Category: Philippine Star

A shooting incident at Banga National High School in Banga, South Cotabato, on Friday, September 18, has resulted in at least three fatalities and six injuries.

This was confirmed by South Cotabato Governor Reynald Tamayo.

The Department of Education earlier confirmed the on-campus attack and said it was “deeply concerned” by the “reported shooting incident” at Banga National High School.

The department said it is currently coordinating with its Schools Division Office and Regional Office, local authorities, and law enforcement “to verify the circumstances and provide necessary assistance.”

“Our immediate priority is the safety and well-being of our learners, teachers, and school personnel,” DepEd said.

DepEd said it is ready to give psychological first aid and mental health and psychosocial support to those affected.

It urged the public to stay calm and stop sharing unverified information while authorities investigate.

In a separate statement, DepEd’s Region XII office urged the public to immediately cease the distribution of videos of the “incident in Banga” to “respect the victims and their families.” It said that sharing the material would cause trauma and violate the privacy of victims.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Red Cross said preliminary reports, which are subject to verification, indicated that six injured individuals were transported to Dantom Doctors Hospital and South Cotabato Provincial Hospital. It also reported one fatality and said the suspected shooter was reportedly among the injured and was a student.

The public school sits in Barangay Benitez, Banga, and offers both junior and senior high school.

This comes less than three months after two students opened fire at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on June 22, killing at least three schoolmates and wounding about 20 others.

On August 18, a shooting broke out at the junior high school building of Ateneo de Zamboanga University. A student armed with two pistols shot dead a schoolmate.

Department of Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez has vowed to push for funding for the EDSA busway system and other DOTr programs in the General Appropriations Act.

Lopez expressed hope that they can fight for the DOTr budget during the House committee hearings on the 2027 national budget.

‘As to our (National Expenditure Programs), we are not given funding. But let us remember that we have budget hearings in Congress,’ Lopez said. ‘At the end of the day, the provision of the budget falls within the power of the legislature. We will continue to fight for the necessity of such programs.’

Among the DOTr initiatives with zero funding under the 2027 NEP are the Public Transport Modernization Program, service contracting and active transport projects.

Princess Superal’s early spark quickly fizzled Friday as the Filipina struggled to a two-over 74, tumbling from near the top of the leaderboard to joint 25th after two rounds of the Singha-SAT Thai LPGA Masters at Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club in Thailand.

Superal appeared poised to mount a charge after opening with a 71, which left her just two strokes behind overnight leader Budsabakorn Sukapan. She birdied the second hole to move within one of the lead and fuel hopes of a run at the title in the Thailand LPGA Tour’s season-ending championship.

But the momentum proved fleeting.

Superal missed a couple of birdie opportunities and dropped shots on Nos. 7 and 9 after failing to convert par putts. She made the turn with a 37 and, despite trying to regroup on the back nine, could not get her game back on track.

The ICTSI-backed multi-titled campaigner again failed to cash in on scoring chances and missed another par putt on No. 14. She closed with another 37, finishing with a 74 and a 36-hole total of 145.

Superal now sits five strokes behind Sukapan, who followed her opening 69 with a 71 for a 140 total, and fellow Thai Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, who surged into a share of the lead with a sizzling 67.

Santiwiwatthanaphong and Sukapan share the top spot at 140, one stroke ahead of three more Thais – Wanchana Poruangron, Preaw Nontarux and Kusuma Weechai. Poruangron fired a 67, Nontarux a 69 and Weechai a 71 to finish at 141.

Superal, the inaugural Asia Pacific Cup champion in 2022 and a multiple winner on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, will need a strong final round to make up ground in the 54-hole championship.

Meanwhile, fellow Filipinas Harmie Constantino and Mafy Singson failed to advance to the final round after missing the cut at 151 and 152, respectively. Constantino carded a 73 for a two-round total of 151, while Singson shot a 74 for 152.

Detained Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s donor claimed that the lawmaker was the one who solicited campaign donation for his 2025 senatorial run, according to a witness presented by the ombudsman.

Field Investigation Bureau director Maria Melinda Mananghaya-Henson testified before the Sandiganbayan that Marcoleta solicited campaign donations from businessman Aristotle Viray, who is a co-accused in his plunder case.

Henson said this was based on Viray’s counter-affidavit submitted before the ombudsman during the preliminary investigation of the case.

Henson said another campaign donor, businessman Joseph Espiritu, made the donation as a gesture of friendship.

The ombudsman official also said the donors’ taxes of Espiritu and former congressman Michael Defensor were paid by Ebenezer Santos, who was found to be working for the senator.

Henson said that while the payment appears to come from different people, it is clear that Marcoleta ‘had a hand’ in the payment of donor’s taxes, based on documents.

Espiritu, Viray and Defensor were Marcoleta’s co-accused in the P75-million plunder case he is facing.

No special treatment

Responding to criticism from netizens that allowing Marcoleta and Defensor to hold a press conference is a form of special treatment, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology spokesman Superintendent Jayrex Joseph Bustinera said the briefing was made upon the request of reporters covering the Sandiganbayan.

‘It was permitted by the Sandiganbayan,’ Bustinera said.

The scheduled initial public offering (IPO) of GCash parent Mynt Inc. could give the Philippine capital market a significant boost by potentially bringing millions of Filipinos who already use digital financial services closer to stock-market investing, a lawmaker said.

Rep. Jan ‘JP’ Padiernos, a member for the majority of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediary, said about 49 million Filipinos, or roughly 42% of the country’s population, now use GCash, which gives Mynt an unusually broad consumer base as it moves toward what could become one of the largest IPOs in Philippine corporate history.

The scale of the GCash ecosystem, according to the lawmaker, takes on added significance as the Philippine economy is reportedly experiencing a weaker growth momentum.

The Philippine Statistics Authority has reported that the economy grew by only 2.3% in the second quarter of 2026, while gross capital formation – a broad measure of investment activity – contracted by 9.2% during the quarter.

The figures, however, do not mean the Philippine economy is stagnant, but they underscore the importance of investment, business expansion and stronger participation in the country’s capital markets.

‘Against this backdrop, Mynt’s IPO could provide a fresh avenue for both institutional and retail investors to participate in the growth of a homegrown digital-finance company,’ stressed Padiernos.

The scheduled offering has a maximum indicative price of P10 per share, with the IPO expected to involve up to P92.3 billion worth of shares, including primary shares issued by Mynt and secondary shares being sold by an existing shareholder.

The final IPO price, however, will be determined through the book building process and may be lowered to P8.50 or P7.50 per share.

For ordinary Filipinos, the attraction of the offering is not simply the prospect of owning a stock, according to Padiernos.

He explained that the same mobile wallet app which is already being used to send money, pay bills, buy goods, receive salaries, save, borrow and invest could also become a means to buy a share of GCash stocks.

For higher-income and experienced investors, meanwhile, the investment story goes beyond GCash’s massive user base.

Mynt has reported P79.8 billion in revenue and P17.2 billion in profit in 2025, demonstrating that the company has developed a substantial commercial ecosystem around digital financial services.

Reports have it that GCash’s business is no longer limited to electronic payments.

The ecosystem reportedly includes digital payments and money transfers, merchant transactions, lending, savings, insurance and wealth-management products, giving Mynt several sources of revenue and multiple avenues for future expansion.

Its lending business has also reached considerable scale, with Fuse Financing reporting P362 billion in cumulative loans reportedly disbursed by 2025 and more than 10.5 million unique borrowers.

On the investment side, GCash is reportedly increasingly connecting ordinary Filipinos to the capital market itself.

Reports also have it that GStocks PH had 1.7 million users in 2025, while Mynt said its platform accounted for 53% of online retail stock-market accounts with the Philippine Stock Exchange at the time.

‘This makes the Mynt IPO particularly relevant to the broader effort to deepen retail participation in the Philippine capital market,’ the lawmaker explained further.

On GCash IPO’s impact on the country’s capital market, Padiernos also explained that what the 49-million figure represents is a potentially enormous pool of Filipinos who are already familiar with digital finance and therefore have a shorter distance to travel toward formal investment products.

‘That potential is especially important outside Metro Manila,’ he added.

Mynt has said that more than 78 percent of GCash users are outside Metro Manila, while a large majority come from lower-income households, underscoring the platform’s reach among Filipinos who have historically had less access to conventional financial institutions and investment channels.

For a market that needs broader participation, the GCash ecosystem could reportedly serve as an important bridge between everyday financial activity and long-term investing.

The primary portion of the offering is expected to generate approximately P14.95 billion in net proceeds, which Mynt plans to use for expansion of digital financial services, product development and general corporate purposes.

Padiernos also said that the scheduled IPO is also significant for the Philippine Stock Exchange because Mynt is expected to become the country’s first listed fintech company.

A male Grade 5 pupil drowned while three of his companions are still missing after they were swept away by rampaging floodwaters while fishing at one side of the Pulangi River in Kabacan, Cotabato, on Thursday afternoon, September 17.

Local executives and personnel of the Kabacan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office separately told reporters on Friday that emergency responders found the cadaver of the 11-year-old boy at a downstream stretch of the Pulangi River in Sitio Lumayong in Barangay Kayaga in the municipality.

There were eight of them, all boys, fishing at the river when floodwaters from upland areas swept through, according to barangay and municipal officials.

Four male companions of the boy who died in the incident, all grade school pupils, were rescued and immediately turned over to their parents by Kabacan MDRRMO employees and barangay officials who responded to the incident.

Officials of the Kabacan Municipal Police Station and local executives confirmed to reporters on Friday that three other children are still the subject of an extensive search in stretches of the Pulangi River, which drains into the nearby Ligawasan Delta.

The Ligawasan Delta is a catch basin of waters from rivers that spring from mountain ranges in upland towns in the neighboring Cotabato, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and Sultan Kudarat provinces in Central Mindanao.

Malacañang questioned the capability of Vice President Sara Duterte to lead the country after her camp claimed she is ready to succeed President Marcos.

‘Is that the reason why they are asking the President to resign immediately?’ Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a media briefing yesterday. ‘That is normal and natural for allies of the Vice President, but whether she can succeed President Marcos, is this serious?’

Castro reiterated that demanding the resignation of Marcos without legal basis is ‘absolutely delusional,’ as she assailed the statement of Paolo Panelo, the Vice President’s spokesman, that she is difficult to take seriously.

According to Castro, the remark was an admission that the Duterte camp is not listening to her statements about the programs and plans of the administration.

‘Perhaps that is the reason why the Vice President seems to be clueless about the things that the administration is doing for our people. She always claims that nothing is being done. That is the reason: No time to listen, no time to watch and no time to listen seriously to what is being said, especially here in the briefings,’ Castro said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, one of the impeachment spokespersons, said Duterte should be the last person to call for Marcos’ resignation, amid alleged irregularities in government, out of delicadeza because she stands to benefit from it.

‘I think for someone who has already indicated her desire to run for the presidency, I think she should be the last person to ask the sitting President to resign because that is entirely a political stand,’ Adiong said.

‘They don’t want the issues politicized and yet they’re the first ones politicizing everything,’ he added.

During her postponed arraignment in a Quezon City court for charges of grave threats against the First Couple and former speaker Martin Romualdez last week, Duterte urged Marcos to resign, accusing his administration of corruption, abuse and political harassment.

Adiong said the issue is one of propriety because Duterte would be the direct beneficiary of a vacancy in the presidency.

‘It is very, very clear who stands to benefit if the President steps down from office. It would of course be the VP, being the next in line to succeed if there’s a vacancy in the Office of the President,’ Adiong said, adding that Duterte should not be leading calls for the President to step down.

The Department of Agriculture has imposed an indefinite ban on the export of fresh ube to protect our planting materials amid booming global demand. It may have been too late or not enough.

An export ban only prevents physical tubers from leaving the country. It does not stop other countries from growing purple yams, branding them under Philippine heritage names and selling them globally.

Apparently, the DA should have prioritized securing a Geographical Indication (GI) registry which is absolutely vital. Once registered internationally via the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), it becomes illegal for any other country to market ube under that specific heritage name.

Without the registration, the export ban on fresh planting materials cannot stop foreign competitors from hijacking the premium identity of Philippine ube varieties.

The threat is immediate. Vietnam already possesses highly advanced laboratory protocols for the mass propagation of purple yam via tissue culture.

Vietnam is already aggressively exporting massive volumes of frozen purple yam to feed the international dessert fad. Even our food processors are buying from them because we have a domestic supply shortage.

The Vietnamese variety, however, lacks the natural sweetness, texture and aroma of true Philippine ube. Food processors using Vietnamese yams rely on heavy amounts of artificial ube extract, coconut milk, and sugar to mimic the iconic profile of Filipino ube.

But if you are running a commercial operation that produces mass-scale items like bubble tea powders or commercial ice creams, Vietnamese purple yam is a good substitute.

If the registration process is so important, why didn’t the DA do it years ago? The answer is familiar to us… bureaucratic stalemate.

I understand that during the Duterte administration, the DOST and DA secretaries couldn’t agree on how to approach the requirements for registration. So, nothing happened.

The Bohol provincial government took matters into its own hands and officially filed for a GI registration for Ube Kinampay. This will explicitly and legally link Kinampay’s distinct aromatic properties and vibrant violet flesh to Bohol’s unique limestone soil, climate and traditional farming.

But DOST and DA must still work together for a successful registration that will make our ube claims internationally defensible.

DOST must work on genetic fingerprinting and traceability by conducting DNA barcoding on varieties like Kinampay. This establishes an irrefutable chemical and scientific foundation proving these exact ube varieties originated from and are endemic to the Philippines.

DA must work on GIS Agrometeorological Mapping by using Geographic Information Systems to map out the strict geographical zones (soil composition, rainfall, elevation) where these premium crops grow. This creates the ‘Manual of Specifications’ required to legally defend a GI boundary.

But if we fail to scale up our own production (which is likely) while ignoring GI tags, we risk watching Vietnam and Thailand dominate the global market using the very ube identities that rightfully belong to the Philippines.

Beyond GI registration our government must also help our ube farmers. BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, noted that our government ‘so far lacks any further financial incentives for farmers to switch to growing ube on their limited farmland, deterring any meaningful increase in domestic supply.’

Because it takes up to a year for a single ube crop to mature, many local farmers lack the financial means to plant it.

BMI warns that the ‘prolonged supply constraints, slower-than-expected expansion of domestic cultivation capacity or the emergence of substitute ingredients could limit ube’s ability to sustain its current growth trajectory and transition from a trending flavor into a permanently established global food category.’

BMI observed that ‘ube’s global rise is no longer merely an emerging consumer trend but an increasingly important agricultural and commercial opportunity that producers are now racing to support.’

In other words, there is a big opportunity to earn export dollars from ube that we are likely to miss, as usual.

Same story for mango. While traveling in California, I was intrigued by mangoes being sold in groceries as Manila mangoes but they were nothing like our mangoes. I am told that they were really from Mexico but Manila mangoes make it sound more premium.

So, it is good to hear that the Guimaras mango is now protected by a GI registration, the first in the Philippines.

Only fresh mangoes grown by accredited farmers on the island province of Guimaras can legally carry the official ‘Guimaras Mango’ name.

Backed by its new GI seal, Guimaras successfully shipped its first test shipments to Europe.

Then there is cacao. Because we are located within the equatorial ‘Cacao Belt,’ with the optimal climate, rainfall and volcanic soil required to produce world-class cocoa, we should aim to become a major international exporter. But we remain a net importer of cocoa products.

Our cacao products have received world recognition for premium quality. For cacao to transition from a ‘promising’ crop into an export powerhouse, we must shift away from just selling raw dried beans and toward building local manufacturing and processing facilities.

Local cacao still does not have a GI registration.

As Davao Cacao commands higher international prices due to its award-winning flavor profile, unethical global traders could easily blend inferior beans from other countries and falsely label them as ‘Davao Cacao.’

When I was covering the Senate, I remember that senator Ed Angara championed the passage of the High-Value Crops Development Act of 1995 (Republic Act 7907). It is fundamentally well-written but underfunded.

The entire program for high-value crops (ube, cacao, coffee, pili, mangoes, and bananas) is allocated roughly P2.1 billion to P2.6 billion compared to about P70 billion for rice.

The High-Value Crops Law is a vehicle with a great engine but almost no gasoline. It will only work when Philippine agricultural policy shifts from an outdated focus on absolute rice self-sufficiency to a modern focus on farmer income maximization.

Farmers must be encouraged to grow high-value crops for wealth and import their staple rice with the profits.

The Trade and Industry department said the initial public offering of GCash’s parent company, which has now been cleared by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), could further help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) expand their market reach and advance their entrepreneurial journey.

The PSE on Friday, September 18, approved Mynt’s listing application, covering up to 8.03 billion primary and secondary common shares, with an overallotment option of up to 1.20 billion secondary common shares.

‘Of course, companies like GCash and digital payments will really help MSMEs grow, as it will become easy for them to sell their products, especially on e-commerce platforms. Magiging madali na for them ang ma-access or ma-penetrate ang far-flung areas. If they use these digital payments, it’s easier for MSMEs to transact,’ said Trade Secretary Cristina Roque.

‘We are really pushing for people to do digital payments, especially with the DEFA (Digital Economy Framework Agreement),’ she added.

The DEFA, set for signing at the 49th ASEAN Summit in November, will establish the world’s first region-wide digital trade agreement, streamlining cross-border payments, data flows, and intellectual property protection across all ASEAN Member States.

‘And with DEFA, we provide a single, streamlined set of rules to access regional markets, secure digital payments, and protect intellectual property,’ she said.

The scheduled offering has a maximum indicative price of P10 per share, with the IPO expected to involve up to P92.3 billion worth of shares, including primary shares issued by Mynt and secondary shares being sold by an existing shareholder.

The final IPO price, however, will be determined through the book-building process and may be lowered to P8.50 or P7.50 per share.

Under the PSE-approved terms, Mynt is set to offer up to 1.61 billion primary shares and 6.42 billion secondary shares, with the overallotment option covering up to 1.20 billion additional secondary shares. The shares will be listed on the PSE Main Board under the trading symbol GCASH.

The offer period is scheduled from October 6 to 12, with the final offer price to be determined on October 1 following the book-building exercise. The tentative listing date is October 20.

PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon said the listing is poised to become the largest public offering in PSE history, adding that the Exchange hopes the landmark transaction will encourage more fintech and digital economy companies to raise capital through the equities market.

The PSE also expects the offering to draw new retail investors, particularly because IPO subscriptions will be made available through GStocks in the GCash app. Local Small Investors, meanwhile, may subscribe through the PSE EASy website or mobile application.

Proceeds from the sale of Mynt’s primary shares will be used for digital financial services growth initiatives, product development and general corporate purposes, according to the PSE.

For ordinary Filipinos, the attraction of the offering is not simply the prospect of owning a stock.

The same mobile wallet app which is already being used to send money, pay bills, buy goods, receive salaries, save, borrow and invest could also become a means to buy a share of GCash stocks.

For higher-income and experienced investors, meanwhile, the investment story goes beyond GCash’s massive user base.

Mynt reported P79.8 billion in revenue and P17.2 billion in profit in 2025.

Eight hospitals in Metro Manila have reached their full capacity for designated leptospirosis beds, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.

Latest DOH data showed that the East Avenue Medical Center’s 53 leptospirosis beds including surge beds have already been occupied.

There are also no vacant beds at the Quirino Memorial and Medical Center and Tondo Medical Center with 24 and 23 current admissions, respectively. The Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center has also filled its 17-bed capacity.

Current leptospirosis admissions at four other DOH-retained hospitals are also saturated. These are the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center with 11 patients, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital and the National Center for Mental Health with three each and the Philippine Heart Center with one.

But the DOH said that there are still 128 available beds for leptospirosis spread out in the remaining 12 out of the 20 DOH hospitals.

The San Lazaro Hospital has 34 available beds, the Philippine Children and Medical Center has 26 beds, Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center has 18, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has 11, National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) has nine, National Children’s Hospital has seven, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium has six, Rizal Medical Center and the San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital have five each, Valenzuela Medical Center has four, Philippine Orthopedic Center has two and Lung Center of the Philippines has one.

The highest admissions of leptospirosis patients were reported at the San Lazaro Hospital with 86 current cases, NKTI with 17 and Rizal Medical Center with 15. These hospitals accounted for 235 or 81.6 percent of all current admissions.

The DOH stressed that continued inter-facility referral and coordination remain necessary particularly for hospitals already operating at or beyond their designated leptospirosis bed capacity.

Latest DOH data showed an increase in leptospirosis cases, with 8,317 infections recorded nationwide so far this year. The figure is 14 percent higher from last year’s 7,280 cases.