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President Marcos yesterday feted the Philippines’ delegates to the recently concluded 14th WorldSkills ASEAN 2025, praising them for enhancing the country’s reputation and showcasing the value of Filipino workers.

The country won 10 gold medals, seven silver medals, eight bronze medals and five medallions for excellence during the regional competition, which was held from Aug. 26 to 28 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Marcos awarded P100,000 for each gold medalist, P80,000 for each silver medalist, P60,000 for each bronze medalist and P50,000 for each recipient of medallion for excellence.

‘Because of what you did and the successful result, we have seen that the notion that the Filipino workers are good is not fabricated. We have proof,’ the President said during the courtesy visit of the Philippine delegation at Malacañang.

‘You have made our reputation better, you have once again proved to the world the value of the Filipino worker,’ he added.

Marcos said the cash incentive given by his office is a small price to pay for all the delegates’ work and for the excellence they have shown.

More than 1,000 delegates from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste joined the event, which carried the theme ‘ASEAN: Skilled for the Future.’

Some 300 young professionals competed across 32 official skill areas, ranging from traditional trades in construction and manufacturing to high-tech fields such as CoBot systems integration, industry 4.0, cyber security, internet of things, autonomous mobile robotics and 3D digital game art.

For sure, there are people who agree with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano that the nation, with its seriously damaged institutions, needs a reset for a clean slate.

A snap election, however, is not the answer. Not only because there’s no law for this, and we’re no longer under a dictatorship, which allowed Ferdinand Marcos to pit himself against Corazon Aquino in the 1986 snap election.

The more fundamental reason is that our electoral system itself is a major part of the corruption sinkhole into which our nation has fallen.

It starts with the fielding of candidates. Cayetano proposes the resignation of President Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte and all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

In the unlikely event that they all do so – presumably with Cayetano and his sister Pia themselves leading the move, as suggested by their naughty brother – there must be a stringent requirement that no one related to the resigned officials, up to the fourth degree of blood or marriage ties, can run for the vacated positions.

Otherwise we will simply have the same dog with a different collar, a cosmetic change, with the same surnames and the same MOs for robbing the nation blind.

A snap election will merely provide yet another opportunity for opaque fundraising, with billions again funneled into one of the biggest and most efficient laundromats for dirty money in our looted country: campaign finance.

It will provide yet another opportunity for venal politicians to use taxpayers’ money for buying votes, for claiming credit for state-funded dole-outs or ayuda used for personal promotion.

Looting politicians thrive on voters who are perpetually dependent on political patrons for cash handouts, endorsements for medical care, jobs with hardly any qualifications required, and help during emergencies or special occasions such as weddings, baptisms and funerals – kasal, binyag, libing.

Thanks to the flood control scandal, there is heightened public awareness that the ayuda and patronage doled out by the thieves are bankrolled by every taxpayer.

The snap election proposal, with its call for mass resignations, was dead in the water. Malacañang summed up a common reaction: ‘wishful thinking.’ Even Cayetano’s allies in the DDS dismissed it as an ‘impossible dream.’

Maybe Cayetano was inspired by leadership changes in other countries now being similarly rocked by anti-corruption protests.

A common feature of these protests is that they are mostly leaderless, with Gen Zs playing a prominent role. And why not, since they are the ones inheriting the rotten systems developed by their elders.

Another feature is the exposure of the lifestyles of officials who are living beyond their means. This openness, transparency and swiftness in the exchange of information, which digital technology has made possible, is a trend that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure is bucking impressively.

There are speculations that the ICI may finally relent in conducting open hearings, but only after resigned speaker Martin Romualdez and all the senators implicated in the flood control mess (plus Zaldy Co, in case he comes out of hiding and decides to return home) have faced the commission. And after the nerve that Benjie Magalong struck, plus the home that he stumbled into in his short-lived stint as investigator, have been decisively eliminated from ICI scrutiny.

Before all this, opening the ICI hearings to the public will be nothing but wishful thinking, like the mass resignation prior to snap elections.

Our system does not allow those swift political changes arising from the anti-corruption protests now spreading across the planet. We can’t even get rid pronto of lawmakers who have been implicated in the latest corruption scandal.

Even if they are indicted for plunder and held without bail, they can continue serving as lawmakers until they are convicted with finality – which could be after 20 years. Years before a final ruling, they can plead cognitive decline and exemption from prosecution. Or they can move for dismissal of the case due to ‘inordinate delay’ in the legal process.

Because of the state of our legal system, people often think the best they can get in terms of swift justice is watching public hearings on high crimes and seeing the big fish wriggling in the net. Being leviathans, no net can hold them too long, and they will likely wriggle free eventually. They can swim their way back to elective office, possibly to a post higher than the one they occupied when they were indicted.

People who had expected the ICI to pick up where the congressional probes left off have shifted their expectations for open proceedings to the new ombudsman, Jesus Crispin Remulla.

Since the retirement of Samuel Martires as ombudsman, Remulla had been bruited about as the strongest contender for the post. While Remulla will certainly coordinate with the ICI, the Constitution mandates the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct probes on its own in cases involving public accountability and betrayal of public trust.

These are what people dismayed over large-scale corruption want: an open and efficient probe, indictments, prosecution, conviction and punishment of crooks, in a process that complies with the constitutional mandate for speedy trial. Structural reforms to excise the rot and prevent its return. And a citizenry enlightened and enraged enough by the scandal to pick a better set of officials in the 2028 elections.

There is no quick fix to our nation’s problems. Without institutional reforms and an informed electorate, a snap election will just be a band-aid solution, which will open opportunities for more corruption.

Cagayan Gov. Edgardo Aglipay wants cases filed against the owners of the four heavy trucks that crossed the Piggatan Bridge in Alcala town at the same time, which he blamed for the collapse of the bridge Monday afternoon.

Designed to carry up to 18 tons, the 45-year-old bridge likely fell apart due to overloading, according to initial investigations. Each of the four trucks reportedly weighed over 50 tons.

Alcala Mayor Tin Antonio, for his part, criticized the aging bridge’s limited load capacity, calling it ‘impractical’ for a major highway. She said waiting for infrastructure to fully deteriorate before replacement is ‘unacceptable.’

Antonio urged the government to inspect bridges all over Cagayan, following the disaster that cut off northern Cagayan from the provincial capital Tuguegarao.

Major rerouting has been implemented in the area, with light vehicles advised to take the Piggatan circumferential road, while heavy trucks were rerouted to Baybayog, Alkala-San Jose, Baggao-Capissayan or Dummun (Gattaran) roads.

Cause still under study – Dizon

Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said that the agency is still conducting an assessment of the bridge to determine the cause of its collapse.

Dizon, at a press briefing yesterday, said he was set to go to the bridge collapse site today and check with the district and regional personnel of the DPWH in Cagayan Valley.

‘We will know today or tomorrow what was the cause (of the bridge collapse),’ Dizon said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has shut down three resorts found to be operating illegally within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape in Rizal.

The Danum Baker Resort, Erin’s Place and Lihim na Batis have been issued cease and desist orders for allegedly operating without the required permits from the DENR.

The closure order was served on Oct. 3 by a composite team led by DENR Assistant Secretary for legal affairs and enforcement Norlito Eneran, DENR-Calabarzon director Nilo Tamoria and Rizal provincial environment and natural resources officer Ramil Limpiada.

After coordinating with the local government of Baras, the DENR team padlocked the main gate of the Danum Baker Resort in the presence of the resort caretaker.

The team installed a chain and signage marked ‘CLOSED,’ reinforcing an earlier notice of violation issued by the DENR.

At Erin’s Place and Lihim na Batis, which share a common entrance, the team found the main gate already locked and unattended.

To allow residents from nearby communities who rely on the route to pass through, the team opted not to padlock the gate.

Instead, a signage marked ‘CLOSED’ was also attached on the common gate of the establishments to inform visitors and excursionists that the resorts are no longer available.

The three resorts were among nine establishments operating within the protected area that were issued either cease and desist or show-cause orders.

The DENR said that among the facilities ordered to stop operating, only the Danum Baker Resort, Erin’s Place and Lihim na Batis were found to have defied the closure order.

The remaining six establishments have since complied and ceased operations.

The Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape, a critical watershed supplying water to Metro Manila and nearby provinces, has long been under environmental pressure due to illegal structures and tourism activities.

The Philippines is unlikely to commission new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants until 2030 as global gas turbine shortages cripple the buildout, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

The IEEFA warned that turbine bottlenecks could intensify delays and skyrocket costs for new gas-fired power projects in the Philippines, with developers scrambling to secure orders.

‘The Philippines has one LNG-to-power project expected to begin fully operating in 2025 but is unlikely to bring another LNG-fired power plant online this decade,’ the think tank said in a report released yesterday.

This refers to the 1,275-megawatt Excellent Energy Resources Inc. in Batangas owned by tycoons Manuel V. Pangilinan, Ramon Ang and Sabin Aboitiz. A 432-MW expansion is in the pipeline.

Amid turbine production backlogs, the country is facing potential delays to proposed LNG projects totaling 10.7 gigawatts (GW), all of which remain in the early stages of development, the IEEFA said.

‘Relying on alternative suppliers is challenging given the limited number of established heavy-duty gas turbine producers and the complexity of turbine systems, contracts and procedures,’ said Sam Reynolds, LNG/gas research lead at IEEFA Asia.

According to the report, a surge in turbine orders from the United States and the Middle East, coupled with supply chain constraints, has triggered a global shortage.

In the US alone, around 19 GW of gas-fired power projects are expected to be developed annually through 2030, the IEEFA said.

Given this, the IEEFA expects emerging Asian economies like the Philippines to accelerate investments in renewable energy and battery storage for grid balancing.

‘Every year of delays for gas and LNG-fired power plants means that less gas and LNG will be needed in the long run,’ Reynolds said.

In the Philippines, the Department of Energy has positioned LNG as a transition fuel to shift away from coal-fired facilities while paving the way for wider adoption of renewables in the long term.

Latest DOE data showed that natural gas accounted for around 14 percent of the country’s power mix, with coal and renewables making up 63 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan, an additional 3.98 million tons per annum of LNG facilities are needed to meet the forecasted natural gas supply requirements by 2050.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is still searching for its next chair, with most of the five senators eyed by Senate President Tito Sotto having already declined. Sen. Pia Cayetano, however, remains open to the possibility of leading the panel, saying she would ‘pray about it’ while Congress is on recess.

In an ambush interview on Wednesday, October 8, Cayetano said she is currently struggling to decide whether or not to take up the offer of leading the Blue Ribbon committee, given that she already holds two to three other major committees.

“Mabigat na trabaho na ‘yun. I already have two other committees, so I will use this time na walang session to pray about it and to think about it kung mahahandle ko siya – kasi kaya ko,” she said.

(That’s already a heavy responsibility. I’m handling two other committees, so I’ll use this session break to pray and think about whether I can handle it – because I know I can.)

Sotto also announced on Wednesday that Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who was not among the five senators initially considered to succeed Lacson, would temporarily serve as chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee since he was appointed vice chair.

Three senators have already declined, including Sens. Raffy Tulfo, JV Ejercito and Kiko Pangilinan. The only remaining senator who has yet to issue a statement on the chairmanship was Sen. Risa Honitveros, although Sotto confirmed in an interview that all five have already declined “for now.”

Cayetano, however, said it is only appropriate that she consider taking the committee chairmanship because it’s her job to do so, factoring in the weight the panel carries.

“Twenty-four lang naman kami and then lima lang kaming abogado. So gustuhin ko man o hindi, it’s my job to consider it if there is a need to chair the Committee on Blue Ribbon,” Cayetano said.

(There are only 24 of us, and only five are lawyers. So whether I like it or not, it’s my job to consider it if there’s a need to chair the Blue Ribbon Committee.)

The four-term senator said she maintains a “professional but easygoing” relationship with Sotto, a fellow veteran lawmaker and her slate mate under the admin’s ticket in the 2025 midterm elections. She added that they merely chatted about the possibility of her chairing the committee during the majority bloc’s caucus on Wednesday.

Cayetano currently heads the Senate committees on energy, ways and means, and sustainable development goals in the 20th Congress.

While she mulls over the chairmanship, Cayetano expressed confidence in her ability to lead the Blue Ribbon Committee, which investigates alleged government wrongdoing and has the authority to launch motu proprio inquiries.

“Wala akong doubt na kaya ko. Wala akong doubt that I can do a good job, [but] with all humility naman,” she added. (I have no doubt that I can do it. I have no doubt that I can do a good job, but I say that with all humility.)

For her, it is crucial for the “best person” to be appointed as committee chair because it is a “defining moment for the Filipino people.” Thousands of Filipinos have been watching the Senate’s flood control hearings closely, especially as it remains the only probe ongoing and made public.

The House Infra Comm already suspended its hearings indefinitely after holding two to give way to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) of the executive branch. This comes as multiple members of Congress, including senators, have been implicated in the kickback scheme tied to infrastructure projects and alleged budget insertions.

The ICI’s hearings, however, have been kept behind closed doors to avoid turning it into a “trial by publicity,” its executive director, Biran Hosaka, said.

From the time it joined the NCAA almost four decades ago and up to now, University of Perpetual Help has never stopped dreaming of a breakthrough senior basketball championship.

And the realization of that dream could be drawing close after the Altas shocked the Mapua Cardinals in a gripping 75-65 victory Wednesday that propelled the former straight to the top of the NCAA Season 101 at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

It was the third win in a row for UPHSD that was made even more special by the fact that it came at the expense of the team to beat this season – defending champion Mapua.

It also put the Altas on top of Group A.

Despite their early success, UPHSD coach Olsen Racela was quick to caution his players that they still have a long way to go.

‘It’s a big victory but the league is just starting and anything can still happen,’ said Racela.

The Altas did it with defense as they held former league MVP Clint Escamis to just six points while completely shutting down the Cardinals in the last five and a half minutes to steal the win.

During that scintillating stretch of defensive brilliance, UPHSD managed to score 10 points, half of which came from JP Boral, who ended up finishing with a team-best 15 points.

It also drew solid efforts from LA Casinillo, Patrick Sleat and Mark Gojo Cruz, who had 13, 12 and 12 points, respectively.

The Cardinals dropped to their first defeat after starting the season with a pair of wins.

The scores:

UPHSD 75 – Boral 15, Casinilio 13, Sleat 12, Gojo Cruz 12, Orgo 9, Abis 4, Alcantara 4, Maglupay 3, Nuñez 3, Gelsano 0, Pagulayan 0.

Mapua 65 – Recto 16, Gonzales 15, Cuenco 8, Lazarte 7, Escamis 6, Gulapa 3, Concepcion 2, Nitura 2, Sapasap 2, Delos Reyes 2, Reyes 2, Callangan 0, Ryan 0.

Quarterscores: 19-21; 39-40; 57-53; 75-65

Malacañang has rejected recent renewed calls by lawmakers to zero out the P250 billion unprogrammed appropriations in the proposed 2026 national budget, saying the funds are crucial for government programs and are subject to strict oversight.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said at a press briefing on Wednesday, October 8, that the funds serve as a reserve for urgent and unforeseen expenses, such as emergencies, and are not automatically disbursed.

‘Hindi po ito nagagasta nang basta-basta (This is not spent arbitrarily),’ Castro told reporters.

‘Kahit po ito ay nasa unprogrammed appropriation, ang ibig pong sabihin nito ay hindi po ito agad-agad makukuha kung wala pong sapat na dokumento,” she added.

(Even if it is in the unprogrammed appropriation, it means it cannot be released immediately without sufficient documentation.)

Unprogrammed appropriations are funds authorized in the national budget that are treated as standby reserves. This means it must only be released once the government meets specific revenue targets, such as securing new loans or tax collections, or upon special presidential authorization.

However, large allocations for standby funds have become controversial under the Marcos administration. Critics say the mechanism allows the administration to stash away money for pre-planned programs with less transparency and greater political discretion than regular, itemized budgets.

In a privilege speech yesterday, Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan) urged Congress to reduce the allocation to zero. He said the P250 billion was not a necessary contingency fund, but was instead being earmarked for “large, planned, and regular programs” that should be subjected to the rigorous scrutiny of line-item budgeting.

When asked about Diokno’s call on Wednesday, Castro directly rejected the feasibility of zeroing out the appropriation.

The funds, Castro said, are under ‘conditional implementation,’ meaning agencies cannot access them unless specific requirements are met.

“Hindi po ba may mga nagrireklamo na hindi raw sila nabibigyan o nari-release-an ng mga pondo (Isn’t it some agencies are complaining of the delays in the release of funds)?” Castro said.

“Iyan po ang ginagawa ng Pangulo dahil ito po ay nasa ilalim ng conditional implementation. Ibig sabihin po, pinangangalagaan ng Pangulo ang pondo ng bayan,” she added.

(That is what the President is doing because it is under conditional implementation. This means the President is safeguarding the people’s money.)

Growing calls to remove unprogrammed funds

The Senate has the same stance as Diokno and earlier called to remove the standby funds from the spending plan for next year.

Senate President Tito Sotto previously bared plans to eliminate all unprogrammed funds from the 2026 budget, calling them ‘sources of questionable insertions.’ He and Senate finance panel chair Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian have agreed to aim for ‘100 percent no unprogrammed funds,’ with only foreign-assisted components possibly retained.

The controversy over unprogrammed appropriations is playing out against a backdrop of investigations that have revealed billions of funds meant for flood control projects have been misused in past years.

This, according to lawmakers, was made possible through covert budget insertions done behind closed doors by small committees.

Growing awareness of the anomalies in budget insertions has prompted critics to call massive UA allocations a possible alternative for insertions. In arguing for its removal, another Akbayan lawmaker, Rep. Perci Cendaña, earlier pointed out that 70% of UA allocations in the 2026 budget are for infrastructure projects.

‘If the unprogrammed appropriations stays, then it might cast a shadow on our efforts to cleanse the stain of corruption from our national budget,” Cendaña said Tuesday.

We should be clear about this point. Everything in our life should be an occasion, a means, a reason for prayer. Whatever the condition and situation in our life, whether considered humanly speaking as good or bad, proper or improper, in solemn or jovial moments, etc., we should see to it that we manage to connect ourselves with God through prayer.

Prayer can take on any form or method. The important thing is that we manage to be with God always, since that is actually what is proper for us. Without him, we would just be living like animals, perhaps a little bit better than them, but in the end, no better than them really. Without him, it would just be a matter of time before we fall into some disorder insofar as we are rational animals, let alone, as we are children of God.

Without God who is our creator and source of all good things, we can only do evil. We would be like a branch cut off from the vine. We may manage to give an appearance of life and goodness, but without him, we actually have and are nothing.

We have to be constantly aware that we cannot be simply on our own. We need God and we need to be with everybody and everything else. We have to overcome our tendency that we can afford to be isolated. We should never forget that we are always in communion and we need to make that communion alive and healthy. And prayer is what enables us to achieve these goals.

As early as possible, as in when one is still a little child, everyone should be told and taught about this important duty of ours which is actually a necessity of ours. Prayer should be like the beating of our heart, the breath we make instinctively. It is what makes us alive spiritually and supernaturally, and not just biologically and naturally.

We have to see to it that we learn how to really pray. That is, we have to learn how to vitally engage with God, our Father and Creator, mainly through our mind and heart, and later through the other faculties and powers that we have –our imagination, memory, feelings and passions, and the physical and natural powers we have.

Ideally, everything should be an act of prayer, whether we are doing our sacred or mundane duties, whether things are good or bad for us, whether we are alone or in a crowd, etc.

And just like any training, it at first has to be taught under a controlled environment. That is why, at the beginning we were taught as children to recite and put into memory some vocal prayers. We may not understand everything said there, but that at least initiates us to the practice of prayer.

Then further steps ought to be made. We have to learn how to exercise our faith, how to meditate and contemplate, how to find a proper place, time and even posture for it. And then how we can have presence of God the whole day, rectitude of intention in all our actions, the habit of offering everything to God, and literally of conversing with God and discerning his will as we go on with our daily activities.

In the end, the quality of our life is determined by the quality of our prayer. If we truly are with God the whole time, we would know what to do at any given moment. We would practically share in the very power, wisdom, and goodness of God himself.

Cold and dry winds are expected soon as the state weather bureau has declared the end of the southwest monsoon season.

‘This marks the termination of the rainy season over the western sections of Luzon and the Visayas,’ the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

‘The country is now transitioning to the northeast monsoon season, which will be observed and declared in the coming weeks,’ it added.

During this season, temperatures gradually drop across northern and Central Luzon toward

the end of the year.

The southwest monsoon has been weakening over the past weeks, accompanied by a gradual shift in the country’s weather pattern, PAGASA said.

Typical indicators of the transition to the northeast monsoon season are the change brought by the stronger high-pressure system over East Asia and the southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone.