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The country’s leading professional classical and contemporary dance institution Ballet Philippines (BP) opened its 56th season with a truly historic and spectacular gala entitled ‘Three Masters, One Stage,’ uniting it with Repertory Philippines (Rep) and the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in an unforgettable evening at The Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City.

Under the leadership of BP chairman Antonio O. Cojuangco and president Kathleen Liechtenstein, Rep president and CEO Mindy Perez-Rubio, and MSO president Maan Hontiveros, the event was, indeed, one for the books as this was the first time these three institutions performed together on stage. The world-class double bill delighted audiences with Rep’s vibrant Peter and the Wolf narrated by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, and BP’s enchanting Little Red Riding Hood choreographed by its artistic director Mikhail Martynyuk.

With maestro Marlon Chen conducting MSO’s stirring live music and an atmosphere brimming with artistry, collaboration, and cultural pride, the evening both celebrated creative excellence and inclusivity as over 1,000 free seats were gifted to families from underserved communities, military personnel, indigenous communities, and other partner groups.

Of chic and white

The always lovely and bubby Agile Zamora was feted with an infinity friendship party hosted and organized by her ever-thoughtful good friend Aj Olpindo at the newly opened Smith and Wollensky steakhouse in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

The chic white-themed set-menu dinner, which catered to about 50 dear friends, was made all the more enchanting with live jazz, a soulful singer, and a talented pianist which created an elegant evening brimming with warmth, music, and unforgettable memories.

A festival of light, love and renewal

The effervescent couple Shilpa and Raj Tolani, members of the Hindu Temple in Manila, invite everyone to celebrate Diwali, the radiant Festival of Lights, ongoing until Oct. 24.

A luminous symbol of faith, joy, and renewal, the festivity marks the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. Rooted in ancient Hindu tradition yet embraced across cultures, the five-day festival unites communities around the world in the spirit of gratitude, hope, and harmony. Through the glow of countless lamps, the sharing of sweets, and heartfelt gatherings, Diwali reminds us of the enduring power of goodness and the brilliance of the human spirit.

Engineering and infrastructure company Megawide Construction Corp. has secured minority ownership in listed affiliate Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) following a block sale with Citicore Power Inc. (CPI).

In a stock exchange filing, Megawide said the transaction involving 1.10 billion secondary shares of CREC, representing 9.88 percent of its outstanding common stock, is non-dilutive to existing shareholders.

The company said the valuation used and price at which the transaction was executed was the 30-day volume-weighted average price of CREC shares as of Sept. 30, which also met the Philippine Stock Exchange’s guidelines of a regular block trade.

‘The transaction signifies the strong intra-company cooperation within the bigger Megawide-Citicore Group to achieve a shared objective – that is to create and maximize shareholder value,’ Megawide chairman and CEO Edgar Saavedra said.

Saavedra expects the asset injection to strengthen Megawide’s balance sheet and overall equity position.

The deal forms the bulk of the settlement of advances agreed among the Megawide-Citicore group of companies on Sept. 10, with the balance of P1.5 billion expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

Megawide earlier said the company would receive P9.4 billion from parent Citicore Holdings Investment Inc. and sister company CPI as settlement of advances.

‘Currently, our market capitalization stands at P6.6 billion and the value of the subject CREC shares, based on last closing price, is around P4.9 billion. From a valuation standpoint, the infusion represents an additional boost to our existing market capitalization and immediate upside to shareholders and investors,’ Saavedra said.

Megawide earlier announced it is entering a renewed chapter in its corporate history, with 2025 as the pivotal year.

The company recently bagged a multibillion-peso deal with property giant Megaworld Corp. for two new projects.

It has also expressed strong interest to participate and become a major player in the government’s Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino or 4PH program.

Sixteen people were rescued after a motor launch developed engine trouble while sailing in the waters off Sulu on Wednesday.

Among those rescued were 11 crewmembers and five passengers of the M/L Niesah, which drifted near Capual Island in Omar town, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The boat was headed to Zamboanga City from Jolo when its propeller struck a pile of floating debris.

The PCG-Station Eastern Sulu dispatched a rescue team, which found the vessel near the coast of Panamao.

The PCG towed the Niesah toward the port of Alayon in the municipality of Luuk. All crewmembers and passengers were found to be in good physical condition.

The two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who went missing in Hong Kong have been found safe and given immediate assistance, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said yesterday.

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac reported that OFWs Imee Mahilum Pabuaya and Aleli Perez Tibay were found at a police station in Hong Kong on Thursday evening.

‘The two were found and taken to a police station in Hong Kong. The two were immediately picked up by our Migrant Workers Office personnel. They arrived at the MWO in Hong Kong around midnight,’ Cacdac said in an online briefing.

According to a report sent to the DMW, the OFWs got lost while on a hiking trip.

‘We will still talk to the two of them and ask more about what happened. We will probably ask them to draft an affidavit,’ said Cacdac.

He said the two were immediately provided psychosocial counseling and medical checkup upon their arrival at the MWO.

The two are also scheduled to meet with their employers to explain what happened and to try to negotiate their return to work.

‘Their employment has been terminated. So they will retrieve their belongings from the employers but will also try to explain to the employers what happened to them,’ Cacdac said.

The official added that the DMW is ready to provide repatriation assistance to the two OFWs if they are unable to return to their jobs.

‘If they are indeed terminated, their repatriation will be arranged. We stand ready to repatriate them,’ Cacdac said.

The DMW earlier issued a public appeal for information on the two OFWs, who had been missing since Oct. 4.

The 55 minors arrested by police during the riots at Mendiola and surrounding areas last Sept. 21 have started performing community service, according to the Manila Department of Social Welfare.

The MDSW said in its Facebook post on Oct. 16 that the minors, labeled as children in conflict with the law, carried broomsticks, garbage bags, paint buckets and rollers.

Wearing white shirts, the minors and their parents swept and collected garbage at street corners and center islands and applied paint on areas with graffiti.

Through community service, the MDSW want the minors to become law-abiding citizens and avoid getting involved in crimes.

President Marcos visited for the second time yesterday victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu, and cited the progress of relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas severely affected by the temblor.

Marcos said all families who lost their homes during the calamity now have temporary shelters as the government has started replacing tents with sturdier modular shelters.

‘I’m happy to report that every family (displaced by the earthquake) now has a place to stay, although these are only tents for the meantime,’ Marcos said during his visit to the ‘tent city’ in Barangay Cogon in Bogo City, the epicenter of the temblor.

‘We will keep working to make sure everybody’s OK, healthy and provided with their needs,’ he added.

Marcos thanked the Philippine Red Cross, led by its chairman and former senator Richard Gordon for assisting the quake victims, noting that most of the tents were provided by the Red Cross.

‘When you have a good leader, the people will move fast,’ Gordon said, to which the President responded: ‘Yes, definitely.’

Aside from Gordon, Marcos was accompanied by Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

Marcos also inspected the first-ever Bayanihan Village in Barangay Poblacion in San Remigio town, where modular shelter units have been set up for displaced families.

The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, in collaboration with various government agencies, had set up at least 150 modular shelter units in Bogo City and in the towns of Daanbantayan and San Remigio, which were hardest hit by the temblor.

Marcos dropped by the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Bogo City to check ongoing repairs of damage caused by the earthquake.

During his first visit on Oct. 2, Marcos ordered the release of more than P200 million in assistance from the Office of the President, for distribution to affected local government units (LGUs).

He also ordered the Department of Budget and Management to release the Local Government Support Fund and download this to the provincial government of Cebu as well as to LGUs severely impacted by the calamity.

Death toll now 79

Meanwhile, the number of fatalities in the Cebu earthquake increased to 79 yesterday.

The Office of Civil Defense said the increase in the death toll was due to late reporting of fatalities to LGUs.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the number of injured people remained at 559, with no one reported missing.

The number of damaged houses in Central Visayas has reached 141,524.

The NDRRMC said more than P416.9 million worth of food and non-food assistance have been provided to affected communities including 1,302 families or 5,079 people who are staying in 17 evacuation centers.

To scale up transit options in Metro Manila, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) yesterday began piloting the operation of six four-car trains in the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

The MRT-3 four-car trains will be deployed during the morning rush hour to provide convenience, accommodate hundreds of thousands of commuters daily and ease passenger buildup between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.

According to the DOTr, the four-car trains can ferry as many as 1,576 passengers per trip. Each additional car increases capacity by 394 passengers against the regular configuration of three cars.

The DOTr said it continues to find affordable and safe measures to ease the plight of commuters, especially as the holiday season nears.

MRT-3 general manager Michael Capati said more Dalian train units would be activated. Procured in 2016, the China-made Dalian trains were left unused due to compatibility issues.

In March, the DOTr, then under Vince Dizon, extended the service hours of the MRT-3 by one hour during weekdays to serve commuters working at night.

Both foreign colonizers and Filipino politicians never prioritized food security for our people and our country.

Tobacco, sugar, abaca, pineapple, bananas –export more than food– received the support from past foreign/local administrations.

Continuing hunger as well as poverty have remained because of political abuse and vested interests. Past and present budgets have also not prioritized agriculture, food production, and food security.

Cebu Governor Pam Baricuatro and Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival’s expressed commitment to prioritize food security during their administration is promising and laudable.

Within the next three years, will we finally have food security, less or no hunger here in Cebu?

The 1996 World Summit and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization define food security as the condition ‘when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.’

This definition focuses not only on physical food access (having sufficient food consistently available) but on other dimensions including ‘economic access (people must be able to afford the food that is available], social access (there should be no social barriers such as discrimination preventing certain groups from accessing available food), sufficient quantity (the amount of food must meet energy requirements), quality and safety (food must be safe to consume/nutritionally adequate), and, cultural appropriateness (food should align with cultural preferences and dietary habits).’

As food security is intended to benefit all, everyone’s participation should be widely encouraged.

Everyone should be empowered, enjoined to learn to grow and produce their own food. Remember the proverb: If you give a hungry man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

If everyone is taught and learns how to produce his own food, then no one will ever be hungry again. No one will ever be poor as well.

The Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development is urging LGUs to pilot this six-month multisectoral participatory Cebu Green Garden campaign for food security to intersect with waste management (WM).

With strong LGU support and incentives, please involve individuals, households, communities, schools, businesses, churches, other organizations and institutions.

Let us intensify extensive education of all multilevel participants to produce compost from kitchen/food/yard wastes.

Then, involve interested sectors as well 1.) Pilot assigning practitioners for wet waste composting within their areas, and, 2.) Systematically collect wet wastes and deliver to agreed-upon LGU-designated compost areas.

Producing compost from segregated wet wastes will remove 50%/more from total waste disposed in dumpsites, allowing LGUs to save substantial amount of their waste disposal budget.

Less disposed wastes will free more lands that can be utilized for more productive uses other than landfills. Health risks and pollution will also be minimized, allowing for positive climate action contribution to protect people and planet.

Producing compost waste is simple, not time-consuming at all. Start by chopping kitchen wastes into tiny pieces. Then, in a container, layer the wet wastes (like lasagna or club sandwich for the worms) with soil at the bottom and on top, with soil in between layers.

If one has no land available for composting, one can use any available container they have –plastic bags, used PET bottles, etc.

Remember to punch holes at the bottom and sides of the container. Sprinkle with water. Set aside outdoor for about three weeks. The layered wet wastes/soil combination will subside within that time. Strain to produce compost for vegetables/other plants.

Seeds/seedlings can be freely received from the City Agriculture Office.

Within two months, enjoy eating your fast-growing vegetables –alugbati, camote tops, okra, ampalaya, others! Or sell your home-made compost fertilizer, seedlings, or vegetables as income.

Ready to start this food security-WM-intersect campaign?

Justice is not enough, says the ICI chair. We must have restitution.

Those are reassuring words. It has dancing in our minds images of tables full of cash and boxes of money delivered to prestigious addresses. It recalls pictures of nepo babies spending extravagantly in the fashion capitals of the world and fleets of executive jets hiding in private hangars.

If only we can get back part of the loot from those who transformed our government into an engine for plunder, we might close the yawning classroom gap or finally deliver medical care to the rural poor.

To date, the Anti-Money Laundering Council has frozen about P5 billion in accounts identified with the plunderers. That is fairly significant – and does not yet include the truly vast amounts accumulated by the main players who truly deserve garnishment. But it is really a drop in the bucket. Over the past three years alone, the Republic might have lost over a trillion pesos to corruption.

In the schemes said to have been perfected by Zaldy Co and his co-conspirators, the looting runs into the hundreds of billions. Even minor provincial players involved in these schemes were able to afford Italian supercars.

The principals were in another league, of course. They collected mansions in the most expensive places: nice places to drop bags full of cash.

But getting back loot in favor of the Republic will not be easy. This will involve filing thousands of civil cases that could be trapped in the court system for decades.

Remember, we are not yet done with the cases filed against the estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos nearly four decades after he was overthrown. In most of these cases, government lost. And where government won, as in the estate tax case, we could not collect.

The flood control scams alone could involve thousands of cases. Here, too, precedent is not very encouraging. Remember the Napoles scam that involved many politicians. Napoles is in jail. The politicians managed to get themselves reelected – soon to be indicted again.

Strange that the ICI chair would seduce us with thoughts of recovering ill-gotten wealth at this stage of the investigation. At about the time he made those remarks, the notorious Discaya couple decided they would no longer cooperate with the ICI. This underscores the inherent weakness of the Commission. It could not compel testimony. It could not cite suspects in contempt.

At this stage, Zaldy Co’s passport has not been cancelled, despite the trajectory of the accumulating evidence. This should have involved an almost ministerial act.

The investigation has not touched the Ilocos Norte projects at all – despite that province having the third largest share of flood control funds after Oriental Mindoro and Bulacan. The bulk of the projects in this apparently protected province were awarded out to Discaya-owned companies.

Not one account belonging to former speaker Martin Romualdez has been frozen. No move has been made by his colleagues in the House to open his SALN and ask unavoidable questions about it. Even more unsettling, the new ombudsman has floated the idea that the distinguished gentleman from Leyte might suitably fit into the role of state witness.

We have a seriously under-capacitated ‘independent’ Commission, whose first lead investigator has resigned, leading a slow and opaque investigation. Yet that same Commission would rather that the public refocus its interest on the possibility of ‘restitution.’

At the moment, the inquiry into the public works scandal looks like a bottomless pit. The more we dig, the deeper the rot appears.

Apart from the flood control projects, we now know the architects of the scam have allocated funds to grossly overpriced farm-to-market roads that should be under the oversight of the Department of Agriculture. The majority of health centers now appears to be ghost projects.

Like icing on the cake, the PNP this week returned to the Treasury P500 million apparently ‘parked’ in its intelligence fund by the same suspects in Congress.

Martin Romualdez has appeared before the ICI. But from all accounts, he was asked pretty routine questions about the budgeting process. The same information may be gained from an introductory lecture on public administration.

Zaldy Co has kept beyond reach. But the ICI could have done the next best thing: summon his ‘senior’ vice-chair Stella Quimbo, who should have an intimate view of the goings-on at the bicameral conference committee. That elementary step has not been done.

Meanwhile, the closely observed Senate Blue Ribbon committee (BRC) hearings on the public works scandal is in some sort of intermission. Although the Senate in on recess, the chamber’s working committees should be able to work.

Alas, too many explosive things have been revealed at the previous BRC hearings. Some might have reason to fear that these hearings could fly off the handle or slip off-script.

Since Panfilo Lacson resigned, the BRC has been without a leader. Its vice-chair Erwin Tulfo does not seem to have confidence in his own gravitas – especially after he mixed up a colloquial expression about ‘bending the rules’ with ‘bending the law.’ Saying that, he overturned the whole history of political theory.

Pia Cayetano, properly trained in the law, has been offered chairmanship of the committee. She is still praying over it.

The investigation on the most scandalous looting seems to be sputtering.

Believe it or not but nature continues to conspire with well-meaning people in unearthing ongoing corruptions and long buried anomalies perpetrated by devious politicians, corrupt government officials/employees and their cohorts in the business sector. Yes, as yesterday morning, another tremor shook Northern Mindanao.

Though it is not fair to speculate at this moment, the possibility that there will be damages to infrastructure like roads and bridges aren’t remote. Factor in the already validated damages in previous tremors and typhoons, the cost of rehabilitation will certainly run into hundreds of billions of pesos. Therefore, the government needs every peso of generated taxes to fund these needs. So that, the question now is, is the clamor for VAT reduction from 12% to 10% need to be heeded.

Lest we get it wrong, the proponents for this proposal know too well why they are demanding for it. The logic is too simple. First and foremost, that the budget for infrastructure, in at least two decades, is bloated is a fact. Secondly, that the underlying contracts are covered by performance bonds are true and can be called by the government. The proceeds of which can be used to complete the projects. Thirdly, that, onwards, the government in dealing with the same conniving contractors, won’t make things right. And, among a lot more, one that proponents are so concern about is the possibility that devious politicians (and their families), devilish as they are, will continue to plunder our treasury to perpetuate their dynasties.

Indeed, the list is long, near infinite, in fact. However, before we get carried away, there is a need to understand the relationship between tax and the economy. Let us first set aside the fact that politicians plundered our treasury and look at VAT, the main concern of the proponents for reduction. With our VAT rate higher than most countries in the ASEAN, the disadvantages are obvious. First, there is a disincentive in terms of investments. And when investments come in trickle, job creation snags. Then, when less jobs are created, demand for goods and services will decrease. Thus, consumer spending will substantially reduce. Consequently, the economy slows down.

Admittedly, the relationship between tax and the economy is intricate. To some extent, as explained above, it may seem like a disincentive to economic activity. However, it is also a fact that it provides revenue to the government to fund public services like infrastructure and education. Supposedly, with the right infrastructure in place, the long-term economic prospects are bright as these (from infra construction and their use once completed) shall help boost economic activity.

There are certain requisites though for taxes to have positive impact. First of all, we must always remember that businessmen hate ambiguity or uncertainty. Therefore, our tax system must be stable and transparent. With that, the business environment becomes more predictable. Consequently, investment will pour in freely, thus, boosting the economy.

Moreover, apart from infrastructure, taxes should also be spent on other public services like education, healthcare, and social welfare programs. Obviously, a healthy population and skilled workforce will always be vital for long-term economic prospects. Moreover, for a more inclusive growth, there is also a need to fund social welfare programs. Of course, amid higher tax rates, there is always a way to encourage investments when needed by certain sectors in the economy. Our existing laws provide tax incentives to investment priority industries.

Palpably, the influence of taxes to our economy cannot be trivialized. In the government’s effort to hit the right balance, the decision to heed the call or not to reduce VAT to 10% is crucial. Considering, however, that the government has even resorted to borrowing to fund some of our needs, deciding for it may not be sound. Keeping the rate intact for the time being could be the most logical thing to do. Why? As it would tantamount to funding tax cuts through borrowing. And that’s not the best way to move forward.

Yes, indeed, the relationship between taxes and the economy is quite complicated, yet, needs to be understood. Finding the right balance is necessary. That balance means, on one side, we should know the nature and rates of the tax and its implementation and, on the flipside, how government uses the revenue.

On the flipside, we, the taxpayers, is where we must actively get involved. There must be no more excuses. In fact, there is a need for the ‘Sumbong sa Pangulo’ initiative to be institutionalized and to include malfeasances from the Barangay level to the top.