Category: Philippine Star

Six transport groups called off their plan to hold a transport strike on Monday, August 10 after the government granted a P2 increase on fuel discount subsidy.

Transport leaders declared their decision to cancel the transport strike in a meeting with the Department of Transportation on Thursday, August 6.

Pasang Masda, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP) and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP) said they will no longer join the strike originally scheduled on August 10 to 12.

Likewise, Boses at Samahan ng mga Jeepney Drivers and Operators Association (BUSINA), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO), and Stop and Go said that they will continue their operations instead.

Welcomed increase

The transport leaders also welcomed the government’s move to increase the fuel discount subsidy to P12 per liter from the previous P10 per liter to cushion the impact of rising domestic pump prices due to the conflict in West Asia.

The approved increase is lower than the P20 per liter discount subsidy proposed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The leaders of the transport groups who canceled their participation in the strike, however, said the approved increase was already helpful.

The Department of Transportation said the fuel discount increase was among several measures discussed by Transportation Secretary Banoy Lopez during his dialogue with transport groups before the press conference.

According to the agency, Lopez also presented proposed amortization assistance for operators under the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) and the waiver of terminal fees at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) and participating SM terminals, which also contributed to the groups’ decision to call off the planned transport strike.

‘Ngayon, ang gobyerno po, handa naman po tumulong po sa atin dito. Ito po ‘yung nangyari ngayon, malaking tulong na po ito sa sektor ng transportasyon,’ ALTODAP’s President Melencio Vargas said.

(Now, the government is ready to help us. That’s what’s happening now, this is a big help to the transport sector)

The fuel subsidy discount is the government’s aid to public utility vehicle drivers who can avail themselves of oil and gas products from some gas stations in the country for prices lower than normal.

According to the Department of Energy, as of July 30, there are 2,735 participating local gasoline stations in the fuel discount initiative.

Fare hike

The recent increase in the subsidy comes after the country experienced two consecutive weeks of pump price hikes again because of renewed exchange of attacks between the United States and Iran in mid-July, causing disruption to the global oil market.

The transport groups then demanded fare hikes, and announced on August 3, after the LTFRB heard their petitions, that they will stage a three-day transport strike to call the government’s attention to their demand.

Unlike other groups, Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers para sa Karapatan sa Paggawa (MANIBELA) Chairperson Mar Valbuena said in the same conference that he will consult with the members first before announcing whether they will cancel the strike or continue as planned.

MANIBELA maintained their position that only fare increase can help drivers cope with the rising costs of fuel.

The Cebu provincial government is transforming part of the Capitol grounds into a P10.5-million People’s Heritage Park, designed not only as a 24/7 public open space but also as a flood-mitigating green infrastructure project aimed at reducing stormwater runoff into downtown Cebu City.

Construction of the 2,000-square-meter park is ongoing within the Capitol compound, with completion targeted by September.

The project is intended to demonstrate how green public spaces can help address urban flooding by capturing rainwater instead of allowing it to flow directly into low-lying areas.

Executive Assistant V Elizar Sabinay of the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) said the People’s Heritage Park was conceived as “a multipurpose park that will serve as a water catchment during flooding.”

He explained that, unlike conventional parks, the project incorporates permeable paving materials that allow rainwater to seep into the ground.

“We call it permeable bricks, meaning it sips more water. Because if you put concrete, it doesn’t sip,” Sabinay said.

He added that the landscaping was also redesigned to improve water absorption.

“The grass before was animal grass. We changed it to carabao grass. The carabao grass sips more water,” he said.

Aside from permeable surfaces, the park’s design includes a sunken portion that will temporarily store rainwater during heavy downpours.

According to Sabinay, the collected water will be directed through a drainage system into a pumping facility connected to a water cistern tank, where it will later be reused.

“There’s a drainage that goes here that will go to a particular pumping or water cistern tank that will supply water to our public CR in the park,” he said.

Sabinay said the province’s immediate contribution to easing flooding in downtown Cebu lies in slowing the movement of rainwater from higher elevations.

He noted that the Capitol sits on higher ground, where rainwater naturally flows downhill toward the city’s flood-prone areas.

“The best way is really not to make the water run. Capture it. And making capture of it is to make public parks. Make more green spaces,” Sabinay said.

He said the People’s Heritage Park is envisioned as a model that other local government units (LGUs) can replicate to collectively lessen flooding.

“Although it’s a small park, but if there are a lot of small parks surrounding Cebu City, it will somehow lessen flooding in Cebu City,” he said.

Sabinay acknowledged that a single park will not eliminate flooding but said projects that retain rainwater before it reaches drainage systems can help reduce its impact.

“Hopefully through the park, it will lessen water going down to downtown, so it won’t flood as much as before,” he added.

Beyond its environmental function, the People’s Heritage Park is also designed as an inclusive public space.

Plans include a jogging area, spaces for children and senior citizens, a coffee shop, a public restroom, and a glasshouse that can accommodate meetings and other public or private gatherings.

Sabinay said the park will also incorporate sustainability features, including solar-powered lighting and ventilation systems, while rainwater collected through the park’s drainage and impounding system will be reused to supply water for the public restroom and the glasshouse.

He added that once completed, the People’s Heritage Park will remain open to the public around the clock, making it a 24/7 green space.

Funding for the project comes from the Department of Budget and Management’s Green, Green, Green Program.

Anti-narcotics agents seized a kilo of shabu, costing P6.8 million, from three dealers entrapped with the help of their own relatives and local executives in a residential area in this city on Thursday, August 6.

City and barangay officials separately told reporters on Friday that they would help the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao prosecute the now-detained Jayson Kamsali Karon and his two female accomplices, Meriam Bagundang Rauf and Sambra Mama Gulo, using the P6.8 million worth of shabu confiscated from them as evidence.

Edgar Jubay, director of PDEA-BARMM, said on Friday that the suspects were immediately arrested by PDEA-BARMM agents, backed by operatives from different units of the Cotabato City Police Office led by their director, Col. Jibin Bongcayao, after selling them shabu at one spot in Barangay Rosary Heights 3.

Jubay said the entrapment operation that led to the arrest of the three suspects and confiscation from them of P6.8 million worth of shabu was laid with the help of barangay officials in Rosary Heights 3 and the office of Mayor Bruce Matabalao, who is presiding chairperson of the multi-sector Cotabato City Peace and Order Council.

It was the relatives of Karon, Rauf and Gulo who first reported to Jubay and Matabalao their shabu and marijuana peddling activities in Cotabato City, enabling agents of PDEA-BARMM and policemen to promptly embark on the entrapment operation that resulted in their arrest.

Jubay said all of the three suspects are now locked in PDEA-BARMM’s detention facility, awaiting prosecution for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

PDEA-BARMM agents and policemen had also impounded during the entrapment operation the black minivan of the suspects, with license plates MBK 2638, that they used in delivering shabu and marijuana to contacts in Cotabato City and in nearby areas in Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat towns in Maguindanao del Norte.

Combined policemen and soldiers shot dead five remnants of the Dawlah Islamiya for resisting arrest in a law-enforcement operation on Thursday, August 6, in Pikit town in Cotabato province that turned haywire.

Lt. Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, acting commander of the Western Mindanao Command, and regional police officials in the Bangsamoro region and in Region 12 separately told reporters on Friday that policemen and soldiers were out to check on reporters by Moro villagers about the presence in Barangay Inug-ug in Pikit of the five remnants of the now defunct Dawlah Islamiya, but were forced to neutralize them instead for provoking a gunfight.

The slain terrorists, Marhum Sendig Esmael, Halim Sansawi Usman, Ali Usman Manduh, Rasul Bundas Tito and Bebeh Ayunan Camsa, were all wanted for multiple murder, multiple frustrated murder, destructive arson, armed robbery and large-scale trafficking of narcotics cases pending in different courts in Cotabato City and in Central Mindanao’s Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao del Sur provinces.

They are also wanted for their involvement in the March 28 ambush of a police patrol team in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur in the Bangsamoro region that left five policemen dead and three others wounded.

More than 30 followers of Esmael and Usman, six of them, Alazar Mondih Habib, Alimudin Ganoy Usop, Mindong Janas Odin, Amelil Unas Bentol, Ahmed Sangkaya Guimad and Mantato Usop Musalip, are experts in the fabrication of large improvised explosive devices, had surrendered in batches to different units of the 6th Infantry Division in recent months.

All of them had been reintegrated into the local communities via the joint regional reconciliation program for violent religious extremist of the 6th ID, the regional government of the Bangsamoro region and line agencies in Region 12.

Local executives in Cotabato province and their constituent-Moro datus supporting the joint anti-terror operations of the 6th ID and the police told reporters that policemen from units of the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office, led by their director, Col. Michael John Mangahis, and soldiers from the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion and the 601st Infantry Brigade were about to surround the location of the five terrorists to serve them warrants for their arrest but the operation turned awry when they opened fire.

Esmael, Usman, Manduh, Tito and Camsa all died instantly from multiple bullet wounds sustained in the gunfight.

Mangahis and Brig. Gen. Ricky Bunayog, acting commander of the 6th Infantry Division, had separately told reporters that policemen and soldiers found beside the cadaver of one of the five terrorists the government-issued combat rifle of Patrolman Apollo Pagurayan, who was killed, along with Patrolman Joerel Basilan Bullos, in an ambush by Dawlah Islamiya terrorists last July 7 in Barangay Tinumigues in Lambayong town in Sultan Kudarat.

The ambush fatalities Pagurayan and Bullos, who both belonged to the 1202nd Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 12 under the Police Regional Office 12, were riding a motorcycle together, on their way to their company command post from a road security duty, when they were attacked by Dawlah Islamiya terrorists positioned along a stretch of a highway in Barangay Tinumigues, killing them both immediately.

Their assailants took with them the service rifles of the two dead policemen as they escaped.

A dead man was found in the trunk of a burned car in Guiguinto, Bulacan on Tuesday night.

The victim was found hogtied at around 11:15 p.m., in the trunk of an abandoned Mitsubishi Mirage in Barangay Daungan.

Police have arrested two of four suspects in the murder of the 29-year-old victim, who was an employee of a financing company.

Probers identified the suspects as Ronnie Alcantara and Ramon Gamba, who were arrested in separate follow-up operations on Wednesday.

Alcantara was collared in Barangay San Francisco in Bulakan town, while Gamba was caught in Barangay San Vicente in Malolos.

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said that the murder was a crime of passion.

Nartatez said the victim had an affair with a married woman, who could be behind the murder along with her partner.

Central Luzon police director Brig. Gen. Jess Mendez said the victim was not aware that the woman’s partner had discovered the affair.

Mendez said the woman told the victim to meet her in Bulakan town, where he was murdered.

Probers said the killers placed the body in the car and drove to Guiguinto, where they torched the vehicle.

Police said a manhunt has been launched for the woman and her partner.

The Philippine economy grew by 2.3% in the second quarter of 2026, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported during a press conference on Friday, August 7.

The second quarter economic growth is slower than the first quarter expansion of 2.8%, and the 5.4% growth recorded in the same period last year.

The statistics agency said the top contributors to the recent growth are the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, with 4.6% growth rate, followed by education with 12.7%, and manufacturing with 2.6%.

The gross national income (GNI), meanwhile, recorded an increase of 2.2%.

The GDP refers to how much is earned by the country inside its borders, while the GNI refers to the income made by the country regardless of where it is made, including foreign investments and remittances from overseas Filipino workers.

Investments declined due to flood control scandal

Meanwhile, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan confirmed in the same press conference with the statistics agency that the lack of public construction due to flood control corruption scandal contributed to the decline in investments.

‘To confirm the sharp decline in public construction was the main contributor to the decline in investment by 9.2%,’ Balisacan said.

Balisacan added that a growth of 4.4% is needed in the second semester to meet the government’s annual growth target of 3.5% to 4.5%,

The country’s agricultural output grew by 2.9 percent in the second quarter, driven by broader gains from the crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries sectors, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

In a report, the PSA said the value of production in agriculture and fisheries – calculated at constant 2018 prices to weed out the effects of inflation – reached P452.22 billion in the April to June period, from P439.66 billion a year ago.

The growth was a reversal of the 0.3 percent contraction in the first quarter, though at a slower pace than the six percent expansion in the same period in 2025.

As of the first half of 2026, agricultural output amounted to P889.68 billion, a 1.3-percent increase from P878.31 billion the previous year.

Crop production saw a 1.6-percent expansion during the second quarter to P248.9 billion. The sector accounted for more than half, or 55 percent, of total agricultural output.

Palay (unhusked rice) output rose by 5.7 percent during the period, while the growth in corn production was slower at 0.8 percent.

Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the suspension of rice importation between September and December last year drove farmgate prices higher, improving the planting intentions of farmers.

Palay production rose to a record-high 4.63 million metric tons in the second quarter, PSA data showed.

However, Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) national manager Raul Montemayor expressed concern over the inconsistent growth patterns seen in the agricultural sector, especially for palay production.

‘There is no consistent growth pattern despite the billions being poured into the sector,’ he told The STAR.

As for poultry, the sector expanded by 6.3 percent in the second quarter to P79.84 billion. It contributed around 17.7 percent to agricultural output during the period.

Driving growth in the sector was the value of production for chicken eggs, which saw an annual increase of 13.2 percent, while chicken production rose by 4.1 percent.

PSA data also showed that the country’s livestock sector rose by 3.6 percent valued at P61.83 billion, driven by a 5.6-percent expansion in local hog production and dairy output at 37.8 percent.

The sector contributed about 13.7 percent to the agricultural sector during the second quarter.

University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Food and Agri Business executive director Marie Annette Galvez-Dacul told The STAR that the growth in the poultry and livestock sector was mainly driven by steady consumer demand and better production conditions.

Contributing 13.6 percent, the fisheries sector grew by 2.7 percent in the April to June period to P61.64 billion.

Tiu Laurel noted that the broad gains in agricultural output during the second quarter would strengthen the sector ahead of the anticipated impact of El Niño later this year.

‘These gains also give us a stronger buffer against the production slowdown we expect from El Niño in the fourth quarter,’ he said.

‘We cannot control the weather, but we can equip our farmers to overcome it through irrigation, mechanization, climate-smart technologies, quality seeds, modern post-harvest facilities and better market access,’ he added.

Former agriculture undersecretary Fermin Adriano told The STAR that generally good weather in the second quarter contributed to growth in the sector.

He added that the remaining months of 2026 would face the brunt of the effects of El Niño this year, coupled with higher fertilizer and fuel prices.

A very strong El Niño episode is forecast to occur during the months of October to December and could last until early 2027, according to the state bureau agency PAGASA.

Dengue cases in Mandaue City rose by 6.8 percent in the first seven months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to the City Health Office’s (CHO) latest Dengue Surveillance Report.

From January 1 to July 30, the city recorded 373 dengue cases, including one death.

Of the total cases, 96, or 26%, were laboratory-confirmed, while 137, or 37%, were classified as probable cases and 140, or 38%, as suspected cases.

CHO Assistant Head Dr. Phyllis Bidon attributed the increase in cases to the rainy season, particularly during June and July.

‘Community effort man gud na siya ang prevention,’ said Dr. Bidon in an interview, adding that despite the increase in cases, Mandaue City is not among the top 10 local government units with the highest number of dengue cases.

Patients ranged in age from newborns to 87 years old, with a median age of 13 years. Males accounted for 204 cases, or 55% of the total.

Children aged one to 10 years remained the most affected age group, accounting for 38.9% of all reported cases.

Meanwhile, the city recorded a case fatality rate of 0.3%, lower than the 0.6% recorded at the end of 2025, when Mandaue logged 520 dengue cases and three deaths.

Among Mandaue’s 27 barangays, Barangay Tabok recorded the highest share of dengue cases at 8%, followed by Barangays Alang-alang and Cabancalan with 6.7% each, and Barangay Umapad with 6.2%.

The increase comes as Mandaue continues to strengthen its dengue prevention measures during the rainy season. In June, the City Council approved a resolution urging all barangays to activate their Dengue Task Forces to intensify monitoring and eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

The task forces, primarily composed of barangay health workers, are expected to monitor dengue cases and help implement preventive measures, including identifying and eliminating stagnant water where dengue-carrying mosquitoes breed.

Bidon also reiterated the CHO’s call for the public to practice the Department of Health’s 4S strategy; Search and destroy mosquito breeding sites, Secure self-protection measures, Seek early consultation, and Support targeted spraying in hotspot areas.

‘Mag 4S gihapon ta. Every 4 o’clock, throw away gyud tag stagnant water kay diha man gud mu-breed ang mosquito,’ Bidon said, stressing that dengue prevention requires the participation of every household, not just the local government.

She also encouraged residents to wear protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts, use mosquito repellent, and seek immediate medical consultation once dengue symptoms appear

It’s up to the Office of the Ombudsman to decide if newly appointed Health Secretary Jose Pujalte Jr. should be placed under preventive suspension after a graft complaint was filed against him on Wednesday, according to Malacañang.

‘If the case is in the ombudsman, that is within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman to determine whether a preventive suspension is needed to fast-track the investigation of the said complaint,’ Palace press officer Claire Castro told a media briefing yesterday.

Castro has no information on whether President Marcos and Pujalte have discussed the matter that stemmed from a complaint alleging that the health chief ordered the suspension of procurement of anti-tuberculosis commodities worth P3 billion for this year.

Pujalte said he is open to any investigation by the ombudsman after the graft complaint against him was filed by a group of health advocates, who requested anonymity.

Pujalte said he respects the mandate of the ombudsman and is prepared to cooperate and submit relevant documents and records required by the investigation.

The health advocates accused Pujalte of violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for issuing a memorandum ordering the suspension of the procurement of tuberculosis drugs.

In the 18-page complaint, they alleged that Pujalte delayed the bidding process to benefit an unnamed supplier.

The DOH chief has denied the allegations and maintained that conducting due diligence should not be misrepresented as an attempt to stop the government’s tuberculosis program or deprive patients of access to necessary medicines.

‘The DOH’s review of the proposed P3 billion procurement of tuberculosis commodities is needed to protect patients and public funds. It is intended to ensure that the procurement process is responsive to the needs of tuberculosis patients, transparent, and compliant with the law,’ Pujalte said in a statement.

He added that the department remains committed to maintaining access to safe and effective medicines while safeguarding public funds

‘It’s been (nearly) 30 days since I assumed office but they want the approval of the P3 billion TB procurement fast-tracked without any thorough evaluation. That is the P3 billion of the Filipino people, it is not as simple as that. The lives of the people are at stake here,’ Pujalte said.

Pujalte, who replaced Teodoro Herbosa as chief of the Department of Health only last July 13, is also facing allegations that he was seen gambling in two resort casinos in Parañaque City.

Filipinos’ trust in China has climbed to its least negative levels since December 2022, based on a new Social Weather Stations poll, even as both countries continue to trade protests over incidents in the West Philippine Sea.

Net trust for China among Filipino adults rose to -16 in June from -19 in March, according to the SWS second quarter survey released Friday, August 7.

This is the closest China has come to neutral in SWS’ polling in three and a half years, since it garnered a net trust of -6 in December 2022.

The lowest net trust for China was at -54 in June 2024, at the height of confrontations between both countries’ vessels at Ayungin Shoal.

In its most recent survey, SWS found that Filipinos who had “much trust” in China climbed to 25% from 22%, while those with “little trust” stayed at 41%.

The undecided share shrank to 30% from 35%.

Overall, China remains under the “poor” category of SWS’ scale, which puts scores between -10 and -29 in that bracket.

China’s net trust in the SWS surveys have been positive in only nine of 74 surveys since SWS first asked Filipinos about their trust for China in August 1994, peaking at a “moderate” +17 in June 2010.

Survey methodology. SWS interviewed 1,200 adults face-to-face across the country from June 20 to 29, with an overall margin of error at ±3 percentage points.

Net trust is the share expressing much trust minus the share expressing little trust. SWS said the country-trust questions were not commissioned.

Survey respondents were asked to answer:

The survey took place at a time when the West Philippine Sea was back at the top of the news, driven by China’s installation and eventual removal of a floating platform at Scarborough Shoal – a structure that officials and lawmakers called an illegal incursion and experts warned could be used to turn the shoal into an artificial island.

US trust down 21 points from a year ago

Meanwhile, Filipinos’ trust in the United States has had the opposite trend over the past 12 months.

Net trust for the US was +42 in June, up three points from March, but 21 points below the +63 it drew in June 2025.

The March reading of +39 was the lowest for the US since 2010. Its rating has never gone negative since SWS began measuring trust for the US in December 1994.

Japan stayed “good” at +36, up two points from March. Australia held at “moderate” with +29, up six points.

Israel turns negative for the first time since 2024. Israel fell six points to -5, its first negative score since March 2024. Palestine dropped seven points to -19, matching its September 2024 level.

Iran slipped a point to -23, the lowest among the eight countries in the survey.

Russia was at -8, down three points, and has been in the negatives in all but three SWS polls since 1995.