Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Motorists may see mixed oil price movements next week, with gasoline prices expected to inch up by P1.50 to P1.80 per liter on Oct. 6, according to an advisory by Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas.

Diesel, on the other hand, may dip by 50 centavos to 80 centavos. Bellas’ estimates were based on the first four days of trading at the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) and foreign exchange movements.

MOPS is the basis for the pricing of refined petroleum products in Southeast Asia.

‘Lingering supply stability concerns have resulted in oil’s volatile movement this week, with prices pressured as supply from the Middle East rebounded, while stalled US-Iran peace talks and fresh attacks in the Strait of Hormuz caused prices to rise due to disruption worries,’ he said.

China’s decision to suspend exports of oil products to markets beyond Hong Kong and Macau likewise fueled ‘fears of worsening global products shortages,’ Bellas said.

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.

The bronze medal eluded the Philippine Blu Girls for the second straight time after falling to Chinese-Taipei, 12-2, in four innings as the women’s softball event of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games drew to a close on Saturday at Anjo Softball Ground.

Hopes of a breakthrough podium finish were quickly dashed as Chinese Taipei erupted for four runs in the first inning and eight in the second, eventually securing the lopsided victory via mercy rule.

Nicole Hammoude’s two-run homer in the third turned out to be a consolation of sorts as the Blu Girls settled for a fourth-place finish yet again in the Games.

Host Japan went on to win the gold after shutting out China, 7-0, in five innings.

The loss forced the Blu Girls to equal their finish from three years ago at the pandemic-delayed 2022 Hangzhou edition when they lost a heartbreaker to the same team for the bronze.

Coach Ana Santiago’s squad ended the campaign that was more of a rollercoaster as the Blu Girls dropped their first two games by blowout margins at the hands of host Japan and Chinese-Taipei.

Then came a come-from-behind 7-3 win over South Korea highlighted by a three-run homer from Charlotte Sales to begin a string of three consecutive triumphs, the next two at the hands of Thailand and Singapore.

After losing to China, the Philippines secured its place in the bronze-medal game with a 9-3 win over Hong Kong.

How can you save during an energy crisis?

With oil prices expected to rise next week, motorists are preparing for another hit to their finances. Fuel efficiency has once again become a significant topic as the cost of daily transportation continues to increase amid the oil situation in the Middle East. For the average Filipino household, this could affect not only daily expenses but also weekly activities and budgets.

It raises the question: How can motorists navigate an obstacle largely beyond their control?

A common debate around rising oil prices is whether it’s better to fill your vehicle’s tank or refuel only as needed. Studies indicate that while a full tank can slightly reduce a vehicle’s fuel efficiency because of the added weight, the effect is marginal.

This means that partially refueling your vehicle is technically more fuel-efficient because the car carries less weight. However, the difference is so small that most motorists are unlikely to notice meaningful savings from this alone, regardless of how often they drive.

One caveat is that motorists should keep at least a quarter tank of gasoline as a reserve for unforeseen events. While refueling smaller amounts could mean more frequent trips to the gas station, maintaining a reasonable reserve ensures that you have enough fuel for emergencies, unexpected traffic, or other disruptions.

When you drive matters

Beyond reducing your vehicle’s weight, motorists can also adopt fuel-efficient practices such as avoiding rapid acceleration, maintaining proper tire pressure, and planning trips in advance. But when it comes to actual household spending, another factor can have a much bigger impact: timing.

When you refuel can significantly affect how much you spend, especially given the current volatility of oil prices. The savings from carrying less fuel are relatively small, while buying gasoline before a major price increase-or after a rollback takes effect-can save motorists several pesos per liter.

Rethinking refueling strategy

This changes the discussion on whether it is better to fill up completely or refuel only partially.

When officials announce a significant price hike, motorists can avoid paying a higher rate for fuel by filling up before the increase takes effect. In this situation, the savings from buying fuel at the lower price likely outweigh the small fuel-efficiency penalty of carrying the extra weight.

Keeping more fuel in the tank may also help during supply disruptions, emergencies, or before long trips, when an adequate reserve provides extra security and convenience.

When a significant price rollback is announced, motorists who can wait save money by buying only enough fuel to last until the lower price takes effect. Once the rollback takes effect, buying more fuel at the lower price may be more economical.

If prices are relatively stable and there is no clear direction for the next adjustment, motorists can refuel according to their normal needs. In such situations, there is little financial advantage to either consistently filling the tank or deliberately keeping it partially filled.

Ultimately, no single rule says motorists should always fill their tanks or always buy fuel in smaller amounts. While a lighter tank provides a marginal advantage in fuel efficiency, the price motorists pay per liter can have a much greater effect on their overall expenses.

Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) confidentiality is not absolute, House prosecutor Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro party-list said Saturday, arguing that the agency itself discloses financial information to courts when seeking freeze orders.

Ridon said this undermines arguments that confidentiality rules prevent AMLC records from being presented before the Senate impeachment court in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial.

He pointed out that the AMLC routinely provides information to the Court of Appeals when it seeks orders to freeze assets suspected of being linked to unlawful activities.

‘If the confidentiality were absolute, they wouldn’t be able to provide information to the court to have assets frozen, right?’ Ridon said during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.

‘So in a similar situation, why shouldn’t the AMLC be able to provide information to the Senate impeachment court, which does not derive its authority from the judiciary but has its own authority under the 1987 Constitution?’ he added.

In August, the AMLC secured a Court of Appeals freeze order covering 55 bank accounts and four insurance policies linked to a lawmaker, a construction company and other individuals over alleged violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Ridon also pointed to provisions allowing the AMLC to exchange information with other authorities as another reason he believes its confidentiality requirement cannot be considered absolute.

‘That means if information can be exchanged with other offices, then the confidentiality is not absolute. Because when you exchange information, you are disclosing data, right?’ he said.

The issue has become relevant to the impeachment trial as prosecutors seek to present AMLC records involving Duterte, her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, and companies linked to them.

The Senate impeachment court in July granted the prosecution’s request to subpoena AMLC, bank and tax records after finding the documents prima facie relevant and material to the allegations under Article II.

AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura is expected to take the witness stand Monday after his testimony was deferred to give the defense more time to review financial records and prepare for his examination.

While maintaining the prosecution’s position that AMLC confidentiality does not bar the presentation of the records, Ridon acknowledged that the impeachment court will ultimately rule on the issue.

Carlo Paalam expressed his frustrations after another narrow finals loss in the Asian Games 2026 men’s boxing 55kg, saying he felt his momentum was repeatedly disrupted during the fight.

Paalam settled for silver, the Philippine boxing team’s lone medal in Aichi-Nagoya, after losing to Japan’s Rui Yamaguchi by split decision at Nishio Gymnasium on Friday.

Paalam said repeated stoppages by Uzbek referee Maruf Urdushev disrupted his rhythm, particularly when he felt he was building momentum.

‘I felt good, but again, the referee. I don’t know, it wasn’t a good decision. I don’t know why the referee kept looking at me,’ Paalam said after the bout in Filipino.

‘Whenever I had momentum, he would stop it. The referee was really like that. It felt like I was always the one being watched,’ he added.

ABAP president Marcus Manalo was also frustrated by the decision to assign the same referee to the final after he officiated Paalam’s semifinal.

‘It was frustrating that the same referee who officiated his semifinal was appointed again in the final. There were so many other referees available,’ Manalo said. ‘When I saw the referee come out, I was like, ‘Again?” Manalo told POC Media.

Paalam knew he needed a strong final round after trailing on the judges’ scorecards through the first two rounds. He responded by winning all five judges’ cards in the third, but it was not enough to overturn the deficit.

‘I just did my best and pushed myself in the last round because I knew I had to take it. I had nothing left. I gave everything,’ he said.

The Filipino also felt his improvements throughout the bout did not matter once the decision was left to the judges.

‘All the improvements were there. Like I said, the decision wasn’t in our hands. No matter how hard you try to win, if the judges decide otherwise, there’s nothing you can do,’ Paalam said.

National team coach Ronald Chavez shared Paalam’s frustration, saying the Filipino corner felt the fight was difficult from the start and eventually told Paalam to chase a knockout.

‘We weren’t necessarily at a disadvantage in the fight, but we knew the referee and judges could hurt us. With the referee, it felt like Carlo was being singled out,’ Chavez said.

‘After the first round, I thought we were ahead. But I felt it was going to be close, so I told him there was nothing else we could do. If you can’t knock him out, anything can happen,’ he added.

Despite the disappointment, Paalam said he plans to rest briefly before returning to training.

Agusan del Sur recorded 2,018 dengue cases and 14 deaths from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1 due to dengue.

This record comes as the Provincial Health Office declared a province-wide outbreak on Sept. 29 following an evidence-based assessment of the rising cases of infections.

Provincial Health Officer Jacqueline Frances Momville told reporters during a media forum on Friday at the provincial capitol that the situation had reached red alert.

She noted that cases are exceeding the epidemic threshold.

‘This is a stern warning since those threatened by the dengue virus are from all ages,’ Momville said.

She explained that the outbreak declaration underwent several stages of assessment based on available evidence, with additional figures continuing to come in.

Dr. Agnes Cullantes, head of the Department of Health’s provincial office, said surveillance teams gathered data on dengue cases across the province’s 14 municipalities and Bayugan City.

Results come out after every seven days of data gathering.

Dr. Rosemaricris Perez, a medical officer at the D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital, said two of the patients who died had underlying conditions: a pregnant woman and an elderly patient with a heart problem.

She also raised concern that many patients arrived at the hospital late.

Rosario recorded the highest number of dengue cases, with 543, followed by San Francisco with 271, Bayugan City with 229, Loreto with 204 and Bunawan with 180.

This information is according to the Provincial Health Office’s situationer dated Oct. 1.

Prosperidad, the provincial capital, recorded 114 cases, followed by La Paz with 80, Talacogon with 76, San Luis with 71, Esperanza with 68, Trento with 64, Veruela with 56, Santa Josefa with 37 and Sibagat with 25.

Rosario also had the province’s highest dengue attack rate, at 10 cases per 1,000 residents. Loreto followed with five cases per 1,000, while Bunawan had four.

San Francisco and La Paz each recorded an attack rate of three per 1,000 residents.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go has signed a P48-billion financing agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to fund the third phase of the Philippine government’s universal health care reform program.

The financing, equivalent to 119.745 billion Japanese yen and first approved in August, will support the Build Universal Health Care Program Subprogram 3 (BUHC3).

‘By signing this agreement, we are making a long-term investment in the country’s human capital and resilience,’ Go said in a statement.

According to ADB’s website, the program, which will have 14 high-impact policy actions, ‘aims to improve equitable access to quality health services while making the health system more responsive to gender-specific health concerns and the impacts of climate change.’

BUHC3 is the third phase of the program, building on reforms supported by the first two subprograms. ADB provided $600 million for the first subprogram in 2021 and $450 million for the second in 2023.

For the third phase, ADB’s loan will be supplemented by a separate $187.9-million loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, equivalent to about P11.8 billion.

The financing comes as the Philippine healthcare system, ADB said, ‘continues to face inefficiencies and inequalities. Coverage of essential services remains limited, particularly in primary care, diagnostics, medicines and preventive intervention.’

The Philippines may have stumbled onto one of its most valuable agricultural opportunities: the world’s growing appetite for ube.

What was once a familiar ingredient in Filipino desserts is now appearing in products around the world. Philippine ube exports reached $3.06 million in 2025, according to the Department of Trade and Industry, with demand growing for powder, purée, halaya, and other value-added products.

But the boom has exposed a problem that goes beyond ube: demand is moving faster than the country’s ability to supply it. In September, the Department of Agriculture indefinitely suspended fresh ube exports to conserve scarce planting materials while domestic production is expanded.

That is an important lesson for Philippine agriculture. It is not enough to discover that the world wants our products. We must also be ready to protect their identity, build their production base, and ensure that Filipino farmers capture a meaningful share of the value.

This is where geographical indications, or GIs, matter. A GI links a product’s quality, reputation or characteristics to a particular geographic origin. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) says registration can prevent misleading claims about origin while strengthening consumer confidence, market access, and revenue generation. The Philippines established its current GI registration system in 2022.

Other countries offer a useful demonstration of what can happen when this tool is treated as part of agricultural strategy rather than simply intellectual property administration. The European Union now has more than 3,700 registered GIs, covering products such as Champagne, Kalamata olives and Parmigiano Reggiano. The European Commission says GI products generate more than 75 billion euros in annual sales and account for 15.5 percent of EU agri-food exports.

Costa Rica offers an even more relevant agricultural example. Its ‘Banano de Costa Rica’ GI was registered nationally in 2010 and through the World Intellectual Property Organization the following year. In 2026, the industry employed over 41,000 workers directly with another 100,000 indirectly working in banana production. These workers enjoy the highest minimum wage in the banana sector in Latin America and better social services and working conditions compared to others employed in similar professions in the region. With modern and fair production practices at the heart of its model, the ‘Banano de Costa Rica’ GI has built the confidence of relatively affluent international customers-and the industry is able to command premium prices as a result.

The Philippines has already seen what happens when a valuable product name is allowed to become detached from its origin. Consider the case of the ‘Manila Mango.’

The name is used for mangoes grown in Mexico, even though the variety has Philippine roots. In 2005, the Philippine intellectual property authorities objected to the use of ‘Manila Mango’ for Mexican-grown fruit, arguing that consumers could be led to believe it came from the Philippines; contemporary reporting noted that the Mexican producer acknowledged that the original seedling came from the Philippines.

Whatever the historical complexities of the mango’s trans-Pacific journey, the episode illustrates the commercial risk clearly: a place name can acquire market value independently of the farmers and territory that originally gave the product its reputation.

There is little reason to wait for another such case. IPOPHL and the Department of Agriculture have identified at least 30 agricultural and fishery products with strong GI potential, including Cordillera Heirloom Rice, Davao Pomelo, Zambales Mangoes, Davao Cacao, Davao Durian, Bonuan Bangus, Quezon Lambanog, Camarines Norte Queen Pineapple, and Oriental Mindoro Calamansi.

Guimaras mangoes already provide a domestic example of the potential: the product was registered as a GI in 2023, and in July 2026 GI-certified Guimaras mangoes were shipped to Europe as part of an effort to promote the product internationally.

Legislators are also moving on the issue. Senate Bills No. 840 and 1392, both titled the Protected Geographical Indications Act, were filed in 2025. SB 1936 followed in March 2026, while House Bill No. 8080 was filed in February 2026. These measures seek a dedicated framework for GI protection.

But legislation should be only one part of the strategy. A GI cannot compensate for low farm productivity, inadequate planting material, poor postharvest systems, or fragmented supply chains. What it can do is give those investments a market-facing purpose: turning a crop into a recognized origin brand whose reputation can be defended and whose value can be built over time.

The Philippines should not wait until the next calamansi, cacao, mango, or heirloom crop becomes an international sensation before asking how its name will be protected and how its farmers will benefit. The lesson of ube is not merely that the world likes Filipino products. It is that when the world does, the Philippines must be ready.

Binibining Pilipinas Katrina Anne Johnson continues to help Filipino communities get closer to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by the United Nations.

The pharmacist from Davao, the Philippines’ delegate to the 2026 Miss International pageant in Japan later this year, took part in a recent livelihood session with the women of Barangay Karuhatan in Valenzuela City.

‘Inclusion means making sure opportunities are within reach,’ Johnson said of the learning session conducted by Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), the government’s primary agency for technical-vocational education and training.

The agency facilitated a pet shampoo making livelihood session with PWDs (persons with disabilities) and single parents of Karuhatan, in hopes of encouraging the residents to pursue entrepreneurship.

‘The intention behind this initiative was more than just teaching participants how to make a single product. It was to introduce a skill that could be practiced, developed, replicated and potentially turned into an additional stream of income,’ Johnson said.’For people who encounter greater barriers to conventional employment, having another avenue to earn can mean greater independence, greater agency and, most of all, greater security,’ she continued.

Johnson said the intiative demonstrated how SDGs 1, 8, 10 and 17 ‘can intersect in practice, showing how different global goals can reinforce one another to widen access to sustainable livelihoods.’

The Miss International pageant has been promoting the 17 SDGs, requiring the delegates to spearhead campaigns in their respective countries to help achive the goals before the target in 2030.

Johnson celebrated SDG Flag Day on Sept. 25 with a series of photographs assembled in collages that showed her participating in various initiatives in schools, hospitals, villages and remote islands across the Philippines.

‘After nearly a decade of seeing our communities up close, the SDGs have come to represent the kind of future I want to help create: one where opportunity is not limited by circumstance, where inclusion is built into progress, and where people can thrive without compromising the world that sustains them,’ she said.

Johnson is on a mission to post the Philippines’ seventh Miss International win. The ‘Final Gala’ will be held at Kanadevia Hall (formerly Tokyo Dome City Hall) in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 25.