Category: Philippine Star

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s surprise witness at the flood control probe, Orly Guteza, could not be found at his registered home address, Sen. Ping Lacson said Monday night.

Lacson explained that should he be reelected chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Guteza will be subpoenaed once the hearings resume.

The Manila Regional Trial Court may also be tapped to search for Guteza, who once worked as Rep. Elizaldy Co’s security aide.

Guteza was the one who claimed he had delivered cash-filled luggage to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez Co’s home.

Both will be invited to the hearings as well.

However, doubts remain to cloud Guteza’s testimony since the notary lawyer whose name appears on the affidavit said her signature was forged.

According to Lacson, the Manila RTC’s executive judge also found the lawyer’s signature on Guteza’s affidavit inconsistent with other documents she signed. A preliminary investigation for falsification may be underway soon.

However, Lacson said Guteza’s affidavit will still be considered despite the possible falsification and will attempt to verify his claims.

‘Ngayon, ‘pag ‘di siya makita, ia-appreciate na lang namin ‘yung kanyang sinumpaang salaysay on its face value,’ Lacson said in an interview on One News Storycon.

(For now, if we still can’t find him, we will appreciate his sworn statement at face value.)

Since Marcoleta, who had a short stint as the committee chair, was the one who introduced the resource person, Lacson said the panel will seek his help in locating Guteza. The Senate may also approach the Marines, given Guteza’s background.

‘We will send Guteza a subpoena through the office of Sen. Marcoleta and/or the residence or office of Defensor. They had a hand in presenting Marcoleta, so we hope they know how to contact Guteza,’ Lacson said.

The Senate pro tempore also revealed that Senate CCTV footage showed Guteza lounging at Marcoleta’s office for 30 minutes in the morning of September 25 before heading to the session hall for the committee hearing.

Lacson targets to resume hearings by November 14 should he be reelected as chair.

To get to the point without beating around the bush, the only way we can truly be sincere with everyone and with everything is when we are with God who, after all, knows all things and knows them always with charity, justice, mercy, prudence, and the like.

We have to understand that sincerity is a matter of having a proper relation first with God, since only then would we manage to be sincere with everyone and with everything.

When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would know that our relation with others and with everything else, to be true and sincere, would not just involve knowing them, which mean they are in us. It would also involve loving them which would enable us to be in them, just like God is in all of us. Like anything else in our life, to be sincere is a relational affair. It’s not just a personal, individualistic, or egocentric affair.

That’s just how the cookie crumbles in our life. We need to be in others, as well as the others need to be in us. We are meant for communion among ourselves. And this can happen if we give full and proper play to our knowing and loving, using our intelligence and will to reflect the inner dynamism of the life of God whose image and likeness we are.

God is in an eternal process of knowing and loving, giving rise to the three persons of the Blessed Trinity, with the Father as the knower, the Son as the known, and the Holy Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son.

With this inmost dynamism of his eternal knowing and loving, God also gets to know and love everything else outside of himself. There is nothing that exists that is outside his knowledge and loving, though in varying degrees and ways.

When we have this understanding of sincerity, we would be able to overcome whatever fear or shame we may have that would prevent us from being sincere. We would be able to know how to deal with our unavoidable biases and prejudices, our differences and conflicts in such a way that we would be sincere to each other.

With this kind of sincerity, we would be able to broaden our mind and heart in such a way that we can go beyond the here and now, the material, sensible and natural aspects of our life and enter into the spiritual and supernatural dimensions of our life.

To be sincere and to be in the truth goes further than mere facts and data. Much less is truth about a certain view or choice that may be supported by a majority of the people. Truth can only be found in God when the Spirit of Truth shows us what truth is.

We are reminded of this very important aspect of our life when in the gospel of St. John, Christ said that the Spirit of Truth ‘will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming.’ (Jn 16,13)

To know the truth and to be in the truth are a matter of being discerning of what the Holy Spirit tells and shows us. In short, we cannot know and be sincere and in the truth unless we follow what the Spirit tells us.

Eman Bacosa started off the 50th anniversary card of the Thrilla in Manila with a bang, as he won via unanimous decision against fellow Filipino Nico Salado in their lightweight division matchup.

Two judges scored the contest 58-55 in favor of Bacosa, while the third judge had it 60-53.

Bacosa, the pride of General Santos City, was aggressive from the get-go, connecting on combinations as he hunted his opponent throughout the match.

He also sent his opponent to the canvas with a left hook that landed square on the jaw in the fourth round.

And while Salado landed some punches on the cornered Bacosa in the sixth round, the eventual winner continued to keep the pressure on against the Boholano boxer.

‘Okay lang po. Saka gusto kong magpasalamat sa Panginoong Diyos natin dahil sa pagbigay Niya sa akin ng proteksyon at paggabay Niya sa akin ng tagumpay,’ he told reporters after the win.

‘Maraming salamat din po sa mga sumusuporta. Thankful ako kay God saka masayang-masaya,’ he added.

He underscored that while he was confident of getting the win, he made sure to be careful when the bell rang.

‘Confident ako na mananalo pero sabi kasi ng coach ko, wag masyadong gigil, wag masyadong habol kasi darating din po yun e.’

Bacosa rose to a win-loss-draw record of 7-0-1, while Salado dropped to a 2-2-1 slate.

Classes at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) were suspended yesterday after a series of mild earthquakes rocked several areas in Laguna.

The temblors, ranging from magnitudes 1.8 to 3.2, occurred in Alaminos and Los Baños, with intensities felt in Calamba, Carmona and San Pablo as well as in Cavite and Quezon province.

‘A magnitude 3.2 earthquake rocked Alaminos at 12:34 p.m. and was followed by a magnitude 1.8 in Los Baños at 1:12 pm,’ the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Philvocs said that earlier, earthquakes of magnitudes 2 and 1.5 rocked Los Baños at 11:31 a.m. and 11:28 a.m., respectively.

Asiabest [ABG] [link] disclosed that the initial valuation of the assets it plans to fold into the company is expected to be confirmed ‘around the end of October,’ with management committing to establish the foundation and final details of the transaction to ‘ensure that all key details are aligned before moving forward.’ In a response to the Exchange’s query on 28 October 2025, ABG said the final valuation details will be presented to the Board of Directors for formal approval in the ‘first week of November.’ The company added that the necessary documentation will subsequently be prepared for presentation to shareholders. The PSE already approved a 10-day voluntary trading suspension of ABG starting on 14 October 2025 following shareholder calls for greater transparency on the planned vend-in of Concrete Stone Corp., Industry Movers Corp., and Kabalayan (through PremiumLands Corp.). ABG said the trading pause aims to ‘ensure full transparency and proper price discovery.’

MB bottom-line: As noted by Bilyonaryo (link), ABG’s new owner (Francis Lloyd Chua) has already exceeded the timeline he gave investors for the valuation the assets that could be backdoored into ABG. While the delay isn’t necessarily a big deal (what’s another two to four weeks in the grand scheme of things?), I’m starting to get vibes from Mr. Chua’s conduct that (at least for me) will cause me to stay far away from ABG (or whatever it will become) until it can prove itself to be stable, transparent, and reliable. I’m not even thinking about Mr. Chua’s involvement in the Dolomite Beach scandal; besides, how can I be mad at a guy who did so much for my mental health during the lockdown? (/s)

The Citi Foundation (the ‘Foundation’) has announced the 50 community organizations around the world that will each receive 500,000 USD in grant support as part of its 2025 Global Innovation Challenge.

With this support, the selected organizations will help advance innovative employment solutions for low-income youth, building on Citi and the Citi Foundation’s longstanding commitment to young people and their economic futures.

In the Philippines, World Vision Development Foundation, Inc. has been selected as a grantee. They will be working locally to introduce out-of-school and low-income youth to the green job economy, providing essential employment and entrepreneurial skills through a comprehensive career readiness and enterprise startup program.

This initiative aims to equip young Filipinos with the skills needed for future-proof careers in a rapidly evolving job market.

Youth unemployment is an ongoing and pervasive issue. Despite recent progress, the International Labour Organization estimates that 65 million young people globally are unemployed – which places a substantial burden on public resources, increases poverty and stifles growth, presenting a critical challenge to global economic progress.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Statistics Authority has said that youth unemployment contributed 43% to the total jobless individuals annually.

‘As young people today continue to navigate significant barriers to employment, empowering this next generation with relevant skills and meaningful opportunities is critical,’ said Edward Skyler, head of enterprise services and public affairs at Citi. ‘Citi and the Citi Foundation have an established track record of investing in our youth to help them access job opportunities and unlock economic growth more broadly. I look forward to seeing the work of our grantees in action as we work together to help close the job-skills mismatch.’

‘We are immensely proud that World Vision Development Foundation, Inc., a Philippine organization, is among the global recipients of the Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge grant,’ said Citi Philippines CEO and Banking Head Paul Favila. ‘We extend our warmest congratulations to the team and look forward to the culmination of their work, which exemplifies our shared commitment to fostering economic opportunities and driving sustainable growth for the next generation in the Philippines.’

‘The ECO-YOUTH program is more than just training; it’s a launchpad for the next generation of Filipino innovators and protectors of the environment,’ said Herbert Carpio, national director of World Vision Development, Inc. ‘With support from Citi Foundation, we’ll empower vulnerable youth to lead the charge in the Philippines’ transition to being a green economy. By equipping them with skills for green jobs, we are ensuring they have a secure future while helping build a more resilient and sustainable nation. This initiative plants seeds of both hope and real, impactful change. Thank you Citi Foundation for the Global Innovation Challenge grant awarded to World Vision Development Foundation.’

Young people face many obstacles in their pursuit of employment, but skills mismatch continues to be a particular area of concern. The World Economic Forum reports that 63% of employers identify this as a major barrier to securing a job, and 39% of current skill sets are expected to be outdated within the next five years.

In addition, post-pandemic recovery for youth has been uneven – especially in emerging markets – and the acceleration of digital transformation is rapidly reshaping job opportunities. Projections indicate that 60% of employers anticipate broadening digital access, transforming their businesses by 2030, creating high demand for new skills in areas such as AI.

The 25 million USD in grant support from the Citi Foundation will enable these community organizations, which were selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process, to pilot and scale employment solutions for low-income youth.

The grants will support a variety of programs, such as upskilling for digital literacy (including AI), technical and vocational training, work-based learning, career guidance and resources for entrepreneurs and mentorship. These impactful solutions are designed to help young people adapt to rapidly changing economies and a job market that looks different than it has for generations before.

Programs funded by these grants will be implemented over two years and recipients will have access to a learning community of fellow grantees that facilitates opportunities to build deeper connections, share lessons learned and exchange best practices.

DMCI Holdings Chairman Isidro Consunji on October 28 led the symbolic topping-off of Fortis Residences, an upscale condominium development rising along Chino Roces Avenue in Makati City.

Developed by the DMCI Group’s property arm DMCI Homes, Fortis Residences stands as a testament to the company’s enduring pursuit of engineering excellence and design innovation.

This marks the second development under DMCI Homes Exclusive, the company’s premium brand tailored for the upscale segment.

The occasion celebrating the completion of structural works marked both a proud moment and a continuation of DMCI’s legacy for Chairman Consunji as he witnessed the 37-story building rise in the same city where the company first established its reputation for engineering excellence.

DMCI’s history in Makati dates back to the late 1950s, when Chairman Consunji’s late father, Engr. David Consunji, led the construction of the first four buildings in the Makati Business District.

Joining Chairman Consunji at the ceremony were DMCI Homes SVP for Design, Engineering and Construction Adrian Calimbas, VP for Project Development Dennis Yap, Chief Finance Officer Evangeline Hernandez-Atchioco, AVP for Property Advisors Unit and International Sales Bernard Umali, and Sales Division Heads Leigh Guenez-Ignacio and Oscar Ofiana Jr.

With Fortis Residences reaching its full height, DMCI Homes President Alfredo Austria said construction work will now shift to masonry and finishing in preparation for the scheduled start of unit turnover in December 2027.

‘We are proud to see another DMCI Homes development taking shape in the Makati skyline. Fortis Residences reflects DMCI Homes’ consistent approach to quality-rooted in DMCI’s renowned engineering excellence,’ Austria said.

Envisioned as a modern landmark of sophistication and success, Fortis Residences is the second development under the DMCI Homes Exclusive after Oak Harbor Residences in Jackson Ave, Asiaworld City, Parañaque.

Set along Chino Roces Avenue, Fortis Residences stands at the forefront of progress. From global corporate headquarters to premier institutions and embassies, its location is as prestigious as it is strategic.

With direct access to EDSA, SLEX, Skyway, NAIA and major business hubs like BGC, Ayala Center and Aseana City, it empowers today’s leaders to move seamlessly between aspirations and achievements.

Even more, Fortis Residences rises within the Makati Southwest Gateway, a globally envisioned urban district that prioritizes walkability, connectivity and lifestyle elevation.

Integrated into a transit-oriented development and complemented by an office building, One Fortis Plaza, this upscale residence provides an unmatched level of ease and access. Whether for work, wellness, or leisure, everything you need is just a few steps away.

Inside, refined living takes center stage. Each unit-whether a well-planned one-bedroom, a two-bedroom unit with balcony or an expansive three-bedroom suite, is designed with intention.

Optimized layouts, premium finishes, branded fixtures and thoughtful details such as air-conditioning in all units, water heaters, digital locksets and smart building systems redefine what it means to live in comfort and style.

As with all DMCI Homes developments, resort-inspired amenities anchor the lifestyle experience. A generous 3,000sqm of ground-level open space hosts a leisure pool, lounge areas and a children’s play area.

Amenities on the roof deck offer more ways to stay active or unwind such as a basketball court, fitness gym, Sky Promenade and enclosed Sky Lounge.

Crowning it all is the Sky Deck Pool-an elevated retreat with stunning views of the Makati skyline and Manila Bay.

Fortis Residences further underscores DMCI Homes’ commitment to modern, sustainable development through energy-efficient lighting, EV charging stations and water recycling systems.

The property also features professional property management, concierge services, community internet and a user-friendly mobile app to support residents’ daily needs.

Beyond the promise of elevated living, Fortis Residences also presents a sound investment opportunity. Through DMCI Homes Leasing Services, investors are assured of convenient leasing and property care solutions, helping preserve and grow their investment over time.

Underpinned by exceptional quality that DMCI Homes has long been known for, each DMCI Homes Exclusive property is designed to possess an inherent rarity, be it in location, master plan or development features.

For misrepresenting himself as an eligible gubernatorial candidate in the May elections, Albay Gov. Noel Rosal may be charged criminally and disqualified from holding public office, the Commission on Elections said yesterday.

As this developed, the Comelec upheld the disqualification of Mayor Susan Sulit-Yap of Tarlac City for failing to establish her residency.

It also disqualified Mayor Dennis Hain of Cabuyao, Laguna for allegedly engaging in vote buying.

The Comelec Second Division denied due course or canceled the certificate of candidacy (COC) submitted by Rosal when he ran as governor of Albay in May.

‘The votes cast in favor of the respondent are considered stray,’ the Comelec said in a 12-page order.

It directed its law department to conduct a preliminary investigation into the election offense aspect of Rosal’s case, noting that the respondent’s declaration in his COC was material and false since he was no longer qualified to run for office.

‘The respondent signed his COC, and subscribed and swore to the veracity of his declaration therein, which indicated that his false representation is deliberate and will effectively mislead the people,’ the Comelec said.

Rosal was previously dismissed as governor for grave misconduct, which disqualified him from running for the same position.

In the case of Yap, the Comelec found substantial proof showing she is not a resident of Barangay Tibag in Tarlac City.

The poll body said Yap failed to meet the residency requirement in seeking an elective post.

‘It cannot be said that the respondent intended to reside in Barangay Tibag for an indefinite period, considering that the property she claims as her residence is merely a warehouse,’ the Comelec said. ‘By its very nature and purpose, a warehouse cannot be regarded as a place of actual residence.’

The Second Division previously declared Yap ineligible to run as mayor in the May elections and canceled her COC.

In a separate decision, the Comelec said Hain distributed money to residents of Cabuyao to persuade them to vote for him.

‘The campaign period for candidates seeking elective posts during the 2025 national and local elections was from March 28 to May 10. The act subject of the petition occurred in April, which is well within the campaign period,’ the Comelec said, adding that Hain can be held liable for his unlawful action.

The government still disallows Filipino workers from seeking employment in Myanmar, according to the Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration.

The OWWA said the deployment ban remains in effect amid the rising number of Filipino victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment in Myanmar.

Most of the illegal recruitment victims were offered jobs as customer service representatives, but ended up in scam hubs, the OWWA said.

‘Avoid job offers in Myanmar and neighboring countries that are not approved by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) or that did not pass through recruitment agencies,’ the agency said.

The OWWA further advised overseas job seekers to refrain from sending personal information, passport or money to online job recruiters.

Those who have been victimized by scam hubs in Myanmar are encouraged to coordinate with the Philippine embassy in Yangon.

Repatriation underway

The DMW earlier said it is processing the repatriation of 220 Filipinos who were forced to work in Myanmar scam hubs.

DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said the government is working on the repatriation of the overseas Filipino workers who are staying at the Philippine embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.

Cacdac said they are coordinating with the Migrant Workers Office in Bangkok to assist the OFWs who crossed over from Myanmar to Thailand.

The DMW chief said the number of OFWs requesting for repatriation may increase.

One only needs to look at videos on the internet today to see how many drivers are giving in to what is now called ‘road rage’.

We have all seen it; drivers who feel so entitled they think they own the whole road, and that anything that happens isn’t their fault but someone else’s. They go to the extent of not just intimidating others other but sometimes go as far as to hurt or even kill them.

Remember that former cop who pulled a gun on a cyclist in Quezon City? He was hot copy for quite a while. The latest incident involved a businessman who beat up an elderly bus driver in Cavite.

Now the Land Transportation Office chief Markus Lacanilao has had enough and wants the lifetime revocation of driver’s licenses of those involved in road rage incidents.

‘Lahat ng masasangkot sa road rage, nire-recommend ko na ma-revoke for life,’ Lacanilao said in an ABS-CBN report.

Is the lifetime revocation of driver’s license for getting involved in road rage fair? Yes, but it should be on a case-to-case basis. If there was no one injured as a result of the incident then perhaps there’s no reason for that. Two drivers heatedly arguing before parting ways with no further incident can still be a road rage incident after all.

But if someone ended up hurt or worse, killed, then why not revoke that person’s license for life. We don’t need violent hotheads on the road.

Intimidation can also be a reason for permanent revocation, but perhaps there can also be degrees of seriousness. Threatening physical harm with words alone should mete a lesser penalty than threatening harm involving a gun or any other kind of weapon.

Of course, it’s up to the LTO and their higher-ups to decide with finality on this issue.

As with previous editorials involving road rage, we again caution drivers not to give in to their anger on the road. An overreaction, a momentary lapse in judgment has led to a lot of regret. Some drivers who succumbed to their rage have expressly said they just temporarily ran out of reason, and wished they could take back their actions. It’s too late for them, though.