Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

A 15-year-old Grade 11 student was wounded after being stabbed by a fellow student at a school in Laoag City in nearby Ilocos Norte on Friday (Oct. 2).

The Laoag City Police Station, in a report, said the incident stemmed from a confrontation between the two students at Balatong Integrated School.

The situation reportedly intensified into a verbal altercation before one was stabbed.

A teacher intervened and stopped the clash.

The wounded minor was brought to a medical facility for treatment.

Responding police officers recovered a bladed weapon (balisong or butterfly knife) believed to have been used by the suspect, who is also 15 years old.

Police said they were preparing the necessary documentation for the filing of an appropriate case, subject to laws and procedures governing cases involving minors.

The Laoag City Police Station urged students, parents, teachers and school personnel to immediately report bullying, threats, harassment and conflicts that could escalate into violence.

Alex Enriquez settled for the silver medal after losing to Orapa Senatham of Thailand in the women’s -63kg jiu jitsu at the Asian Games 2026 on Saturday at Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.

The Thai won by an advantage for a near-pass or near-sweep after holding Enriquez down for most of their six-minute and 57-second match.

‘I’m sorry, but it just came up so short,’ Enriquez said. ‘I feel like I was really trying my best to push the action, hoping maybe she would have gotten called for stalling or a negative or constantly backing up. But it’s the name of the game. And there’s always more that I could have done better.’

Enriquez got the best finish for the Philippine jiu-jitsu team as a runner-up, although she fell short of adding to the country’s four gold medals, which matched the previous two Asian Games campaigns.

‘I’m still proud and happy of my performance. I gave it my all. So there’s no regrets. You know, I gave it my all. And I hope that, you know, the nation still supports me,’ Enriquez, who made her debut in the continental meet, also said.

Enriquez, who previously represented the United States, followed up on her a gold medal finish for the Philippines in the 2026 Asian Beach Games.

Andrea Lois Lao finished fourth in the women’s -63kg after losing the bronze medal match to Narankhishig Baasanjargal of Mongolia, 0-2.

Enriquez, who got a first-round bye, dominated Palestine’s Dania Obaid and Kazakhstan’s Marian Zhuravleva, then defeated Baasanjargal in the semifinal.

Lao lost in the quarterfinal to Senatham.

Kaila Napolis won the bronze medal in women’s -52kg on Friday.

The Taguig City government on Saturday denied involvement in alleged illegal reclamation activities at the Taguig side of Laguna Lake, saying the property inspected by government agencies was not being possessed or used by the city.

The city government said the area shown in a video released by Sen. Panfilo Lacson involved a parcel of land claimed by several private individuals and a neighborhood association.

‘Contrary to what Senator Lacson wants the public to believe, the area shown in the peddled video does not involve any land presently possessed and used by the City of Taguig,’ it said in a statement.

Taguig also said it did not issue any permit or authority to any of the alleged private owners of the property.

Lacson on Friday released a video showing an inspection of the area by the Office of the Ombudsman, Philippine Reclamation Authority, Land Registration Authority, and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The senator had called out what he described as continuing illegal reclamation activities along the Taguig lakeshore despite an ongoing investigation into the alleged unauthorized reclamation.

The Ombudsman has been conducting a fact-finding investigation into reclamation activities along the Taguig portion of Laguna Lake.

Lacson has also raised concerns over land titles covering portions of Laguna Lake and questioned how reclamation activities could continue despite the ongoing investigation.

The issue has also drawn scrutiny toward Senate minority leader Alan Peter Cayetano, whom Lacson has previously linked to the controversy.

Cayetano, for his part, has said he supports the ongoing investigations but stressed that the process should be conducted fairly.

Taguig, meanwhile, accused Lacson of presenting a ‘misleading narrative’ by linking the inspection footage to allegations of illegal reclamation and ‘impunity.’

The city urged the public to assess the allegations based on verified evidence and official records.

A rare green sea turtle found crawling weakly along the shoreline of Barangay Sabang in Calabanga, Camarines Sur, on Friday (Oct. 2) died despite residents’ efforts to save it.

Fishermen and bystanders spotted the turtle at about 5:30 p.m. that day in Zone 7-B, Sitio Maligaya, with a wound on its head.

Village chief Paul Christian Santos said it was not immediately known how the turtle sustained the injury.

Santos told the Inquirer in a phone interview on Saturday that residents tried to save the turtle, but it eventually died.

‘Before burying it, we had it documented. It measured 50 centimeters in length, and 25 centimeters in width, and weighed more than 20 kilograms,’ he said.

He mentioned that the information was forwarded to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Santos urged residents who encounter green sea turtles not to harm them, and to immediately report their sightings to government agencies concerned, as they are endangered species.

The prices of basic necessities across Agusan del Sur have been frozen at their prevailing levels following the provincial government’s declaration of a state of calamity due to severe agricultural damage, critically low supplies of potable water and relentless high temperatures.

The automatic price freeze took effect immediately pursuant to Section 6 of Republic Act No. 7581, or the Price Act of the Philippines, as amended by Republic Act No. 10623, according to a formal bulletin issued Friday by the provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The measure was triggered after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved Resolution No. 585-26, series of 2026, on Sept. 24, placing the entire province under a state of calamity. Prolonged dry spells and soaring heat indices have dried up irrigation networks, parched croplands, depleted community water sources and strained household incomes in multiple towns.

Under national law, the price freeze remains in force for the duration of the emergency conditions that prompted it, but may not exceed 60 days unless lifted earlier by the authorities.

The price freeze covers all essential items falling directly under DTI’s jurisdiction. These include canned fish and other processed marine products; processed and condensed milk; coffee; loaf bread and pandesal; bottled drinking water; instant noodles; iodized and coarse salt; laundry soap; powdered detergent; and candles.

DTI cautioned business operators, distributors and public market vendors against unauthorized markups, hoarding and price gouging while residents cope with the dry conditions.

Under the Price Act, individuals and enterprises found guilty of price gouging or violating the freeze order face imprisonment ranging from one to 10 years, fines between P5,000 and P1 million, or both, at the discretion of the court, alongside administrative penalties including the possible revocation of local business permits.

Turning a heartbreaking loss less than a day before into fuel that drove them harder, Khy Progella and Sofiah Pagara captured a historic bronze medal in the Asian Games women’s beach volleyball tournament by rallying past a Chinese pair at Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court on Friday.

The young Alas Pilipinas tandem battled back from a slow start to stun Cao Shuting and Dong Jie, 13-21, 23-21, 15-13, and secure the Philippines’ first-ever Asiad medal in beach volleyball.

‘We are just so overwhelmed with what has taken place,’ Pagara said in Filipino minutes after the win. ‘We really worked hard for this and we feel that we really deserve this.’

Dominated in the first set and facing match point in the second, Progella and Pagara refused to yield, as the hard-fighting pair out of University of Santo Tomas rallied doggedly to force a decider and make it anybody’s match.

From 10-all, Progella and Pagara surged ahead, 14-12, putting themselves within one point of the bronze. China saved one match point, but the Filipinas remained composed.

Dong then sent a pass long, which triggered a celebration from the Philippine side as Progella and Pagara secured their place in Asian Games history.

‘There were really jitters in the first set,’ Progella said. ‘But after that, we were able to overcome the pressure.’

Golfers bow out

Meanwhile, the Philippine golf teams slid down the standings as South Korea, led by PGA star Tom Kim, and China, spearheaded by former world No. 1 and major champion Ruoning Yin, took control of the men’s and women’s team events, respectively, at Kasugai Golf Club’s East course.

Justin delos Santos and Miguel Tabuena both accounted for one-over-par 71s for a third round 142 as the Filipinos fell out of medal contention with a 416 aggregate, 16 shots behind the Koreans.

Rianne Malixi and Bianca Pagdanganan also accounted for 71s for their 142 as the Filipino women fell 13 shots out of the lead with their 418 as Yin powered the Chinese to a 137 after a 66 to lead India by four shots.

Individually, Delos Santos and Malixi remained as the brightest performers for Team Philippines, with Delos Santos tied for 12th spot at 206, down by eight shots to new leader Kim, who fired a 65 for 198.

Infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is acquiring an additional 1.9-percent stake in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) from San Miguel Corp. (SMC) for P12.4 billion, a move reflecting the Pangilinan Group’s bullishness in the power utility.

The group at Meralco’s helm said it had inked an agreement with SMC’s energy arm, San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP), for the acquisition of 21.4 million shares priced at P580.99 apiece, way higher than the P90 price tag SMGP settled in 2025.

Once the transaction has been sealed, MPIC’s direct and indirect shareholding interest in Meralco will increase to 49.4 percent from the current 47.5 percent.

MPIC, which has interests in power, toll roads, water and healthcare, said it intends to fund the acquisition through a combination of internally generated cash and financing.

The deal remains subject to conditions, including the approval of the Philippine Stock Exchange of the special block sale.

‘The transaction represents an increase in MPIC’s effective interests in Meralco and reflects MPIC’s continued confidence in Meralco’s long-term growth prospects and strategic importance to the group,’ it said.

In July last year, SMGP secured P23 billion worth of shares of the utility giant for just P3.89 billion after winning a court dispute that compelled the state-controlled Land Bank of the Philippines to sell based on 17-year-old terms.

Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp., said this decision has shown that the Pangilinan Group ‘remains very confident in the future of Meralco’ despite uncertainty about the controversial system loss charges.

‘For San Miguel, it’s an opportunity to monetize a portion of its minority stake at more than six times the original purchase price of P90 per share,’ Colet said.

Toby Allan Arce, head of sales trading at Globalinks Securities and Stocks Inc., also described the sale as a ‘sensible capital-allocation move’ for the Ramon Ang-led group.

Over P3.2 million worth of suspected ‘shabu’ (crystal meth) was intercepted and four individuals were arrested during a back-to-back anti-drug operations here and in the island province of Camiguin.

In an advisory Saturday, Oct. 3, Brig. Gen. Nestor Babagay Jr., Police Regional Office-10 (PRO-10) director, lauded the operatives and vowed to sustain strict, intelligence-driven campaigns against illegal drugs across Northern Mindanao.

‘These operations show our firm resolve against the illegal drugs trade. We will intensify our operations, strengthen intelligence efforts, and hold those involved accountable,’ he said.

The bulk of the illegal drugs was seized late night on Thursday, Oct. 1, in a buy-bust operation in Lower Tambo, Barangay Macasandig in this city.

Operatives from the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit-10 (RPDEU-10) and allied intelligence units arrested a 35-year-old man identified only as alias ‘Bossing,’ categorized as a high-value individual.

They also nabbed a 41-year-old jeepney driver alias ‘Eska.’

Police also confiscated six plastic sachets containing around 470 grams of suspected shabu with an estimated standard drug price of P3,196,000.

Also seized were a red sling bag and a P1,000 bill used as buy-bust money.

Barely hours later, at 2:35 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, joint police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-10) operatives enforced a search warrant in Camiguin.

This led to the arrest of unemployed live-in partners, alias ‘Pat,’ 35, and ‘Mae,’ 49.

The couple, classified as street-level peddlers, yielded 10 sachets of suspected shabu weighing 10 grams values at P68,000 and a sachet of suspected marijuana worth P3,600.

‘All four suspects are currently in police custody and will face charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002,’ Navarro said in a text message.

The Portland Trail Blazers fired new play-by-play television broadcaster Braiden Bell on Thursday when inappropriate social media posts that he made as a teenager resurfaced just hours after the team announced his hiring.

‘The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist, or harmful comments,’ the team said in a statement Thursday night. ‘Social media posts made by our recently announced play-by-play broadcaster are in clear violation of team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with this broadcaster.’

Bell had been the play-by-play announcer for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and the G League’s Valley Suns before the Trail Blazers announced they had hired him on Thursday to replace longtime broadcaster Kevin Calabro. Hours after the 29-year-old Bell was hired, posts surfaced that Bell made on his X account in 2012 and 2013, when the platform was known as Twitter. The posts were first reported by KGW-TV in Portland.

Bell apologized in a social media post Friday.

‘I am deeply sorry for the language that I used on Twitter. These tweets, while wrong, were written by me 14 years ago while I was only 15 years old and have no reflection of who I am today,’ he said. ‘I do not take lightly any harm it causes now. I regret this being my first impression to many of you online, but I can take solace in knowing that the people who truly know me understand that this is not the kind of person I am. Again, I’d like to apologize to anyone who was hurt by my words and will continue to always treat people with kindness and respect.’

The Blazers said in a statement: ‘We did not meet our own bar in this process, and for that we apologize to Blazers fans and to Rip City. We believe strongly that everyone who is a part of Rip City should feel welcome and safe and we will make sure that our new broadcaster reflects these values. We will do better.’

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday urged parents to watch for behavioral changes among their children as he called for greater vigilance to prevent school violence following a series of incidents involving students.

The call came after school shooting incidents in Tacloban City, Zamboanga City, and South Cotabato that resulted in at least eight deaths and several injuries in the past three months.

‘We must closely watch over our children, our young people. We must ensure that they do not get involved in these kinds of acts. This is not easy to do-we all need to be vigilant and work together,’ the president said in his remarks after visiting Patul Elementary School in Santiago City, Isabela.

‘We must do this together, including the parents. Of course, you are the first ones who need to watch your children for changes in their behavior-if they become unusually sad, angry, or anything else. We simply need to keep a close eye on them,’ Mr. Marcos added.

Protecting young people, the president said, is a shared responsibility among parents, teachers, and the government.

Teener found with gun

‘We need everyone-the national government and local governments-to work together and help ensure that our children can study well and remain safe, so that we do not see any more unfortunate incidents,’ Mr. Marcos added.

On Thursday, a 15-year-old student in Catarman, Northern Samar, yielded a gun and bullets after policemen, who were responding to an alert from school authorities, confronted him inside a classroom at Catarman National High School on Thursday.

This came after another student told a teacher that the Grade 10 student was allegedly carrying a firearm inside the classroom, reports from the Eastern Visayas regional police showed.

The teacher reported the matter to the school administration, which then notified the Catarman municipal police.

Police recovered a .45-caliber pistol without a serial number, four magazines and 10 rounds of ammunition from the minor. The student reportedly told authorities that the gun and bullets belonged to his father, who is a bus driver.

A source, who asked not to be named due to lack of authority to speak to reporters, told the Inquirer that authorities were assessing whether the minor had acted with discernment when he brought the firearm to school, a determination that could affect whether a complaint may be filed.

The source said the student claimed he had no intention of harming anyone.

No class suspension

Classes at the school, which has more than 5,000 enrolled students, were not suspended following the incident.

But police met with school officials to review and strengthen safety and security measures to protect students, teachers and other school personnel.