Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s impeachment trial enters a crucial week Monday, with the House prosecution set to present witnesses from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), banks, insurance companies and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as it moves closer to completing its unexplained wealth case.

The Senate impeachment court is scheduled to hold full-day hearings from Oct. 5 to 9, giving prosecutors five consecutive trial days to present financial records involving Duterte, her husband, lawyer Manases ‘Mans’ Carpio, and companies linked to them.

First on the witness stand is AMLC Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, whose testimony was postponed last week after the defense sought more time to review voluminous financial records and prepare for cross-examination.

‘Una, isasalang po finally ‘yun pong AMLC executive director patungkol doon sa mga transactions ng mag-asawang Duterte-Carpio at mga kumpanya po nila,’ House prosecutor and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

Buenaventura is expected to testify on summaries of covered and suspicious transaction reports involving Duterte, Carpio and several companies, as well as inward remittances and insurance and investment-related transactions.

Ridon said the postponement and the weekend should give the defense sufficient time to review the records. Prosecutors expect to complete their direct examination of Buenaventura, the defense’s cross-examination and questions from senator-judges on Monday.

‘So we’re expecting matapos po for Monday ‘yung pong AMLC executive director for direct, for cross, at questions of Senate judges,’ Ridon said.

Buenaventura previously testified before the House Committee on Justice on AMLC records covering billions of pesos in transactions involving Duterte and Carpio.

The aggregate figures represent recorded transactions and are not, by themselves, a finding that the amounts were illegally acquired or constitute unexplained wealth.

After Buenaventura, officials from seven banks and seven insurance and financial firms have been ordered to appear before the impeachment court beginning Tuesday to testify and produce financial records.

The seven banks are Land Bank of the Philippines, Asia United Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Philippine National Bank and BDO Unibank.

Also summoned are representatives of Prudential Life, Allianz, Manufacturers Life, FWD Life, BPI-AIA Life, BDO Securities and BDO Life.

The prosecution also intends to summon a BIR witness to present records on the couple’s income and taxes as part of its effort to build a more complete picture of their finances.

‘At panghuli, ‘yun pong BIR para makita po natin ‘yung pong income, net of taxes, ng mag-asawang Duterte-Carpio para magkaroon po tayo ng, lagi po nating binabanggit, na most complete picture ng kayamanan, supposedly kayamanan, ng atin pong Pangalawang Pangulo at ng kanya pong asawa,’ Ridon said.

The witnesses form part of the prosecution’s presentation under Article II, which accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth, failing to fully and truthfully disclose her and her spouse’s assets, liabilities and net worth, and continuing business interests while serving as vice president.

Prosecutors have already presented evidence involving Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, corporate interests, real properties and firearms.

The coming AMLC, bank, insurance and tax records are expected to be compared with those disclosures as prosecutors seek to establish whether the couple’s finances are consistent with their declared wealth.

The prosecution expects to move closer to the end of its unexplained wealth presentation once the remaining financial witnesses are completed.

House Speaker and Isabela Rep. Faustino G. Dy III on Sunday extended his sympathies to the family of the two students who died during a fun run at the Cauayan South Central School.

The fatalities, aged 7 and 8, were electrocuted during a bubble fun run on Saturday, Oct. 3.

‘Lubos akong nakikiramay sa mga pamilya ng dalawang mag-aaral na nasawi sa malagim na insidente sa Cauayan South Central School,’ Dy said in a statement.

‘Nang malaman ko ang nangyari, agad akong nagtungo sa paaralan upang personal na alamin ang sitwasyon at makausap ang mga kinauukulan.’ he added.

‘Bilang isang ama at kapwa Isabeleño, napakasakit tanggapin ang ganitong trahedya. Walang magulang ang dapat makaranas ng mawalan ng anak sa ganitong paraan. Nakikiisa ako sa matinding pagdadalamhati ng mga pamilya, at dalangin ko ang mabilis na paggaling ng iba pang mga batang naapektuhan.’

Ahead of today’s observance of World Teachers’ Day, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines and Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) staged separate protests in Manila to demand the long-overdue P50,000 monthly entry-level salary.

The salary increase, equivalent to Salary Grade (SG) 15, has been among the appeals pushed by teachers and advocacy groups since 2023, together with free medical checkups and an increase in allowances.

On Sunday, ACT held a protest rally outside Malacañang to also call for a P5,000 Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (Pera), and higher government spending on education.

Pera, which has remained at P2,000 since it was introduced almost two decades ago in 2009, is intended to supplement government workers’ salaries and ease the impact of rising living costs.

ACT also urged the government to allocate 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product to education, saying additional funding was needed to address shortages, deteriorating school conditions and the country’s learning crisis.

TDC, meanwhile, gathered at nearby Plaza Miranda, Quiapo, calling for a hybrid career progression system, stronger protections, better workplace conditions, full implementation of the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers and sufficient funding for schools.

Closing the gap

In February 2024, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives filed House Bill No. 9920 seeking to raise the minimum monthly salary for teachers to P50,000 and close the gap with the rising cost of living.

Then ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, one of the bill’s sponsors, pointed out that teachers’ salaries were not enough to qualify as a decent living wage.

At the time, the authors noted that there were around 803,000 educators in Teacher 1 to Teacher 3 positions who were earning SG 11, or about P20,179, under Republic Act No. 11466, or the Salary Standardization Law (SSL).

They said this was ‘insufficient to meet the family living wage of P1,119 per day or P33,570 per month’ to sustain a family of five,’ compared to front-liners, such as soldiers and police, who received a salary increase of between 50 and 100 percent under the Duterte administration.

HB 9920, however, did not advance from the committee level, despite Education Secretary Sonny Angara’s pronouncements when he took over the Department of Education in July 2024 that improving the benefits of teachers would be among his priorities.

Angara had vowed to look into the proposals seeking the salary increase and expressed confidence there will be a pay hike under the Marcos administration either in 2024 or 2025.

In June 2025, Makabayan lawmakers refiled the measure as HB 203, pointing out that raising teachers’ minimum pay to P50,000 was already covered by RA 11466.

Yet despite the amendments implemented in the SSL in 2020 and 2024, teachers’ monthly pay remained at SG 11 (Step 1) or P30,024, they said.

HB 9920 was referred to the committee on appropriations in July 2025 and was stalled there.

Corruption, accountability

At Sunday’s rallies, protesters also called for greater accountability over corruption.

‘We challenge the President to prove that his recognition goes beyond speeches and statements by taking immediate steps to improve the conditions of teachers, education workers and the entire education sector,’ ACT secretary general Raymond Basilio said in a statement.

He said teachers and the public should benefit from government revenues through better salaries, benefits and social services, rather than see public funds wasted through corruption.

‘If this administration remains unmoved, teachers will continue to organize and fight to hold accountable those responsible for worsening people’s hardships and corruption, and to change the rotten system,’ Basilio added.

Last week, President Marcos called for stronger teacher preparation and career development, noting that some educators are still assigned to subjects outside their specialization and that training does not always reflect classroom realities.

Speaking at the 2026 Teachers Awards at the Manila Hotel, Marcos said his administration would work to address gaps in teacher preparation and professional development to help create safer and more supportive learning environments.

Monday protest

ACT said thousands of teachers and education workers, along with government employees and other sectors, would join a larger mobilization and march to Mendiola today.

TDC national chair Benjo Basas said World Teachers’ Day should not be limited to expressions of appreciation, stressing the need for concrete government action on teachers’ pay, welfare and working conditions.

‘If the government is truly sincere in recognizing teachers and meaningfully celebrating World Teachers’ Day, Oct. 5 should be declared a special nonworking holiday,’ TDC secretary general Jim Lester Beleno said in a statement.

The end of the Philippine campaign in the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, one that registered its biggest total medal haul in six decades, creates enough momentum for the country heading into the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics.

Of the country’s 29 medals, 13 came from events that have been so far listed on the confirmed LA 2028 Olympic medal program.

That group includes three of the four golds that the country bagged: Carlos Yulo’s titles in men’s floor exercise and vault, and EJ Obiena’s victory in men’s pole vault.

Yulo and Obiena, along with women’s singles tennis bronze medalist Alex Eala, are expected to spearhead Team Philippines’ charge in Los Angeles.

‘It’s always an honor,’ Eala had previously said about representing the country. ‘I think it’s different when you play in the SEA Games, Asian Games or the Olympics.’

The Philippines also won nine silvers and 16 bronzes for a total of 29 medals-the country’s largest total since the 1966 Bangkok Games, when it won 42 medals, according to official Olympic Council of Asia medal tables.

Not all of Team Philippines’ success, however, can be translated into an Olympic push.

Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape’s gold, for example, was from the mixed individual virtual taekwondo-an event that is not on the LA Olympic program. The LA Olympics will award taekwondo medals only in four men’s and four women’s kyorugi weight divisions.

Yape’s bronze in individual poomsae and Juliana Mykhail Candelaria’s poomsae silver are also not events in LA 2028.

Tachiana Keizha Mangin’s silver in women’s -49kg taekwondo and Kurt Barbosa’s silver in men’s -58kg are directly transferable Olympic events, with both divisions confirmed for LA 2028.

Archery offers another example.

Amaya Paz-Cojuangco won silver in women’s individual compound at the Asian Games. Compound archery will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles, but only in the mixed-team event. There will be no women’s individual compound medal in LA 2028.

However, archery officials have already hatched a plan for the mixed-team event, where they will pair Cojuangco with 18-year-old Mateusz Vaughn Johnson to chase that mixed-team Olympic spot.

‘LA Olympics 2028 has included a mixed teamcompound event, and hopefully we can make it there. We will try to qualify either through the Olympic qualifiers and ranking points,’ Cojuangco said.

Aside from Yulo, Obiena, Eala, Mangin and Barbosa, also having a viable path to the Olympics through their Asiad success are Carlo Paalam in men’s boxing, Victoria Bossong in the women’s 800 meters, John Cabang Tolentino in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Jayuard Alciso in men’s shortboard surfing, and Khy Progella and Sofiah Pagara in women’s beach volleyball.

‘I want a podium at the Olympics, so this was honestly a very good stepping stone,’ said Bossong after a bronze in the 800-meter race turned her into one of the biggest revelations of Team Philippines in the Asian Games.

‘This is the biggest competition I’ve gone to by far. Just to land on the podium is a big accomplishment even if it’s not gold.’

Karl Eldrew Yulo’s bronze in men’s horizontal bar and the Philippine women’s silver in 3×3 basketball also came in events that are on the LA 2028 program.

Some medalists may require a few adjustments if they want to gun for Olympic glory.

Weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos, for example, won bronze at 70kg. LA 2028 will use a different men’s weight-class structure, with no 70kg division, meaning Delos Santos will have to train for a different weight class.

‘He’s the future of weightlifting. He’s a future Olympian, a potential gold medalist,’ Olympic gold medalist and weightlifting queen Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo said. ‘But I was honest with him that realistically, he’s still far from the level of the Olympics.’

In a country where typhoons, floods and extreme heat can quickly turn into business disruptions, preparing for the next disaster is becoming more than an environmental concern.

For SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), it is increasingly part of the investment equation.

The Sy-led conglomerate is weaving climate resilience into decisions on where and how it builds, how it manages resources and how it protects assets meant to generate value for decades.

‘We see climate resilience as a long-term investment,’ SMIC president and CEO Frederic C. DyBuncio says. ‘It means understanding the risks around us and considering them in how we invest, operate and grow.’

That thinking is perhaps most tangible in property, where the consequences of getting climate risks wrong can be costly and long-lasting.

SMIC says site selection, master planning and building design consider hazards such as flooding and severe winds.

In higher-risk locations, properties may incorporate elevated structures, rainwater catchment facilities and stormwater management systems.

Some structures, according to the company, are engineered to withstand winds of up to 300 kilometers per hour.

The strategy takes different forms depending on location.

At SM City La Union, for instance, a 760-cubic-meter (cu m) rainwater catchment system works alongside a sewage treatment plant capable of handling 750 cu m.

SM City Laoag, meanwhile, operates a brackish water treatment facility aimed at reducing its dependence on conventional water sources.

Elsewhere, resilience is built into the structures themselves.

SM Mall of Asia and SM Marikina were designed and constructed above building code standards to withstand extreme weather and seismic events, SMIC said.

SM Marikina is elevated on 246 stilts, a design that was highlighted by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction for its disaster-resilient features.

Behind these investments is a relatively simple calculation: spending on resilience before disaster strikes could help protect assets, minimize interruptions and extend the period over which those assets remain useful.

For a conglomerate with businesses spanning property, retail and banking, that calculation extends beyond buildings.

SMIC says its businesses are increasingly considering energy, water and other resources based on how these could affect long-term operations.

The group is also investing in cleaner and more reliable energy through Philippine Geothermal Production Co (PGPC).

The value of such investments becomes more apparent when disasters hit.

Properties that remain safe and operational can keep serving customers while also providing essential services and assistance to nearby communities, according to SMIC.

For the parent company, however, the strategy ultimately comes down to capital allocation.

SMIC believes its role is to take a longer view of risks that could threaten the ability of its businesses to create value over time.

Climate resilience, under this approach, becomes part of investment discipline rather than a separate corporate initiative.

It is a shift in perspective that matters in the Philippines, where businesses routinely operate alongside the physical risks posed by natural hazards.

For companies investing in assets expected to last decades, resilience can mean thinking about tomorrow’s disruption while money is being committed today.

‘Our growth strategy is anchored on responsible stewardship,’ DyBuncio says. ‘We want our businesses to continue creating economic value while becoming better prepared for the risks facing the country and the communities we serve.’

For SMIC, the premise is that resilience carries an upfront cost-but failing to prepare can be much costlier.

The week’s dominant development came Sunday when Manila Rep. Joel Chua confirmed that the prosecution panel would no longer pursue Article III, the bribery charge alleging that Vice President Sara Duterte distributed cash envelopes to Department of Education officials through a subordinate.

Lead counsel and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro is expected to deliver the formal manifestation dropping the charge orally before the court at the next session.

Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon defended the decision, saying that evidence of alleged wrongdoing had already been presented to the Senate sitting as an impeachment court and that the decision now rests with it. The Palace questioned the move, with press officer Claire Castro asking whether withdrawing the bribery allegation would shortchange Filipinos who want to know the whole truth.

The Supreme Court cleared the path for the trial to continue under the revised conviction threshold when it dismissed, on procedural grounds including lack of standing and prematurity, three separate petitions challenging the impeachment court’s September 23 ruling that 14 votes would suffice to convict.

The ruling was unanimous, with acting Chief Justice Marvic Leonen presiding. The impeachment court spokesperson called the swift dismissal proof that the court’s proceedings are constitutionally bullet-proof. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was said to respect the high court’s decision.

Day 30 (Sept. 28, 2026)

PhilGEPS Division Chief Rendell Sopeña testified about system features designed to flag possible collusion in government contracts.

The impeachment court also issued a stern warning to House prosecutor Terry Ridon over his earlier sub judice remarks, accepting his explanation without formally reprimanding him.

The prosecution and defense meanwhile clashed over the admission of Duterte’s bank records. Prosecutor Chel Diokno said the records, submitted by banks under Senate subpoena, were covered by a request for admission aimed at determining which evidence remained disputed.

The defense had objected to the request.

The court also granted Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s request to defer his testimony to Sept. 29 and 30 to allow him to prepare subpoenaed documents.

The defense waived cross-examination of PNP Firearms and Explosives Office chief P/Maj. Joericson Sangalang after the court clarified that the firearm values he presented were market prices, not acquisition costs. Sangalang said Duterte has 22 registered firearms, while her husband Manases Carpio has 29.

The trial also produced lighter moments and side disputes. Presiding Officer Escudero publicly asked colleagues to nudge Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., who fell asleep while a witness was being examined, suggesting the lawmaker rest somewhere other than behind the witness.

Day 31 (Sept. 29, 2026)

This was the week’s most dramatic courtroom moment when Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte testified as a hostile witness, declared as such by Presiding Officer Francis Escudero after a motion by prosecution counsel Theodore Te.

Baste Duterte said under oath that he only learned of GenCorp Industries Inc. when it was raised before the impeachment court, despite the company having won 19 city government contracts worth P33.2 million during his tenure.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian repeatedly pressed the mayor on why GenCorp kept winning contracts one after another from 2022 through 2026.

Day 32 (Oct. 1, 2026)

Land Registration Authority officials also testified that two properties acquired by VP Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, did not match entries in her SALNs.

Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV became the week’s most contested off-court figure.

On Day 32, Luistro announced in open court that the prosecution had finally decided not to present Trillanes as a witness on the unexplained wealth charge.

Trillanes then said he had himself asked the prosecution to withdraw his name to relieve the panel of the pressure it was going through, without elaborating on the nature of that pressure.

Also, the AMLC testimony that was supposed to begin on Day 32 was deferred to Monday, October 5, after defense lead counsel Sheila Sison raised objections over AMLC confidentiality provisions and requested more time to review voluminous financial records, causing the court to adjourn at 3:30 p.m. instead of the scheduled 6:30 p.m. and cancel Friday’s session.

The prosecution countered that AMLC confidentiality is not absolute, noting the agency routinely shares records with courts and foreign financial intelligence units. The impeachment court separately granted subpoenas for BIR, bank, and insurance company representatives to testify during the week of October 5 to 9.

Senate President Gatchalian said he was optimistic a verdict could be reached by mid-to-late November. [4]

The following day, at a press conference in San Juan City, Trillanes alleged that more than P319 million from the Chinese government and China-based corporations flowed into CALE88 Foods Corp., a banana chip company linked to Carpio. He also alleged that a food company with VP Duterte as a shareholder once had a fictitious president. Malacañang said the China-funds claim, if proven, could not be ignored and raised national security concerns.

Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson said Trillanes’s press conference revelations had no probative value because they were made outside the court. The impeachment court spokesperson said Trillanes’s statements would not be the basis for any verdict.

VP Duterte’s camp called the allegations malicious fabrications and black propaganda, adding that Trillanes’s refusal to appear before the court showed his claims could not survive legal scrutiny.

Millions of women around the world have been facing the life-altering threat of breast cancer, and it often paints a grim picture given the alarming statistics each year. In our country, the Philippine Institute Development studies found that 32 Filipino women die of breast cancer daily-an unfortunate circumstance attributed to the low screening rate in the country.

Citing a 2024 report, the World Health Organization in an Oct. 1 statement said 2.4 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide, while 694 000 women died from the disease. Meanwhile, 8.2 million women were living with breast cancer at the end of the year.

But while the numbers can be overwhelming, it is important to note the breast cancer battles that have been fought and won, and that serves as a reminder that not every case ends in tragedy.

One of these battles is Maritoni Fernandez’s. The 56-year-old actress first felt a lump on her right breast when she was 26, but it was only four years later that she would discover that it is positive for malignancy. She was then diagnosed with Stage 2A breast cancer.

Through surgical procedures, treatments, support from her family, and her faith, Fernandez survived and was declared cancer-free in 2001. Since then, she has been regularly undergoing medical tests to have her breasts checked, and has also been serving as a powerful voice for awareness and hope.

‘This year, I’m a 24-year survivor of breast cancer. Throughout it all, Jesus was my ally – it is my strong faith and relationship with Him that pulled me through,’ Fernandez said in a statement shared by ICan Serve Foundation, a Philippines-based advocacy group of breast cancer survivors and volunteers.

‘I now volunteer for ICanServe because I want people who are going through breast cancer now to see that there are survivors like me who have not only survived but are thriving after the battle. I want to inspire and be the picture they envision themselves to be after the fight. I want to give hope,’ she added.

Another victor against breast cancer is seasoned actress, director and writer Bibeth Orteza, who has been free of the disease for the past 22 years.

Orteza had herself checked when she felt that her right breast was heavier than the rest of her body. She was diagnosed with stage 3C breast cancer in November 2004, and was operated on the following year.

‘I didn’t see cancer as a death sentence, but something like getting a front row ticket to the first night of my wake, where people say good stuff about me, where I’m given a chance to apologize to those whom I’ve hurt, and for those who’ve hurt me to likewise say they’re sorry,’ said Orteza, who is the spokesperson of ICanServe.

Orteza underscored she had been and is still very open about her cancer journey as she underscores the importance of getting checked for early detection.

‘A common cancer diagnosis irretrievably links women together, you so quickly know that you shared the same fears and what-ifs, the same wondering if you’d still see your children finish school, go through college – you’re sisters,’ she continued. ‘I don’t just help them, they help me, too. They make me continuously in awe of life, and feel blessed.’

Melissa de Leon, who was diagnosed with stage 2b breast cancer in 2006, had shared the same situation with Fernandez and Orteza until she was declared cancer-free in 2007.

‘There’s life after cancer…’ she said. ‘Surviving or conquering this journey is something that I can and will continue to talk about. I don’t think I will be able to get through it well if not because of my spiritual relationship with our Lord.’

There were also celebrity doctor Vicki Belo and former beauty queen Abbygale Arenas whose fights against the Big C have been an open book to the public.

Belo was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2016, with the doctors even telling her she only had two years to live. She soldiered on and underwent treatments, with the goal of spending more time with her children especially her youngest daughter Scarlet.

Belo has been cancer free for about nine years.

Arenas, for her part, championed in 2021 her battle against an aggressive type of breast cancer after going through neoadjuvant chemotherapy and targeted therapy followed by modified radical mastectomy, radiation therapy, and hormone therapy.

The long list of survivors goes on with Glenda Garcia and Diana Menezes who have been cancer free since 2013 and 2018, respectively.

Beyond our shores, celebrities like American actress Christina Applegate also overcame the disease in 2008 after having both of her breasts removed in an operation known as prophylactic double mastectomy.

Applegate, who was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, has since been a breast cancer advocate.

‘When you get diagnosed with cancer, there’s such a sense of loneliness, but we need to know as people going through this is that you’re not alone,’ she said

Olivia Munn is also one of the Hollywood celebrities who have been vocal about their breast cancer journey. In 2024, Munn was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer, which was detected through a breast cancer risk calculator.

Munn-who had already underwent five surgeries, including a lymph node dissection, a double mastectomy, and a hysterectomy-then shared in 2025 that her mom was also diagnosed with the disease.

Munn has been using her platform to underscore the importance of women undergoing early and comprehensive screenings and imaging tests.

Jenna Fischer has also joined the celebrities raising awareness about breast cancer after she was diagnosed with the disease in 2023. Before she was declared cancer-free in 2025, the American actress underwent lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, among other medications.

‘When I got my diagnosis I wondered if I’d ever be able to work again. So, this past year filled with work and artistic growth has been so meaningful,’ she said in 2025.

‘Most of all I’m thankful to be cancer free. I’m grateful every time I have a new scan and I get that news,’ she stated. ‘Sending my love to anyone battling a health issue right now. And to everyone else, please don’t skip your mammograms, colonoscopies and skin checks.’

Also a breast cancer survivor is Tina Knowles, mother of Beyoncé and Solange, who discovered she had the disease in 2024. Knowles had a tumor on her breast which was removed in late 2024. She later underwent breast reduction surgery and was cleared in 2025.

‘I’m doing great. Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early,’ she said in a 2026 statement to PEOPLE. ‘I want to give people hope. What scares me now is not making the best of every day that I have left in this life.’

A story worth honoring as well is actress Jaymee Joaquin’s, who was a 4-time breast cancer survivor prior to her passing in 2023. Joaquin lived a grateful life amid her six-year bout with the disease, serving as an advocate and an inspiration to her fellow warriors.

Aside from these women, TV personality Cesca Litton and British singer Jessie J have bravely opened up about their breast cancer battles in 2025 as they look forward to emerging as victors in their respective journeys.

‘I have always advocated for being real. Honest in your feelings. We can not heal what we don’t acknowledge…’ said Jessi J, referring to her diagnosis. ‘Just don’t unpack your suitcase and live in it. Or let it define you.’

Jessie J, who had underwent a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, was declared cancer-free in 2026.

In May 2026, Filipino celebrities Kaye Abad and Cathy Babao revealed their respective battles with breast cancer.

Abad was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2025 after undergoing a mammogram prompted by a six-hour stomachache. The actress underwent treatment for a year before she was declared cancer-free.

‘Alam kong hindi ako pababayaan ni Lord because He’s always been there ever since,’ she said. ‘Mataas ‘yung faith ko kay God na hindi niya ako pababayaan. God is good, always. I know he’s just there, ngayon pa, I know ngayong mas kailangan ko siya, hindi niya ako pababayaan.’

Babao, 61, disclosed her diagnosis in May although she noted that she had been undergoing treatment-including chemotherapy and radiation therapy-for cancer since the first quarter of 2026. She also had underwent surgery in August.

Despite her ongoing battle with cancer, Babao continues to hold on to her faith, serving as an inspiration to those who are also in the midst of their own healing journeys.

‘If you are beginning your own healing journey, take heart. Our Heavenly Father is always with you. He sustains you and carries you from one season to the next,’ she said.

‘Keep praying. Keep showing up. And whenever you can, find the humor. It helps,’ she added.

Even men were not spared. Tyler Mane, a professional wrestler-turned-actor who gave life to the character Sabretooth in the live action movie ‘X-Men,’ revealed last June that he’s been diagnosed with breast cancer, a rare occurrence for men.

‘I have some bad news. I started chemo today. One in 755 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and I’m one of them. Because it’s rarely talked about, it’s usually found at the later stages and has worse outcomes. I wanna change that,’ he said.

The segment of the Philippine-Singapore cable that went down on Oct. 2 was restored beginning that evening, bringing the internet service back to normal.

InfiniVAN Inc., a Japanese-Filipino telecommunications and information and communications technology solutions provider, said in an advisory that the C2C Submarine Cable (Philippine-Singapore) segment has been fully restored.

Several internet service providers (ISPs) in the country experienced network connection and internet speed issues on Friday.

The company said its Philippine-Singapore link was down, causing intermittent or slower-than-usual internet connectivity.

It added that its Hong Kong link was undergoing maintenance, which also resulted in limited network service.

‘Our Network Operations team continues to closely monitor the connection to ensure service stability,’ it said in an advisory at 3:11 p.m. on Saturday.

Some ISPs, including Converge, Eastern Communications, PLDT, also announced they successfully rerouted and restored their internet services.

PBA players who made their Gilas Pilipinas debuts at the recent Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games acknowledged that the campaign fell short of what they had hoped for.

‘We really came up short,’ Rain or Shine’s Adrian Nocum said on Saturday after his team claimed a 119-111 win over Meralco in a tuneup game at Acropolis Gym in Quezon City.

Nocum and other members of the ill-fated squad that finished ninth-the Philippines’ worst placing in the Asian Games-are back with their respective teams, gearing up for the resumption of the Governors’ Cup on Wednesday.

The Asian Games marked Nocum’s first experience playing at a major international level, and he hopes the lessons from the campaign will serve him well moving forward, particularly if another opportunity to play for the national team comes his way.

‘It may not have been the best result for the team, but we learned a lot,’ Nocum said in Filipino. ‘It is something we will carry with us into the PBA, and if we ever get another chance to play for Gilas.’

Nocum played through an ankle injury, another source of regret from his Asian Games stint. Converge’s Justin Arana dealt with a similar injury but offered no excuses.

What Arana learned in Japan was that there is little room to ease up.

‘At least when I get another chance, I already know what the competition is like,’ Arana said in Filipino. ‘You can’t relax or get complacent because everyone is faster and bigger. You have to be ready every time your name is called.’

Nocum, Arana, Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield, San Miguel Beer’s Jerrick Ahanmisi and Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero made their international debuts at the Asian Games, with the newcomers producing mixed results.

Barefield and Ahanmisi had their share of solid performances for Gilas, while Lucero emerged as one of the team’s more consistent performers despite the disappointing campaign.

The Asian Games came during a long break in the PBA schedule after the league paused the Governors’ Cup from mid-August until Wednesday.

When the world was still hung up on cable television, he was already foraying into video-on-demand. Where construction conglomerates take years and billions of pesos to put up office towers, he is breathing new life into older ones in a sliver of the time and at a fraction of the cost.

Sherwin dela Cruz has not been known as one to go with the grain, whether in his previous post as Philippine country head of Malaysia-based streaming platform iflix or now in his role as founder and managing director of construction firm Axon Group.

Ever the disruptor, dela Cruz is betting that office spaces need not cost a fortune or take years to build, even in Metro Manila.

‘It can be better. It should be better,’ he says in an interview with Sunday Biz. ‘We are competing with efficiency, with pricing.’

Axon was dela Cruz’s brainchild some years after he exited iflix at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the platform-once poised to challenge Netflix’s dominance in Southeast Asia-was acquired by Chinese tech titan Tencent.

At its core, Axon is a construction company built around what dela Cruz calls ‘capital-light’ workspaces, a model that allows companies to move into offices tailored to their needs without spending millions of pesos upfront.

Apart from designing and building offices, Axon operates managed workspaces where it shoulders the capital expenditure and fits out spaces for tenants.

Much of the work is kept in-house, giving Axon greater control over costs and timelines, both of which can easily balloon in conventional construction. That covers almost everything from engineering and sourcing to fabrication and construction.

Axon’s footprint has since grown beyond the maiden 2,400-square-meter Quad managed workspace it unveiled in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) earlier this year.

It has also secured a long-term lease for the old Teleperformance Center Ayala in Makati as it takes on bigger, dedicated spaces for individual clients rather than simply filling floors with multiple tenants.

Less than a year after launching its first integrated workspace in BGC, Axon is now handling six times the square meterage it did last year. Dela Cruz says about 38,000 square meters of signed projects were lined up through year-end.

For all the moving parts and the seemingly far leap from streaming shows to building offices, dela Cruz says the transition was ‘not jarring at all.’ Real estate, it turns out, had long been running in parallel with dela Cruz’s tech career.

Much of the money he made in his ‘previous life,’ he says, went into property. His frustrations as an executive who had to look for offices also gave him firsthand experience of the inefficiencies he would later try to address through Axon.

There were fit-outs that dragged beyond promised deadlines, companies forced into temporary offices and millions of pesos lost for every month a space sat unfinished.

‘I was that guy,’ dela Cruz says when asked what drove him to set up Axon. ‘There’s so much pain points. There’s so much money that these people are spending.’

Now, dela Cruz is taking that idea beyond individual offices and into entire buildings.

‘Regentrification’

His endgame for Axon is what he calls ‘regentrification’: taking older buildings in prime business districts, particularly Makati, that may have lost their shine but not their biggest advantage, which is their location.

Rather than tear them down and start from scratch, Axon wants to rehabilitate them, redoing facades, elevators and building systems before fitting out the offices inside.

Dela Cruz estimates that an older 12- to 13-story building could cost about P500 million to P600 million to rehabilitate, compared with roughly P4 billion to construct a new high-rise.

It is an economics play, but also a calculated gamble on where Metro Manila’s office market is headed.

With little undeveloped land left in BGC, dela Cruz expects attention to swing back to Makati, where new multibillion-peso towers are rising alongside buildings that have stood since the 1970s and 1980s.

‘It’s coming back to Makati,’ he says. ‘You will see.’

As Axon grows, dela Cruz says the plan is to ‘double down’ on the Philippines. A stock market listing could eventually make sense, too, although the company remains firmly in its ‘grow, grow, grow’ phase.

So for now, dela Cruz is keeping his head down and focusing on a far more immediate task, which is delivering the office spaces already promised to clients.

Because for all his instinct to do things differently, there remains one stubbornly old-fashioned measure of success in construction.