Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The unchecked clearing of forests and grasslands for farms, housing, businesses, and infrastructure continues to push the critically endangered Tamaraw to the brink, conservation leaders warned.

The Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. (MBCFI) sounded the alarm during the Kapihan sa PIA Oriental Mindoro forum on September 29, noting that the dwindling and fragmentation of natural habitats is the single biggest threat to the endemic dwarf buffalo.

MBCFI Executive Director Kathy Lene S. Cielo stressed that the Tamaraw’s low reproductive rate makes preserving what remains of its living space all the more urgent.

The latest figures from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources show a modest population rise: 425 Tamaraws counted in the Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park in 2026, up from 380 in 2025.

Yet DENR also confirmed that forest degradation, habitat fragmentation, and agricultural expansion persist as serious, human-driven dangers.

Cielo urged strict limits on converting the species’ home ranges.

‘Kung dati po itong grassland, kung dati na po itong forest land, huwag na po sana natin gawing mga agricultural areas, huwag na po sana natin gawing bahayan, mga business areas o dagdagan pa ng mga infrastructure,’ Cielo said during the media forum.

(These used to be grasslands. These used to be forest lands – let us no longer convert them into agricultural areas, residential zones, business districts, or add more infrastructure.)

Even with the population concentrated in the Mounts Iglit-Baco core, shrinking space risks long-term harm – including inbreeding and genetic weakness as the herd grows within a confined territory, Cielo said.

She also warned against allowing livestock into critical Tamaraw ranges. Diseases carried by cattle and carabaos could prove devastating, recalling how rinderpest historically drove massive Tamaraw declines.

MBCFI is partnering with communities, indigenous peoples, and forest rangers through training and patrols to boost protection.

But success, Cielo said, depends on broad public support – and giving the Tamaraw room to rebound.

‘Dapat po ay lumawak na po kung saan po sila dapat naninirahan,’ Cielo said.

(The areas where they live must be allowed to expand.)

The municipal government of Santo Domingo in this province will shift to a four-day onsite workweek starting Monday, Oct. 5.

This is part of efforts to conserve energy, promote environmental sustainability, and improve administrative efficiency.

Under the interim modified workweek, municipal offices will operate onsite from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, while employees will work from home every Friday.

The local government said in an advisory Friday (Oct. 2) that the arrangement was adopted to reduce energy consumption and support more sustainable and efficient government operations.

However, offices providing frontline services will maintain adequate staffing and skeleton forces on Fridays to attend to walk-in clients and urgent public transactions.

These include the Office of the Municipal Civil Registrar, Municipal Treasurer’s Office, Municipal Health Office, Business Permit and Licensing Office, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, and public safety and traffic enforcement units.

The municipal government said that frontline services will remain operational and accessible despite the work-from-home arrangement.

The modified schedule will be implemented as an interim arrangement, according to the local government.

Organizers of the 2030 Asian Games in Doha are confident the event can be staged without major new construction, with existing venues and infrastructure already in place, the head of the local organizing committee said.

Ahmed Abdullah Al Buainain, chief executive officer of the Doha 2030 organizing committee, told a press conference Thursday in Nagoya that all competition venues required for the games are already available and that no additional facilities are planned.

‘We have all the infrastructure ready. It’s a matter of utilizing the venues,’ he said, stressing Qatar’s experience in hosting major international events, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Al Buainain pointed to Qatar’s ability to repurpose facilities built for previous events, citing the conversion of Al Janoub Stadium into a basketball venue for next year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup in Doha.

The organizers said they would be ready if the event is moved to 2031 as part of discussions between the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Olympic Committee.

The organizing committee is also working with the OCA on the final sports program and athlete quotas. Al Buainain said discussions remain ongoing with international federations and that organizers are not seeking to reduce the number of sports or disciplines on the schedule.

‘For now, we are trying to make sure everyone is happy,’ he said, adding that no limits have been set on athlete numbers at this stage.

P-pop girl group KAIA is set to lead the ‘Made in the Philippines’ spotlight at Music Matters Live in Singapore on Saturday, Oct. 3.

The five-member group will take the Music Matters Live Mainstage at Clarke Quay along with fellow Filipino girl group PIX!E, under the Philippine spotlight presented by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Aside from the P-pop groups, Filipino rock band Lola Amour is also set to perform at the music festival on Sunday, Oct. 4.

After their Music Matters Live appearances, KAIA and PIX!E will join the Singapore edition of the P-Pop Music and Culture Caravan at lyf Funan.

The former is also set to make a special appearance at Bridges and Beats at Swee Lee Clarke Quay, where they will perform alongside Indonesian singer-songwriter Jordan Susanto and Singapore-based Filipino artist Mariae Cassandra.

KAIA, which debuted in 2022, is best known for their songs ‘hulog,’ ‘Walang Biruan,’ and ‘You Did It.’

Mary Jane Veloso, the drug trafficking convict who was granted pardon by President Marcos last week, is pushing through with the criminal cases she filed against her illegal recruiters in an effort to clear her name.

Released from prison on Sept. 25, she is set to appear in a Nueva Ecija court for the case this November.

Veloso, who faced the media at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, said she wanted her ex-recruiters to declare her innocence in court after getting her involved unknowingly in drug trafficking, for which she was convicted and initially put on death row in Indonesia.

‘[My] only message to them is that I hope they themselves would acknowledge that I am not at fault. That is important, after all,’ she said at a press conference, referring to Maria Cristina Sergio, alias Mary Christine Guilles Pasadilla, and Julius Lacanilao.

‘That is precisely why I fought back. That is why I filed charges against them-so that the truth would come out,’ she added.

In April 2010, Veloso was recruited by her neighbors in Talavera, Nueva Ecija, to work in Malaysia as a domestic helper.

When Veloso arrived in Malaysia, however, she was informed that the job was no longer available and that she would be sent to Indonesia for a holiday instead.

She was arrested at the airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on April 25, 2010, for an alleged attempt to smuggle over 2.6 kilograms of heroin. Veloso insisted she was unaware of the drugs found in the luggage given to her by her recruiters.

On Oct. 11, 2010, she was found guilty and sentenced to death. Over the next four years, the Philippine government appealed her case before the Indonesian Supreme Court.

On April 28, 2015, Sergio and Lacanilao surrendered to the Nueva Ecija police in Cabanatuan City. The National Bureau of Investigation later charged them-and a foreign national known only as Ike-with illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and estafa.

The following day, Veloso was granted a last-minute reprieve from being executed by firing squad.

In 2020, a Nueva Ecija court found Sergio and Lacanilao guilty in connection with a separate case of illegal recruitment (not involving Veloso) and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Veloso was repatriated to the Philippines in December 2024 to serve the rest of her commuted life sentence at the women’s correctional facility in Mandaluyong City. From there, she attended hearings online on the cases against her recruiters, according to the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).

Edre Olalia, one of Veloso’s lawyers from NUPL, told the Inquirer that she will make a court appearance for the start of the presentation of defense evidence on Nov. 17.

Nonpunishment principle

The DOJ, meanwhile, clarified that the President’s absolute pardon on Veloso was in keeping with the nonpunishment principle for human trafficking victims under the law and within the bounds of the agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia that allowed for her to return in 2024.

In a press conference on Thursday, DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Ty explained that the two countries agreed that the continued enforcement of the sentence of Veloso would be governed by laws and procedures of the Philippines, including the exclusive prerogative of the President to grant various forms of executive clemency.

This, he noted, was contained in the agreement signed by the DOJ and Indonesian counterparts in December 2024, when Veloso was repatriated back to the Philippines after 16 years in detention.

Vida also said nothing from the agreement was violated and that the Philippine government did not also need to secure an approval from Indonesia.

‘After all, this involves mutual respect for each other’s systems … We know they are our Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors … We know that our Indonesian brothers also recognize the authority of the President to grant an absolute pardon. That’s why we do not foresee any obstacles or any missteps with regards to Indonesia’s perspective on this matter,’ the justice chief said.

Officials also pointed out that DOJ prosecutors had been trying to prove to Indonesian authorities that Veloso was a victim of human trafficking even when they were still in the early stages of negotiation more than a decade ago.

According to Ty, the country’s human trafficking laws observe the principle of nonpunishment for victims, but its application is ‘not simple’ as many factors come into play.

‘It depends on whether the country recognizes the individual as a victim of human trafficking in order to grant them the benefits of that principle. That is precisely where all our negotiations came into play. That is why, as early as 2015, we needed to demonstrate to the Indonesian government that a genuine case of human trafficking was involved,’ said Ty.

Under this principle, human trafficking victims like Veloso should not be held liable for criminal acts they allegedly committed, he stressed.

In other words, if they were coerced, abused, or deceived into performing certain acts-such as transporting drugs, as happened in Mary Jane’s case-they should not be held accountable … We adhere to it. But (this principle) is also observed across various laws and by our Asean neighbors, such as Indonesia,’ said Ty.

Bjorn Kristensen scored a brace, including the winner, as the Philippine men’s football team stunned Thailand, 2-1, on Friday to end its Fifa Asean Cup campaign on a bright note.

Kristensen struck the opener three minutes into the twice-delayed match in Bandung, Indonesia, before adding another in the 68th to give the Philippines the maximum three points.

Iklas Sanron equalized for Thailand in the 55th, before Kristensen came through with the goal that contributed to the Filipino booters’ rare win over the regional powerhouse.

The victory secured the Philippines a third-place finish in Group B with four points on one win, one draw and one defeat.

Thailand still advanced to the final to face host Indonesia, winner of Group A, with six points, while Asean Hyundai Cup champion Vietnam came in second, also at six points.

The Thais won the group after beating Vietnam, 2-0.

Coach Carles Cuadrat’s side opened the inaugural edition organized by Fifa with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Vietnam, coming close to salvaging a draw multiple times.

Last Tuesday, the Philippines squandered a two-goal lead and was held to a 2-2 draw by Pakistan, a country ranked 66 places lower than the Filipinos in the Fifa rankings.

Alas Pilipinas men’s team vented its ire on Uzbekistan, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, to bag its first win in the Asian Games men’s volleyball on Friday at Park Arena Komaki.

Team captain Bryan Bagunas erupted for 26 points, helping Alas Pilipinas snap their four-game skid in the tournament to advance to the 13th-place match against Kyrgyzstan on Saturday afternoon.

Bagunas returned to full action after playing sparingly in their 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 21-25 loss to Indonesia less than 24 hours ago.

Amid struggles over lack of support, Alas Pilipinas aims to end its second straight Asian Games campaign in high spirits after losing to South Korea, China, and Chinese Taipei in the pool stage.

Bagunas was backstopped by Joshua Magalaman, who scattered six blocks, six kils, and an ace for 13 points. Peng Taguibolos also stepped up with 11 points, with Owa Retamar running the plays.

Marck Espejo and Leo Ordiales sat out the game, but Lirick Mendoza and Buds Buddin stepped up with eight and seven points, respectively.

Murobidinov Saidjamol and Haydarov Ogabek led the Uzbeks with 14 points each. Sobirov Islomjon added 12.

Alas was able to control its errors with just 19, while Uzbekistan gave up 29 points off miscues.

Heavy to intense rain showers are forecast to persist over parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Friday afternoon.

This is based on the thunderstorm advisory issued at 2:28 p.m. by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Heavy to intense rain showers with lightning and strong winds are affecting the following areas, which may persist within two hours:

Metro Manila (Muntinlupa, Caloocan, Quezon City and Marikina)

Bataan (Hermosa)

Batangas (Lemery, Laurel and Lipa)

Bulacan (Norzagaray, Bustos, Santa Maria, Pandi, San Jose del Monte and Angat)

Cavite (Bacoor, Imus, Dasmarinas, General Trias, Silang, Carmona, Gen. Mariano Alvarez, Amadeo, Indang, Tagaytay, Tanza, Trece Martires, Alfonso, General Emilio Aguinaldo and Mendez)

Laguna (San Pedro, Pakil and Majayjay)

Quezon (General Nakar, Tagkawayan and Guinayangan)

Rizal (Antipolo, Rodriguez and San Mateo), Tarlac (Mayantoc, San Jose, Capas and Bamban)

Zambales (Santa Cruz, Palauig, Iba, Botolan, Cabangan, San Marcelino, Subic, Castillejos and Olongapo)

Meanwhile, moderate to heavy rain showers with lightnings and strong winds are expected to persist over the following areas within the next two hours:

Metro Manila (Valenzuela, Malabon, Navotas, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Taguig, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Pasay, Pateros and Manila)

Bataan (Dinalupihan, Morong, Orani, Abucay, Samal, Bagac, Balanga, Limay, Mariveles, Orion and Pilar)

Batangas (Talisay, Rosario, Lobo, Batangas City, Ibaan, Padre Garcia, Nasugbu, Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Balete, Mataasnakahoy, San Jose, Cuenca, San Juan, Taysan, Calaca, Taal, Malvar, Tanauan, Santo Tomas, Alitagtag, Balayan, Bauan, Calatagan, Lian, Mabini, San Luis, San Pascual, Santa Teresita, Tingloy and Tuy)

Bulacan (Dona Remedios Trinidad, San Miguel, San Ildefonso, San Rafael, Balagtas, Baliuag, Bocaue, Meycauayan, Guiguinto, Marilao, Obando, Plaridel, Calumpit, Bulakan, Malolos and Pulilan)

Cavite (Kawit, Noveleta, Cavite City, Rosario, Naic, Magallanes, Maragondon and Ternate)

Laguna (Cabuyao, Santa Rosa, Binan, Mabitac, Pangil, Paete, Kalayaan, Siniloan, Santa Maria, Famy, Luisiana, Cavinti, Lumban, Calamba, Magdalena, Liliw, Nagcarlan, Rizal, Pagsanjan, Santa Cruz, Pila, Victoria, Alaminos, San Pablo, Calauan, Los Banos and Bay)

Nueva Ecija (Pantabangan, Carranglan, San Jose, Lupao, Rizal, Llanera and Bongabon)

Pampanga (Magalang, Mabalacat, Angeles, Porac, Lubao, Floridablanca, Apalit, Mexico, Arayat, Santa Ana, San Luis, San Simon and Candaba)

Quezon (Lucena, Tayabas, Lucban, Dolores, Candelaria, Catanauan, General Luna, Mulanay, San Narciso, Buenavista, Lopez, Macalelon, Gumaca, Pitogo, Unisan, Infanta, Real, Tiaong, San Antonio, Sariaya, Pagbilao, Sampaloc, Mauban, Calauag, San Francisco, San Andres, Agdangan, Padre Burgos, Atimonan, Quezon, Alabat, Perez and Plaridel)

Rizal (Tanay, Angono, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jala-Jala, Morong, Pililla, Taytay and Teresa)

Tarlac (San Clemente, Camiling, Santa Ignacia, Tarlac City and Concepcion)

Zambales (Candelaria, Masinloc, San Antonio, San Felipe and San Narciso)

‘All are advised to take precautionary measures against the impacts associated with these hazards which include flash floods and landslides,’ Pagasa said.

The weather bureau earlier reported that the localized thunderstorms will affect Metro Manila and Luzon this Friday.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ G. Dy III joined Education Secretary Sonny Angara in a visit to Patul Elementary School in Santiago City, Isabela, on Friday to highlight programs supporting children’s nutrition, safety, and well-being.

The visit featured DepEd’s Home-Grown School Feeding program, which provides nutritious hot meals using ingredients sourced from local smallholder farmers, helping children stay healthy and ready to learn while supporting farmers’ livelihoods.

They also joined parents participating in the Kaagapay Program, which equips parents and caregivers with guidance on positive discipline, values formation, bullying prevention, and digital safety.

Joining the visit were Isabela 4th District Rep. Joseph S. Tan, Isabela Gov. Rodolfo T. Albano III, Santiago City Mayor Alyssa Sheena Tan-Dy, and Echague Mayor Faustino ‘Inno’ Dy.

Majority senators welcomed the Supreme Court’s dismissal of a petition challenging the legality of the Senate session on June 3 that resulted in the ousterof then-Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

In an en banc resolution dated Aug. 26, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition filed by lawyers Valeriano Loon and Zigfred Diaz, saying they failed to sufficiently establish that the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion in holding the session.

The Court resolution, a copy of which was shared on social media by Senator Francis Pangilinan, said the June 3 proceedings appeared to be ‘in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence.’

Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, who was among the respondents, said the 12 senators who attended the session had been confident that they had sufficient legal basis to reorganize the chamber.

‘We were certain then and it is now validated by the Supreme Court that we stood on solid legal ground when we reorganized the Senate by removing Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and Acting Presiding Officer having a clear majority of 12 in our bloc,’ Lacson said in a statement on Friday.

Pangilinan, meanwhile, welcomed the ruling ‘with respect and humility,’ saying it should allow senators to move past their political disagreements and return their attention to legislative work.

‘We acknowledge the Supreme Court’s ruling on the June 3 Senate session with respect and humility. The Court found no grave abuse of discretion and recognized that the session was consistent with the facts, the law, and established jurisprudence,’ Pangilinan said.

‘In the words of my Gen Z kids, ‘Move on na.’ Tuloy-tuloy na tayong magtrabaho,’ he added.

(In the words of my Gen Z kids, ‘Let’s move on.’ Let’s continue working,)

Gatchalian also welcomed the Court’s resolution, saying it was consistent with the position maintained by his camp from the beginning.

‘The Court found no basis to question the holding of that session, and noted that it appears consistent with the facts and the law,’ he said.

Gatchalian maintained the Senate had convened on June 3 ‘in accordance with the Constitution and established jurisprudence’ to prevent the chamber from being left unable to function.

During the June 3 session, Sen. Francis Escudero joined 11 senators of the then-minority bloc to establish a quorum.

The quorum was based on a total of 22 senators, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco, as senators Ronald dela Rosa and Jose ‘Jinggoy’ Estrada were then outside the Senate’s ‘coercive power.’

The group removed Cayetano as Senate president and elected Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and acting presiding officer.

The group did not elect Gatchalian as Senate president during the June 3 session because the Constitution required at least 13 senators for such an election.