Category: Philippine Star

The country’s dollar reserves fell to their lowest level in 18 months as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s foreign exchange operations and government withdrawals outweighed gains from higher gold valuations.

Preliminary data from the BSP showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) declined by 1.3 percent to $103.38 billion as of end-July from $104.74 billion in June. The latest level was also down by 1.9 percent from $105.42 billion in July last year.

This brought the reserves to their lowest level since January 2025, when GIR stood at $103.27 billion.

GIR consists of foreign assets held by the central bank, including securities, foreign currency and deposits, gold, special drawing rights and other reserve assets.

The stockpile serves as the economy’s first line of defense against external shocks by providing foreign currency for imports and external debt payments.

The BSP attributed the July decline mainly to its net foreign exchange operations, the national government’s drawdowns on its foreign currency deposits for external debt payments and the government’s net foreign currency withdrawals from deposits with the central bank.

BSP data showed foreign securities, which remained the largest component of the country’s reserves, declined by 6.6 percent month-on-month to $67.26 billion in July. Currency and deposits likewise fell by 9.2 percent to $1.85 billion.

These outflows were partly cushioned by upward valuation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings as international gold prices increased, as well as income earned by the central bank from its investments abroad.

Gold holdings increased by 1.7 percent to $17.49 billion in July from $17.19 billion in June as higher global prices lifted the value of the central bank’s bullion reserves. Compared with July last year, the value of gold holdings jumped by almost 27 percent from $13.78 billion

Despite the decline, the BSP said reserves remained adequate. The end-July GIR level was equivalent to 6.7 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It was also equivalent to about 3.6 times the country’s short-term external debt based on residual maturity.

Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong and Co., said the reserves remain sufficient to cushion the economy against external shocks, although their recent decline should be closely monitored.

Filipino dance crews were triumphant yet again at this year’s World Hip Hop Dance Championship as five groups finished on the podium, including two gold medalists.

All-queer dance group Femme MNL topped the Megacrew Division ahead of fellow Filipino group The Crew, who in 2012 won the Adult Division.

HQ added a second Adult Division championship to its 2023 win and were joined on the podium by bronze medalists Folk Jumpers. The Junior Division meanwhile saw Sayawatha Jr. claiming third.

This took the Philippines’ medal count at the annual tournament to 35, two ahead of the United States and within striking distance of third-ranked New Zealand with 42.

Jacob Jaurigue led the HQ to another gold medal finish with the help of co-director Zion Wuxinyi. The two had danced in the 2023 championship run but this year guided a new batch of nine dancers to the gold.

Philstar.com spoke to Jaurigue before the group flew back to the Philippines, still floating on the dance crew’s monumental win.

The coach said the emotions from the 2023 win were just about the same from three years ago though he pointed out, “Once you get there the first time, it feels like a longer climb the second time around but the experience that we’ve had kind of balances it out for us.”

Jaurigue went on to call this latest run the smoothest of HQ’s three competitive tries to date – the group competed in the Minicrew Division back in 2024 – and credited the preparation each member took.

“We knew what we had to do, we knew the struggles, we knew the challenges, and we were already prepared before we even came across them,” he explained.

Another factor Jaurigue described as “a huge blessing in disguise” was that HQ finished second behind the NDDU Generals during the Philippine leg.

The NDDU Generals and A-Gyalz, another Filipino group in the Adult Division, just missed the final round by mere decimal points while A-Boiz finished fifth.

“We knew not to settle, that we had so much work to do to even have a chance against the four other Philippine teams competing, even more so against the over 60 other teams competing from the other countries,” Jaurigue added.

Speaking about this year’s HQ batch, the coach shared that half the team only started training with the group earlier this year.

That meant the new team didn’t have the connection as the 2023 batch which Jaurigue said was essential when competing in high-level contests.

“It was something that we had to figure out how to build along the way,” he continued. “The strengths of these nine dancers also weren’t the same as our old nine’s strengths so with creating a routine worthy of a world championship, we couldn’t just rely to the same things we’ve been doing in the past.”

Jaurigue acknowledged the many adjustment he, Wuxinyi, and their fellow directors and coaches had to do, figuring out how to bring the best out of the new group but maintain the same identity.

“Bringing in people from different walks of life and trying to create an environment where they could easily perform and execute; through brotherhood, camaraderie, and a lot of good vibes,” the coach said, expressing gratitude for “Key and Peele” sketches.

As for Team Philippines at World Hip Hop Dance Championship 2026, the country’s amazing performance is no longer surprising for Jaurigue and the rest of HQ.

The coach stressed the local hip-hop community’s been exceeding expectations year after year and have the medals to show for it.

“With pioneer teams leading the way, newer generations stepping up, and that’s all through hard work, dedication, creativity, and abundance of talent that the Philippine community has,” he continued. “This community that we have has been under appreciated for far too long and I only hope that soon it gets the spotlight it truly deserves.”

All of HQ are back in the Philippines and Jaurigue joked he wouldn’t be sure what laid ahead for the group for another couple weeks.

He does believe though the dance crew will carry as it’s been operating the past few years, that is, “take any opportunities that come our way, pave our own way, and focus on what’s best for our dancers.”

“Hopefully [we] try for bigger things in the competition scene but after a challenging season we’re just excited to take a break and re-align our goals,” Jaurigue ended

Law-enforcement operatives and soldiers together took custody of five Chinese nationals, working in a business establishment in Trento town in Agusan del Sur without proper permits, in an operation last Monday, August 3, radio reports on Saturday stated.

The five Chinese men were reportedly apprehended right in the Mayoka Enterprises compound in Purok 4 in Barangay Pulang Lupa in Trento by combined officials of the Bureau of Immigration, personnel of different units under the Police Regional Office 13 and soldiers from the Army’s 67th Infantry Battalion, a unit under the 10th Infantry Division.

Major Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of the 10th ID, was quoted in radio reports on Saturday as saying that officials of the Bureau of Immigration immediately took custody of the five male foreigners for procedural questioning on their lack of essential documents to legalize their employment in a business outfit in Trento.

Luzon had clarified to reporters that the role of the 67th IB in the operation that led to the detention of the five Chinese nationals was only security support to the civilian Bureau of Immigration agents who enforced their detention based on state laws.

Officials of the 67th IB were also instrumental in the prior verification and confirmation, on the behest of Bureau of Immigration officials, of the reported employment of the five Chinese nationals in a business entity in Trento, the basis of the operation that resulted in their apprehension.

There is a unique humility in having engagements canceled by a finance department rather than public opinion.

In recent months, some of my engagements have been postponed or canceled because of budget constraints and cash flow concerns, often communicated with polite, apologetic emails. I understand these decisions.

However, I have noticed a shift. The same companies that paused their training are now urgently requesting sessions before year-end. As the third quarter progresses, there is renewed focus on delivering results before December.

I do not take this personally. I view it as data.

Let’s be fair to the companies first, as their prudence was not unreasonable. A slowing market, uncertain growth and a Middle East conflict that refuses to resolve itself have made every finance officer on earth understandably nervous.

When the future looks unstable, training budgets are usually the first thing to be trimmed, alongside company outings and anything with the word ‘morale’ attached.

It feels responsible. It feels prudent.

Protect the cash. Cut the ‘nice-to-haves.’ Survive first, inspire later.

Here’s the problem nobody included in the budget spreadsheet: morale is not a nice-to-have. It is the fuel tank, not the air freshener.

When companies suspend training and gatherings for long enough, something quietly breaks. It does not appear on a balance sheet until much later – usually around the time productivity mysteriously drops, good people start updating their resumes, and everyone left behind does their job with the enthusiasm of someone filling out a government form. Disengagement doesn’t announce itself with a press release. It simply appears as slower execution, smaller ambitions and a workforce quietly asking, ‘Why bother?’

Why does this matter philosophically and not just financially?

Because human beings were never built to run purely on task completion. We were built to run on meaning.

Viktor Frankl, who survived the horror of the concentration camps, observed that the prisoners who endured were rarely the physically strongest. They were the ones who still had something or someone worth living for. Meaning, he discovered, was more essential to survival than comfort.

Solomon said something remarkably similar three thousand years earlier in Ecclesiastes: a person can have wealth and every earthly comfort and still feel utterly empty without purpose behind the labor.

Proverbs put it even more bluntly: ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick.’

That’s not poetry. That’s a diagnosis.

An organization that quietly starves its people of hope and growth for too long is not being frugal. It’s slowly making its own workforce sick.

This is precisely why training, inspiration and genuine human gatherings are never discretionary expenses. They are maintenance for the one asset every company claims is ‘its greatest’ in every annual report yet quietly underinvests in whenever budgets tighten.

You cannot claim people are your greatest asset while treating their inspiration as your most disposable line item.

Consider the actual math for a moment. A half-day training session, even a well-produced one, costs a company a fraction of what a single senior employee’s resignation costs in recruitment, onboarding and lost institutional knowledge.

That does not even include the slower, harder-to-measure cost of a team that’s technically present but has quietly stopped caring.

Disengaged employees aren’t neutral. They’re actively expensive – just invisibly so.

The training budget you cut to save a few hundred thousand pesos may be quietly costing you millions through mediocrity you cannot see on any single line of the ledger. Mediocrity does not send an invoice. It just slowly lowers the ceiling on everything your company could have achieved this year.

So here is a humble suggestion to every leader currently rushing to squeeze in ‘one more session before year-end’: I appreciate the urgency, and I’m genuinely glad to help you finish strong.

But consider building inspiration into your calendar as a rhythm, not a rescue mission you remember only during a third-quarter panic.

Hope should not be something you budget for only when the year is nearly over, and the numbers are due. It should be something you invest in consistently, just as you would never allow your best machinery to operate without regular maintenance simply because things ‘seemed fine’ for a while.

People are not machinery, of course. They are worse off without maintenance and immeasurably better with it.

Somewhere between the caution created by an uncertain economy and the very real cost of a discouraged workforce lies a wiser path: treat morale as the strategic asset it is, not as the expendable item it is mistaken for the moment the finance department becomes nervous.

Regardless of your company’s current situation, remember that a hopeful team consistently outperforms a merely competent one.

Invest in your people accordingly.

Walk the streets of Cebu City and you will eventually come across them: people sleeping in public places.

We aren’t talking about those who have passed out drunk after a night of drinking. We’re talking about people who don’t have homes to go to and sleep right where they want to.

It’s not a pretty sight. Especially when people sleep near tourist attractions, busy streets, or even around Plaza Sugbu near Cebu City Hall.

But then again, law enforcement might be reluctant to call attention to their actions, because while Cebu City’s Anti-Mendicancy Ordinance of 1996 penalizes begging and giving alms, it doesn’t cover public sleeping.

Now the Cebu City Anti Mendicancy Office (CCAMO) has publicly appealed to Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. to take the lead in crafting an ordinance that would prohibit sleeping in public places.

A city that has people sleeping just wherever they want to, including in public places or tourist attractions, will not project a good image to visitors as well as locals. Such scenes seem to suggest that the city government, as well as its own constituency, cannot care for or does not care about its own.

There’s also something unsettling about seeing people sleep in public.

Sleep, at least the deep sleep you engage in to fully reinvigorate yourself for the next day –as opposed to just napping, dozing off, or catching a few winks– is also one of the most personal things you can do. You’re not supposed to do it in public, let alone with people being able to see you.

But this isn’t just about what people who see people sleeping on the streets feel; this is also about public safety.

Those who sleep outside are exposed to hazards bad weather, traffic, and even criminal elements.

So, yes, we should discourage people from sleeping in public places. We also realize that waking them up and telling them to go sleep somewhere else is a partial solution.

People who sleep on the streets are likely doing so because they have nowhere else to sleep. This loops back to the issue of homelessness in the city, another problem that needs addressing.

Sachi Minowa, formerly Jaja Santiago, will reunite with Alyssa Valdez at Creamline in the Premier Volleyball League even for a brief time.

Minowa, who was naturalized as a Japanese two years ago after her marriage to current Alas Pilipinas women’s coach Taka Minowa, will join the Cool Smashers in the PVL Invitational and Reinforced late this year.

It’s a short deal since 30-year-old 6-5 middle blocker has signed a deal with the San Francisco Signal in the United States’ League One Volleyball Pro where she would start playing January next year.

It will be a much-sought PVL return for Minowa after suiting up with the now defunct Chery Tiggo Crossover in the COVID era bubble in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte.

Meanwhile, Alas Pilipinas succumbed to defending champion China, 25-18, 25-21, 25-13, at the start of the FIVB Volleyball Girls U17 World Championship in San Felipe, Chile.

In the women’s SEA V Cup Leg 2 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the Thais, now with their ‘Team A’ after fielding their youth team in Leg 1 in Hanoi, Vietnam, overpowered the Filipinas, 25-19, 25-17, 25-19.

At 13, the rich soil of the Mount Matutum Protected Landscape was already home to coffee seedlings planted by relatives, though the crop meant little to the young boy watching them grow.

Decades later, while studying as a seminarian in Cebu in 2000, Mario Joey Tacan learned that most coffee in the Philippines was imported. The realization planted a seed: carefully nurtured coffee could transform a community. In 2001, he returned to Polomolok, South Cotabato, to develop his father’s farm.

Today, the 53-year-old Tacan is a multi-award-winning grower leading a coffee renaissance in South Cotabato. Following his recent sixth-place finish in the 2026 Philippine national round of the Southeast Asian Green Coffee Competition, Tacan is using his platform to advocate for quality coffee, mentor local farmers, and help bridge a massive supply gap in a country that imports nearly 378,000 metric tons of coffee annually.

His success, however, was born from early struggles. Like many farmers lacking market access and modern technology, Tacan and his neighbors once chopped down their coffee trees. Traders were offering just 45 pesos per kilogram, driving locals to replace coffee with fast-yield vegetables to survive.

Interventions from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Trade and Industry, and ACDI-VOCA’s PhilCAFE Project changed his trajectory. After benchmarking at arabica farms in Davao del Sur, Tacan learned new pruning and processing methods, proving that coffee trees could be managed at human height rather than left to grow wild.

The adjustments paid off. He won second place in the robusta natural process category at the 2019 Philippine Coffee Quality Competition, and in 2023, he took the top spot for arabica at the Kape Dose Coffee Quality Competition.

“The preparation was tiring, but it was all worth it,” Tacan said of his early competitions. “From that experience, I witnessed that if you produce quality beans, the buyers will come looking for you.”

Tacan’s push for quality aligns with a broader regional shift. Coffee production in Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN) continues to anchor the Philippine coffee industry, with Sultan Kudarat remaining the country’s top producer at 21,442 metric tons in 2024.

According to the Department of Agriculture, South Cotabato in 2025 recorded 2,650 hectares planted, 1,236.9 hectares harvested, and a production volume of 1,011.45 metric tons. The Provincial Government, through its Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, is focusing on quality and sustainability by profiling farmers under the DAGYAW Program and expanding training in organic production.

The DAGYAW Program, short for Development on Agriculture Growth Yearning for the Active Welfare of South Cotabato, seeks to strengthen collaboration between partner agencies and the provincial government to boost coffee, cacao, and abaca industries. It addresses infrastructure, technology, market access, sustainability, and support services to drive agricultural growth.

South Cotabato’s upland farms, destination cafés, and growing coffee culture also present opportunities for coffee tourism, positioning the province more as a specialty coffee hub than a high-volume producer.

Despite these regional gains, the Philippines remains a net importer, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture projecting coffee imports to rise nearly 10 percent to 378,000 metric tons in 2026, sourced mainly from Vietnam and Indonesia.

Domestic demand continues to surge, driven by café culture and rising consumption now estimated at 3.78 kilograms per person-among the highest in Asia. It underscores the urgent need to expand local production for self-sufficiency.

To help local farmers capture this market, Tacan founded the United Villagers Farmers Association. He aims to transform his farm into a learning site, hoping his recent SEA Green recognition will firmly put Polomolok on the global coffee map.

“I am proud that my efforts are being recognized,” Tacan said. “I am proud to represent my hometown and share my story.”

Olympic pedigree, a stacked international field and one of Asia’s toughest race courses promise another thrilling spectacle when the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu blasts off Sunday August 8, at the Mactan Newtown Beach in Cebu, where defending champion Henri Schoeman returns determined to reclaim the crown against a deep cast of elite challengers.

The South African star, who captured the bronze medal in the Rio Olympics, is back after missing last year’s race and eager to build on the commanding victory he posted in his event debut in 2024. But the 34-year-old faces a far sterner challenge this time, with fellow Olympian Natalie Van Coevorden leading a stellar women’s field and an equally determined international cast targeting the professional titles.

The centerpiece of Sunrise Events Inc.’s premier endurance race presented by Megaworld will once again test athletes over the grueling 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run, highlighted by the iconic Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX). Its sweeping sea views, relentless crosswinds and rolling terrain have become defining features of the bike leg, while Cebu’s tropical heat and humidity ensure that strength alone will not be enough to conquer the course.

More than 1,400 athletes from 48 countries are entered in the landmark 12th staging of the race, underscoring its sustained growth into one of the most respected stops on the global IRONMAN circuit. Over the past decade, the event has consistently attracted world-class pros and thousands of age-group competitors while earning praise for its organization and race execution.

Competing nations include Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Reunion, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.

Schoeman, however, will have little room for error against a formidable men’s field featuring Austria’s Sebastian Fuchs, New Zealand’s Brett Clifford, Christian Davey and Ben Hamilton, China’s Miao Hao, Singapore’s Aaron Kiss, Australia’s John Fothergill and American Thomas Iñigo, among other international standouts eager to make their mark.

Their presence sets up another high-caliber duel of endurance, speed and race strategy on a course widely regarded as one of the most demanding on the Asian circuit, where weather, terrain and tactical execution often prove as decisive as physical fitness.

The women’s pro race is expected to be just as compelling with Australia’s Van Coevorden taking center stage. Ranked No. 1 in Oceania and No. 24 in the World Triathlon Series, the 33-year-old Campbelltown native returns to familiar ground after winning the women’s elite title in the 2011 Subic Bay ITU Triathlon Asian Cup.

But Van Coevorden will also have to contend with a quality field that includes Sarah Thomas, Cassandra Heaslip, Paige Cranage, Charlotte McShane and Emily Donker, all capable of producing podium-worthy performances in the marquee endurance event.

Local interest, meanwhile, will focus on the Filipino Elite Category, led by Jewin Ochea and Raymund Torio. Established by the Philippine Sports Commission, the division serves as a vital pathway for the country’s top triathletes, bridging the gap between age-group racing and the international professional ranks while showcasing homegrown talent.

Beyond the elite competition, the event offers age-group athletes an opportunity that extends well beyond race day. As an official qualifier for the 2027 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, the Cebu leg gives Filipino competitors a rare chance to secure world championship berths on home soil.

A total of 50 qualifying slots will be available, including 25 reserved for women as part of IRONMAN’s continuing commitment to promoting gender equality and expanding female participation in the sport. Successful qualifiers will advance to the 2027 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship from August 28-29, 2027 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Spicing up the event is the Sunrise Sprint, a beginner-friendly race featuring a 750-m swim, 25km bike and 5km run, giving first-time multisport athletes an opportunity to experience racing on one of Asia’s premier triathlon stages.

Equally defining the event is the extraordinary community support that has become a hallmark of IRONMAN Lapu-Lapu. Thousands of schoolchildren and local residents are once again expected to line the race route, transforming the competition into one of the most vibrant and memorable stops on the international triathlon calendar.

More than a showcase of world-class endurance racing, IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu has evolved into a celebration of sportsmanship, volunteerism and community pride, with residents embracing athletes from around the globe while inspiring the next generation through the values of perseverance, discipline and excellence.

With Olympians, seasoned pros, emerging local stars and thousands of determined age-group competitors converging on a championship-caliber course, the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu is once again primed to deliver a memorable test of endurance – and another unforgettable chapter in one of Asia’s premier triathlon destinations.

From the first swimmers entering the water to the final finishers crossing the line, enthusiastic spectators provide an emotional lift for every competitor – from professionals chasing podium finishes to first-time participants pursuing personal milestones. Their energy has long distinguished the Cebu race from other events on the circuit

The older I got, the more my bathroom started to resemble the skincare aisle of a beauty and cosmetics store.

There are cleansers, creams, serums, sunscreens and countless other bottles and tubes ‘waiting in line,’ each boasting ingredients I can barely pronounce. I’ve faithfully applied these products, banking on the promise that I’d look ten years younger. While my skin has definitely improved, I doubt I’ve stumbled upon the fountain of youth.

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against skincare. In fact, I applaud anyone like me who remembers to wear sunscreen every day. Dermatologists have been telling us for years that protecting our skin is one of the best investments we can make. Eating well, exercising regularly, staying hydrated and getting adequate sleep also help us look and feel our best.

Our bodies are remarkable gifts. Taking care of them isn’t vanity. It’s good stewardship.

But somewhere along the way, we may have started believing that beauty comes mainly from what we put on our faces instead of what we put into our hearts.

Social media certainly doesn’t help. With filters smoothing every line and apps erasing every blemish, we’re tempted to think perfection is normal and achievable. It isn’t. Real people have laugh lines, gray hair and the occasional stubborn pimple that appears just before a reunion or family wedding.

Then there are magnifying mirrors. Whoever invented those owes many of us an apology.

The irony is that when we think of the most beautiful people we know, flawless skin rarely comes to mind. Instead, we remember the aunt whose infectious laughter filled every family gathering. The teacher who applauded us before we believed in ourselves. The college friend who never forgets a birthday or checks in on us when we are grieving.

Their beauty wasn’t something they applied each morning. It radiated from the kind of people they had become.

Of course, healthy habits matter. Chronic stress, poor sleep and too much junk food eventually leave a mark. Our skin remembers late nights, neglected vegetables and one helping too many of crispy pata. Sadly, no moisturizer has yet been proven effective against chronic worrying.

In reality, the best beauty routine is surprisingly simple: eat well, move your body, sleep enough, laugh often and smile generously. A cheerful spirit costs no calories but somehow makes a face more attractive.

And while we’re investing in expensive serums, maybe we should also invest in qualities that never go out of style.

We’ve all met someone whose smile puts others at ease. Chances are, it isn’t perfect teeth we’re responding to, but genuine kindness and sincerity. Humility makes us approachable. Gratitude brightens the most ordinary of days. Patience smooths far more relationships than wrinkles, and forgiveness lifts a burden no cosmetic treatment can touch.

Some people become more beautiful the longer you know them. It isn’t because their features changed. It’s because their character did. A gracious heart has a way of illuminating an ordinary face until it becomes unforgettable.

Scripture reminds us that ‘people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ That doesn’t mean our appearance is unimportant. It simply reminds us which kind of beauty lasts. Faces inevitably change with time, but character grows richer and more radiant with age.

Perhaps that is how God designed beauty. While youthful looks naturally fade, inner beauty continues to grow. Every act of kindness, every encouraging word and every choice to love instead of criticize leaves an imprint on others and in our own hearts.

Growing older in a culture that worships youth and physical appearance can quietly convince us that every wrinkle, gray hair and body flaw is something to apologize for.

It isn’t.

So by all means, buy the moisturizer. Wear sunscreen faithfully. Enjoy your fruits and vegetables. Go for that morning walk and get enough sleep.

But don’t neglect the most effective treatment no department store sells.

Eyes that instantly recognize goodness. A heart that chooses gratitude. Hands that remain open and generous. And faith that exudes hope even when life leaves a few bumps and scars behind.

Because truly, the most radiant people I am blessed to know are rarely the ones with perfect skin and bodies. They are the ones whose lives quietly reflect the beauty of the One who created them.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has accused the camp of former House speaker Martin Romualdez of being behind the recantation of four former bodyguards who linked him to the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.

This developed as police arrested 10 of the 18 self-proclaimed bagmen of Zaldy Co after they failed to post bail in their perjury case.

The four earlier told GMA News they were retracting their previous statements, claiming they signed a joint affidavit after being promised money. They also alleged that they were pressured into signing affidavits later used in the Office of the Ombudsman’s investigation involving Romualdez and other officials.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it would probe the recantation.

Remulla claimed that Romualdez’s camp is already ‘desperate to take away the witnesses against them’ as his office has already built a ‘solid case’ against the former speaker.

Romualdez denied Remulla’s allegations and stressed the recantations only prove that the accusations against him are false and trumped up.

‘This is not a fair search for truth. I will not be intimidated. I will face every accusation against me, defend myself with the facts, the evidence and the truth,’ Romualdez said in statement.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the bureau had received prior information about the planned recantation.

‘There were already feelers that first two, then four, and eventually more wanted to speak to us. We are validating the information, but I was not surprised when the recantation surfaced because it is consistent with our earlier findings,’ he told True FM.

Trillanes to drop case

Meanwhile, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said he would withdraw the cases he filed against four bagmen who recanted allegations linking him to alleged cash deliveries from fugitive ex-congressman Zaldy Co.

Trillanes said he had instructed his lawyer to drop the complaints following the four men’s retraction of their earlier affidavits and allegations against him.

‘As a former soldier, I sympathize with what they went through,’ Trillanes said. ‘I hope they have learned a hard lesson from this experience.’

10 bagmen arrested

Lawyer Levito Baligod went to the Las Piñas Regional Trial Court with the remaining 14 bagmen to post bail for perjury cases filed by ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, Trillanes, former national security adviser Eduardo Año and Bureau of Corrections chief Gregorio Catapang Jr.

The court set bail at P18,000 per count, so each bagman needed P72,000 for four counts of perjury. Baligod said he and his wife shouldered all the bail expenses of over P1 million.

But Las Piñas acting police chief Fermin Armendarez III told The STAR that authorities arrested 10 of the accused after they failed to post bail.

One of the companions said they didn’t reach the banks on time to pay the bail