Category: Philippine Star

The sporting world now starts to shift its on focus on basketball.

And so, Puma Hoops and Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton have unveiled the Hali 1: Opal, the debut colorway of his first-ever signature basketball shoe. A groundbreaking collaboration with renowned designer Salehe Bembury, the Hali 1 in the striking blue colorway seamlessly blends premium design with elite performance, creating a masterclass in form and function for a player who embodies style, confidence and unstoppable performance.

Driven by the mind of a playmaker and the eye of a trendsetter, Haliburton envisioned the Hali 1 as the epitome of “luxe performance’. This vision has been brought to life through Salehe Bembury’s signature futuristic aesthetic, by merging advanced NITROTM performance technology with premium craftsmanship.

The silhouette of the Hali 1 draws direct inspiration from the smoothness of Haliburton’s playstyle. Bembury’s design language introduces unexpected lines, amplified Puma Cat branding, Tyrese’s signature logo on the tongue, and Salehe’s signature textures, creating a visually dynamic shoe that stands out both on and off the court. It’s a testament to the fusion of eye-catching design and uncompromising technology, crafted to elevate your game.

To complement the launch, Bembury’s creative vision reimagines the consumer experience through bold storytelling. The campaign introduced Hali Mart – a surreal, immersive grocery-themed world that reflects Haliburton’s vibrant personality and playful style of play. In partnership with Foot Locker, the Hali Mart pop-up opened for one day only on September 25 in Indianapolis, offering fans an exclusive first look, with both Tyrese and Salehe in attendance.

A total of 317 pairs of the Hali 1 “Opal” were available at the pop-up – an intentional nod to Indy’s iconic area code – ahead of the wider global release.

The Hali 1 is now available at PUMA stores for P7,900, and will soon be available at Foot Locker. Elevate your game and express your unique style with the shoe that embodies Haliburton’s fearless spirit.

The Global Youth Summit (GYS) 2025 has marked a historic milestone, gathering over 40,000 young leaders, innovators and advocates nationwide through simultaneous events across SM malls.

Organized by SM Cares, the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Supermalls, in partnership with the Global Peace Foundation (GPF) Philippines, the summit highlighted the strength of the Filipino youth as a nationwide movement for change.

From Luzon to Mindanao, students, youth groups and advocates came together for thought-provoking discussions, keynote sessions and collaborative activities that amplified the collective voice of the Filipino youth.

The summit tackled pressing themes of empowerment, sustainability, innovation and leadership, reflecting the youth’s role in shaping the country’s future.

‘The youth are not just leaders of tomorrow-they are a driving force for change today. The Global Youth Summit proves what is possible when we empower young people nationwide,’ said Royston Cabunag, SM Cares program director for children and youth.

Leonard Faustino, executive director of Global Peace Foundation Philippines, added: ‘Collaboration across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao has created one of the largest youth platforms in the country. This summit is proof that when given space and support, our youth can lead transformative change.’

While the SM Mall of Asia Arena leg drew thousands of participants and nationwide recognition, the heart of GYS 2025 was its collective nationwide reach-with simultaneous summits held across 17 SM malls.

Each of the 17 provincial summit locations was deliberately anchored on one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring that every global goal receives equal importance within a holistic platform that champions innovative and actionable solutions for communities nationwide. In line with this, the provincial legs gave young people in local communities the chance to share solutions and contribute to projects aligned with the respective SDGs.

By empowering more than 40,000 Filipino youth across regions, SM Cares and its partners reaffirm their commitment to inclusivity, accessibility and meaningful youth participation on a national scale.

The Global Youth Summit 2025 stands as one of the largest youth movements in the Philippines, uniting voices that will shape the country’s future.

MP Promotions and Araneta City yesterday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the epic ‘Thrilla in Manila,’ regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxing fight ever, leading up to a loaded fight card on Oct. 29.

MP Promotions, led by eight-division world champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao, and Irene Jose, COO of Uniprom, the entertainment arm of Araneta City, unveiled an exhibit featuring memorabilia from the unforgettable world title fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier at the Araneta Coliseum – then considered as one of the world’s largest indoor arenas.

The world stood still on Oct. 1, 1975 as the title fight between Ali and Frazier was watched by a live audience of more than 20,000 and over a billion on TV and pay-per-view across the globe.

On Oct. 29, the Philippines will commemorate that one-of-a-kind battle with a card including Ali’s grandson Nico Ali Walsh.

Walsh will clash against Thailand’s Patumpong Saengarun in a middleweight undercard bout while WBC minimumweight champion Melvin Jerusalem stakes his belt against No. 2 contender Siyakholwa Kuse of South Africa in the main event. Other Filipino stars like Eumir Marcial, Marlon Tapales and Carl Jammes Martin are also in the super card featuring 11 fights so far.

VIPs, including the families of Ali and Frazier and current world champions, have also been invited to grace the event.

‘We honor the moment that forever changed the Philippine sporting landscape and global culture. The world stood still in what became one of the most iconic battles in boxing history. It was more than just a fight. It was poetry in motion. Two giants of the sport stepped into the ring not as opponents but as symbols of pride, determination and will to win,’ said Jose.

President Marcos extended his condolences yesterday to the families of those who died in the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Bogo City, Cebu on Tuesday night.

‘My heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones, and my prayers go out to those who were injured and all those affected by the earthquake,’ the President said.

The earthquake, which hit the city at 9:59 p.m., left more than 60 people dead and caused widespread damage across the province.

While visiting typhoon-hit Masbate, Marcos said Cabinet members had already been deployed to Cebu to fast-track relief and restore essential services.

The Department of Public Works and Highways is inspecting roads and bridges for structural damage, while the Department of Energy is working to restore electricity in affected areas.

The Department of Health has dispatched additional medical personnel to assist hospitals, while the Bureau of Fire Protection is participating in search and rescue operations. Philippine National Police personnel are also on the ground to maintain order.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Office of Civil Defense and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council joined forces to ensure the quick distribution of food and relief items.

According to the Presidential Communications Office, the DSWD has P379 million in standby funds and over 2.4 million family food packs prepositioned nationwide.

The DBM, for its part, has instructed agencies to activate their quick response funds, which serve as emergency resources to finance immediate disaster relief and recovery.

Vice President Sara Duterte offered prayers for those affected.

House Speaker Faustino Dy III expressed his sympathies.

Some senators who expressed solidarity and urged immediate aid deployment were Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senators Francis Escudero, Risa Hontiveros and Joel Villanueva.

Foreign ambassadors in the country also offered aid.

‘The US embassy community offers our deepest condolences to those affected by the earthquake in Cebu. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected. We stand ready to support the government’s response as #FriendsPartnersAllies,’ US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said.

‘We mourn the loss of lives and we stand with those who are grieving, injured or displaced. Canada stands ready to coordinate closely with Philippine government agencies, humanitarian partners and the international community to help meet urgent needs,’ the Canadian embassy posted on X.

Aside from Carlson and the Canadian embassy, European Union Ambassador Massimo Santoro, Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya, Australian Ambassador Marc Innes-Brown and the Embassy of India also extended their sympathies to the victims and their families.

Here’s how things are looking so far, on this chilly morning of October in this scandal-filled nation of 115 million, magnified by the floods, traffic and an earthquake down south.

The House and Senate, once respectable institutions of decades past, are crumbling like a house of cards, with some of their members implicated in the flood control mess of kickbacks and corruption.

Its erstwhile leaders, ousted Senate president Chiz Escudero and resigned House Speaker Martin Romualdez, are trading barbs on who should be held liable for this grand loot, a verbal tussle that erupted after each one’s grand ambitions, meticulously crafted scripts and long-term political blueprints were, quite literally, washed away with the floods.

Now, it seems the question is not who else is guilty but who is the most guilty of them all.

Chiz, trying to salvage the repercussions of his alleged Cork-brewed deal, is pointing to the man he knows it to be – the presidential cousin himself – Martin Romualdez, who has also been implicated by other key players in this corruption scandal, but has yet to face any inquiry.

The mess has unraveled so grotesquely, it’s impossible for any tax paying citizen not to be shaken. Now we know why our economic managers had to resort to pulling funds from PhilHealth and PDIC because billions in much needed taxpayers’ money were being lost to kickbacks.

It seems there’s been a shadow government all along and President Marcos, perhaps too busy globetrotting, including watching an F1 race early into his term, was too oblivious not to know or care.

What emerged was more like a Rasputin-style government instead of a functioning Cabinet.

To salvage this monstrous crisis, which may soon spill over to the Palace gates, if it hasn’t happened yet, the President must send a signal to investigating authorities that there won’t be any sacred cows – whether they are political allies, friends or family, and that what must be done, must be done.

This is the only way forward if he really wants to clear the Marcos name. Otherwise, his administration will go down in history as a mere shadow of the first Marcos presidency – Kadiwa, Love Bus and corruption.

Bagong Pilipinas? Not really.

One ID to fight fraud

Remember those fake IDs used by the DPWH boys to gamble in Metro Manila’s casinos? No surprise here because it’s so easy to buy fake IDs in the Philippines.

To address this, we can have a centralized digital identification system. This ID could be easily cross-checked and verified by both public and private sectors, making it difficult for fraudsters to use fake or stolen identities.

Cross-sectoral information-sharing and the reporting of cases of fake ID use should be prioritized to better identify perpetrators.

In support of a centralized ID system that can act as both identifier and safeguard, the private and public sectors can benefit from (1) allowing the private sector to easily confirm the veracity of national IDs through automation, (2) providing a one-stop platform or channel to report fake IDs to the government and (3) and legal action against creators and distribution channels of these fake IDs.

Legal actions against fraudsters must also be taken. The PhilSys Act and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act specifically target criminals and organized groups that perpetrate money-muling, social engineering and other related fraudulent schemes.

We can aspire to have a seamless biometrics-enabled centralized digital identity system such as India’s Aadhaar card and Singapore’s National Registration Identity Card (NRIC).

The mandatory NIRC ensures that government and commercial transactions are done by the actual person, together with multi-factor authentication. India’s Aadhaar card is one’s proof of identity in India.

It is high time that Filipinos embrace digital identification to protect ourselves and to work toward a fairer digital world.

SEC urged to resolve Liberty Flours dispute

A boardroom battle at Liberty Flour Mills Inc. (LFM) has reached the corporate regulator.

In a Sept. 11, 2025 letter to Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Francis Lim, lawyers of Stella Uy and Sandra Uy, who both previously served as part of LFM management and its board of directors, requested for an investigation on ‘grossly disadvantageous related-party transactions’ in the listed firm.

The two clients raised concerns to LFM’s board regarding LFM’s receivables from distributor Parity Values Inc. (PVI) amounting to P804.7 million as of 2024. The board did not act on the matter, allegedly causing the receivables to balloon.

These concerns were raised during LFM’s annual stockholders’ meeting last Aug. 27, 2025.

William Ang, speaking for the board, said the payment terms of PVI, indeed, extend up to approximately 360 days.

There are also interlocking directors between LFM and PVI, namely, John Carlos Uy, Willy Ng and Mr. Ang. Mr. Ang also serves as LFM’s corporate secretary and PVI’s treasurer, as reflected in PVI’s 2024 General Information Sheet, according to the letter sent by Bernaldo Po Resto and Poblador law firm.

These overlapping roles raise serious issues of conflict of interest, the letter said. Thus, the clients urged Lim to investigate the matter.

LFM is led by siblings William Uy and John Carlos Uy. According to InsiderPH, Sandra is the daughter of William Uy while Stella is not identified as a relative of the controlling Uy family.

In the aftermath of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Northern Cebu on September 30, 2025, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has urged heritage caretakers to safeguard movable cultural assets even as rescue and relief operations continue.

While extending its deepest sympathies to communities affected by the disaster, the NHCP reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of Cebu and nearby provinces.

Chairperson Regalado Trota Jose Jr. acknowledged the loss of lives and the widespread damage to historic sites and structures, many of which he said serve as enduring symbols of Cebuano faith, identity, and shared memory.

The Commission expressed full support for the government’s immediate priority of saving lives and delivering aid but stressed that cultural heritage must also be protected during this critical period.

Through its Materials Research Conservation Division, the NHCP issued guidelines for caretakers, advising them not to enter damaged buildings without coordination and assurance that aftershocks have ceased. It also urged them to secure premises against unauthorized access, wear protective gear when assessing structural stability, and carefully document all damaged objects.

Movable heritage items should be retrieved with utmost care, wrapped in clean cloth or Japanese tissue, and stored in sturdy boxes. Fragments should be labeled and grouped for easier identification, while undamaged items may also be retrieved for safekeeping.

The Commission emphasized the urgency of retrieval to prevent further damage from aftershocks, weather, or theft. Recovered objects must be transferred to safe locations designated by heritage site administrators, with a quick inventory noting object names, measurements, materials, and observed damage. Restoration, it added, should be entrusted to professionals and skilled artisans.

The NHCP also cautioned the public against indiscriminate posting of photos of damaged heritage online, warning that such images may be exploited by looters or vandals.

Above all, it reiterated that personal safety is paramount, urging strict coordination with site administrators and experts before entering compromised structures.

In a day marked by razor-thin margins, wild swings and relentless pressure, Zach Villaroman and Jakob Taruc came through in the clutch, salvaging an all-square result in the final pairing to help Team North escape with a nerve-wracking 6 1/2-5 1/2 victory over Team South in Thursday’s Foursomes of the ICTSI Elite Junior Finals here.

The tightly contested matchup capped a rollercoaster Day 2 in this Ryder Cup-style event that showcases the country’s finest junior golfers. As the sun scorched the pristine fairways of The Country Club, both sides battled not only each other, but also the weight of expectations and the high-stakes format of alternate shot play.

With the team standings at 14-9 heading into the final match, South’s Eric Jeon and Mhark Fernando III looked poised to deliver a crucial point, taking a 1-up lead to the 18th. But on the challenging par-4 finishing hole, Fernando’s 3-iron approach into a stiff headwind found the pond, opening the door for Villaroman and Taruc to steal a half-point with a steady par. They delivered, reaching the green in two and two-putting to snatch the tie and hike Team North’s lead, 14 1/2-9 1/2.

The seesaw battle was emblematic of the day’s drama. While Team North built on its 8-4 Four-ball win from Tuesday to take early control, Team South mounted a fiery comeback, winning key matches late in the day. The tight finishes and bold recoveries made this the most dramatic installment yet in a Finals that continues to defy prediction.

Earlier in the day, North captured six of the first 11 matches, threatening to pull away. But South clawed back in the boys’ 7-10 division with a clean sweep, while also notching pivotal wins in the 11-14 and 15-18 categories. Ralph Batican and Marcus Dueñas exacted revenge on Vito Sarines and Ryuji Suzuki, 2-up, in boys’ 11-14, while Lucas Revilleza and James Rolida stormed back from behind to edge Halo Pangilinan and Asher Abad, 1-up. Ethan Lago and Kvan Alburo also repeated their dominance with a 2 and 1 victory over Zach Guico and Zoji Edoc in the youngest age category.

On the girls’ side, South’s 15-18 pairs flexed their experience and chemistry once more. Crista Miñoza and Precious Zaragosa cruised to a 3 and 2 victory, while Tashanah Balangauan and Mikela Guillermo secured a 4 and 3 rout – both building on their dominant Four-ball performances a day earlier.

Despite South’s late charge, Team North found strength in its younger divisions. The girls’ 7-10 duo of Winter Serapio and Ronee Dungca remained untouchable, dispatching Soleil Molde and Denise Mendoza in just two and a half hours with a commanding 7 and 6 victory. Minutes later, Mavis Espedido and Tyra Garingalao matched the feat against Claren Quiño and Francesca Geroy.

The back-to-back sweeps from Serapio-Dungca and Espedido-Garingalao – who also won convincingly on Day 1 – gave North critical breathing room heading into Friday’s singles.

‘While we considered the players’ personalities when drawing up pairings for team formats, I think we’ll now be focusing on confidence heading into the singles – specifically, who has the mental toughness to go up against the South,” said North captain Francis Talion, who acknowledged that the singles matches present an entirely different battlefield.

“Singles is a different kind of challenge, but the confidence boost we got from our Day 1 win will definitely help build momentum for our players. With that, I believe we can pull this off,” he added.

North also benefited from new pairings in the girls’ 11-14 division, where Mona Sarines and Alexie Gabi edged out Brittany Tamayo and Kimberly Baroquillo, 1-up, and Lisa Sarines and Kendra Garingalao cruised to a 5 and 4 win over Rafella Batican and Zuri Bagaloyos.

In other boys’ matches, Zianbeau Edoc and Jacob Casuga held off Jared Saban and Ken Guillermo, 2-up, in 11-14 division, while Patrick Tambalque and Kristoffer Nadales outclassed Alexis Nailga and Armand Copok, 4 and 3, in the premier category.

With a five-point advantage after two days, North heads into Friday’s 24-match singles finale with a sturdy cushion. But both sides know all too well that the singles format is an entirely different arena – one that tests not only skill, but nerve, resilience and mental fortitude.

‘Confidence is key,’ said Talion. ‘We’ll look at who’s mentally strong, who has the heart for this fight. The matchups will matter a lot, but what we saw in Day 1 gave us belief that we can finish this strong.’

Still, Talion remains grounded: ‘I always remind the team to respect the South.’

South captain Alfred Gaccion, on the other hand, remains hopeful and upbeat despite the deficit.

‘We played much better today compared to Day 1. The players were able to adjust to both their partners and the course, and they complemented each other’s games well. That really helped boost team morale. We’re expecting a strong showing tomorrow, as it’s their opportunity to bounce back from any miscues over the past two days. Based on how they played today, I’m confident their morale is high and they’re ready,’ said Gaccion.

Both sides largely stuck with their original Four-ball rosters, making only minimal adjustments – Team North reshuffled its tandems in the girls’ 11-14 division, while Team South made changes in the girls’ 7-10 category. The tweaks, however, made little difference.

‘We weren’t really surprised by the minor changes. South has been consistent with its pairings and clearly trusts the formula it used on Day 1, so we expected only a few adjustments,’ said Talion.

For Gaccion, the tweaks were simply to make a few adjustments. ‘We were quite happy with the result. Although we didn’t fully achieve the goal we were aiming for, we’re still satisfied with the outcome,’ he said.

At 5:07 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, the Philippines’ three most notable political icons inaugurated the new Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos and former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, 95 and in a wheel chair, cut the ceremonial ribbon at the lobby of the renovated PICC, Asia’s first and grandest international convention center in 1976.

With the vision of the inimitable Imelda and the design of National Artist Leandro Locsin, PICC was built in record time of 23 months by DM Consunji and AG and P for only P100 million. PICC in 1976 signaled to the world that the Philippines was ready for business.

This year, PICC’s renovation took only six months and under budget, thanks to First Lady Liza Marcos, says President Marcos Jr.

In 2025, a year before PICC’s 50th anniversary, PICC’s reopening again signals to the world it is ready for business, under the second Marcos president, BBM.

Coincidentally, Marcos Jr. has engineered the largest housecleaning ever undertaken in the Philippines by any president. BBM is the first whistleblower leader in recorded history. ‘It takes balls to do that,’ deadpans DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, today his chief housecleaner.

No president, prime minister, autocrat, despot or democrat has ever taken the initiative to tell his people that his house has been invaded by thieves (in cahoots with insiders) and that he needs help badly.

The P1-trillion flood control scam or flood-gate is the single biggest act of corruption in our history. It has no precedent – in amount, in number of participants, in the assembly-line execution of the thievery, in the syndicated symphony of stealing and the outrageous greed and impunity.

PICC was, for a number of decades, the star of Asia’s then nascent MICE business – Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions. Take note: the Philippines had scored an unheard of 8.8 percent GDP growth in 1973 and repeated that same 8.8 percent in 1976 – the year PICC opened for business.

In the 1970s, says RTVM, president Ferdinand and first lady Imelda sought to place the nation on the world stage through culture, architecture and global dialogue. PICC was more than a building. It was the symbol of a nation’s ambition. It was the most modern convention center in Asia, ‘a milestone that declared to the world the Philippines is ready to lead.’

Not surprisingly, BBM was teary eyed and effusive at PICC’s reopening Tuesday.

‘As we look ahead, we recognize the PICC as a symbol of Filipino resilience and creativity,’ he enthused.

BBM thanked mom Imelda, ‘the guiding light, the inspiration, the – well, she’s not the architect but she was the one who put everything together.’

He thanked First Lady Liza, ‘who again has inherited [applause] the tradition of very quick construction projects that actually come in under budget. So, that is always something important to her Ilocano husband.’

When he and Liza toured the new PICC, BBM reminded her: ‘My mother doesn’t need a tour. She invented this.’

The President told his select inaugural guests: ‘As we open the newly renovated Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), we are revisiting a chapter of our nation’s history. We are gathered in a place where history was written, lives were celebrated, where the future will once again be shaped. Every brick, every beam, every hall of this building carries with it nearly five decades of stories.’

BBM said ‘within these halls, the world’s eyes turned to the Philippines as we hosted the Miss Universe pageant in 1994. The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN gathered in 2017 to build the future of our region.’

‘But what makes the PICC truly special is not only the big moments that made the headlines. It is also the smaller, more personal moments – the ones that never made it to the front page but stayed forever in the hearts of the people. How many parents shed tears of joy as they watched their children receive their diplomas here? How many young professionals stood tall on this stage to swear their oaths, carrying with them both pride and responsibility?’

‘How many artists poured their hearts out in music, in dance, in painting and performances within these walls – only to find that the audience gave them something greater in return: appreciation, encouragement, love even?’

‘And how many couples have begun their journey together, as husbands and wives, while friends and family filled this place with laughter, and tears of joy? These are the memories that give life to PICC. These are the stories that turn a hall of concrete into a home of the Filipino spirit,’ related the President.

On its 50th in 2026, PICC hosts the ASEAN Summit.

Meanwhile, I texted Bangko Sentral Eli Remolona, chairman of the PICC board, to confirm with him the cost of the PICC renovation. No answer.

Was Gov Eli too busy wondering why corrupt senators and congressmen, DPWH engineers and contractors could withdraw billions in a week seamlessly, with gay abandon, from our lovely banking system while we, mortals, have to be interviewed by our bank branch manager on rare occasions we withdraw P500,000?

Has BSP been too lazy or too complicit in allowing the P1-trillion flood-gate, without the Anti-Money Laundering Council raising a whimper?

It would take a whole day for a bank branch to handle a withdrawal of P25 million. So if you withdraw P500 million, how many days would a bank branch take to count that money?

BSP is AMLC chair. Eli worked for 14 years in New York and also taught there. New York is the hotbed of the mafia for whom the $10,000-threshold or limit for moving cash was designed by anti-money launderers.

An investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on anomalies in infrastructure projects will include former public works chief and now Sen. Mark Villar, his senator-sister Camille as well as their mother, Cynthia – a former senator – specifically over P18.5 billion in infrastructure contracts in Las Piñas bagged by a close relative.

‘They’re related interests. They have the same interest – it’s one relationship, one family, first degree of consanguinity, to the fourth degree of consanguinity or even third degree. From senator to the contractor is third degree,’ DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.

He said Mark Villar will be the focus of the DOJ probe on the P18.5 billion worth of projects awarded to a contractor who is his first cousin.

‘That’s prohibited interest,’ Remulla said.

He said the contracts bagged by the senator’s first cousin were for flood control, buildings and road projects.

The DOJ chief said the investigation will cover the period when Mark served as DPWH secretary during the Duterte administration and when he is already a lawmaker.

Remulla made it clear that the investigation on the Villar family is just one of the 67 cases being looked into by Congress.

Invitations to the Villars and to other people, he said, will come later as authorities work to ‘build up everything.’

Remulla said the DOJ continues its case build-up on lawmakers, private contractors and DPWH officials implicated in alleged anomalous infrastructure projects.

‘We have to do it. Bid-rigging happens everywhere. Impunity of corruption, kasi wala na nga nahuhuli (because nobody gets arrested),’ he said.

Two Filipino seafarers were injured when Houthi rebels attacked a Dutch-flagged cargo vessel in the Red Sea, the Department of Migrant Workers confirmed yesterday.

DMW Secretary Hans Cacdac said the victims are undergoing treatment.

Cacdac said 10 other Filipino crewmembers of Minervagcht are safe.

The 12 seafarers are set to be repatriated this weekend, Cacdac said.

Based on news reports, a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels set the cargo vessel on fire.