Category: Philippine Star

Sen. Panfilo Lacson has called for a ‘fair’ and ‘evidence-based’ verdict in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Lacson made the remark during the Philippine Constitution Association’s 65th anniversary celebration in Makati yesterday when asked what kind of decision would help bring stability after a politically polarizing impeachment trial.

‘A fair decision will bring stability to the country. As long as the decision is fair and based on evidence as presented without any political color, then it will bring stability to the country,’ Lacson said.

He pointed out that the trial has yet to wrap up the prosecution’s presentation of evidence before the defense takes its turn.

‘The defense has not yet presented their evidence. We only hear one side of the story. We need to hear the other side,’ Lacson said.

The senator said fast-tracking the trial should mean maximizing the limited trial time without compromising evidence.

The Senate impeachment court will have a full week of proceedings this week, with whole-day trial dates set in the first half of October.

The verdict, which is expected to be heard by year-end, should be guided by the Constitution and by the weight of evidence, not by political considerations or public opinion, Lacson said.

In his speech, Lacson said accountability as enshrined in the 1987 Constitution is a tool to fight corruption and ensure honesty and integrity among public servants in the wake of the flood control mess.

He was referring to the Constitution’s provision that ‘Public office is a public trust,’ which he said is a principle that cannot be compromised or negotiated.

Lacson threw shade at public officials who cry political persecution when investigated for malfeasance, instead of facing the allegations with confidence and conviction.

Constitutional crisis?

A law expert, meanwhile, has warned of a possible constitutional crisis amid the filing of petitions before the Supreme Court questioning the legality of the Senate impeachment court’s decision to lower the number of votes needed to convict the Vice President.

In an interview with dzMM, San Beda University-Manila Graduate School of Law Dean Rev. Fr. Ranhilio Aquino said the petitions filed by former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez and lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. were premature.

‘The cases are premature because the decision of the Senate has not been used yet. It has not yet been applied on the respondent, Vice President Duterte,’ Ranhilio said.

‘To be able to bring a case in court, you should be the one affected in the decision of the Senate. Of course, they can use grounds like citizen suits, lawyer suits, and public interest suits. But basically, the rule is that you cannot file a case in the Supreme Court that you are not directly affected,’ Ranhilio added.

The Philippines has called for stronger cooperation on safe, orderly and stronger migration among member-countries of the United Nations.

‘Migration is a Philippine reality,’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said yesterday, highlighting the scale of the Filipino diaspora and noting that many Filipinos abroad consider their host countries their ‘second homes.’

Lazaro made the remarks at a forum on ‘Forging Alliances: Strengthening Collaboration Along Migration Routes’ held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

‘As a Champion country of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, the Philippines is committed to protecting, promoting and fulfilling the human rights of migrants throughout their migration journey,’ she stressed.

While the Philippines has made significant progress in strengthening migration governance, Lazaro acknowledged that gaps persist.

‘No country can address these challenges alone. This is why collective action, grounded in shared responsibility, is essential,’ she said.

The Commission on Higher Education has closed 26 teacher education programs in 11 higher education institutions, as part of CHED’s continuing efforts to address non-compliant instructional courses and strengthen quality assurance in teacher education.

‘We have 11 teacher education institutions that have been closed – 26 programs. We continue to do this and we are recalibrating our monitoring system,’ CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said during the Senate deliberations on the budget of the commission and state universities and colleges on Friday.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) earlier raised its concern over the so-called diploma mills in teacher education, covering undergraduate and graduate programs in the country.

‘There are conditional, incomplete and failed statuses. If it’s a definite failure, it’s closed. If it’s conditional, we assign them a specific developmental aspect of our mandate,’ Agrupis said.

According to EDCOM 2, 177 teacher education institutions continue to operate despite recording zero passing rates in the licensure examination for teachers from 2012 to 2022.

This highlighted the gaps in the quality assurance and oversight of teacher education programs, disadvantaging students and families nationwide, it added.

EDCOM2 also found that eight of 10 graduate students do not complete their degrees within the prescribed period – two years for master’s degrees and four years for doctoral degrees.

Agrupis said CHED has begun taking action against teacher education programs found to be non-compliant, with varying interventions depending on the findings in the monitoring and quality assurance processes.

She added that the programs under conditional status are given time to address deficiencies and improve compliance.

‘If it’s conditional, we will give the support for a period of time but it cannot be forever, just like the students who are given one semester to complete,’ Agrupis said.

As the monitoring continues, the CHED created a technical working group to investigate cases involving teacher education programs.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) sees the Philippines’ energy transition picking up steam, pointing to an accelerated rollout of renewables and growing efforts to harness nuclear power.

IEA Regional Cooperation Center head Sue-Ern Tan said the government has taken ‘great steps’ to prepare the Philippines for its energy future, particularly through policies aimed at unlocking more investment in cleaner power sources.

For one, she said the green energy auction (GEA) program is sending a positive signal to the market to develop a pipeline of bankable renewable energy (RE) projects.

‘I think it’s very positive that they’re thinking through how they can integrate more of those homegrown resources into the existing power system,’ Tan said on the sidelines of Enlit Asia 2026 here in the capital of Indonesia.

The Department of Energy (DOE) completed the fourth GEA round (GEA-4) last year, securing more than 9,400 megawatts (MW) of RE capacity.

The DOE has also unveiled a 10-year auction roadmap targeting at least 25 gigawatts of capacity by 2035.

This year alone, simultaneous bidding rounds are underway, including a special auction for waste-to-energy facilities and GEA-5 for fixed-bottom offshore wind projects.

These auctions support the government’s ambitious goal of increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

Beyond renewables, Tan said the Philippines is also making significant strides toward bringing nuclear power to households and businesses.

‘I saw the very recent announcement about going through the steps required to potentially have nuclear (power) in the Philippines again. Shoring up its energy security has been really positive,’ she said.

The DOE wants to launch the bidding process for the country’s first commercially operational nuclear plant in June 2027, with the winning bidder expected to secure a ready market for the project and potential access to state funding support.

The Philippines is home to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant – Southeast Asia’s only existing nuclear facility – which was built in the 1980s but never commissioned amid safety and political issues.

Decades later, the country is looking to revive its nuclear ambitions, targeting around 1,400 MW of nuclear capacity by 2038.

But while these developments are promising, Tan said the energy transition remains an uphill journey for the Philippines, which must balance the push for cleaner energy with the need to keep power reliable and affordable.

‘So you can’t switch straight away,’ the IEA official said, noting the country’s heavy reliance on coal for power generation.

Currently, coal accounts for around 60 percent of the energy mix, while renewables make up only about 25 percent.

Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy urged Catholic schools to become sanctuaries of hope for struggling youth amid increase in cases of violence and bullying.

Uy challenged Catholic school leaders across the Philippines to look beyond grades and curricula and notice students whose struggles may be hidden in classrooms or online.

‘A Catholic school cannot simply be a place where students are given education. It must be a place where every young person can find hope and experience being loved and cared for,’ Uy said during his homily at the closing Mass of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) national convention.

Uy asked educators to ensure students who are anxious, lonely or bullied are seen before a crisis de-velops.

He pushed for stronger guidance counseling offices, teacher training to recognize warning signs, clear channels for reporting bullying or abuse, and listening rooms where students can speak without fear of judgment.

According to Uy, educators should weave Catholic identity into every subject rather than treat it as a label, adding that science classes, should teach respect for life and creation, while business and ac-counting courses should confront issues such as honesty and corruption.

Uy said teachers should challenge students to consider what each should do with the technology and what tasks should not be handed over to machines, as artificial intelligence (AI) enters classrooms.

At the same time, Uy reminded school leaders to care for teachers, saying burned-out educators can struggle to offer the steady presence and hope students need.

According to Uy, administrators should likewise examine whether their treatment of janitors, security guards, maintenance personnel and the poorest members reflects the faith their schools teach.

‘Before asking how we can make our students more Catholic, we should also ask, ‘Can they see Christ in us? We cannot give what we do not possess,’ Uy added.

Uy asked Catholic schools to support one another in what he described as a difficult season, likening them to a ‘constellation of hope’ pointing young people toward faith, purpose and Jesus Christ.

More than 3,500 Catholic educators, school leaders and education stakeholders attended the CEAP convention in Cebu City from Sept. 22 to 25.

The association announced the reelection of Fr. Karel San Juan of the Ateneo de Davao University as CEAP president.

Threats of mass shootings have been posted on social media against schools in Batangas and Laguna.

One of the threats was posted on a Facebook group page, targeting the Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa in Batangas.

The message was posted by a certain Brandon, who warned that he and his companions would shoot everyone on campus on Friday.

The threat was reported to the Lipa police at around 3 p.m.

In Laguna, officials of the Kapayapaan Integrated School in Barangay Canlubang, Calamba were alerted after a former student posted on Facebook a photograph of himself holding a gun.

The photograph, posted by a certain Christian at around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, was seen by students an hour later.

The photograph circulated among students and faculty members, who sought the help of barangay officials.

Filipino brands must go beyond memory recall and should add relevance and significance if they want to stand out in an increasingly crowded market, according to leading data, insights and consulting firm Kantar.

In its latest 2026 Kantar BrandZ Spotlight report, Kantar said that Philippine brands that are ‘best positioned’ for growth are those that go beyond salience to build ‘meaningful difference.’

The consulting firm found three realities for brands operating in the Philippines today: salience without relevance is just noise, relevance evolves with meaningful value and relevance without difference stalls growth.

The market report noted that these realities come at a time when Filipino consumers have become more selective about the brands they choose and follow.

‘Growth is not just about being present. It’s about making deliberate choices – staying consistent in your positioning, responding to emerging opportunities and focusing resources on what really matters,’ Kantar chief client officer Jose Mari Villabroza said.

The brand report analyzed six categories to see how consumers’ preferences are changing in various product mixes.

In banking, for instance, changing expectations and the rise of digital challengers demonstrate how relevance could shift as consumers find new ways to manage their finances, according to Kantar.

Meanwhile, in the communication industry, the risk brands faced is not relevance but diminishing distinction as connectivity becomes an essential infrastructure to Filipinos, the report said.

‘The challenge is no longer to provide access, but to establish a uniquely valuable role in helping Filipinos progress,’ Kantar said.

In the general retail category, brands with meaningful different characteristics can disrupt established markets, whether they operate online or offline, the report said.

In automotive, being different must be coupled with consumer desire and trust, while the health supplement category shows how relevance, difference and desirability can work together to make brands feel ‘worth it’ to consumers, the report added.

Beer brands must continually earn their place in consumers’ lives today and must not be complacent with just brand familiarity, Kantar said.

‘All the learnings that we’ve gotten across those different categories is that relevance is essentially not owned. It is earned, it evolves and it is also distinguished,’ said Briggs Bondad, associate director and client partner at Kantar.

The brand report identified BDO, Shopee, Globe, Red Horse, Centrum and Toyota as Kantar BrandZ’s Most Meaningfully Different Brands for 2026 in their respective categories.

The brands were ranked based on demand power, a Kantar BrandZ metric reflecting consumer preference and predicting a brand’s potential market share based on consumer perceptions.

Kantar BrandZ also identified brands demonstrating significant potential for future growth.

Maya, TikTok and GAC were named Breakthrough Brands, based on their future power scores, which estimate their likelihood of growing value share in the future, according to Kantar.

‘Being different will get you noticed. Being meaningful will get you chosen,’ said Eva San Gabriel-Claravall, CX and brand leader and head of growth at Kantar.

‘So be placeable, not interchangeable because the middle is not a safe position. Earn your relevance, evolve it early from a position of strength and own your space completely,’ Gabriel-Claravall added.

Kantar BrandZ’s 2026 Philippine study surveyed 400 respondents in each of six categories: banking, general retailer, communication provider, beer, health care supplement and automotive.

Team Philippines is not about to slow down now.

Fueled by memory, light and pure heart, weightlifter Albert Ian delos Santos delivered an emotional bronze while Olympic boxing medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam punched their way to the quarterfinals – a Philippine blitz to close Week One of the 20th Asian Games.

At the Fukiage Hall inside the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center, Delos Santos proved worthy of being flag-bearer.

The 20-year-old pride of Zamboanga City – champion in the same class at the Asian Youth and Junior Championships – lifted 141kg in snatch and 183kg in clean and jerk for 324kg total in his Asian Games debut in the men’s 70kg division.

It was a podium finish that felt like destiny.

He finished behind North Korea’s Ri Won Ju, who shattered world, Asian Games and Asian records with 151kg snatch and 198kg clean and jerk for 349kg total, and Japan’s Masanori Miyamoto, who settled for silver at 342kg (154-188) despite leading after snatch.

It was a fitting encore to Carlos Yulo’s golden double.

The bronze solidified the Philippines’ hold at No. 14 in the medal table with two golds, two silvers and six bronzes entering Week Two of the Aichi-Nagoya Games. China led the charge at 105-39-25, followed by host Japan at 30-45-47 and South Korea at 13-20-36. Uzbekistan (8-17-9) and Kazakhstan (8-8-18) were neck-and-neck for fourth, while Thailand remained the top Southeast Asian team at 7-6-9.

‘That’s Papa’

‘Unexpected,’ Delos Santos admitted. ‘Palaging sinasabi ‘have fun, huwag ma-pressure.’ Pero opposite ako, I give myself sobrang pressure.’

That pressure is fueled by love. He carries his late father’s photo in every competition. Every lift is for him.

On this night, he felt Dad Alvin there, and drew extra power for a big finish.

He shattered his own junior world record of 322kg set at the recent Asian Championships – rewriting the junior world and Asian record books twice in one night, with 181kg and then 183kg in clean and jerk.

‘Coincidentally, yung lights, hindi ganun ka-bright sa iba. Pero yung platform ko mismo was the brightest,’ he said, his voice cracking. ‘Sabi ko, I’m gonna be sentimental. That’s papa.’

It wasn’t the first time. He recalled a similar moment at the Junior Worlds in Egypt, just two months after his father died.

Petecio, Paalam advance

There were bright lights too at the Nishio Gymnasium, where Petecio and Paalam kept the Philippine boxing charge alive.

Petecio, a two-time Olympic medalist still chasing her first Asiad gold, opened her campaign with a statement – a second-round stoppage of Jordan’s Mays Alreem Abukhadijah in the women’s 60kg.

She twice sent the game Jordanian to a standing eight-count with clean shots to the face before the referee waved it off.

Petecio marched on, with old rival Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei looming in the other bracket. Barring upsets, they collide for gold.

Paalam, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, shook off a year-long layoff to outpoint India’s Jadumani Mandengbam, a Commonwealth Games silver medalist.

Ring rust showed on the cards: 29-27, 29-27 for Paalam, 30-26 for the Filipino, and two 28-28 draws.

‘Mahusay din ang Indian, kapag bago gusto nila matalo ang may pangalan na. Nakisabay na lang ako sa kanya sa huling round,’ Paalam said.

‘First time ko lumaban (this year),’ he admitted. ‘Thankful po ako… nahatak yung endurance ko kahit pagod.’

Paalam next faces China’s Jiamao Zhang for a spot in the semifinals.

While driving home in my 1970 model Volkswagen Beetle, I noticed that traffic flow began to move slowly somewhere in Barangay Pit-os. I came from Barangay Paril. When we eventually got stuck near a mini-mall in Talamban, I saw, on my side mirror, a car, many vehicular units behind me, breaking out from our lane and counter-flowing. To counter-flow in traffic means driving a vehicle against the designated or normal direction of traffic on a road or lane. It was a BYD, an expensive car made in China. Unfortunately for it, the vehicles from the opposite direction started moving.

The BYD was forced to stop beside my 56-year-old car and honked for me to give way. Even if I wanted to accommodate it, I could not just move and the BYD driver incessantly blew its horn. Was it an act of arrogance or panic? It sure looked like the driver threatened to ram me. But, I stood on my legal ground and prepared for a kind of physical assault my old 76-year-old body could offer.

That incident reminded me of a China Coast Guard cutter CCG-21585 deliberately cutting across the stern of a Filipino vessel and ramming it while inside the West Philippine Sea. This Chinese criminal act committed against Filipinos in Philippine waters happened on September 18, 2026, only few days ago. The Philippine vessel, BRP Datu Magat Salamat, was on a resupply mission, delivering fuel to Filipino fishermen inside our own exclusive economic zone when criminally attacked. The Chinese coast guard cutter was, by analogy, situated illegally like the Chinese-made BYD which was on the wrong Talamban lane poised to hit my ‘Magat Salamat’ Beetle.

Still, only few more days earlier, an unarmed Philippine government-owned civilian patrol aircraft was targeted with Chinese flares. That incident occurred on September 7, 2026. The Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, owned by the Philippine Coast Guard, was conducting a routine maritime domain awareness flight over the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea. The Chinese criminal act endangered Filipino lives and property. And not unlike my traumatic BYD experience. To repeat, it really was a Chinese-made car driven on a wrong lane in Talamban and threatening to bump me off my lane. Experientially, that car represented the flares that were fired from Zamora (Subi) Reef and Panganiban (Mischief) Reef which are artificial islands illegally occupied by Communist China.

It is not completely off-tangent to the character of this column if I talk about some few things related to BYD. BYD operates nine major vehicle manufacturing bases in China, with its largest and most advanced gigafactories located in Zhengzhou (Henan) and Xi’an (Shaanxi). Do we all know that BYD Cars Philippines sold 28,399 units from January to August 2026? This reported volume of sales is 99% higher than the 2025 sales generation. I got the information that the best-selling BYD cars are the BYD Song SUV priced at ?2.5 million and the BYD Seagull hatchback.

Here is something we must really put in our minds into and consider its entire context. It is not entirely impossible (as it can be theoretically correct) that a likely portion of the millions of BYD sales proceeds is used to pay the salaries of the very Chinese coast guard who continue to violate our sovereign territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea using the same floating assets which might have been acquired partly by BYD funds.

In other words, by buying BYD cars and for that matter purchasing Chinese-made products, we are helping fund the illegal incursion of the Chinese into our territory. How awful.

BLURB: ‘It is not entirely impossible that a likely portion of the millions of BYD sales proceeds is used to pay the salaries of the very Chinese coast guard.’

The camp of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Saturday, September 26, has rejected claims by dismissed policeman Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. that he delivered billions of pesos in cash to Vice President Sara Duterte and members of her family on Velasco’s instructions.

Lawyer Rowell Ilagan, Velasco’s spokesperson, described Gracioso’s account as ‘designed and fabricated,’ saying it does not match verifiable events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Velasco’s period as House speaker.

According to GMA News, Gracioso claimed he served as Velasco’s head of security from 2018 until 2022 and delivered cash-filled suitcases to Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.

He estimated that he delivered more than P2 billion to the vice president in more than 20 separate deliveries.

Gracioso’s sworn affidavit detailed alleged cash deliveries ranging from P20 million to P50 million to various locations in Metro Manila, Davao and other areas.

The National Bureau of Investigation is looking into the allegations.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the agency subjected Gracioso to a polygraph test and was able to validate some of his statements through other means.

VP Sara denies receiving money

Duterte denied knowing Gracioso and receiving money from him.

‘I do not know Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., nor have I ever received any money from him,’ Duterte said in a statement on Saturday.

She said her lawyers were waiting for an official copy of Gracioso’s affidavit from the NBI before preparing cases against him.

‘Once we are done dismantling the lies contained in his testimony, it will end up in the trash bin-just like the one from Ramil Madriaga,’ she said.

Madriaga had previously been identified by Gracioso as Duterte’s alleged bagman and aide. Duterte has also denied knowing him.

The vice president described Gracioso’s allegations as ‘another media stunt’ aimed at reviving what she called a ‘faltering impeachment case.’

Duterte also accused the Marcos administration of trying to remove her from office, pursue Charter Change, prevent the 2028 elections and stay in power.

Velasco camp hits back

Ilagan said Velasco’s government record was ‘untainted with corruption’ and rejected the allegations against the former speaker and his wife.

‘The ‘one-size-fits-all’ narrative by this individual seems to be designed and fabricated to attack as many targets as it can while being inconsistent with verifiable events, that is, the Covid-19 pandemic, Atty. Velasco’s period of service as speaker, other details, and even basic common sense,’ Ilagan said.

Ilagan also questioned Gracioso’s personal and professional record, citing what he described as misconduct and disciplinary sanctions, including his recent dismissal from the Philippine National Police over criminal acts.

He urged the public to be ‘more circumspect’ in assessing the report as Velasco’s camp considers possible legal action against Gracioso and the publisher.

The House prosecution panel, meanwhile, said Gracioso’s claims should be taken seriously, saying they could be relevant to allegations of unexplained wealth raised in Duterte’s impeachment case.