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POLIO survivor Emiliano Santos originally wished to become a lawyer. However, he instinctively knew his family could use the extra hard-earned funds to tap someone to help carry him around. So, he squarely hung on to his next dream: to become an artist.

Now at 62 years old, he has become a visual artist and professor from the Cordillera Region who aims to serve as an inspiration not only to aspiring creatives but also to those who lose hope amid life’s challenges.

Emil’s journey started when he was six years old, with a fever which lasted for days. Due to dire financial constraints, his mother, an elementary teacher, and his father, a security guard, initially sought assistance from an albularyo and manghihilot. By the time they brought him to a medical doctor, he was already paralyzed from the waist down.

The virus had affected his entire body. It disrupted his growth, made his bones smaller and thinner. Eventually, he could not sit straight any longer. Emil never did blame his disheartened parents. He understood that they only wanted him to recover.

Even at a very young age, the eldest of five siblings remained determined to continue his studies. He believed in the power of education.

He was able to attend classes with the continued assistance of family, friends, and even fellow students who took turns carrying him around. Whenever help was not available, he crawled to school past shallow creeks and into the rocky tracks of the mountain.

In high school, he stayed at a nearby two-story dormitory, which still required him to crawl up and down the stairs.

A dormmate, without fail, aided Emil until his father was able to secure a house just behind the campus. His father leased rooms to children of family friends in exchange for helping his son to move around.

While Emil’s dream of becoming a lawyer seemed so far-fetched, Emil’s fondness for the arts paved the way for a new path. From a talented neighbor, he was motivated to draw. This fascination grew as he read the comics printed on old newspapers used to wrap tinapa (smoked fish).

He recalled crawling to the silong (basement) under their house, where he would read and copy these strips using pencils, ballpens, and sheets of bond paper he found in his mother’s bag. With this discovered skill came the desire to learn more and have an official arts education.

Emil utilized oil pastel and acrylic-his favorite medium in his works. Growing up in the mountains, he wished to highlight the beauty of the natural environment.

‘Dumating ‘yung time na kailangan na magsara nung pinapasukan kong sheltered workshop and I had to leave,’ he shared. ‘Gusto kong magpatuloy sa pag-aaral at ituloy ‘yung skills na natutunan ko. Noong panahong ito, hindi ko na iniisip ‘yung tuition or materials, gusto ko na lang makapasok.’

He shared how one institution denied him with the statement: ‘Hindi ka puwede dito kasi puro stairs.’ Since he did not have enough money to pay for a full bachelor’s degree, Emil, then 25 years old, opted for a certificate course in Studio Arts at the University of the Philippines (UP) Baguio. Despite the tedious application process, he passed and was approved to receive a scholarship with allowance. Much like in his younger years, Emil relied on his UP friends to help him around the campus until he earned his certificate in 1994.

Concerned friends and school staff aided him to transfer to the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) College of Fine Arts, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Visual Communication at the age of 32. He later on earned an M.A. in Art Education from UP College of Education at 46.

Emil obtained a job as a contractual graphic artist for UPD office of the vice chancellor for research and dissemination. He continued to paint as a hobby. However, while he was able to sell some artworks, he realized that this alone was not enough to put food on the table.

A friend encouraged him to submit his updated portfolio to the gallery of the Social Security System (SSS) in Quezon City. He then mounted his first solo exhibition, titled Nature and Art. His showcase, which featured both old and new pieces, not only allowed him to sell more pieces to patrons but also gave him the assurance that he was indeed on the right path.

When he visited his alma mater in 2011, he bumped into a former batchmate who invited him to apply to teach at Benilde.

‘Nung naka-graduate ako ng college, gusto ko talaga magturo pero hindi ko ini-expect na mangyayari,’ he said. ‘Gusto ko talagang i-share ‘yung mga natutunan ko.’

Driven by its mission of innovation and inclusion, Benilde welcomed Emil to be among the practicing educators in the Design Foundation Department. His first assignment was to introduce the fundamentals of drawing to aspiring creatives. The educator eventually handled courses on art and color theories, as well as figure drawing.

He reminisced how he was able to seamlessly adjust to his newfound role as a professor, thanks to the help of the hospitable members of the community, from the staff to his fellow teachers.

‘I was really amazed because as a PWD [person with disability], I was warmly welcomed,’ he said. ‘The facilities, especially the restrooms, are PWD-friendly.’

Today, Emil celebrates his 15th year at Benilde as a full-time faculty member. He continues to bring not only his talent into the classroom but also ‘extra’ patience and understanding to better guide the learners.

Being a mentor, for him, is more than just teaching the theories and techniques. It is helping the youth forge their own future. He honors the efforts of the students and believes that character in itself is also a form of art.

‘Kung masipag ka, may patience ka, magbubunga ‘yun ng beautiful things,’ he said.

Currently, Emil, now a father of one, continues to hone his knowledge and skills to become a more effective and supportive instructor. He likewise promotes polio awareness, particularly among parents, so that more people can understand the condition and recognize its early symptoms.

‘Ang kakulangan ko ay hindi naging hadlang para makamit ko ang pangarap ko at sana magsilbing inspirasyon ang kuwento ko para sa mga tao,’ he ended.

The upcoming initial public offering of Mynt Inc., the parent company of GCash, is being tracked by independent Asia-Pacific equity-capital-markets research firm Aequitas Research, placing the PSE-approved listing among significant regional equity-market transactions being watched by investors.

Aequitas Research specializes in independent research on initial public offerings and share placements across the Asia-Pacific region, providing an investor perspective separate from investment banks directly involved in an IPO.

The research firm’s monitoring is significant because the Mynt offering is expected to be one of the largest equity transactions in Philippine market history, with up to 8.03 billion shares to be offered at a maximum price of ?10 apiece.

The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved Mynt’s listing application, with the final offer price scheduled to be determined on October 1 following the book-building process, the public offer set for October 6 to 12, and the tentative listing scheduled for October 20 under the ticker symbol GCASH.

In simple terms, the significance of Aequitas’ attention to the transaction is that the GCash IPO is being viewed not only as a large Philippine corporate fundraising exercise but also as an equity-market event with relevance to investors beyond the country.

For the Philippine capital market, however, one of the most important questions is not only how much money Mynt can raise but how many Filipinos the IPO can bring into the stock market as actual shareholders.

PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon has said the availability of IPO subscription through GStocks in the GCash app could result in a significant increase in new retail investors.

This is important because retail investors are reportedly ordinary individuals who buy shares using their own money, rather than large institutions such as investment funds, banks or insurance companies.

In layman’s terms, the GCash IPO could make the stock market more accessible to people who already use the GCash app for everyday financial transactions but have never owned shares in a publicly listed company.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has similarly said the size and reach of Mynt’s offering could help deepen retail participation and bring more Filipinos into the capital market as investors and shareholders, rather than remaining only users of financial services.

This potential is particularly relevant because GCash already has a large consumer base, while its GStocks service has introduced stock-market investing to users through a digital platform.

The importance of the IPO to the broader capital market, therefore, may ultimately extend beyond the performance of Mynt shares after listing.

If more first-time investors become familiar with buying and owning shares, the transaction could help expand the country’s pool of retail investors and make equity ownership a more familiar form of long-term investment.

At the same time, greater retail participation also requires stronger investor education and consumer protection, particularly because first-time investors may be unfamiliar with IPO procedures and could become targets of fraudulent offers and online scams.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center has already raised concerns about possible fake IPO websites, fraudulent social-media accounts, bogus agents, phishing messages and other schemes targeting people who may be buying stocks for the first time.

For the Philippine capital market, the Mynt IPO therefore represents two related opportunities: the ability of the local exchange to accommodate a large technology-company offering and the possibility of bringing a much wider segment of the public into formal equity investing.

The PSE has said the listing could also encourage more fintech and digital-economy companies to consider raising capital through the equities market.

The ultimate measure of the IPO’s broader market impact, however, will depend on actual investor participation, the final offer price, trading performance after listing and whether new investors remain active in the market beyond the Mynt offering.

For now, the Aequitas Research attention adds another indication that the GCash IPO is being viewed in the context of the wider Asia-Pacific equity-capital market, while Philippine regulators and the PSE are looking at its potential to broaden participation in the country’s own capital market.

NAGOYA-Jean Claude ‘The Dynamite’ Saclag yielded to a monster grappler from Tajikistan and Kayla Sanchez touched the pad less than a tad short of a podium finish as the gold medal eluded the Philippines in the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games on Tuesday.

Thus, the Philippines had to settle for Saclag’s silver medal and a historic bronze from the women’s kata team in karate on the third day of competitions that saw China breaking away from the field with 31 gold medals.

Paris Olympics bronze medalist Aira Villegas also fell by the wayside in women’s 51 kgs of boxing after losing to Sakshi Chaudhary, a two-time world youth championships champion who was not only taller with a longer reach but also heftier.

‘It felt like three men were grappling me very tightly from the back,’ said Saclag, who had to settle for silver following a 0-3 loss to Otabek Rajabov in the final of the men’s -65 kgs class of mixed martial arts that is making its debut in the Asian Games.

Saclag actually started strong after flooring Rajabov with a solid punch to the chin early in the first round, but in MMA, a strike counts less that a superior ground strength that the Tajik had aplenty.

If it were a consolation, Rajabov admitted to Saclag at the end of the bout that he got rocked by the Filipino’s punches.

‘You hit me hard,’ the Tajik whispered to the Filipino before celebrating with his country’s flag around the mat.

Moments after Saclag fell short of winning a first gold, Sanchez just couldn’t match the tremendous speed her rivals displayed at the Tokyo Aquatics Center.

Sanchez finished a mere 18-tenths of a second behind bronze winner Yujie Cheng of China in the women’s 100 meters freestyle event won by Hong Kong-China’s Siobhan Haughey (52.45) with the illustrious Chinese, Yu Yiting, settling for silver (53.21).

The Olympian Sanchez was disappointed of her performance that she skipped the mandatory Mixed Zone interview.

‘Kayla put it all on the table. She went for it. And she had a really very solid performance,’ Sanchez’s Canadian coach Derrick Schoof told POC Media Pool. ‘It was a tough, we knew it was expected to be a tough battle between the two Chinese girls and she just came out on the wrong side of the touch.’

The silver was the second for Saclag in the Asian Games after his second-place finish in wushu’s sanda at the 2014 edition in Incheon.

Rebecca Cyril Torres, Samantha Veguillas and Ysabelle Arrogante beat Thailand’s Ramitar Terananon, Monsicha Sakulrattanatara and Phatcharin Plangplai, 4-1, for a first-ever medal in team kata event in the Asian Games for a 0-1-3 gold-silver-bronze tally for the Philippines-soft tennis contributed the first bronze last Sunday.

The under-23 team beat Kuwait, 2-1, also for the country’s first men’s football victory in the Asian Games since the Tokyo 1958 edition with forward Andres Aldeguer converting the clincher that was reminiscent of his great grandfather George Aldeguer’s winning goal against Japan in 1958.

The Gilas Pilipinas Women 3×3 squad also made its presence felt on Tuesday by going 2-0 won-lost following victories over powerhouse Mongolia, 17-12, and Macau, 21-4.

Double Olmpic champion Carlos Yulo and brother Karl Eldrew, on the other hand, lead the charge in the men’s team final of gymnastics on Wednesday.

CHINESE companies will continue to honor existing energy contracts in the Philippines despite concerns triggered by reports that Beijing may scale back its economic engagements with Manila, a Department of Energy (DOE) official said on Tuesday.

‘We were concerned that our contracts with China might be in danger because of pronouncements in some Chinese newspapers or media groups that they would no longer honor their agreements,’ DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said at a panel discussion at the Asean-EU Business Summit.

‘When we talked to the embassy, that was not true,’ he added.

Speaking to reporters after the forum, Fuentebella clarified that Chinese firms are expected to refrain from entering into new energy agreements, but existing contracts remain enforceable.

‘Ang hindi nila papasukan ay mga bagong kontrata. [They won’t enter into new contracts],’ he said.

‘But for the old contracts, they will honor,’ he added.

Fuentebella said concerns among Philippine businesses arose from media reports in China suggesting a possible halt in cooperation amid ongoing tensions between Manila and Beijing.

Several Chinese companies maintain energy-related agreements with Philippine firms, including contracts involving the supply of refined petroleum products and renewable energy equipment.

China remains the Philippines’s largest trading partner, with bilateral merchandise trade reaching $47.75 billion in 2025. Imports from China totaled $38.44 billion, resulting in a Philippine trade deficit of $29.13 billion.

The energy sector has become an increasingly significant component of bilateral trade as the Philippines expands renewable energy capacity and seeks to address rising power demand.

China continues to dominate the Philippine solar supply chain.

In 2025, the Philippines imported around $483 million worth of solar panels, of which 98 percent came from China. Imports accelerated further in early 2026, with solar panel shipments reaching $407 million from March to May alone.

Beyond equipment trade, Chinese firms remain involved in major Philippine energy infrastructure projects.

State Grid Corporation of China holds a 40-percent stake in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), while Chinese contractors have participated in the construction of dams, transmission facilities, and renewable energy projects.

However, Philippine officials have acknowledged that geopolitical tensions in the West Philippine Sea have dampened investor sentiment and complicated broader energy cooperation between the two countries.