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San Miguel Beer’s Don Trollano will be honored as Mr. Quality Minutes when the PBA Press Corps holds its 31st Annual Awards Night on October 13 at Novotel Manila.

The 33-year-old guard averaged 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists off the bench in Season 49, helping the Beermen regain the Philippine Cup championship. He becomes the sixth San Miguel player to receive the award, which is equivalent to the league’s Sixth Man of the Year honor. Previous Beermen recipients include Bong Alvarez, the late Boybits Victoria, Chris Calaguio, Terrence Romeo, and Jericho Cruz.

‘This is the result of so many hours of hard work and consistency,’ Trollano said in an earlier interview after San Miguel’s title run.

Also to be recognized during the gala are members of the All-Rookie Team, led by Rookie of the Year RJ Abarrientos of Barangay Ginebra.

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Joining him are fellow rookie standouts Sedrick Barefield (Blackwater), Caelan Tiongson (Rain or Shine), Kai Ballungay (Phoenix), and the pair of Jordan Heading (TNT/Converge) and Justine Baltazar (Converge).

Heading and Baltazar fell short of the 70-percent games-played requirement but were included for their impact on their respective teams.

Baltazar, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, averaged 12.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists for the FiberXers, who nearly reached the semifinals of both the Commissioner’s and Governors’ Cups.

Heading, part of the 2020 rookie class, averaged 15.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.2 rebounds while splitting time with Converge and TNT. He was also a Best Player of the Conference contender and reached his first PBA Finals with the Tropang Giga in the Philippine Cup.

Earlier, Arvin Tolentino (Scoring Champion) and Calvin Oftana (Order of Merit) were also announced as awardees by the Press Corps.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Thursday maintained that she played no role in Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s resignation as special adviser to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

Her statement came after Magalong said he quit the commission following Castro’s remarks that he had been appointed only as a special adviser and not as a lead investigator ‘or in any other investigative capacity During a briefing, Castro emphasized that she had no role in Magalong’s decision to resign, saying that it was entirely his choice.

‘This will be my last time addressing these issues. First of all, I cannot control his feelings; he resigned voluntarily, and no one forced him to do so. If that was his decision, I also cannot control how he makes his decisions,’ she said in Filipino.

She also clarified her statement from a September 26 briefing, in which she noted that Magalong was a special adviser to the ICI and not an investigator. ‘My pronouncement on September 26 that Mayor Magalong’s role would first be reviewed by the legal team, came from President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.],’ Castro said in Filipino.

‘Do not create intrigue by claiming someone else ordered me to say otherwise. As we said, let’s avoid baseless stories. If he knows who allegedly gave me instructions, other than the president, regarding my September 26 statement, he should reveal it-but I know he cannot, because it is untrue,’ she added.

She also called on Magalong to refrain from spreading intrigue, especially if it could affect Marcos.

‘The president is simply following the law. We cannot please everyone based on their wishes if it affects the law or the president’s pronouncement,’ she said.

‘Hopefully, this issue will end here, and there will be no repeated controversies of this nature,’ she added.

In a chance interview on Tuesday, Magalong expressed frustration over Castro’s remarks, which he said cast doubt on his role in the ICI.

‘You saw it. It felt like I had no right to investigate. That was the message from Undersecretary Claire at her press conference. I was basically told, ‘You have no right to investigate because you’re only a special adviser,” he said in Filipino.

‘If no one investigates, what happens to the cases outside? They are focused on high-profile investigations, so there really needs to be someone acting externally to ensure they are understood. That’s how we catch up with them,’ he added.

Twenty-eight students from the Sto. Tomas National High School in La Union were brought to medical facilities on Thursday morning after experiencing dizziness and anxiety during a magnitude 4.4 earthquake that struck the province. According to a report from the provincial government, five students were referred to the La Union Medical Center for further observation.

The students reportedly panicked when the school buildings began to shake during the tremor, which struck earlier in the day.

All students are now reported to be in stable condition, the report added.

Phivolcs said the earthquake’s epicenter was located 2 kilometers northeast of La Union’s Pugo town at a depth of 10 km./coa

At least 421 flood control works were found to be ‘ghost projects’ out of the 8,000 inspected nationwide, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said Thursday.

He made the remark during a press conference following a meeting with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) at its office in Taguig City.

ICI recommends to cut by half DPWH contract amounts for infra works

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) recommended Thursday that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) halve the contract threshold amounts that regional and district engineering offices should enter into in infrastructure projects.

In a letter signed by ICI Chair Andres Reyes, the fact-finding body urged DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to lower the ceiling for letters of authority (LOA) in public works bidding to P200 million from P400 million for regional engineering offices and to P75 million from P150 million for district engineering offices.

Remulla takes oath as ombudsman

Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla took his oath as ombudsman on Thursday.

He was sworn in by Acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen at the Supreme Court in Manila.

CDN Digital still top regional news website – SimilarWeb

CDN (Cebu Daily News) Digital has maintained its lead as the most visited local news website in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, based on the latest data from web analytics platform SimilarWeb covering January to August 2025.

According to SimilarWeb, CDN Digital logged a total of 4.457 million visits during the eight-month period, topping other regional news outlets and lifestyle sites, including SunStar Cebu (3.489 million), The Freeman (1.338 million), and Sugbo.ph (400,510).

The Samar Provincial Hospital (SPH), a 100-bed Level 1 facility based in the provincial capital of Catbalogan City, has reached full capacity as of October 7, 2025, with 275 patients currently admitted – nearly triple its intended capacity – as the province grapples with increasing healthcare demands.

In an advisory, hospital management confirmed that all wards are fully occupied, forcing staff to place new admissions in temporary holding areas while awaiting available beds.

Doctors, nurses, medical technologists, and other health personnel continue to provide care despite limited space and resources. ‘We are ensuring that all patients receive proper attention even with the shortage of hospital beds,’ the hospital said in a statement.

The advisory also urged the public to seek early medical consultation at the hospital’s Outpatient Department (OPD) to avoid worsening conditions that could require admission.

The overcrowding at the Samar Provincial Hospital reflects the broader strain on healthcare facilities across Eastern Visayas.

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Earlier, the Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) in Tacloban City – the region’s largest government hospital – issued a similar advisory, warning that its wards and emergency rooms were accommodating more patients than their capacity allows.

Aside from the 100-bed provincial hospital, the Samar provincial government also operates one 75-bed district hospital, two 25-bed district hospitals, and a 10-bed municipal hospital – totaling just 235 government hospital beds for the entire province.

Sen. Camille Villar, the youngest member of the 20th Congress, has filed a bill seeking stronger protection for business process outsourcing (BPO) workers.

The earthquake that hit Cebu province last week underscored the urgency of the measure, as she called out Cebu-based firms that forced employees back to work amid the disaster.

Cebu-based BPO workers decried unsafe return-to-work policies, harassment and threats of job loss for prioritizing their safety after they were required to report back to work shortly following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake.

‘No worker should ever have to choose between their safety and their job. The welfare of our BPO employees must always come first,’ Villar said, reiterating her call for swift passage of the measure.

Senate Bill 1401, or the BPO Workers’ Welfare and Protection Act, seeks to institutionalize comprehensive safeguards for employees in the outsourcing sector.

A key provision directs the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to establish and strictly enforce Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) for BPO work, aligned with International Labor Organization (ILO) recommendations.

These standards must be reviewed annually and applied in all establishments, with compliance subject to regular inspections.

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Villar said these events emphasize why her measure is crucial: ‘BPO workers are at the frontline of our global service industry. Protecting their welfare means protecting the dignity of Filipino labor and ensuring shared prosperity.’

The bill also requires each company to craft its own Workplace Occupational Safety and Health (WOSH) policy, consistent with national standards but adaptable to local conditions.

Employers must review these policies annually with input from a designated Workplace Occupational Safety and Health Officer (WOSHO), enforcement officers and other authorized representatives, ensuring safeguards evolve with emerging risks and workplace realities.

Beyond workplace safety, the proposed measure prohibits the imposition of excessive company bonds and fees on employees who leave before a set period and explicitly protects them from discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or any other status recognized under human rights standards.

Artists and youth groups here staged a series of cultural performances on Tuesday, calling for an end to what they described as the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.

The event featured workshops on theater, placard-making, poetry, and zine creation. It culminated in a small protest rally, where participants showcased the performances and artworks produced during the workshops.

The protest marked the second anniversary of the Israel-Hamas conflict’s escalation into intense airstrikes and ground assaults, which Palestinian health authorities say have claimed around 60,000 lives.

Earlier this year, the Philippines-Palestine Friendship Association (PPFA) condemned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for continuing trade relations with Israel despite the reported atrocities. Anna Patricia Adiaz, a representative of the newly formed group Baguio for Palestine, explained that focusing on protest art was a conscious decision aimed at broadening the movement beyond traditional mass rallies.

‘Creative dimension’ ‘In Baguio, many artists actively engage in social issues, so it made sense to add a creative dimension to our advocacy,’ she told the Inquirer.

‘Artists are there, and we’re trying to make our campaign more creative and palatable to the public, so their participation is important,’ she added in Filipino.

The program featured cultural performances, including children singing an original song created during the workshop. An exhibit displaying information on the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict was also set up.

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Gabriel Siscar, one of the event’s organizers, noted the importance of inclusivity in pro-Palestinian campaigns, especially since Baguio for Palestine had only been established a few days prior.

‘We’re trying to build connections with more groups, including artist collectives and students,’ he said in Filipino.

Siscar noted that art provides a powerful tool to amplify calls against Israeli and US aggression.

Three of the 15 contractors earlier tagged in the corrupt flood control projects in the Philippines are also involved in the allegedly anomalous farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

In a Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday, Gatchalian noted a pattern in these alleged anomalies, disclosing that from 2023 to 2024, the regions with the most FMR projects were Region 5 (Bicol Region) and Region 8 (Eastern Visayas). ‘When we were looking at the contractors for 2024, we saw that three of the 10 are part of the top 15 contractors in the flood control scandal. One of these is the Hi-tone [Construction and Development Corp], which is linked to Zaldy Co’s sibling,’ said Gatchalian speaking mostly in Filipino.

‘For me, all of these are not coincidental,’ said the senator who noted that when it comes to corruption, nothing is impossible.

‘When we talk about corruption, these culprits will make ghost projects, they will make it overpriced just to bag money,’ he added in Filipino.

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Gatchalian, during the Senate’s hearing on the proposed 2026 funding of the Department of Agriculture, revealed that over P10 billion worth of FMRs programmed under the 2023 and 2024 national budgets have been ‘extremely overpriced.’

One project, for example, cost 23 times more than the standard price set by the DPWH, while others saw markups of up to 70 percent, further bloating the project cost.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., meanwhile, said the DPWH set a standard cost of P15,000 per meter for FMRs, but this could be as low as P10,000 if the ’30 percent’ markup were trimmed.

Due to the gravity of these alleged overpriced FMRs, Gatchalian himself said he would recommend to the Senate blue ribbon committee to look into the scheme as well. ‘I would recommend the blue ribbon panel to look at these FMRs because of similar contractors involved. I would recommend the ICI to look at these FMRs because it is highly overpriced. From P15,000 per meter, they will increase it to P300,000 per meter. They are shameless when it comes to overpricing,’ said Gatchalian. /jpv

More than 20 environmental and civil society organizations are calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Congress to abandon ‘concrete-centric, corruption-riddled, and environmentally blind’ flood control projects in favor of nature-based solutions that are proven, cheaper, and more resilient.

In a joint statement sent to the President and Congressional leaders on Wednesday, the groups said they were united ‘in collective outrage and profound disgust over the systemic corruption plaguing the nation’s flood control infrastructure program.’ ‘The era of pouring billions into concrete-centric, corruption-riddled, and environmentally blind infrastructure must end,’ the statement read.

‘We do not simply call for the immediate prosecution and arrest of those responsible, though that is paramount-we demand a fundamental and transformative shift in the nation’s approach to disaster risk reduction including flood control,’ it added.

Invest in nature, not kickbacks

The coalition urged Congress to restore public confidence by reallocating scrapped or realigned flood control funds toward long-overdue government obligations that remain severely underfunded.

These include expansive reforestation and watershed management efforts; restoring mangrove and beach forests, as well as wetlands, to serve as natural shields against storm surges and erosion; rehabilitating rivers and creeks through ecological methods to regulate water flow, improve water quality, and create green public spaces; and enforcing Republic Act 11195 or the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS), which integrates the economic value of the country’s natural resources into national development and policy decisions.

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The coalition also called on lawmakers to urgently enact key environmental legislation aimed at addressing flooding risks-particularly the National Coastal Greenbelt Bill, which seeks to safeguard mangrove forests, and a nationwide ban on single-use and disposable plastics that often block drainage systems and waterways. The groups also urged national leaders to look to successful examples at the local level, citing how communities in Batanes, Busuanga (Palawan), Camarines Sur, Dumaguete, and Negros Island have adopted cost-efficient nature-based solutions that restore ecosystems while addressing local needs.

‘These solutions are less prone to corruption and abuse, they also create green jobs, while enhancing biodiversity and protecting nature,’ said Von Hernandez, Vice President of Oceana Philippines. ‘Nature does not expect or ask for kickbacks – but it will push back if you destroy and abuse it.’

Call to halt destructive reclamation projects

Fisherfolk leaders joined the growing call to end environmentally destructive projects, particularly reclamation activities that have worsened flooding in coastal communities. Pablo Rosales, president of PANGISDA Pilipinas, said these projects have damaged natural coastal defenses and disrupted water pathways.

‘Sinira at tinambakan ng reklamasyon ang mga baybayin at karagatang panangga namin sa daluyong sa panahon ng bagyo,’ Rosales said, stressing how these interventions have blocked natural water flows and left many low-lying towns submerged during storms.

(Reclamation has destroyed and filled in our coastlines and seas that served as barriers against storm surges during typhoons.)

He warned that many of these ventures benefit only business interests while placing vulnerable communities in even greater danger.

‘Kailangang itigil na ang mga proyektong ito na nagtataguyod ng mas malaking kita para lamang sa mga negosyante habang iniiwang naghihirap at nasa panganib ang mga mamamayan,’ he added.

(These projects must be stopped. They only serve to enrich a few businessmen while leaving ordinary citizens poor and in harm’s way.) The coalition emphasized that this is no longer just a question of infrastructure, but a defining choice for government leaders-one that will test their integrity, foresight, and true commitment to a resilient future.

‘We can continue to line the pockets of the corrupt with expensive, failing concrete or we can invest in proven natural systems that have protected us for centuries,’ the groups said. Aside from Oceana and PANGISDA Pilipinas, the signatories include:

Alyansa Tigil Mina

BAN Toxics

Center for Conservation and Innovations

Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation, Inc.

EcoWaste Coalition

Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC)

Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA Philippines)

Greenpeace Philippines

Health Care Without Harm – Southeast Asia

Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS)

Kalasag (Kabitenyong Alyansa Laban sa Seabed Quarrying)

Mother Earth Foundation

Resources, Environment and Economics Center for Studies (REECS), Inc.

Solidarity of Oppressed Filipino People, Inc. (DAMPA-SOFP)

Wetlands International

World Wide Fund for Nature – Philippines

Zoological Society of London/tsb

MANILA, Philippines-In celebration of Indigenous Peoples Month this October, Sen. Loren Legarda paid tribute to the invaluable contributions of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) to the country’s cultural heritage, national identity and sustainable development.

‘The Philippines is home to scores of ethnolinguistic groups, many of which have maintained their unique pre-colonial cultures and practices. This is not a mere point of pride, but it represents a wealth of knowledge we can depend on for the future,’ Legarda said.

‘We have long regarded IPs as the bedrock of our nation, for it was them who laid the foundation of many of our traditions and practices that we Filipinos have embraced throughout the centuries.’

Legarda, principal author of the law declaring Aug. 9 as National Indigenous Peoples Day, underscored that despite decades of advocacy, many indigenous communities continue to face major challenges, including threats to their ancestral domains from various commercial entities, the worsening impacts of climate change and the erosion of traditions and values due to globalization.

‘True nation-building means celebrating and learning from the traditions of our Indigenous Peoples, and ensuring that their communities are safe, thriving and respected,’ Legarda said.

‘We must integrate indigenous knowledge systems into national strategies on climate change adaptation, food security and biodiversity conservation. These are time-tested systems that have long sustained our people and our environment.’

‘Celebrating and learning from the traditions of the IPs, recognizing their inherent rights and partnering with them is to build a prosperous future that is also culturally vibrant and environmentally sound,’ she added.

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‘Hindi sila ang may pangangailangan sa atin, dahil nagmumula sa kanila ang ating pagka-Pilipino, at natutuklasan natin ito sa araw-araw, salamat sa kanilang mga naiambag.’

Legarda has long championed legislation that uplifts and empowers indigenous communities. She authored key measures such as the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 and its amendatory measure, the Cultural Mapping Law, which mandates every local government unit to document and safeguard its cultural wealth.

She has also supported the Schools of Living Traditions, which pass on traditional methods indigenous people have used in the manufacture of various products such as textiles.

As principal author and co-sponsor of the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law, Legarda also advanced the use of local textiles for official uniforms in government service-helping preserve indigenous weaving traditions and promote local livelihoods.