Category: Business Mirror

Before the Huawei Watch Fit 4, I have used a Garmin smartwatch for almost three years without any problems. I won the Huawei Watch Fit 4 in a raffle and initially wanted to give it away but changed my mind because I wanted to try something affordable than the Garmin watch.

For reference, I use smartwatches to keep track of my pulse rate and other health and fitness milestones, including the number of steps I take everyday. I also like wearing a smartwatch because it reminds me when I’ve been standing or sitting too long and need to move.

At 27g (I think it’s 35g with the watch strap) with a thickness of 9.5mm, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 is priced at around P6,500. It comes in a box with its own charger, which is the magnetic type. The one I got has a black fluoroelastomer bracelet. Fluoroelastomer is a special-purpose fluorocarbon-based synthetic rubber. I love how in the weeks that I have used the watch, I have never gotten a rash or any irritation from the bracelet.

The design, I am not going to lie, is very similar to the Apple Watch, but unique at the same time

The Huawei Watch Fit 4 runs on Huawei’s HarmonyOS 5.1. The user experience is generally smooth, navigation is intuitive, access to notifications is user-friendly, and the health metrics are comprehensive.

The Huawei Watch Fit 4 has a highly responsive 1.82-inch, 480 x 408 resolution AMOLED touchscreen. The key upgrade from the Fit 3 is brightness, which has been boosted from 1,500 to a peak of 2,000 nits. The screen doesn’t have the same sapphire crystal glass protection as the Watch Fit 4 Pro, but the Gorilla Glass, which is on many of the smartphones that we use, is enough protection. I have had no issues with the screen nor the display although I wish it would be slightly more responsive. By the way, while writing this review, I learned that you can now create watch faces using AI stickers so that would be something nice to explore.

True to its name, the Huawei Watch Fit 4’s strength is in fitness. The 24/7 monitoring will give you a broad picture of your vital signs and there are regular nudges for you to move or workout. The smartwatch also introduces ECG functionality, which is very helpful. There is also a health community feature that lets you link other accounts to yours. So you can, for example, link your parents or kids and get updates on their wellbeing.

Because the Huawei Watch Fit 4 is very light, you can wear it 24/7 and enjoy the detailed insights provided by sleep tracking. You will be informed how many hours you’ve slept and how many times you got up during the night.

Notifications for calls are clear. I have message notifications muted but I assume they come through instantly, too. You can also use the phone to manage your music playlist and make quick payments using e-wallet platforms. You can also type actual messages on your watch and take screenshots (something I have not mastered).

One more thing I like about the Huawei Watch Fit 4 is the 10-day battery life. This is a feature that’s good for travel because who wants to bring a smartwatch charger when you travel, right?

Overall, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 is a good affordable option over more expensive smart watches. If you want more features, there is a Pro version.

INTEGRATED schools have become a key component of Philippine education as they provide a seamless path from elementary to high school. By combining multiple grade levels under one roof, these schools help communities accommodate growing student populations and prevent interruptions in learning.

Their role became even more crucial with the rollout of the K-12 program, which allowed students to complete the full cycle of basic education without gaps. Jefmin Elementary School (JES) in Concepcion, Tarlac is in the midst of a metamorphosis that mirrors this. From an elementary school, it is working to become an Integrated School that will carry students seamlessly through kindergarten to junior high school.

Principal Anthonette Lampa of JES said the school is well-positioned for the transition, citing the school’s strong performance on achievement tests as well as its successes in curricular and co-curricular competitions.

But she emphasized that a school building is a critical missing piece: ‘For the integrated school, we prioritize the classrooms. If we do not have [them], even with approved documents, where will we house the students?’

‘The paperwork for that is easy, but securing the classrooms and teachers for our learners is the real challenge,’ she explained.

The transition, she said, is for the welfare of the 770 students at JES-one of the largest schools in the Concepcion West District. Moving to an integrated school would allow students to continue their secondary education locally, easing their parents’ concerns about travel and commuting costs.

A critical piece

THE new school building, jointly built by SM Foundation and SM Prime, has alleviated many of these concerns.

Lampa said three of the four classrooms will be used for the school’s transition, with facilities designed to enhance comfort, motivation, and learning, including individual armchairs, some of which are specifically designed for left-handed students.

For teachers like Tom Pangilinan, who has taught at JES for 29 years, the building is a welcome change: ‘We sometimes conduct our classes in open areas without proper roofing, which makes heat and discomfort impact the students’ learning experience. It’s hard to maintain classroom discipline when facilities are poor.’

He added that ‘[teachers have to raise their voices] just to be heard; it gets hot, and the students get sleepy when there are no proper learning facilities. Naturally, if the teacher struggles, the students’ learning is affected, too.’

After the turnover, Pangilinan described the new building as a major step toward resolving the school’s longstanding shortage of classrooms and facilities.

‘Many are hoping that this means the completion of our integrated school, so students won’t have to leave the barangay to study because transportation is also a burden,’ he added. ‘SM gave us a really great opportunity. We are grateful to them for helping us meet the needs of our school.’

Accommodating students, ensuring continuous learning

TO ensure proper care of the building, three classrooms will be used by Grade 6 students, while they will dedicate one of the rooms-the DigiHub- for digital learning.

‘These kids are talented. We always say we’re in a high-tech age, but we don’t have enough computers. Because of the DigiHub, our students can now have hands-on learning with computers. It’s a huge help for their growth,’ Lampa said, noting that the hub will also train students not just in digital literacy, but also for competing in journalism press conferences.

The SM Group ensured that the facility is tailored to the needs of the school. It addresses the long-standing challenges, including the lack of comfort rooms and ventilation. Each classroom comes with a comfort room, four electric fans, armchairs made of steel and wood, a whiteboard, and a teacher’s desk, while the building includes a handwashing station.

THE Philippines is explicitly listed among countries whose national networks are being systematically mapped and integrated into Chinese intelligence systems, a former top intelligence official disclosed at the Pilipinas Conference 2025.

Francisco Ashley Acedillo, former Deputy Director General for Cyber and Emerging Threats of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica), revealed that leaked intelligence from Chinese cyber-contractor KnownSec exposed an ‘industrial-scale reconnaissance system.directly targeting’ Philippine critical infrastructure, government systems, and key institutions.

‘This confirms that our critical infrastructure, government systems, and key institutions are under active surveillance,’ Acedillo said, adding that the leak revealed a ‘Key Target Library’ containing 378 million IP addresses and 3.4 million domains across foreign governments, military, telecommunications, finance, and energy sectors.

The intelligence system reportedly compresses China’s operational reaction time from weeks to hours when new vulnerabilities emerge, creating what Acedillo described as an ‘asymmetric advantage where Chinese operators can quickly exploit weaknesses in Philippine systems.’

Acedillo said the leaked data includes warehouses containing LinkedIn datasets, telecom records, Telegram user information, e-commerce transaction logs, and credential dumps, ‘suggesting potential compromise of Filipino citizens’ personal data and communication channels.’

‘The systematic mapping of critical infrastructure suggests pre-positioning for potential cyber operations during periods of geopolitical tension,’ Acedillo warned, noting particular concern given regional maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

Acedillo said there are three overlapping challenges defining the Philippine security context: persistent maritime coercion in the West Philippine Sea; the rapidly expanding attack surface created by the country’s digitizing economy; and the Philippines’s position within a competitive regional cyber ecosystem where state-linked operators from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran conduct espionage and influence activities.

He said China has developed a comprehensive approach merging state, military, academic, and private sector capabilities, with their hacking contest ecosystem serving multiple purposes from talent identification to vulnerability discovery.

‘What makes this approach particularly concerning is how it enables China to maintain plausible deniability while developing capabilities that directly threaten our critical infrastructure and sovereignty,’ he said. ‘Our intelligence indicates that Chinese cyber operations increasingly align with their broader maritime coercion strategy in the South China Sea.’

Acedillo proposed several measures, including validating national exposure using adversary-emulation tools, hardening perimeter systems across government and key sectors, strengthening public-private partnerships, and enhancing regional engagement through Asean forums.

He also suggested the passage of a National Cybersecurity Law and the establishment of a Philippine Cyber Force as the fourth branch of the Armed Forces.

‘Cybersecurity is national security’

According to Stratbase Institute President Victor Andres Manhit, cybersecurity plays a critical role in ensuring a safer Philippines.

‘Threats increasingly emerge from the digital domain: unseen, borderless, and asymmetrical,’ he stressed, noting how deepfakes and foreign information manipulation now ‘blur traditional security boundaries.’

‘Cybersecurity is not only about technology; it is about trust,’ Manhit added. ‘Cybersecurity is national security.Protecting our digital domain is a shared responsibility among the state, the private sector, and the international community,’ he added.

Investors’ role

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda called for investors to prioritize cybersecurity, as it is a crucial step toward ‘digital resilience.’

‘By investing in digital defense, you are not just guarding data, but safeguarding our economic future,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya highlighted the rapid escalation of cyberattacks globally, citing Japan’s monitoring data showing cyberattack-related communications surging from 63 billion packets in 2015 to 686 billion in 2024.

‘No single nation can address threats in cyberspace alone. International cooperation is indispensable,’ he said.

He affirmed Japan’s commitment to enhance the Philippines’s cybersecurity capabilities through initiatives like the Asean-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Center, which has trained 4,400 personnel across the region.

JAPAN’S Kindai University overpowered Australia’s ProVolley Academy, 25-15, 25-12, 25-13, in the 2025 Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Japanese side dominated with 53 attacks, seven blocks, and two aces in a 65-minute performance.

In contrast, ProVolley Academy struggled to keep up, managing just 24 attacks, a single block, and no aces.

Haruka Misugi tallied 16 points for Kindai University.

Ryutaro Aun contributed 12 points, all from attacks, while Tojiro Shimomasu added 10 markers for the Japanese squad, who now share early tournament lead with Savouge.

‘I appreciate being able to play volleyball in front of Philippine fans. It’s a big challenge going up against the Philippine teams,’ he said.

Off the bench, Kentaro Hata added seven points, and Yoshiki Yasuda contributed eight points, 11 excellent receptions, and seven digs.

Fil-Japanese middle blocker Yuma Onabe, listed as the team’s second libero, did not see action.

ProVolley Academy’s top scorer was Samuel Hansen with 10 points.

Filipinos Jude Aspero and JR Prospero also shone despite the loss, with Aspero posting five points and 11 excellent receptions, and Prospero recording 11 excellent receptions and five excellent digs.

Kindai University will face top-seeded Criss Cross on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Filoil Centre in San Juan.

All matches are aired live on One Sports and One Sports+, with video-on-demand available via the Pilipinas Live app. Matches are also streamed on spikersturf.ph.

Gray hair may be more than just a sign of aging as it could reflect the body’s natural defense mechanism against cancer, according to new research from the University of Tokyo.

A study published in Nature Cell Biology revealed that white hair results from damaged stem cells in hair follicles that self-eliminate to prevent the development of melanoma, a type of skin cancer.

Researchers led by Emi Nishimura and Yasuaki Mohri analyzed stem cells responsible for producing melanocytes-the pigment cells that give color to hair and skin.

They discovered that when these stem cells suffer serious DNA damage, they stop renewing themselves and self-destruct, preventing the damaged cells from dividing and spreading potentially cancerous mutations. This process leads to gray or white hair.

The process is driven by the activation of key signaling molecules that trigger cell self-elimination. However, under exposure to certain carcinogens, such as ultraviolet B radiation, the same stem cells may continue to renew and proliferate.

While researchers emphasize that gray or white hair does not directly protect against cancer, the study provides new insights into how the body’s defense systems balance between cell death and uncontrolled growth.

‘These findings reveal that the same population of stem cells can follow opposing fates (exhaustion or expansion) depending on the type of stress and microenvironmental signals,’ Nishimura said in a statement. ‘This redefines hair graying and melanoma not as unrelated events, but as divergent outcomes of stem cell responses to stress.’

IT was quite a sight to behold: Wide-eyed junior high-school students (JHS) lined up, ready to start their day, and being ushered by their class advisors.

Rather than going upstairs to attend their classes, they boarded elevators that whisked them 18 floors up into an office inside the Seven/NEO high-rise at the heart of Bonifacio Global City. Instead of converging inside the four walls of a classroom and staring at a whiteboard, a big LED screen inside a huge hall welcomed them.

A usual field trip it was not-this was the ‘Day of the Future’ for Grade 7 students of Sen. Renato ‘Compañero’ Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School, with global private markets firm Partners Group (PG) as their host in their Manila Headquarters. The activity on November 12 was jointly organized by the Embassy of Switzerland, as the European country brought here its national tradition of children coming to offices, seeing their parents at work, and appreciating their moms’ and dads’ efforts in making a living.

Without their folks and guardians that time around, personnel from PG-Manila warmly greeted them. They served as the students’ ‘ates’ and ‘kuyas’ for the day and gave an orientation on things to expect during their very own Day of the Future.

Members of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) team led by Aileen Godinez welcomed the students from the school’s 7-Einstein class. They were the latest batch to join since PG participated in the initiative in recent years.

In addition, she shared that PG-Manila also takes active part in the Department of Education’s Brigada Eskwela efforts, where the financial firm’s employees contribute their time and effort to prepare classrooms before the start of a new school year.

Annual engagement

‘EVERY year, we’ve managed to also reach out to several schools within Taguig City to join the activity,’ confirmed Godinez. ‘We want to not only take care of our clients, but we also want to be part of helping out our community.’

PG-Manila prepared well for their 2025 DOF, as they converted their conference rooms and cubicles into learning booths for the young pupils. For about half of the day, team members of various departments transitioned from being employees to educators who shared subject-matter expertise with their early teenage guests. They ensured that the youngsters understood the basics of their various work assignments: from Information Technology, Human Resources, Finance, Compliance, and their industry-specific work units such as Client Content Solutions, Fund Cash Operations, Fee Operations, Investment Valuations, Structuring Solutions, and Fund Operations.

The students were offered mini-lectures, role-playing games, and work simulations that gave them ideas of the corporate setting they might potentially get into when they enter the labor force, a modern office ecosystem when they eventually trade their armchairs into workdesks, and immersing themselves in a professional culture where teamwork and collaboration are of a higher level.

In her remarks, PG Manila Office Head Neva Santos said that in Switzerland, every second Thursday of November is ‘Bring Your Kid To Work Day,’ or more formally, the Day of the Future, when parents bring their children to their offices and allow them to see their folks in action. ‘As a Swiss company, PG decided to bring this tradition here in the Philippines, in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland. For firms like ours that have opened their doors for this activity, our real intention was to show students potential careers that they can enter in the future.’

Hands-on early on

TWELVE-year-old Luis shared that he particularly enjoyed the booths, where he had the opportunity to meet and interact with new people through PG-Manila’s employees. He appreciated their efforts in explaining ‘the stuff that they do for work,’ and the kind of ‘jobs that they do to fulfill their duties for the company.’

Luis said he initially wanted to be a teacher, but seeing the personnel in action opened his mind for other opportunities, and strongly considered to follow their kind of work, such as in accounting. He was also pleased to learn a thing or two with the booth tours which he said he will use in his Math class.

For 13-year-old Erryn, her DOF experience was ‘really fun, as I learned a lot of new things, especially about investments and things related to such’ that will serve as foundation for her possible entry into the world of business.

Erryn particularly appreciated learning about the topic, that ‘it is not just about a lot of numbers, but how ‘chances’ and external elements like events can influence [the investments that] you have placed.’

She expressed her excitement for future DOF participants, as they will ‘enjoy and learn a lot about their experiences.’

Potentials unlocked

ACCORDING to Santos, the takeaway from the DOF initiative is that ‘for every learner, there’s a world of possibilities and ideas with what they can do in the future, especially now that they are in JHS, and will be deciding on their college courses in a matter of a few years.’

Rightfully so, with the potential of the years ahead well right in front of them while they peered beyond the glass walls of the Seven/NEO skyscraper, and being high above the bustling streets of BGC along with their lofty hopes for a bright tomorrow. As their immersion at PG-Manila came to a close, Taguig City’s JHS learners have indeed taken their first steps into being work- and future-ready, their eyes more gleaming with wider perspectives, and before them a promising future that became more probable-thanks to the successful rollout by the Swiss Embassy and co-organizers like PG-Manila.

The Day of the Future in the Philippines is sure to gather momentum, as more firms can take cue from the noteworthy effort and create templates for similar runs. No doubt, with similar kinds of impetus, intentions, inputs and initiatives, the futures of more Filipino learners are being secured-one classroom and one school at a time.

A college degree in Garbology will most likely repel parents. It not only stinks, since it has the smell of trash, but it’s also not the kind of educational attainment a son or daughter will take pride in.

You may laugh all you want but a B.S. degree in Garbology could land your son or daughter a good slot in the profitable Waste and Recycling Industry, a job that can command a monthly pay scale ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 a year in the US.

It could be any of these job titles: Waste Management Specialist, Environmental Engineer, Waste Treatment Plant Operator, or Recycling Coordinator. If you’ve never heard of these uncommon job titles, you’ll soon be hearing them more and more as the world transitions to the new Green Economy.

First, what is Garbology anyway?

Simply stated, Garbology involves the scientific study of what to do with our human trash and waste. Garbology graduates will play a vital role in finding better ways not just to manage our waste, but to stop the creation of it in the first place. The ultimate goal is not to study waste per se but to make zero waste.

Imagine your son inventing new and revolutionary ideas for upcycling discards, such as, for example, fruit and vegetable peelings, used plastic toys, computer parts, batteries, and other throwaways. Envision your daughter working in a lab growing a type of bacteria that eats styrofoam or plastics.

Think of the positive impact. If we have enough garbologists, we will prevent tons and tons of garbage from reaching our designated landfills, many of which are now reaching their full capacities. It’s not just plastics but textile and metal waste. Not to mention food and chemical wastes.

The garbologist will be at the center of the waste and recycling industry that operates on an enormous scale, touching nearly every sector of the economy. Because of that scope, the job and career options in this growing industry are unusually diverse, with real opportunities to build a career, whether you stay on the operational side or move into management over time.

This is all good to know, but. but. Where can one enroll for such a course? No college or university offers a 4-year degree in Garbology. In its single-minded focus on more ‘appealing’ courses to corner as many paying students as possible, our college educational system has been caught napping as businesses have been shifting to economic circular models of production and disposal of materials.

The truth is garbologists are just one of the group of specialists now urgently needed in the Green Economy. Global demand for workers with green knowhow rose by 11.6 percent over the last year, whereas the supply of such workers only rose by 5.6 percent.

What is alarming is that we are not producing skilled green workers fast enough to enable a full-speed transition to a green economy. If the world doesn’t start educating and training enough manpower in big numbers, it is estimated that by 2050, the target year for achieving universal zero carbon, roughly half of jobs in the green economy will lack qualified workers.

This is why degrees related to environmental protection like Garbology are no laughing matter.

Our national leadership must wake up. It should take immediate steps not only to make the teaching of climate education urgent and imperative at all levels, it must also make the offering of new specialized green courses mandatory in our current college education system at the soonest possible time.

To address this green demand, traditional courses must be recalibrated, repurposed or re-invented to make them responsive to the needs of green manufacturing practices and building codes.

Architecture will need to shift to green architecture. Engineering will need to become oriented to the needs of the circular economy in which production and manufacturing will be geared to achieving zero waste. Even accounting and business management courses will need to integrate environmental and social costs and benefits into traditional financial reporting.

But more importantly, new courses in special ecology related fields will have to be designed, and new curricula will have to be developed.

Garbology should be among the first green courses offered in college. Why? Because humankind must prioritize preventing the Earth from becoming a wasteland.

To make it palatable to parents and prospective students, let’s give Garbology a more appealing name: Skupidiology, derived from ‘skupidia,’ the Greek word for garbage or rubbish. Whatever name you call it, the scientific study of garbage is where we should start. It is a game changer, the ideal gateway for new green courses in college.

Happily, most young people are now eco-aware, especially the college educated Gen Zees. In one recent survey, they rightly see the worsening climate crisis as a threat to human existence. More than half of them (61 percent) want to work in a green job in the next five years.

But beyond the demand and the attractive pay, one compelling reason for young people to pursue a green course in college is to take an active part in the universal mission to rescue our future.

Whether you like a hands-on approach or prefer working at a desk, you can choose a green career path based on the environmental impact you wish to make. Whether you’re a student of garbology, renewable energy, environmental engineering, wildlife biology or meteorology, consider yourself arrayed with tomorrow’s green heroes.

As it stands now, life on earth hangs in the balance. We can’t afford to dilly-dally. So, parents, universities, industries, government, let’s get our act together to provide an army of green-educated human power for our planet’s survival.

Let’s heed the call of Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG: ‘We have to skill-up Generation Z now, starting with the teaching of climate education in all schools globally. It doesn’t matter what motivates us to do this, be it giving them job security, growing industry or saving the planet, pick your reason – but we should be doing it regardless.’

Garbology degree for your son or daughter? By all means, yes! It’s the best investment you can make as a parent, not only for your child’s future, but the world’s as well.

Messages in a bottle written by two Australian soldiers a few days into their voyage to the battlefields of France during World War I have been found more than a century later on Australia’s coast.

The Brown family found the Schweppes-brand bottle just above the waterline at Wharton Beach near Esperance in Western Australia state on Oct. 9, Deb Brown said on Tuesday.

Her husband Peter and daughter Felicity made the find during one of the family’s regular quad bike expeditions to clear the beach of trash.

‘We do a lot of cleaning up on our beaches and so would never go past a piece of rubbish. So, this little bottle was lying there waiting to be picked up,’ Deb Brown said.

Inside the clear, thick glass were cheerful letters written in pencil by Privates Malcolm Neville, 27, and William Harley, 37, dated August 15, 1916.

Their troop ship HMAT A70 Ballarat had left the South Australia state capital Adelaide to the east on Aug. 12 of that year on the long journey to the other side of the world where its soldiers would reinforce the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion on Europe’s Western Front.

Neville was killed in action a year later. Harley was wounded twice but survived the war, dying in Adelaide in 1934 of a cancer his family say was caused by him being gassed by the Germans in the trenches.

Neville requested the bottle’s finder deliver his letter to his mother Robertina Neville at Wilkawatt, now a virtual ghost town in South Australia. Harley, whose mother was dead by 1916, was happy for the finder to keep his note.

Harley wrote ‘may the finder be as well as we are at present.’

Neville wrote to his mother he was ‘having a real good time, food is real good so far, with the exception of one meal which we buried at sea.’

The ship was ‘heaving and rolling, but we are as happy as Larry,’ Neville wrote, using a now faded Australian colloquialism meaning very happy.

Neville wrote that he and his comrades were, ‘Somewhere at Sea.’ Harley wrote that they were, ‘Somewhere in the Bight,’ referring to the Great Australian Bight. That’s an enormous open bay that begins east of Adelaide and extends to Esperance on the western edge.

Deb Brown suspects the bottle didn’t travel far. It likely spent more than a century ashore buried in the sand dunes. Extensive erosion of the dunes caused by huge swells along Wharton Beach in recent months probably dislodged it.

The paper was wet, but the writing remained legible. Because of that, Deb Brown was able to notify both soldiers’ relatives of the find.

The bottle ‘is in pristine condition. It doesn’t have any growth of any barnacles on it. I believe that if it had been at sea or if it had been exposed for that long, the paper would’ve disintegrated from the sun. We wouldn’t have been able to read it,’ she said.

Harley’s granddaughter Ann Turner said her family was ‘absolutely stunned’ by the find.

‘We just can’t believe it. It really does feel like a miracle and we do very much feel like our grandfather has reached out for us from the grave,’ Turner told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Neville’s great nephew Herbie Neville said his family had been brought together by the ‘unbelievable’ discovery.

‘It sounds as though he was pretty happy to go to the war. It’s just so sad what happened. It’s so sad that he lost his life,’ Herbie Neville said.

‘Wow. What a man he was,’ the great nephew added with pride.

PRESIDENT Marcos tapped an appraiser to make his last year’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) more transparent and updated, Malacañang said on Thursday.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro made the statement when asked why the President’s SALN contained a net worth value based on the appraisal report made by Cuervo Appraisers, Inc.

Castro said the appraisal by the independent appraiser made the content of the SALN more reliable and updated than if the President just relied on his own assessment to determine the value of his net worth.

‘Wouldn’t it be better if you could see what your value is, the updated value of your properties-better, clearer, more transparent,’ Castro said in Filipino in a press briefing.

In his 2024 SALN reported by GMA News online, Marcos estimated his net worth grew to more than P398 million from P329.23 in June 2022, when he assumed the Presidency.

It also contained a valuation report of Cuervo, which showed the President’s net worth rose to P1.375 billion from P960.7 million in 2022.

Among the Chief Executive’s declared assets are P142.026 million worth of 21 pieces of real estate property, cash worth P38.7 million, investments worth P134.192 million, and P247.33-million worth of pieces of jewelry, vehicles, and paintings.

Manila Water Company formally inaugurated the Hinulugang Taktak Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) during a simple ceremony at the project site in Antipolo City, on November 7.

A key component of Manila Water’s P2.2-billion Hinulugang Taktak Sewerage System Project, the STP is designed to treat up to 16 million liters of wastewater per day.

It is strategically located near the iconic Hinulugang Taktak Falls, a historic 70-foot waterfall located in Antipolo City, and a popular natural attraction that has undergone significant rehabilitation to restore its natural beauty and facilities for visitors.

The park is managed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Rizal Provincial Government, offers several activities and amenities, including a waterfall view, swimming pool, a canopy walk, wall climbing, and a picnic area.

The Sapang Baho River or sometimes referred to as the Taktak River is an important water source that feeds Hinulugang Taktak.

In a statement, Manila Water said the STP facility aims to protect water bodies in the Upper Marikina River Basin and support the rehabilitation of the national park.

The STP’s commissioning marks a significant step in Manila Water’s long-term goal of expanding sewer coverage and improving sanitation across the East Zone in close coordination with national and local government partners.

DENR Undersecretary Joselin Fragada Rizal Governor Nina Ricci Ynares-Chiongbian, Antipolo City Mayor Casimiro ‘Jun’ Ynares III, and Vice Mayor Randy Puno Jr. attended the ceremony.

Also present were representatives from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), led by Chairperson Elpidio J. Vega, Administrator Leonor ‘Bobby’ Cleofas, and MWSS Regulatory Office Chief Regulator Patrick Lester N. Ty, along with their respective teams.

Manila Water President and CEO J.V. Emmanuel ‘Jocot’ de Dios led key officials of Manila Water, including Chief Operating Officer for East Zone Arnold Jether A. Mortera; Project Management Group Adviser Angel Gonzalez Angel Gonzalez; Program Management Director Renato C. Belmonte; Project Management Deputy Director Jocelyn M. General; Program Management Senior Manager Francis Erwin A. Cruz; East Zone Business Operations Director Shoebe Caong; and Rizal Business Operations Director Romely T. Paraiso.

‘It really is a commitment of Manila Water and the Razon Group to ensure that our hosts and partners work collaboratively to improve the quality of life for everyone. This [HT STP] is a living testament to what we want to accomplish,’ De Dios said.

For his part, Ynares said the collaborative effort boosts the protection of Hinulugang Taktak, an important water source.

‘Our collaboration is saving and preserving the allure of Hinulugang Taktak for future generations of Filipinos. Thank you for doing your part to ensure that the partnership we began seven years ago has become a successful endeavor,’ Ynares said.

Governor Nina Ynares-Chiongbian emphasized the importance of honoring Hinulugang Taktak’s heritage while embracing progress through the new STP

‘The inauguration of the HT STP today is about moving forward-about improvement and about tomorrow. However, we cannot reach tomorrow without looking to our past. Looking to the past gives value to Hinulugang Taktak,’ she said.

Undersecretary Fragada, representing DENR Secretary Rafael Lotilla, highlighted the alignment of Manila Water’s HT STP project with the national government’s efforts to create a climate-resilient citizenry.

‘This project aligns squarely with DENR’s overarching thrust, under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to build resilient, climate-smart, and sustainable communities through integrated environmental management,’ Usec. Fragada said in his keynote speech.

MWSS Administrator Bobby Cleofas emphasized the valuable contributions of private companies, such as Manila Water, in delivering sustainable services to Filipinos.

‘The Hinulugang TaktakSewage Treatment Plant is not only a triumph for the water sector but also a representation of an effective public-private partnership,’ MWSS Administrator Cleofas said.