Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

A couple of years ago, during my daily walk around the University of the Philippines oval, I felt thirsty and realized I had no money with me. My granddaughter Julia, who was walking with me, said I could pay with my phone. ‘You have GCash, don’t you, Lolo?’ I did, but a bottle of water cost only P30, and it seemed inappropriate to make a digital transfer for such a small amount. Every student does it, she assured me. Only then did I notice the card bearing a QR code in front of nearly every stall on campus.

For most of my adult life, I paid with credit cards and worried about settling the bill on time. The debit card was more convenient, but then it left your entire bank account exposed to unauthorized payments and scams. The e-wallet, like GCash and Maya, removes that worry: you keep only a small amount in it and can spend no more than it holds. The payor pays no extra charge; it is the vendor who pays a small fee for the service.

Today, QR payment is everywhere. GCash and Maya still dominate, but the banks have joined in; every mobile banking app in use now has a QR button. This is possible because the code is a national standard. It’s called One QR PH, an initiative of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which any bank or wallet can read. By the BSP’s count, digital transactions made up nearly two-thirds of retail payments by volume last year, up from a fifth in 2020. In many ways, we have half-consciously walked into a digitalized financial system that is fast becoming the norm in many parts of the world.

I saw a more advanced version of it on a recent visit to China. My Singapore-based grandchildren wanted to see the pandas in Chengdu, and I joined them to get a glimpse, however fleeting, of modern China itself. We explored Chengdu and Chongqing on our own, which meant downloading Alipay and WeChat before we arrived, and activating them later with a scanned passport and a linked card. You cannot travel around China without them; cash is still accepted, but it has become the exception. Unlike our single QR national standard, however, these two giants use distinct QR codes. Most shops display both. Efforts to make them interoperable have only begun.

Our first dinner, at a small Hong Kong-style restaurant in Chongqing, showed me what the technology does beyond payment. A waitress pointed to the QR code sticker on our table and said something in Chinese. Xavier, my older grandson, who studies Mandarin in Singapore, translated: she wanted us to scan the code with WeChat or Alipay. The menu opened instantly, and we ticked off the dishes we wanted. The waitress brought us glasses of warm water and chatted with the children, but she would not take our order. When we were done ordering, the same app led us to the payment page, and a few minutes later the dishes arrived. When we wanted extra servings, the servers again pointed to the QR code to order and to pay. It was like ordering Grab Food, except that we were sitting in the restaurant.

The system failed me only once. A ride payment did not go through because my card needed an OTP that had been sent through Viber, which I failed to see. In near panic, I found that WeChat lets you ask a contact in your list (WeChat is also a social media platform) to pay your bill. The contact approved, and that was that. It struck me that this faceless system had, in the end, found a place for a real person.

It is an amazing technology, and it is already here. I think we cannot avoid integrating it into our daily lives as the economy becomes more complex and differentiated. But as GCash, perhaps the closest equivalent of Alipay, prepares to launch its IPO later this month, two obstacles are worth noting. The first is infrastructure. Even on the University of the Philippines campus, a payment often fails because of weak internet connection; outside Metro Manila, the network completely vanishes the moment the power is cut. The second is trust. Nothing deters Filipinos from using their phones to make payments more than unauthorized charges against their accounts. No one has measured the fraud, but it must be pervasive; otherwise, banks would not be sending almost daily warnings not to share passwords.

Banks and other financial entities are now liable for fraudulent transactions, but not when account owners themselves hand over their passwords or passkeys. That exception says a lot. Trust among persons is cultivated through norm-setting and institutionalization. When it is transferred from persons to systems, it rests less on knowing anyone than on knowing that someone is ultimately answerable when things fail. The exception leaves out precisely the scams that are able to manipulate victims to authorize the payment themselves.

One can only imagine how much faith it takes to entrust one’s money to an automated system whose workings one barely understands. At that Chongqing restaurant, the waitress lingered a while after bringing us warm water. The system had taken over her work in the transaction chain, but not her courtesy. That arrangement is what is fast becoming the norm: systems for the specialized transactions, persons for the remaining face-to-face hospitality.

For Gregg Yan, a 43-year-old communications consultant and founder of environmental nonprofit Best Alternatives, one does not need to have formal training as a scientist to be able to write academic articles about animal conservation.

His experience traveling the world and being exposed to the wonders of wildlife is what informs his writing.

‘I had written hundreds or maybe thousands of stories about wildlife and people,’ he told the Inquirer. ‘I’m really a journalist, but because I grew up seeing wildlife and my personal interest was about animals … I never let a lack of academic qualifications [stop me].’

After 20 years of working in the field where he photographed and wrote about some of the world’s most endangered animals, Yan became the first Filipino to be inducted as a fellow into the 120-year-old international society The Explorers Club.

The group, whose members include the likes of astronaut Neil Armstrong and primatologist Jane Goodall, is a ‘multidisciplinary society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation.’

Yan is also a longtime contributor to the Inquirer.

‘Being a fellow is essentially securing a seat at the table to allow more Filipinos to be part of The Explorers Club in the future, and we do not have a lack of great explorers,’ he said.

His interest in wildlife began when he was a young boy growing up on a farm in Bulacan.

‘In the 1980s, me and my brother, because we did not have any neighbors, would go exploring the farm every day after school. We had all sorts of animals, not just farm animals. We had different types of insects, snakes, frogs and birds,’ he said.

Yan and his brother later left for Manila to study, but returned to the farm after graduating from college. This time, however, Gregg noticed that the beasts and critters that fascinated him as a child had largely disappeared.

‘It was because surrounding areas started developing and farms started using pesticides. And the river beside our house was the most polluted river on planet Earth, which is the Meycauayan River,’ he said.

‘Localized extinctions’

The sad observation made him realize that ‘localized extinction can happen not just in one’s lifetime, but in the blink of an eye.’

‘I thought that, if this is what’s going on in our backyard in Bulacan, what more is happening across the planet?’ he said.

While in college, Yan worked on his communication and writing skills as a journalism student at Ateneo de Manila University and as an intern at the Inquirer. His thesis, not surprisingly, was about the wildlife that had managed to take refuge within the Ateneo campus.

‘I spent so many nights and mornings alone, looking for snakes and birds and stuff,’ he recalled.

After graduating, Yan worked with the World Wide Fund For Nature as a communication officer for 12 years, immersing himself in conservation issues.

‘One of my favorite adventures was finding the pangolin in Palawan, or studying the seabirds of the Tubbataha reefs, also in Palawan. My core expertise was about fish … I write academic journal articles about fish conservation,’ he said.

In 2015, Yan founded the nongovernmental organization Best Alternatives, which promotes environment-friendly products.

‘Let’s say, in [making] traditional Chinese medicine, they like to use endangered wildlife like tiger bones, rhinoceros horns, or dried seahorse,” he said. ‘At Best Alternatives, we do research to find out what can be the alternatives to these illegal or unethical [materials] that are being used.’

Mindoro to East Africa

Parallel to this advocacy, Yan also stays in touch with indigenous communities who play an important role in wildlife conservation. These include the Tawbuid people of Mindoro.

‘I’ve written stories about them. In many ways, they are simpler and better than so many people we see right now … and they live right beside the tamaraw up to this day. So, every time I go there, I essentially see how conservation works,’ he said.

Outside the Philippines, Yan had encounters with the Maasai tribe in Tanzania and Kenya, taking part in a tradition where his skin was ritually marked with a heated stick covered in cattle dung. Being herders, the tribe believes the animal’s waste can work as a disinfectant, he explained.

‘To remember those adventures, I only have to look at my arms … because they are seared into my flesh, literally, and into my memory.’

Yan hopes that his fellow travelers and adventurers will be mindful enough and help the places they visit stay clean or unspoiled. It can be as simple as picking up trash while mountain climbing or scuba diving.

‘We need to make sure that future generations of Pinoy and Pinay explorers will still have something to explore and protect,’ he said.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) Bicol is preparing P3.3 billion in assistance and other interventions for farmers and fisherfolk as the region braces for El Niño in the last quarter of 2026.

DA Bicol information officer Lovella Guarin said the package covers crop insurance, irrigation, seeds, farm machinery and other support.

The allocation includes P763.8 million for DA Bicol programs; P408.3 million in crop insurance indemnities for 225,736 farmers; P862 million for irrigation; P302.6 million for certified rice seeds; and P249.8 million worth of farm machinery.

Another P188.7 million is allocated to the Philippine Coconut Authority, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Sugar Regulatory Administration, Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority and Agricultural Training Institute.

More than P520 million in assistance had already been distributed from June to September to farmers affected by the lack of rainfall, Guarin said.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco ‘Kiko’ Tiu Laurel Jr., during his visit to Camarines Norte and Sorsogon this week, said more than 100 shallow tube wells would be installed in farms with available water sources.

The DA is also procuring fertilizer, solar pumps and irrigation systems and will distribute drought-tolerant crops such as mung beans, corn and selected vegetables. Fuel assistance is planned in November for farmers using machinery and fisherfolk operating boats.

Meanwhile, the dry spell has caused P235.8 million in agricultural losses, affecting 8,009 farmers. Rice accounted for P192.6 million, or 81 percent of the total, while Masbate reported the largest affected area at 2,794 hectares.

DA Bicol Regional Executive Director Rodel P. Tornilla said DA Bicol will submit a P344-million rehabilitation plan to the DA central office for funding.

The government plans to expand solar-powered irrigation systems to 10,000 sites nationwide by 2030, more than doubling the existing network as it seeks to reduce farmers’ irrigation costs and make agriculture more resilient to climate change, Malacañang said.

In a statement on Sunday, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the expansion would be part of the Solar-Powered Pump Irrigation Program (SPIP), administered by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

‘The president’s directive is to ensure that farmers have reliable irrigation without their income being eaten up by irrigation costs,’ Recto said.

Under NIA’s Vision 2030 roadmap, the government aims to expand the network to 10,000 sites, benefiting two million farmers and irrigating an additional 100,000 hectares of agricultural land.

NIA currently operates 4,036 SPIP sites across 43 provinces in all 17 regions: 2,147 in Luzon, 1,102 in the Visayas and 787 in Mindanao.

Recto said the expansion of solar-powered irrigation would form part of the Marcos administration’s long-term contribution to local agriculture.

The government also aims to shift from traditional irrigation to ‘smart, digital and climate-resilient water management.’

‘The president’s goal is to lower our farmers’ costs, increase their yields, and ensure that our farms have sufficient water even as we face climate change,’ Recto said.

The solar-powered irrigation systems use renewable energy to operate water pumps, reducing farmers’ dependence on diesel and their exposure to fuel price fluctuations.

The government said solar-powered systems have lower operating and maintenance costs than diesel-powered pumps.

‘This is a long-term investment in food security. Every peso farmers save on diesel can instead be used for seeds, fertilizer, equipment and other needs that directly improve their productivity and income,’ Recto said.

NIA data show that existing solar-powered irrigation systems have maintained high operational availability and can provide six to eight hours of irrigation daily.

It cited the example of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, where 12 solar-powered irrigation units serving 340 hectares have helped reduce annual irrigation expenses and allowed farmers to sustain up to three cropping cycles a year.

The systems are also being positioned as a way to make farms more resilient to extreme weather and power disruptions.

NIA also cited solar-powered irrigation facilities in Pangasinan that continued operating during the prolonged power outage caused by Typhoon ‘Egay’ in 2023, allowing farmers to irrigate their crops without relying on the electricity grid or additional fuel.

The government is also seeking to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into irrigation management.

Recto said NIA is developing an AI-based monitoring system that will use real-time data on water availability, soil conditions and irrigation requirements to improve water delivery and reduce wastage.

A known pro-Duterte vlogger, according to local media reports, was shot dead while driving along a national highway in Carrascal, Surigao del Sur Sunday morning.

The victim was identified as Philip Engbino, 48, married, a native of Minglanilla, Cebu and a manager of EZMMI GenCon, a contractor of Strong Group Mining Corp. (SGMC).

Reports said Engbino was driving a white pickup truck owned by SGMC when he was shot at about 6 a.m. in Barangay Bacolod.

He was an active social media vlogger supportive of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Company records reportedly showed Engbino’s vehicle exited Gate 2 of the mining company’s facility at 4:35 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3.

As of posting time Sunday, the Carrascal police have yet to issue an official statement on the reported incident.

Negros Occidental is pinning its hopes for a Miss Universe Philippines victory on Filipino-Japanese singer-actress Yuki Sonoda, and is fielding the international pageant veteran to the 2027 national competition.

Sonoda was formally crowned as Miss Universe Philippines Negros Occidental by the Miss Universe Philippines Negros Island Organization on Saturday evening, Oct. 3.

But while Sonoda is taking her shot at the chance to represent the Philippines on the international stage, her previous global pageant experience saw her carrying her father’s home country, Japan.

She represented the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ at the 2017 Miss Asia Pacific International pageant held in the Philippines, and landed a Top 10 spot. In 2024, she carried Japan at the Miss Supranational pageant, where she finished in the Top 25.

Sonoda’s latest pageant conquest is the first time that she is attempting to carry the Philippines in an international competition. She had previously competed at the 2020 Miss Universe Japan competition, finishing second runner-up.

She will try to exceed the Top 15 finish that Negros Occidental bet Alexandra Colmenares posted at the 2026 Miss Universe Philippines pageant that was held in May.

Sonoda appeared in the 2026 Viva One movie ‘My Husband is a Mafia Boss,’ which starred Joseph Marco and Rhen Escaño, together with Ara Mina and international beauty queens Priscilla Meirelles, Kelley Day, and Roberta Tamondong.

She starred opposite Aljur Abrenica in the 2022 movie ‘Pula and Kulay ng Gabi,’ and appeared in the 2025 flick ‘Minamahal’ starring Andres Muhlach and Ashtine Olviga.

For years, the Philippines has struggled with a persistent drain of skilled workers, weakening the economy’s ability to compete with its regional peers.

The government has taken steps to persuade talented Filipinos to stay, while companies have offered higher salaries and other incentives to retain top performers. Yet those efforts have done little to stem the flow of highly skilled workers leaving the country for better opportunities abroad.

Now, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is forcing companies to confront a new question: where should they put their money-in technology that can automate work, or in the people whose skills have long been essential to their growth?

A new study by Aon plc, a global professional services firm, offers a glimpse of how companies are navigating that tension, with Philippine employers planning to raise salaries even as businesses weigh how AI could reshape their workforces.

In its 2026 Salary Increase and Turnover Study for Southeast Asia, which covered more than 1,200 organizations across more than 20 industries, Aon says Philippine companies have budgeted an average salary increase of 5.3 percent for 2027.

That will be slightly higher than the 5-percent increase that companies actually gave workers this year. Philippine employers also delivered a 5.3-percent pay increase in 2025, according to Aon.

Companies in consulting, business and community services are planning the biggest increases next year, with salaries expected to rise 6.7 percent, up from 4.8 percent in 2026.

They are followed by life sciences and medical services, where pay is projected to increase 5.8 percent, down from 6.2 percent this year.

Technology companies have budgeted a 5.2-percent increase for 2027, up from 4.8 percent this year. Manufacturing employers are planning a 4.9-percent increase, slightly below this year’s 5-percent adjustment.

In financial services, salaries are projected to rise 4.2 percent, compared with 4 percent this year.

‘Boardrooms face important decisions on how to allocate investment in technology and talent while navigating an uncertain environment fraught with emerging and interconnected risks,’ Rahul Chawla, Aon’s head of talent solutions for Southeast Asia, says in the report.

‘Persistent inflation and ongoing skill shortages are directing investments toward the roles and skills that will drive returns on their broader business investments,’ he says.

Attrition rate still high

Employee turnover remained in double digits across all of the Southeast Asian markets covered by Aon in 2026.

Malaysia had the highest rate at 17.4 percent, followed by the Philippines at 17.3 percent and Singapore at 16.8 percent.

In the Philippines, 38 percent of the companies surveyed had planned to expand their workforces, while 39 percent expected to scale back hiring.

The split reflects an uncertain business environment: 40 percent of companies had a positive outlook, while 35 percent anticipated more challenging conditions.

The findings suggest that pay is only one part of the equation for companies competing for scarce talent. Aon says employers also need to consider career development, opportunities for advancement and a broader sense of purpose if they want to attract and retain workers over the long term.

As AI accelerates changes across industries, companies are also looking for better ways to understand where their talent investments are most needed.

Team Philippines will close the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with its biggest total medal haul in 60 years, with help from taekwondo, whose breakout star-gold medalist Jeus Gabriel Derick Yape-was chosen to carry the flag in the athletes’ parade Sunday.

The Philippines has won 29 medals-four gold, eight silver and 16 bronze-at press time on Saturday, surpassing every national total since the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok, where the country collected 42 medals.

The previous Philippine high during that 60-year span was 26 medals at the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

‘This is our best medal performance in decades,’ Philippine Sports Commission Chair Patrick Gregorio said in Filipino.

Yape will carry the Philippine flag at the closing ceremony on Sunday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, the same venue that hosted the opening ceremony on Sept. 19.

‘He deserves that honor,’ Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino said.

Yape won the mixed individual virtual taekwondo gold medal on Oct. 2 and also took bronze in men’s individual poomsae, making him one of the Philippines’ two-medal winners in Aichi-Nagoya.

His gold highlighted a breakthrough Asian Games for Philippine taekwondo, which collected one gold, three silvers and one bronze.

‘It will be a recognition not only for Jeus but also for taekwondo, which finally won its first Asian Games gold medal since 1994, when the sport became a medal event in the Games,’ Tolentino said.

Tech + sports

Virtual taekwondo combines the sport with motion-tracking technology and a virtual competition environment. Yape won the mixed individual event, which was open to male and female competitors.

Silver medalists Juliana Mykhail Candelaria, Tachiana Keizha Mangin and Kurt Barbosa of taekwondo, and Carlo Paalam of boxing are also expected to join the Philippine delegation in the closing ceremony.

Boxer Aira Villegas and weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos carried the Philippine flag during the opening ceremony.

Gregorio said the size of the medal haul marked a significant step for the national program.

FEU guard Jorick Bautista is fully aware of the chatter about the Tamaraws being one of the contenders in UAAP Season 89.

The Tamaraws are starting to show with their recent surge, highlighted by back-to-back wins over title favorites, after dropping their season-opener against Adamson. They beat last year’s runner-up University of the Philippines on Sunday just four days after stunning defending champion La Salle.

‘For me, this was our answer to a wake-up call,’ Bautista said after helping FEU’s 90-79 victory, its third in a row for a share of the early lead in the standings at 3-1.

‘A lot of people on social media are saying that FEU is a strong team, so I talked to my teammates about it in practice.’

Baustista stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Tamaraws notched their first win over the Fighting Maroons since 2019.

The veteran guard has no shortage of motivation playing in his final year this season.

‘We just keep on grinding, we all know that we’re willing. It feels good personally for me; I went through a lot here in the UAAP for five years, not just the highs or the lows.’

Bautista and the Tamaraws face fellow league leader Ateneo, led by its star rookie Kieffer Alas, for the solo top spot on Friday at Araneta Coliseum.

National University veteran Paul Francisco was quick to point out the Bulldogs’ biggest flaw in their loss to Ateneo in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament.

Following NU’s 87-76 loss to the Blue Eagles, Francisco admitted that the Bulldogs became complacent after their red-hot start.

‘We never underestimate our opponents. What killed us was us being too relaxed with our first quarter lead,’ Francisco told the Inquirer at Philsports Arena on Saturday.

‘We became too relaxed and complacent with how we started. We have to finish the job better.’

NU began the game with a 9-0 run that eventually translated to a 24-15 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The Bulldogs then led by as much as 17 points, 36-19, before Ateneo’s second-half comeback.

Francisco, who finished with 14 points, three rebounds and two steals, said the Bulldogs will put a premium on fixing the problem.

‘One of our assistant coaches said we can’t get too high or too low. We were pretty high up after the UP win but this loss for us is like bringing us back down to earth,’ said the two-way guard. ‘We have to learn from this loss.’

Francisco and the Bulldogs hope to show their improvements on Wednesday when they take on Adamson at Mall of Asia Arena.