Category: Philippine Star

Businesses should treat digital trust as a strategic asset tied to customer confidence and economic participation, consumer group CitizenWatch Philippines said, urging companies and government to adopt consistent safeguards against online scams.

‘Digital trust is not only a cybersecurity concern; it is a business asset,’ said lawyer Kit Belmonte, former legislator and CitizenWatch co-convenor. ‘Customers are more likely to use digital services when they believe their data and transactions are protected. Companies and government should strengthen and embed trust in how they operate, making trust a shared responsibility across the companies and institutions that serve them.’

The call comes as Filipinos increasingly rely on digital services for payments, commerce, education, health care and government transactions. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the digital economy generated P2.74 trillion in gross value added in 2025, equivalent to 9.8 percent of gross domestic product.

But consumer confidence faces pressure from fraud. TransUnion’s H2 2025 report found that 65 percent of Filipino consumers surveyed had been targeted by fraud through email, online, phone or text, compared with 48 percent globally.

‘When people do not feel safe online, they can lose confidence in the services they depend on,’ Belmonte said. ‘That affects consumers directly, and it can also weaken the willingness of customers to participate in the digital economy.’

Belmonte urged telecom operators, digital platforms, financial institutions and government to coordinate their response and make safeguards consistent across services.

Measures such as blocking scam messages and malicious domains, giving users clear ways to report suspicious activity, and sharing threat information should be part of a broader system of protection, he said.

Telecommunications companies have taken steps that include scam and spam blocking, consumer reporting channels, security warnings and partnerships with financial institutions. Belmonte cited Globe’s test of Silent Network Authentication with GCash as an example of industry efforts to strengthen consumer protection. He said company initiatives can contribute to consumer protection, but should not be treated as a substitute for standards that apply across the industry.

‘Protection should not depend on which operator, bank or platform a person uses,’ Belmonte said. ‘If safeguards vary widely, scammers will look for the weakest link – and consumers will be left to manage risks they cannot control alone.’

The group also called for operators to share responsibility with platforms, banks and government agencies, including through faster information-sharing and support for smaller telecom providers that may not have the same resources to strengthen their defenses.

The Office of the Ombudsman has filed malversation and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan against six Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region XII personnel over their alleged involvement in a P491.9-million road right-of-way scam in General Santos City.

In a statement on Sunday, October 25, the Ombudsman said that it found prima facie evidence, with reasonable certainty of conviction, against former DPWH Region XII Regional Director Subair Saro Diron, former Assistant Regional Director Laureano Suan Jr. and four other DPWH employees.

According to the Ombudsman, the four other employees are the following:

Tomas Rodriguez

David Padlan

Paisal Padate

Ansare Busran

Seven private individuals implicated in the fraudulent scheme were also indicted.

The anti-graft agency filed 18 counts of Malversation of Public Funds or Property through Falsification of Public Documents under Article 217 in relation to Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code, along with 18 counts of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

According to a 2017 affidavit executed by whistleblower Roberto Catapang Jr., a syndicate colluded with public officials to obtain government funds for land acquisitions by fabricating and submitting falsified land documents.

Following approvals by the DPWH Region XII technical working group, the government disbursed a total of P491,931,120.20 to claimants who were later found to have submitted fraudulent ownership claims.

Investigators from the National Bureau of Investigation also found that the respondents unlawfully applied a 2009 property appraisal rate of P3,500 per square meter to calculate compensation for land expropriated by the government in the early 1990s, resulting in heavily inflated right-of-way claims.

In a related administrative ruling, the Ombudsman ordered the immediate dismissal of former DPWH Region XII Legal Officer Ansare Mariga Busran from military or government service, with accessory penalties including the forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

Chanelle Avaricio brings a potent mix of winning momentum, growing confidence and proven course mastery into the ICTSI Apo Golf Classic, seeking back-to-back victories and a fourth title of the season as the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour wraps up its 2026 campaign Tuesday, October 27, here.

Fresh from a one-shot victory over Tiffany Lee at South Pacific last week, Avaricio heads to the quaint Apo layout with another compelling edge: a return to the course where she ruled in dominant fashion last year, turning a tight opening-round battle into a runaway triumph with a sterling second-round 68 that propelled her to an seven-shot victory.

The reigning champion thus looms as the player to beat in the P1.25-million season-ending championship, armed with the confidence of a recent winner, familiarity with the demands of the course and an increasingly well-rounded game sharpened by overseas competitions, including the China Tour.

Another victory would not only give Avaricio a fitting finish to her campaign but also match her four-title haul in the 2022 season. She has already stamped her class this year with victories at the demanding Pinewoods leg and Summit Point before surviving a dramatic, shifting battle of fortunes at South Pacific.

Yet for Avaricio, the significance of each triumph goes beyond numbers or comparisons.

‘Each win means a lot to me,’ said Avaricio after edging Lee in a tense finish. ‘It’s same as my other wins. Pero lahat naman, I’m really grateful and happy. So, it’s the same as all my wins. So, grateful lang talaga.’

That humility, however, will not diminish the target on her back at Apo. With her recent form and impressive title-defense credentials, Avaricio will have to contend with 23 challengers, including three amateurs, eager to derail her bid for another LPGT crown and close the season with a statement of their own.

Among the leading threats is Yvon Bisera, who seeks redemption and a third title of the season, while Lee will be out to sustain her late-season charge after ending a two-year title drought at Pueblo de Oro. Daniella Uy, Harmie Constantino and Princess Superal also have the firepower to mount serious challenges if they find their rhythm early.

Local knowledge could prove crucial on Apo’s tight, tricky layout, putting Sarah Ababa, Mafy Singson and Chihiro Ikeda in the mix. Their familiarity with Davao’s oldest golf course, where they have trained and developed their games, could provide a valuable advantage in a field expected to push Avaricio from the opening round.

Also tipped to contend are Rev Alcantara, who turned in a strong performance at South Pacific, Pamela Mariano, Gretchen Villacencio, Marvi Monsalve, Velinda Castil and Monica Mondario, along with returning Korean campaigner Seoyun Kim, and Eunhua Nam.

A 21-year-old student died after his motorcycle crashed along the road in Bocaue, Bulacan before dawn yesterday.

Jasper Magana was declared dead on arrival at the Rogaciano Medical Memorial Hospital in Santa Maria town due to severe injuries.

Magana was traveling in Barangay Cacarong Bata at around 1:30 a.m. when his motorcycle hit something, causing him to be thrown off the vehicle, Central Luzon police director Brig. Gen. Jess Mendez.

Responding barangay watchmen retrieved the victim from a ditch.

Three lawyers and three businessmen take the train to a conference. Each lawyer buys a ticket. The businessmen buy only one.

‘How will three of you ride on one ticket?’ a lawyer asks.

‘Watch,’ says a businessman.

On board, the businessmen squeeze into one restroom. The conductor knocks: ‘Ticket, please.’ One arm reaches out with one ticket, and he moves on. Impressed, the lawyers buy just one ticket for the trip home. The businessmen buy none.

‘How will you ride with no ticket at all?’

‘Watch.’

The lawyers pile into one restroom, the businessmen into another. Once the train moves, one businessman knocks on the lawyers’ door. ‘Ticket, please.’ An arm comes out with the ticket.

The lawyers learned the lesson. Just not all of it.

Most of life’s lessons go that way. We catch half the first time and must come back for the rest. Here are eight that have made a difference for me, and I am still learning them.

1. Nobody can learn the lessons for me.

Mentors can guide me, my boss can train me and a thousand authors can teach me from my bookshelf. But learning is non-transferable. Aldous Huxley said it well: ‘Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.’ Experience is not the best teacher. Evaluated experience is. Today, AI can summarize any book in seconds. Don’t confuse access with understanding.

2. Some lessons must be learned more than once.

Our memories are short. I have sat in seminars thinking, ‘I’ve heard this before.’ True. But have I done it? Heard before is not learned before. Perhaps the key is to commit lessons not just to the head but to the heart. The Psalmist wrote, ‘I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’

3. Flexibility is more important than power.

Strong-willed people are often just stubborn and get frustrated easily. I have yet to meet a happy perfectionist. Pencils have erasers, and keyboards have a delete key for a reason. Being flexible does not mean compromising your values. It means exercising tact, grace and compassion. The rigid person defends his position. The flexible person learns from it.

4. Drive and interest are more valuable than talent.

One person with passion will outperform ninety-nine with mere interest. Many gifted people never go far because talent was all they brought. Those who fail often have passion; they just spend it on gossip, office politics and envy. What delights you will direct you. The enemy of success is not failure, because failure teaches. The enemy of success is apathy: showing up with no goals, no direction and no motivation except payday.

5. Doing things is more important than knowing things.

‘I already know that.’ ‘I thought of that years ago.’ Yet nothing was done. Writer Curtis Grant put it memorably: people who want milk should not sit on a stool in the middle of a field hoping a cow will back up to them. You don’t have to be great to start, but you must start to be great.

6. People are more important than tasks and things.

Kids want new toys; adults want new cars. Later, we realize that memories and success come from people. When the biggest stars of 1985 gathered to record ‘We Are the World,’ producer Quincy Jones taped a sign on the studio door: ‘Check your ego at the door.’ The song succeeded through cooperation, not competition. Tasks have no souls. People do. Value them, and they will value you back.

7. Success is fun, but opportunity is better.

Success is a platform, not a parking lot. Every level reached is the foundation for the next. In a world changing this fast, the comfort zone is the danger zone. Many greats started unimpressively. Winston Churchill struggled in school. Soichiro Honda left school young to work in a car repair shop. Li Ka-shing left school at fifteen to support his family. To become, you must overcome.

8. We gain more by what we give than by what we get.

‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ is not just piety; it is practical wisdom. The greedy are the most miserable people on earth because the self is the hardest master to satisfy. Mentoring and leaving footprints for others outlast anything we collect. Here is a good rule: give and forget; receive and remember.

Find the principles that work for you, word them your own way and keep relearning them. The abundant life is not a finished course. It is a lifelong enrollment.

The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers will seek to reaffirm their mastery over the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Wildcats when their paths cross again in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) Season 26 basketball tournament today (Sunday, October 25) at the University of San Carlos (USC)-Downtown Campus Gymnasium.

Game time is set at 5 p.m.

Coach Gary Cortes’ wards routed the Wildcats, 85-63, in their first-round encounter on October 4 at the Cebu Coliseum.

The Lancers are currently second in the college division standings with a 7-2 win-loss record, while the Wildcats hold a 5-4 slate.

Meanwhile, the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) Panthers eye a repeat over the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) when they collide at 3:30 p.m.

The Panthers (1-8) scored their first and lone victory so far at the expense of UCLM (2-7) , 81-76, during the league’s season-opening games on August 29.

In high school play, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguar Cubs will aim to improve their 5-2 card when they take on the 2-5 San Carlos School of Cebu (SCSC) Baby Warriors at 12:30 p.m.

The Benedicto College (BC) Baby Cheetahs (2-4) will face the winless Don Bosco Greywolves (0-6) at 2 p.m.

In the 10:30 a.m. opener, the UV Baby Lancers (2-4) will clash with the PAREF Springdale Titans (1-6).

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) confirmed the launch of China’s Long March 8A rocket on Sunday, October 25.

In an advisory, PhilSA said the rocket lifted off from the Hainan International Commercial Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan, at approximately 10:03 a.m. (Manila time).

Before the launch, details of the designated drop zones were disclosed through a Notice to Airmen warning of “aerospace flight activity.”

PhilSA said it had distributed a pre-launch risk assessment report to relevant government agencies and local authorities to help ensure public safety.

The agency identified two primary drop zones for falling rocket components, including discarded boosters and payload fairings:

Drop Zone 1 (Within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone): Located approximately 107 nautical miles (NM) from Patag Island, 122 NM from Bajo de Masinloc, 164 NM from El Nido, Palawan, and 167 NM from Busuanga, Palawan.

Drop Zone 2 (Within Philippine Archipelagic Waters): Situated roughly 42 NM from Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan, 42 NM from Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, 53 NM from Pangutaran Island, Sulu, and 122 NM from Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

Although the discarded rocket components were not expected to land directly on inhabited areas, PhilSA warned that falling debris could pose serious risks to ships, fishing vessels, aircraft and mariners traversing the affected maritime areas.

‘While not projected to fall on land features or inhabited areas, falling debris poses danger and potential risk to ships, aircraft, fishing boats, and other vessels that will pass through the drop zone,’ PhilSA said.

‘There is also a possibility for the debris to float around the area and wash toward nearby coasts. Additionally, the possibility of an uncontrolled re-entry to the atmosphere of the rocket’s upper stages returning from outer space cannot be ruled out at this time,’ it added.

PhilSA reiterated its warning against touching or retrieving suspected rocket debris, noting that the materials may contain toxic remnants, including unspent rocket fuel.

‘PhilSA also cautions against retrieving or coming in close contact with these materials that may contain remnants of toxic substances such as rocket fuel,’ the agency warned.

Clyde Mondilla is back in the winner’s circle, and he intends to make the most of his return.

Fresh from ending a two-year title drought with a hard-earned victory at South Pacific Golf Club, Mondilla heads to the final leg of the Philippine Golf Tour at Apo Golf and Country Club starting Tuesday (Oct. 27) with renewed confidence, a sharper game and ambitions that extend well beyond the local circuit.

His South Pacific triumph was more than just a long-awaited return to the winner’s column. It was a test of nerve against a five-man chase, a demonstration of his ability to deliver under pressure and, perhaps most importantly, a timely reminder that he remains a force to reckon with as he sets his sights on bigger international challenges.

For Mondilla, the victory has already delivered its biggest immediate reward: the confidence to compete and win again.

The Sandiganbayan has upheld its earlier ruling denying former senator Ramon Revilla Jr.’s bid to stop one of its justices – who specifically ruled to deny him P1 million bail – from hearing his malversation case.

The anti-graft court’s Third Division ‘denied for lack of merit’ Revilla’s motion for reconsideration of the denial of his earlier motion intended to make Associate Justice Karl Miranda inhibit from his case.

Miranda, chairman of the Third Division, previously objected to the court’s majority ruling to grant Revilla P1 million bail for his temporary freedom amid his ongoing trial for malversation.

The case stemmed from allegations that he received kickbacks from a P92.8-million ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.

Miranda asserted it was ‘difficult to justify’ Revilla’s being granted temporary liberty while his co-accused remain behind bars.

In his motion, Revilla accused Miranda of being biased against his bail petition. In contesting his bail petition, Revilla claimed Miranda relied only on ‘uncorroborated and bare’ testimony of state witness former public works undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. Revilla noted Miranda’s brother had acted as Bernardo’s counsel.

In denying his motion for reconsideration, the Sandiganbayan said the former senator ‘has not presented any new or additional act, conduct, or circumstance that could be considered as clear and convincing evidence of Justice Miranda’s bias and prejudice that would warrant his recusal from hearing the instant case.’

‘Justice Miranda has already shown that his Separate Opinion is based on a thorough analysis of all the evidence presented by the prosecution, and thus, it cannot be simply disregarded as evidence of bias or prejudice,’ according to the Third Division’s seven-page resolution.

Third Division members Associate Justices Ronald Moreno and Fritz Bryn Anthony delos Santos concurred with the decision.

Do you know how many classrooms can be built with a budget of P54 million?

The amount can fund the construction of more than 60 classrooms if we use the estimate of non-government organizations of roughly P860,000 per classroom.

Imagine how many more students our public schools can accommodate if we build those 60 additional classrooms.

But instead, this P54 million is the cost of retrofitting three short bridges in Bulacan, which really have no visible signs of damage or need for retrofitting.

I wrote about this last week in my column titled, ‘Bridges to corruption,’ published on Oct. 22.

As I said, each bridge is approximately 30 meters long: one at the Kilometer 41 San Jose-Plaridel intersection (Bridge 1), another in Cambaog, Bustos (Bridge 2) and the third in Malamig, Bustos (Bridge 3).

All the bridges are on the northbound route from the Balagtas Exit of the North Luzon Expressway.

The first is Bridge 1 after the Jose-Plaridel intersection. The second is Bridge 2 right after the first bridge while the third is about four kilometers from the first bridge.

According to the project details, the scope of work involves retrofitting and strengthening at a cost of P18.5 million each for two bridges, while the third will cost P16.8 million for a total project cost of P53.8 million.

Based on the timetable, work started in August and completion is scheduled for December.

The implementing office is DPWH Regional Office III.

Several visits showed little work progressing, which is odd for a project scheduled for completion by December.

As I said, the only ‘retrofitting’ happening is grinding down the surface in worm-like patterns and applying epoxy putty.

The bridges are passable and show no visible signs of an urgent need for an upgrade or modification.

It’s alarming and sad, really that despite the crippling impact of the flood-control scandal on the economy, our institutions continue to overprice infrastructure projects.

DPWH executives and employees, LGU officials and lawmakers who are all in cahoots are too callous to moderate their greed, despite the economic fallout of the flood-control mess.

I wonder if DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, the so-called golden boy that he is, is even capable of ridding the agency of the mess he inherited and coming up with infrastructure projects that are no longer overpriced.

Even the cost of classrooms, using the DPWH’s estimate, is overpriced at P3.5 million each, according to EDCOM, whereas a non-government organization can actually build one for P860,000.

Sacred rage

In Europe, protests have spread amid challenging times.

There is that rage among the young population, fed up with a system that has led to poor school infrastructure, a housing crisis and the rising cost of living.

Here at home, the kind of audacious corruption devouring the moral fiber of our society and eating into public institutions, is a ticking time bomb. It may be just a matter of time before protests erupt.

Someday soon, just like in Les Misérables our people may yet sing again, loud and mighty, the song of angry men – the music of the people, who will not be slaves again!

A national task force for a jet full of drugs

What has become a global embarrassment for the Philippines should not be left unpunished.

I’m referring to the discovery by Laotian authorities of a jet full of drugs. Authorities intercepted the private jet, believed to be headed for Manila, in early October.

The jet was loaded with 23 pieces of luggage containing 521 kilograms of shabu, estimated to be worth P3.5 billion.

We must keep in mind that the drug scourge in the Philippines will remain one of our country’s worst ills if authorities fail to pursue the syndicates bringing these illegal drugs into the country, and the Filipinos working with them.

Las Piñas Rep. Mark Anthony Santos called for the establishment of a National Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force.

Santos, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said there is a need for a whole-of-nation approach to the fight against drugs.

He called for stronger inter-agency coordination, intelligence-sharing and closer monitoring of international drug trafficking networks that may exploit private aircraft and chartered flights to smuggle illegal narcotics into the Philippines.

In a letter to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Santos endorsed the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s request for a proposed executive order that would establish the national task force.

He believes this would help strengthen the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs.

‘The committee believes that the DILG’s technical inputs will be crucial in ensuring that the proposed Task Force has a clear mandate, effective operational structure, well-defined agency responsibilities and workable mechanisms for coordination and accountability,’ Santos said.

Establishing a dedicated task force, he said, would help consolidate the capabilities of law enforcement agencies, intelligence units and other government offices to really disrupt drug operations in the country.

Narco-state

The drug problem in the Philippines is so serious that it’s not an exaggeration to say we may be just a few steps away from actually descending into a narco state.

The challenge is for the Marcos administration to win the war on drugs. Perhaps, this is one way President Marcos can also vindicate himself against the alleged drug use issue perennially raised against him.