Category: Philippine Star

You have probably seen this video circulating online of a road rage incident in Talisay City; a motorcycle rider gets upset at a bus drive, overtakes then parks his motorcycle directly in front of the bus to stop it, then gets into the bus to spit at the driver.

What led to the dispute between the motorcycle rider and the bus driver was not recorded, but everything the rider did after it is; including his dangerous maneuver in stopping in the middle of the road, up to his spitting at the bus driver, eyes aflame, nostrils flaring, and lips downturned and all.

To get to the bottom of the matter, the Land Transportation Office has issued a show cause order against the rider, but also asked him and the bus driver to both surrender their licenses while awaiting preventive suspension.

Because the LTO is still looking into the incident we won’t say yet who was in the right or in the wrong regarding what led to the traffic altercation. However, we can say with certainty that at least for the rider, that was not how someone civilized ought to act in the road.

Again, the right thing to do when placed in a situation where you feel like striking out against someone, especially someone driving a vehicle like you are, is to keep your cool.

Some drivers or riders need to realize that they share the road with other drivers or riders; the road was not made for them alone. Some drivers or riders also need to realize that cameras are almost always around these days, and any rash action they do can be recorded, quickly spread, and immortalized on the internet.

Some drivers or riders also need to realize that their actions can deem them unworthy of a driver license –a privilege that can be taken away from them the moment they become unworthy of it– and they may lose their driving privileges forever.

As with many road ragers who have been penalized for being violent or even jailed for doing worse in the past, they always say they regret giving in to a moment of poor judgment.

Clang Garcia was in the inflight magazine trade for many years and would also dabble in handling inbound tours. She traveled as part of her job covering places for the magazine, and would see ‘hop-on hop-off’ tours in major cities. These buses have designated stops on a route where a tourist can get on or off at any of the stops. Usually like a circuit, one can go around a circuit more than once if you wished. Taking inspiration from those tours, Clang tried to talk to hotels in Manila to pilot a similar tour but this time, using the popular iconic Filipino jeepney. The hotels could not grasp the concept of making people get on at their stop but lose them to other destinations. Clang had to innovate to keep her business going, and so she curated tours around food.

Along with the late chef Margarita Forés and with the late tourism secretary Mon Jimenez, she curated a tour for food media for the Madrid Fusion in 2017. They started the trip at Farmer’s Market in Cubao, visited historical sites in Intramuros, stopped at designated restaurants to try local fare – and slowly the tour was taking shape. Since then, Clang has focused on food tours instead of the usual tourist sites with obscure dining experiences. Most tours would bring tourists to iconic sites but would serve food just as a break with no mention of its origins and local ingredients. Clang’s innovation led to the publication of her first book ‘Food Holidays’ in 2016, which won the Best Food Tourism book at the Gourmand awards in 2021.

The jeepney was another concern. She had to get a franchise from the Land Transportation Franchise Regulatory Board even if she only had one jeepney. She has special routes, not competing with the riding public on regular jeepneys. When she was about to renew her franchise, the agency shifted or updated its requirements, asking her to buy 10 new jeepneys with Euro4 compliance. First, it was going to cost her a lot. Second, how could she operate 10 new tours by herself? Her prayers were answered because the COVID lockdowns happened even before she could take a loan to get those new vehicles which would have drained her cash flow. A sigh of relief for Clang to again twist and pivot to another business model.

She went around the country to discover unusual food that was indigenous to a community and got to meet many cultural communities which now became her signature food tours. I am a witness to her success as she took three foreigner friends of mine on a special tour of Manila with food included. The focus is on food and its origins, with the side tour of the sights. This makes her tours unique and truly an experience tourists can keep as a beautiful memory of the Philippines.

In the Slow Food movement (www.slowfood.com) we do have Slow Food travel which began in Europe and now is already in Western Visayas. The Slow Food focus is on preservation of culture through food and traditional ways of cooking. Think pinikpikan manok, pinaupong manok, pinausukan manok which are ways different provinces and cultures prepare chicken. Even paksiw (stewed in vinegar) for fish is called differently in Iloilo as pinamalhan. There are slight variations in souring ingredients or in fermentation called buro, balao-balao or in pickling like atchara.

This is also how Clang envisions the preservation of culture, starting with the basic social unit which is the family. If we eat together as a family even just once a month, and feature Lola’s recipes or taste what our mothers used to cook, we can start listing down these recipes and passing them down to the next generation. Her advice to all readers and their families is to preserve their own family recipes because eating together makes a family unite in a soulful way. We are the guardians of our culture and if we look inwards, we can touch three generations immediately and preserve what we still remember.

My brother took it upon himself to gather everyone every Sunday lunch to rediscover recipes of our Mom’s puchero, pancit lomi and even how she served seafood like crablets, crabs and shrimps. Everybody gets to learn how to eat talangka, buntot sa mustasa, giniling sa tausi and tito sa mani. Every family has their quirky traditions and this, according to Clang’s research, is our food heritage.

To innovate on her jeepney tours, Clang helped develop the Malabon tricycle food tours, food tours in Binondo, Intramuros and Cavite and a special indigenous foodways tour combining B’laan and T’boli cultures in Sarangani and Cotabato. There, tourists see how indigenous people start fire from scratch and use what is in their backyard, or what you can call a ‘zero kilometer’ dish as you never have to leave home to get ingredients. That is true locavorism, or cooking from what is closest to point of use – the backyard reveals all the ingredients for a local dish.

Her good and green tips for sustainability of food cultures are to travel, eat and learn. And we can start today with our own families. What did your grandmother (in our case, our grandfather cooked) cook? Since our great grandparents came from Amoy (now Xiamen), our grandfather taught our mother that kind of cooking which we still do today, four generations later. After keeping your family recipes intact, you can now travel and learn other cultures, locally first like Pampango or Visayan cuisine, or even Tausug fare.

Or you can join Clang on one of her tours and learn more about foodways and our Filipino food culture. You can find Clang in social media and as Food Ambassador of the World Food travel association. Or get a copy of her book Food Holidays, a do-it-yourself food guide to Philippine gastronomy.

I find myself passing time while trying to look for a very good topic to write about this rainy afternoon. I turn to different modes of distraction to slow down my very active brain. With different things to do left and right, it is difficult to find focus amid a very noisy landscape. At this point, I recall an activity I did this week about opportunities to give a younger version of myself. Of course, I said I would want to give the gift of time.

The generation of teenagers these days seems so hung up on the instant. They want to know everything in advance, even when told to take it easy or slow down. At one point, they are so excited and give it their all, but in the next few moments, they hit a slump and shun the tasks that need to be completed. They often use the words ‘burnout,’ which is legitimate in every sense. The harder question is how to manage it without wearing ourselves or each other out.

I wonder if my background in an intense high school environment taught me to toil even when I was not feeling well, or if there is simply greater emphasis now on well-being. While these concerns are valid, it seems that time for the much-needed break is often what gets taken away. As it is, a second passes faster than the blink of an eye. Before we realize it, we are already in the last quarter of the year. We think about the promises we made at the start of the year and gauge whether we can still fulfill them. Time has indeed taken its toll on all of us.

To return to the gift of time, I would always encourage the young to take things calmly and at their own pace. Nothing beats a relaxed pace of life while getting to know oneself. There is so much out there to discover about what we can actually do, and speeding things up might do more harm than good. Waiting is also one of the most challenging things to do. Like delayed gratification, it teaches us that not everything worthwhile needs to happen immediately.

Perhaps the real value of time lies not in how much we accomplish in a day, but in how much of ourselves we give to the things that matter. There is a difference between making the most of our time and filling every moment of it. If I could give my younger self anything, I would say there is no need to rush into becoming the person you are meant to be. Some lessons take years to understand, and some opportunities arrive only when we are ready for them. We may not always have control over how quickly time passes, but we can choose how we spend it. After all, life is not a race against the clock. Sometimes, the best thing we can do is slow down, breathe, and allow time to do its work.

Every October, we wear pink. Communities hold awareness campaigns, landmarks are illuminated in symbolic colors, and social media feeds are filled with messages of solidarity. These gestures serve an important purpose. They remind us that breast cancer remains one of the most pressing health threats facing Filipino women today.

But awareness alone is no longer enough.

As we observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month under this year’s theme, “Every story is unique, every journey matters,” we are reminded that behind every diagnosis is a woman with her own aspirations, responsibilities, and dreams. She may be a mother caring for her children, a daughter supporting aging parents, a professional building a career, or a community leader serving others. Every breast cancer journey is different, but all patients share a common need: timely access to quality care, financial protection, and hope for recovery.

At UHCWatch, we believe the national conversation must move beyond awareness and toward concrete action. As we have consistently emphasized, ‘Every October, we wear pink. But what Filipino women truly need isn’t a gesture of solidarity, it’s a guaranteed path to early screening, predictable financing, and modern medicine.’

Breast cancer is no longer just a health statistic. It remains a public health crisis that continues to claim the lives of thousands of Filipino women every year. Despite major advances in cancer detection and treatment, many patients still face significant barriers that delay diagnosis, interrupt treatment, and ultimately reduce their chances of survival. Limited access to screening services, fragmented referral systems, geographic disparities, and high out-of-pocket costs continue to prevent many women from receiving the care they need.

The consequences extend far beyond the patient. A breast cancer diagnosis often affects an entire family. Savings are depleted, household income is disrupted, children may be forced to sacrifice educational opportunities, and caregivers face added emotional and financial burdens. This is why breast cancer must be viewed not only as a medical concern but also as a social and economic challenge.

As UHCWatch has repeatedly stressed, ‘When a mother succumbs to breast cancer because she couldn’t afford or access early diagnosis, it is a systemic failure, not just a health statistic.’ Preventable deaths should compel us to examine whether our health system is truly delivering on the promise of Universal Health Care.

Cancer treatment remains one of the leading causes of catastrophic household spending. While PhilHealth and government medical assistance programs have expanded support in recent years, many families continue to experience financial hardship as they navigate diagnosis, surgery, medicines, therapy, and long-term follow-up care. Financing mechanisms must therefore be fully optimized, sustainably funded, and streamlined to ensure that patients receive timely assistance without unnecessary barriers.

For many Filipino families, the choice remains heartbreaking. Some delay diagnostic procedures because of cost. Others postpone treatment due to transportation and accommodation expenses. Still others discontinue treatment altogether when household finances can no longer sustain the burden. This reality is unacceptable. As we often remind policymakers, ‘No Filipino woman should have to choose between financial survival and medical treatment.’

This is why UHCWatch calls for the further expansion and continuous enhancement of PhilHealth benefit packages for breast cancer. These benefits should not only increase financial coverage but also comprehensively support the entire continuum of care, from screening and diagnosis to treatment, rehabilitation, survivorship, and palliative care. Coverage must reflect the real-world needs of patients, including access to diagnostics, pathology services, medicines, supportive therapies, mental health support, and long-term follow-up care.

At the same time, the push for stronger cancer financing must not be limited to breast cancer alone. Patients living with lung, liver, cervical, colorectal, and other cancers face many of the same barriers, including delayed diagnosis, limited access to specialists and treatment facilities, and overwhelming financial costs. As PhilHealth continues to strengthen its cancer care packages, reforms should be guided by a broader vision of equitable cancer care that ensures meaningful financial protection and access to quality services for all cancer patients. No Filipino should be left behind simply because the disease they face receives less public attention or inadequate financing support.

The Philippines must align its breast cancer response with the World Health Organization’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI), which aims to increase early detection by ensuring that at least 60 percent of invasive breast cancers are diagnosed at Stage I or II, that patients receive a definitive diagnosis within 60 days of initial detection, and that 80 percent of diagnosed patients receive complete standard treatment. These are more than performance indicators; they are life-saving targets that can prevent unnecessary deaths and improve outcomes for thousands of Filipino women. As UHCWatch emphasizes, ‘Aligning with the WHO-GBCI targets isn’t just about meeting metrics; it’s about saving thousands of mothers, daughters, and workers every single year.’ Meeting these goals will require stronger coordination among the Department of Health, PhilHealth, local governments, healthcare providers, patient advocates, and civil society, alongside sustained investments in diagnostics, medicines, referral systems, and equitable access to quality care, particularly for women in underserved and geographically isolated communities.

We therefore urge the DOH and PhilHealth to ensure that improvements in cancer benefit packages translate into meaningful gains in access and outcomes on the ground. The government’s cancer control agenda should be fully integrated into the United Agenda (UNA) for Health, recognizing that reducing the burden of cancer is essential to achieving the broader goals of Universal Health Care, health equity, and financial risk protection. By aligning cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, survivorship, and palliative care strategies with the priorities of the UNA for Health, we can ensure a more coordinated, patient-centered, and sustainable response that leaves no cancer patient behind.

This October, let us honor every breast cancer story not only with awareness, but with action. Let us build a healthcare system where every journey truly matters and where no Filipino facing breast, lung, liver, cervical, or any other form of cancer is denied the chance to live because quality care remains out of reach. That is the true promise of UHC, and it is a promise we must fulfill.

It has been seven years since the untimely death of former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel Jr., or ‘Tatay Nene,’ on Oct. 20, 2019.

How time flies.

I still remember the Pimentel family asking me to speak at his wake. Anticipating a long line of speakers, I rescheduled my flight to Iloilo from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and went straight from the wake to NAIA for my departure.

Looking back, I realized at the wake that I’ve worked with Senator Pimentel for 21 years! Over that time, I went from being his consultant to becoming his ‘anak;’ from preparing questions for interpellations to putting together campaign plans and from seeking out his favorite rhum during my travels to bringing my wife, Charito, to lunch with his family at his ‘senior citizens’ home in Quezon City.

I worked in the Senate for more than 30 years, starting with Senate president pro tempore Teroy Laurel and ending with Senate president Nene Pimentel. In between, I worked with senators Letty Shahani, Juan Flavier, Gringo Honasan and Jun Magsaysay.

That may be why I enjoyed working in the Senate then: for young Filipinos like me, who joined soon after it was reconstituted following the fall of martial law, it was a place where the best and brightest debated the country’s real issues.

That was where debates and interpellations among senators Salonga, Laurel, Gonzales, Pimentel, Saguisag, Shahani and Enrile felt like graduate-school lectures we had to memorize.

It was a place where one could marvel at how Salonga, Pimentel and Gonzales could debate on the floor without briefing notes – and where, later, senator Turing Tolentino could deliver a more than an hour-long privilege speech and answer questions without a single piece of paper on his lectern.

Oh, how far the Senate has fallen with this current crop of politicians.

Nene Pimentel was one of my heroes during the anti-Marcos movement, but I never got the chance to speak with him or work with him in my early years in the Senate.

After studying at USC and working for the California State Legislature, I returned to teaching at UP. In 1995, I resumed political campaigning. Gwen Pimentel-Gana, a student of mine at UP NCPAG’s graduate school, encouraged me to join Nene Pimentel’s 1998 Senate comeback campaign.

I started as a legislative consultant and met like-minded leaders who became my lifelong friends – including then assistant solicitor general (now Sandiganbayan Associate Justice) Karl Miranda, former Eastern Samar governor (later Senate secretary) Lutz Barbo and, of course, our chief of staff, Atty. Gwen Gana.

Joining his office transformed my relationship with him from seeing him as an icon to seeing him as an idol and eventually as a ‘Tatay.’

He lived simply. When I was invited to his birthday celebration at his home in Marikina, I dressed up, only to find Senator Pimentel in slippers and casual clothes. He told me to grab a beer and join the karaoke session.

He showed me what it means to lead with principle and competence. Everything was done in accordance with the rules. Even our hiring as Senate consultants (we didn’t get paid well, by the way) required us to submit numerous documents, attend committee hearings and prepare questions for interpellation and proposed amendments.

He was a taskmaster who expected no less of his staff and consultants than he was willing to do himself. He personally led the drafting of more than 100 Omnibus Amendments to the Local Government Code. We worked on them during our secluded weekend sessions in Laguna, which ran late into the evening and resumed immediately after breakfast.

He wrote his own speeches and would call me only when he needed data. He also wrote his own book, ‘Martial Law in the Philippines: My Story.’ How do I know? He would call me at 4 a.m., asking me to trace and verify the people he included in his memoirs. I couldn’t tell him I was in high school when these events occurred.

Despite tempting offers to switch sides while he was Senate president and later senator, he was so principled that he would often tell me, ‘I would rather be in the opposition, even if I am the opposition of one.’

He repeatedly told me his antidote against corruption. He said, ‘Do not engage in even the smallest corrupt activity, because once you start, it becomes a slippery slope you can never get out of.’

I served as his negotiator with the FPJ and Roco camps during his 2004 reelection campaign. Although he received better offers from the other camps, he ultimately chose to lead the FPJ senatorial slate. We did the impossible: we placed third while spending less than any other winning candidate.

Having lost my father before assuming leadership roles, I came to regard Senator Pimentel as my ‘Tatay.’ I emulated him and sought his counsel at every critical juncture in my professional life – from campaigning for FPJ and serving as a spokesman in the Villar presidential campaign to becoming UP vice president for Public Affairs and, ultimately, CHED commissioner and chairman.

His guidance and life lessons have served me well in my leadership positions.

There will never be another Nene Pimentel, and I’m privileged to have worked with him and to call him my Tatay Nene.

At the 2nd SineBohol Film Festival, I sat as a jury and was struck by the power of stories crafted by filmmakers young enough to be my students –or even grandchildren. Talent does not wait for age, position, or permission; it emerges through a camera held by an inexperienced hand, a script written after classes, or a scene captured in the corners of a community. What matters is our willingness to look beyond imperfections and recognize imagination, courage, and truth struggling to reach the screen.

Judging films at the 2nd SineBohol Festival was never about trophies –it was about encountering young minds interpreting the world around them. Each entry asked: what story deserves to be told, whose voice deserves to be heard, and what emotions should linger after the screen goes dark? As a retired professor, I found it refreshing to witness creativity outside the classroom, a reminder that true education happens wherever curiosity meets opportunity.

Retirement, I have come to realize, is not a command to withdraw from the life of the mind. One may leave a university post, surrender an office, and enjoy the freedom of a less-demanding schedule. But should one also retire from sharing what experience has taught? I do not think so. If years in academe have given me anything valuable, it is the responsibility to pass on whatever wisdom I have gathered. Serving as a judge in Bohol was one such opportunity –not to impose an older generation’s standards, but to help the young recognize what they already possess and what they might yet become.

Bohol itself offers a meaningful setting for such encounters. Its landscapes, heritage, and everyday lives are rich sources of stories waiting to be documented and re-imagined. Young filmmakers need not travel to Manila or seek expensive equipment before creating something significant. A compelling story can begin in a coastal village, a crowded market, a family kitchen, or a community confronting change. The challenge is to look closely, listen honestly, and understand that ordinary Filipino lives can reveal extraordinary truths.

We have seen similar possibilities elsewhere. Cinemalaya has brought independent voices into national conversation. In Negros, filmmakers have drawn on local histories and identities to craft stories that resonate beyond their communities. In Mindanao, films have explored questions of conflict, belonging, and peace –perspectives often missing from mainstream screens. Philippine cinema becomes richer when creative opportunities extend beyond traditional centers of production.

Of course, encouragement must not become empty praise. Young filmmakers deserve honest criticism. A promising idea needs discipline; an emotional story needs structure; a beautiful image must serve a purpose. Our task as mentors and judges is to offer criticism that sharpens rather than silences, corrects without humiliating, and challenges without discouraging. A trophy may celebrate achievement, but thoughtful guidance can shape an entire creative journey.

As I reflect on Bohol, I am less concerned with who received awards than with what happens afterward. Will these young storytellers continue making films? Will they dare to tackle difficult subjects, listen to unheard communities, and refine their craft with patience and integrity?

The lights in a screening room eventually dim, and a judge’s name fades from the program. But if a word of encouragement helps a young filmmaker believe a story is worth telling, then something enduring has begun. The greatest reward of a lifetime in education is not the number of students taught, but the number of young minds helped to find the courage to create. That calling, for me, never ends.

Federal Land Inc. is expanding access to housing finance through a partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and Pag-IBIG Fund, aligning its residential portfolio with the government’s efforts to make homeownership more affordable for Filipino families.

The agreement, formalized through a memorandum of understanding under the Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (Expanded 4PH) Program, will give qualified Pag-IBIG members access to financing opportunities for select Federal Land residential developments.

The partnership brings a private-sector developer into the government’s housing initiative, which seeks to broaden access to homeownership by linking housing supply with financing options for eligible buyers.

The agreement was signed during the second National Housing Expo, organized by DHSUD and Pag-IBIG Fund, highlighting the government’s push to strengthen collaboration with property developers in addressing the country’s housing needs.

Federal Land President Jose Mari Banzon said the company would establish a dedicated business unit to process Pag-IBIG housing loans, a move intended to facilitate financing access for prospective buyers.

He congratulated DHSUD and Pag-IBIG Fund on the Expanded 4PH Program, saying it creates opportunities for both homebuyers and developers.

‘Federal Land is committed to work with DHSUD and Pag-IBIG Fund to allow Filipino families to achieve their dream of owning their own home,’ Banzon said.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene Acosta said private-sector partnerships are critical to strengthening government housing initiatives, particularly as affordability remains a key consideration for prospective homeowners.

‘While finding the right home is important, making it affordable matters just as much,’ Acosta said, adding that the agreement is expected to expand housing choices, improve value and create more opportunities for members to own homes.

For developers, participation in government-backed housing programs offers a potential channel to reach qualified buyers by connecting residential projects with institutional financing. The establishment of a dedicated loan-processing unit at Federal Land also signals an effort to streamline the financing process for eligible customers.

Federal Land, the real estate arm of GT Capital Holdings, has a portfolio spanning residential, commercial, retail, office, hospitality and master-planned developments across Metro Manila, Laguna, Cavite and Cebu.

The company was named Developer of the Year at the 2026 Philippines Real Estate Awards.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has fired its biggest gun. A jumbo 50-basis-point hike to 5.50% with headline inflation at 7.2% and the peso on its back is not tightening. It is a chokehold. The message is clear: BSP will break demand before it lets inflation break the economy.

That pain travels fast from the BSP boardroom to the factory floor in Cebu. Corporate credit just got expensive and scarce. Banks do not wait for the circular. Prime that was 6.5% last month is now 7.25% to 7.5%, and for the typical middle-market borrower, add another 250 to 350 basis points of risk premium. The working capital line you rolled at 8% in June reprices at 10.5% to 11.5% today.

Worse than price is access. As funding costs rise and peso volatility forces banks to hold more liquidity, they demand more collateral, tighter covenants, and shorter tenors. They will still lend, but mostly to those who least need it.

Undeniably, this time, the cash conversion cycle will be stretching at both ends. In fact, borrowing cost for working capital becomes a cash flow trap. When a P100-million inventory and receivables line costs P2.5 million more a year overnight, cash management stops being accounting, it becomes survival. Your suppliers, squeezed by their own dollar costs, now want cash on delivery. Your customers, squeezed by inflation, stretch payment from 30 to 60 days. You are caught in the middle, financing both sides with double-digit money. Ultimately, this will no longer be about profit on paper. This is about payroll on Friday or on the 15th and 30th.

Financing strategy for capital expenditures (capex) and inventory must be rewritten. For capex, the hurdle rate has moved. Projects that cleared at 9% weighted average cost of capital no longer clear at 12%. Companies will defer, lease instead of buy, and sweat existing assets for another year. For inventory, the old logic inverts. In a low-rate world you stock up to avoid stockouts. In a 5.50% world, inventory is a double tax. You pay more to hold it, and if you cannot move it, its real value erodes while you finance it at 11%. The shift must be from just-in-case to ruthless just-in-time, even if it risks a lost sale.

Three industries bleed first. Real estate and construction live and die on leverage. This hike kills mortgage affordability, kills pre-selling, and kills take-up. Developers who borrowed at 7% to build a project with an 8% margin are underwater before turnover. Second is import-dependent manufacturing – food processing, plastics, packaging, steel fabrication. They are hit thrice: higher dollar cost from the weak peso, higher commodity cost from inflation, and higher peso cost to finance both. Third is SME retail, restaurants, and consumer discretionary. They have no pricing power and no balance sheet to absorb. Their inventory is perishable and their customers are the first to pull back when real wages fall.

That brings us to the hardest decision, the consumer. Persistent price pressure has hollowed out purchasing power. The ‘masa’ is trading down and the middle class is trading off. You cannot simply pass on a 10% cost increase when your buyer’s real income is down. If you pass everything on, you lose volume. If you absorb everything, you lose margin and die slowly.

The answer is to price surgically, not blindly. Hold the line on core value SKUs that drive foot tra and raise on premium where sensitivity is lower. Defend cash ruthlessly, renegotiate supplier terms, collect faster, kill slow-moving stock, and convert fixed costs to variable where you can. And fix your funding mix now. Lock in longer tenors even at a premium and keep undrawn lines for emergencies. Floating-rate debt today is a loaded gun.

To every business owner reading this from Cebu and beyond: the BSP did what it had to do to save the peso and break inflation expectations. Your job is to survive it without breaking your company. Stop budgeting for a rate cut next quarter. It is not coming. Assume that 5.50% is here to stay. Manage for cash not for accounting profit. More importantly, remember, that (as financial gurus will always say) in a high-rate storm, liquidity is not king, it is oxygen.

Persistent electricity supply disruptions and price volatility in the Visayas could raise operating costs and constrain business expansion through 2028, prompting energy services provider COREPLUS to urge Cebu companies to strengthen their power infrastructure and reduce their exposure to grid instability.

The company delivered the message at SIDLAK CEBU: Building Business Resilience During Energy Volatility, which gathered about 50 business owners and industry professionals at JEG Tower.

The warning highlights the growing importance of power reliability to business competitiveness in a region where companies face recurring grid alerts, generation outages, rising electricity demand and volatile power prices. Beyond higher utility bills, unstable electricity can disrupt production, damage equipment, reduce operating efficiency and complicate investment planning.

‘The State of the Visayas Grid,’ a keynote delivered by PJ Vinoya, senior business development manager at COREPLUS, attributed the expected persistence of volatility through 2028 to structural challenges rather than seasonal fluctuations.

For businesses, the implication is that waiting for external supply conditions to improve may leave them exposed to risks they could partly mitigate through investments in their own facilities, Vinoya said.

‘Businesses need to look beyond the direct cost of electricity. Voltage dips and outages, equipment wear, downtime, inefficient loads, and planned expansion all affect operations, and these are factors businesses can act on,’ he said.

The issue has implications beyond individual company balance sheets. Unreliable and expensive electricity can weaken the investment case for expanding manufacturing capacity, commercial facilities and other power-dependent operations.

For Cebu businesses competing on cost and delivery reliability, energy performance is increasingly a factor in operational planning.

COREPLUS, a subsidiary of COREnergy under Vivant Energy, provides engineering and technical services for commercial and industrial facilities, including electrical audits, system maintenance, energy-efficiency retrofits, energy management system integration, and solar power and battery energy storage system projects.

At the event, the company and its partners presented options intended to help businesses identify vulnerabilities, improve electrical infrastructure and evaluate investments in alternative power solutions.

Jonas Mapili, chief operating officer of COREPLUS partner FV Mapile, discussed how electrical safety audits can identify potential hazards and weaknesses in existing systems.

Dorcas Jay Regalado, COREPLUS head of engineering, examined how compact secondary substations can strengthen internal power infrastructure and accommodate higher electricity requirements.

Romeo Cubangbang Jr., COREPLUS head of solar, outlined key considerations for businesses evaluating solar investments. Technology partners Huawei and Jinko Solar also showcased solar solutions, while one-on-one consultations allowed participants to discuss potential upgrades for their facilities.

The discussions reflect a shift in how companies can approach energy management: from treating electricity as a fixed operating expense to assessing it as a source of operational and financial risk.

Investments in solar generation, battery storage, energy monitoring and electrical-system upgrades can help businesses manage certain supply disruptions and improve their control over energy use. Their financial value, however, depends on facility-level demand, capital costs, electricity tariffs, operating profiles and the reliability requirements of individual businesses.

For COREPLUS, the priority is to help companies evaluate those options against their specific operational needs rather than adopt technologies without a clear business case.

‘The current energy landscape calls for businesses to be more proactive about understanding and managing their energy needs,’ said Melo Del Gallego, assistant vice president for business acceleration at COREPLUS.

The company aims to help businesses prepare for energy challenges through technical expertise, technology partnerships and solutions tailored to their requirements.

The challenge remains regional: company-level investments can reduce exposure to certain power risks, but they cannot replace adequate generation capacity, reliable transmission and distribution infrastructure, or effective electricity-market oversight.

As the Visayas grid faces continued pressure, businesses will need to weigh the cost of resilience investments against the potential losses from disruptions.

For policymakers and energy-sector stakeholders, the same outlook reinforces the importance of addressing the underlying supply and infrastructure constraints that shape electricity costs and reliability.

Saying the gloves are off, the government has put up a P50-million bounty for any information that will lead to the capture of Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, and gave him a week to surrender. In announcing the reward, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the senator, who is considered ‘armed and dangerous,’ has been given all the courtesy to voluntarily surrender following an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant of arrest issued in November 2025.

Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, has been tagged a co-conspirator of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the crimes against humanity case before the ICC.

Instead of showing up and taking responsibility for his actions, Remulla said Dela Rosa is a coward by remaining in hiding.

‘Senator Bato mistook my gesture of negotiation as a sign of weakness. It’s time for the gloves to come off. It’s time to bring justice to his victims,’ Remulla told a news briefing at Camp Crame yesterday.

‘As of today, Senator Bato will be considered armed and dangerous. We are placing a bounty of P50 million for his capture,’ Remulla said.

With the reward, Dela Rosa is now the No. 1 most wanted fugitive in the country, followed by gambling tycoon Charlie ‘Atong’ Ang, who has a P20-million bounty for his arrest in connection with the alleged kidnapping and killing of cockfight enthusiasts or sabungeros.

The bounty for Dela Rosa was sourced from the intelligence funds of the DILG and the PNP, Remulla said.

Remulla has designated PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Wilson Lopez as the head of a special task force to arrest Dela Rosa.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said Dela Rosa has one week to surrender but maintained law enforcement operations to arrest the senator are ongoing.

Apart from intelligence operatives, Nartatez said they are also utilizing tactical teams and other resources to locate and arrest Dela Rosa.

‘With or without ultimatum, with or without reward, the PNP is ready to implement whatever (needs) to be implemented. That is our commitment,’ he said.

Dela Rosa is allegedly being protected by a powerful armed group in a secluded area in Mindanao, the reason why Remulla is cautious about launching an operation to arrest the senator by force.

The DILG chief said a bloodbath similar to the siege of Marawi in 2017 could ensue.

For Nartatez, the possibility of casualties is always there but maintained they have contingency measures in place to ensure the lawmaker is caught.

‘For example, the coddlers are 10 (people), then we will need a hundred (operatives). It will be a calibrated one,’ Nartatez said.

The PNP has searched several areas in Mindanao and Luzon, including Metro Manila, where there have been reported sightings of Dela Rosa but all turned out negative. Nartatez said they could not see a pattern on Dela Rosa’s movements.

Nartatez warned Dela Rosa’s coddlers to stop protecting Dela Rosa and hand him over to authorities or face criminal cases.

Dela Rosa’s last public appearance was on May 14, when he was seen exiting the Senate premises alongside Sen. Robinhood Padilla, his colleague in the minority.

Local warrant first

Dela Rosa’s counsel Israelito Torreon rejected the DILG’s bounty for his client, saying a local warrant must first exist.

Torreon’s law firm made a lengthy post on social media yesterday, after the lawyer initially said ‘no comment’ on the matter.

‘A reward system built on Philippine warrants cannot be used for a person who has no Philippine warrant,’ the law firm of Torreon and Partners posted on Facebook.

‘The only document the government has is a warrant from the International Criminal Court. That is a foreign tribunal under a treaty the Philippines withdrew from effective March 17, 2019. No Philippine judge has examined that warrant, adopted it or issued one of his own,’ Torreon claimed.