project implementation is not properly coordinated. If public funds will be spent to construct a health facility, there must be sufficient coordination and follow-through with local government units and other relevant agencies to ensure that there will be enough personnel to operate the facility. Otherwise the structure will become a white elephant that will deteriorate with the passage of time.

Staffing health facilities has been a problem for a long time in this country as nurses, doctors and other health professionals opt for higher pay abroad. The problem reached crisis proportions at the height of the COVID pandemic.

Poor people lacking access to health care bear the brunt of the problem, but ultimately, all taxpayers are hit, as billions in public funds go down the drain.

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Davao Oriental on Friday evening – the strongest to hit the area since a magnitude 7.4 tremor rattled the region earlier in the day.

The quake was recorded at 7:12 p.m. and was felt across several parts of Mindanao, prompting a tsunami warning in nearby coastal provinces, according to state seismology agency PHIVOLCS.

The agency first reported the magnitude at 6.9 before revising it to 6.7.

Shaking felt across Mindanao. PHIVOLCS said Intensity IV shaking was felt in the cities of Davao and Bislig, and throughout Surigao del Sur. Instrumental intensities were also recorded in Magpet in Cotabato, Digos City in Davao Del Sur. Sta. Maria in Davao Occidental, Nabunturan in Davao de Oro, Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, Malungon, Alabel in Sarangani, Tupi in South Cotabato, and Hinunangan in Southern Leyte.

Tsunami warning. Authorities are residents in coastal areas of Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Surigao del Norte to move to higher ground after PHIVOLCS issued a tsunami advisory.

The agency said forecast tsunami waves could arrive between 7:12 p.m. and 9:12 p.m.

Evacuation orders were issued in several towns as emergency response teams were deployed to monitor possible aftershocks and wave surges.

Casualties. At least one person was confirmed dead from the earlier magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the Davao region on Friday morning, causing widespread panic and power interruptions.

Authorities said damage assessments are ongoing, with reports of collapsed structures and minor landslides still being verified.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is investigating an alleged data breach on its full disclosure policy portal wherein around 22 gigabytes of internal data were leaked.

Deep Web Konek, a cybersecurity advocacy organization, said more than 40 million records from the FDPP system such as audit trails, logs, attachments and user information were leaked.

Sought for comment, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said they are validating the supposed data breach.

‘I’ll get to it,’ Remulla said.

The hacker is said to be the same actor who defaced a DILG web directory.

Deep Web Konek said the cyber attack included a quote from the attacker: ‘Anyone can be corrupt given the opportunity to do so, but corruption remains a matter of CHOICE.’

There were also reports of websites by government agencies and local government units being hacked by threat actors.

The hackers left messages protesting corruption in flood control projects.

Among the affected websites were from local governments in Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte.

The Legaspi family of Carmina Villarroel, Zoren Legaspi, and twins Mavy and Cassy are all set for their first television series together “Hating Kapatid.”

The show “Hating Kapatid” promises to deliver a gripping tale of love, betrayal and redemption.

At the heart of the story is Carmina’s Roselle who has long harbored feelings for her childhood best friend, Zoren’s Cris who marries another woman who while wealthy comes off toxic.

As cracks begin to show in Zoren’s marriage and Roselle finds herself vulnerable, the two give in to a moment of weakness.

Roselle becomes pregnant but, unwilling to destroy Cris’ marriage, decides to raise the child alone despite Cris’ secret intention to take the infant. A delayed internal delivery a month later leaves Roselle with twins Belle and Tyrone (Cassy and Mavy).

Adding further depth to the series are Valerie Concepcion, Bobby Andrews, Leandro Baldemor, Mercedes Cabral, and rising stars Vince Maristela, Cheska Fausto, and Haley Dizon.

Adolfo Alix Jr. directs the series on a script by Luningning Ribay assisted by fellow writers Maria Christina Velasco, Renato Custodio, Wiro Michael Ladera, and Jai Shane Cañete.

“Hating Kapatid” premieres on October 13 and will run Mondays to Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. on GMA.

Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson shook off a rough preseason start, and the New York Knicks followed his lead.

Clarkson came off the bench to spark a fourth-quarter rally as the Knicks outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves, 100-95, in overtime Thursday night (Friday Philippine time) to stay perfect through three preseason games.

The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year delivered exactly what coach Mike Brown had been waiting for – poise, pace and shot creation from the second unit. With the Knicks’ starters sluggish and out of rhythm, Brown challenged his reserves to swing the momentum, and they answered.

‘I challenged the second group because I thought their first time around, they held onto the ball too much and our spacing wasn’t good,’ Brown said. ‘Their second time around, they were really good.’

Down 71-63 entering the fourth, the Knicks’ bench opened with a 15-3 run capped by a Clarkson layup to grab the lead. The 33-year-old guard then hustled for a loose ball that turned into an extra possession, setting up an Ariel Hukporti dunk that gave New York an 82-80 edge with just under six minutes left.

Minnesota refused to go quietly, tying the game in the final seconds when Vietnamese-American Johnny Juzang floated in a jumper to force overtime. But New York’s third unit slammed the door, starting the extra frame with an 8-0 burst to finish off the Timberwolves and secure Brown’s first unofficial win at the Madison Square Garden.

Clarkson finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes. He didn’t commit a turnover and turned a minus-3 rating entering the fourth quarter into a plus-7 by the end. Miles McBride added 10 points off the bench as well.

The Knicks’ top group continued to sputter. Mikal Bridges scored 15 points on 50 percent shooting, but the All-NBA pairing of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined to hit just six of 25 shots for 21 points. Brown brushed off the rough offensive night.

‘I thought we had some great looks,’ he said. ‘We just didn’t knock them down tonight.’

Former Knicks forward Julius Randle scored 16 for Minnesota, nine coming in the first quarter. Anthony Edwards carried the Timberwolves early with 17 points, 14 of them in the first half, helping the visitors control the pace until the Knicks’ depth wore them down late.

Brown said he hasn’t installed much of the Knicks’ new system yet, preferring to let players rely on reads and instincts while the offense takes shape. The defense, he added, has been ahead of schedule.

‘Usually when you have a new coach or a new system, the defense is a little ahead of the offense,’ Brown said. ‘We’re long, athletic and intelligent, and we’ve been doing a pretty good job with what we call shifting. We loosened up a couple of times, but overall, against a talented scoring team like that, our guys weren’t bad. Their second time around, they were really good.’

At 3-0, the Knicks will look to keep their preseason momentum. They will have two more games – against the Washington Wizards on October 13 and the Charlotte Hornets on October 17 – before their season tips off against the Eastern Conference favorites Cleveland Cavaliers on October 22.

Punong byanSen. Win Gatchalian, chair of the Senate finance committee, has vowed to boost defense spending by almost doubling the country’s defense budget by 2028.

He said the defense allocation should reach two percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), aligning the Philippines with international standards set by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO countries.

‘As long as I am the chairman of the Senate finance committee, I will commit to reach that two percent by 2028,’ Gatchalian declared during the budget hearing for the Department of National Defense (DND) and its attached agencies on Tuesday.

Currently, defense spending stands at 1.19 percent of the country’s GDP, leaving a shortfall of about P190 billion to meet the two percent benchmark.

Gatchalian emphasized that this target is achievable given the country’s robust economic and revenue growth.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro identified deterrence and long-range capabilities, air defense systems and strategic basing infrastructure as the top priorities to strengthen the country’s defense posture.

He noted that increased defense spending reduces political risks and strengthens investor confidence, which Gatchalian agreed with during the DND’s budget deliberation, stressing that ‘a stronger defense ultimately builds a stronger economy.’

During the hearing, uncompleted and unusable infrastructure projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways were also uncovered.

Gatchalian and other members of the Senate finance committee thus agreed to scrap the agency’s Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad Program funds and transfer its P3-billion allocation directly to the DND for 2026.

A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck offshore of Davao Oriental on Friday, October 10, at 9:43 a.m., prompting the issuance of a tsunami warning for affected coastal areas.

Phivolcs said the earthquake’s epicenter was located at coordinates 7.09°N, 127.09°E, approximately 44 kilometers northeast of Manay town in Davao Oriental. The quake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers beneath the seabed.

The agency initially reported the earthquake as magnitude 7.6, but later revised this in a subsequent bulletin to be 7.5, before it was again revised to 7.4.

Intensity. The earthquake was strongly felt across multiple provinces, with Intensity V shaking reported in Davao City and Intensity IV in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur.

Instrumental readings recorded Intensity V tremors in several areas including Hinunangan in Southern Leyte, Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, Nabunturan in Davao de Oro, Davao City, Santa Maria in Davao Occidental, Kidapawan City in Cotabato, and multiple municipalities in Sarangani and South Cotabato provinces.

Intensity IV shaking was recorded across a wider area spanning Cebu City, parts of Eastern Samar and Leyte, Southern Leyte, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao del Sur, Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur.

Tsunami warning. A tsunami warning has also been issued by Phivolcs to coastal communities regarding potential tsunami waves.

Phivolcs is warning of destructive tsunami waves with life-threatening heights. Based on local tsunami scenario databases, affected areas are expected to experience wave heights of more than one meter above normal tides, with potentially higher waves in enclosed bays and straits.

The first tsunami waves were forecasted to arrive between 9:43 a.m. and 11:43 a.m. and these waves may continue for hours.

Residents in coastal areas of the following provinces are strongly advised to move further inland or to elevated areas:

Eastern Samar

Southern Leyte

Leyte

Dinagat Islands

Surigao del Norte

Surigao del Sur

Davao Oriental

Boat owners in harbors, estuaries, or shallow coastal waters of these provinces should secure their vessels and move away from the waterfront immediately. Boats already at sea are advised to stay offshore in deep waters until further notice.

Officials immediately canceled classes in all schools in Central Mindanao after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake jolted provinces and cities across southern Mindanao on Friday morning, October 10.

Emergency responders from the office of Kidapawan City Mayor Jose Paolo Evangelista promptly transported more than 30 students from the Kidapawan City National High School and nearby campuses to hospitals due to dizziness and other discomfort following the tremor, which caused widespread panic among residents.

Kidapawan City, which has more than 40 barangays, is the capital of Cotabato province in Region 12 – more than a hundred kilometers north of Cotabato City, the seat of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) – where the earthquake was also felt.

‘Our engineers reported that there were no damages to school buildings in our city. We are monitoring the condition of the patients in all hospitals here, too,’ Evangelista said, as he went around school campuses in Kidapawan City.

Evangelista and Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao both suspended classes in all barangays under their local government units.

Friday morning’s earthquake, whose epicenter was traced to Manay town in Davao Oriental, shook cities and towns in Mindanao’s adjoining Regions 10, 11, 12 and 13.

Rescue teams from the Cotabato City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and emergency responders from the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region have been on standby, anticipating possible aftershocks.

The quake was also felt in the Bangsamoro region’s adjoining Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte provinces in Central Mindanao.

Taylor Swift continues to make huge waves with her newest album “The Life of a Showgirl.”

On the day of its release, “The Life of a Showgirl” became the most-streamed album in a single day in 2025 on Spotify so far, doing so in less than 12 hours.

Meanwhile, lead single “The Fate of Ophelia” became the most-streamed song in a single day in the platform’s history.

The latter record was previously held by Taylor herself through “Fortnight” with Post Malone from her “The Tortured Poets Department” album last year, which had been streamed more than 25 million times in one day – breaking the three-year record held by Adele’s “Easy On Me.”

Not only did “The Life of a Showgirl” top Spotify’s Top Albums Debut Global chart, the ten spots of the platform’s Top Song Debut Global chart were claimed by tracks from the album.

The two songs that missed the cut from the 12-track album were “Ruin the Friendship” and “Honey,” but all 12 songs are expected to dominate the Billboard Top 100 once that chart refreshes for a new week.

“The Fate of Ophelia” broke yet another Spotify record last October 9 by becoming the most-streamed song in a single week in the platform’s history, with an extra day to spare to complete the whole week.

The previous holder of the latter record was Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” which earned 101,838,799 streams in its debut, the first song to reach a hundred million streams faster than any other song.

Before that it was BTS’ “Butter” which 99.37 million stream in its first week, then hit a hundred million on its eighth day.