Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Samar Island Natural Park (DENR-SINP) is developing a Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS) to conserve the endangered Samar Rafflesia (Rafflesia manillana) in Basey, Samar.

The initiative follows the rediscovery and documentation of the rare flowering plant in Sitio Bagong Silang, Barangay Guirang in Basey town, about 15 years after it was last recorded there.

DENR is also collaborating with experts on further research about the specie.

The Protected Area Management Office (PAMO) – SINP said in a statement on Friday that the monitoring system will provide a more systematic way to track the rare plant, its habitat and potential threats to its survival.

‘The DENR-SINP also plans to work with experts to generate additional scientific information that could guide conservation measures for the specie, including its habitat requirements and relationship with its host vine,’ the agency stated.

A DENR-SINP team documented 24 visible buds and flowers, including one fully bloomed flower, during surveys conducted in the upland area of Guirang village on May 26-28 and June 9-11.

According to available records, the site is currently the only confirmed location of Rafflesia manillana.

‘The 2026 documentation is significant because it confirms that Rafflesia manillana continues to survive in its natural habitat after approximately 15 years without a known documented record,’ the DENR-SINP added.

The Samar Rafflesia is endemic to Samar and is classified as endangered under DENR Administrative Order 2026-20.

To complement scientific monitoring, the PAMO-SINP, in partnership with Basey’s local government unit, recently conducted a communication, education, and public awareness campaign.

The activity is meant to encourage residents to help protect the specie and its habitat.

Residents were briefed on the ecological importance and conservation status of the Rafflesia, and its dependence on a specific forest habitat and host vine.

DENR officials said disturbing surrounding vegetation could threaten the plant’s survival.

The awareness campaign highlighted threat indicators near the Rafflesia habitat, such as signs of illegal timber poaching and human activities that could cause forest degradation.

Residents were encouraged to report activities that could threaten the Rafflesia and its habitat.

Experts also discussed Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018, which prohibits unauthorized activities that may damage protected habitats and wildlife.

The DENR-SINP emphasized that ongoing monitoring, research and collaboration with conservation experts and local communities are crucial for creating long-term measures to protect the Samar Rafflesia.

The arrest warrant issued by a Quezon City court against Vice President Sara Duterte should pave the way for her grave threats case to proceed to trial soon, a Department of Justice (DOJ) official said on Friday.

DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said the resolution issued by Branch 98 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) dismissed Duterte’s camp’s motion to defer or recall her arrest warrant.

Duterte is charged with three counts of grave threats over her outburst in an online press conference in November 2024 when she said that she allegedly arranged an assassination plot with a hitman to target President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the first lady, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The offense, however, is bailable, which is set at P120,000 per count, the DOJ earlier noted.

‘The case shall now proceed to trial,’ Martinez said in a message to reporters. ‘As a matter of procedure, warrants of arrest are transmitted directly by the court to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for implementation.’

Martinez was referring to earlier motions sought by Duterte’s lawyers, led by Paul Lim, to quash the complaint and to block the issuance of any arrest warrant in connection with the case.

The DOJ filed the grave threats complaint in August after state prosecutors found a high quantum of proof that the country’s second-highest official may be found guilty of such offense.

For his part, Lim said in a statement on Friday that the vice president would not try to dodge the enforcement of the arrest warrant against her.

‘Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,’ Lim said.

‘Spider-Man’ actor Jacob Batalon and his wife, interior designer Veronica Leahov, held a second wedding in the south of France, celebrating their marriage with an intimate three-day event attended by their loved ones.

Batalon and Leahov, who previously exchanged ‘I dos’ in a private ceremony, had their ‘timeless, romantic and elegant’ second celebration at de Tourreau in Sarrians last Aug. 25 to 26, as per information obtained by PEOPLE.

The pair was reportedly joined by 56 guests that included the Filipino-American actor’s ‘Spider-Man’ co-stars Tom Holland and Zendaya.

‘We always knew we wanted our wedding to be more than just one evening. We wanted it to feel like an experience, a few beautiful days where everyone we love could slow down, be together and celebrate with us,’ the newlyweds told the international media outlet.

Batalon also gave a glimpse of their wedding through his Instagram page on Thursday, Sept. 3.

‘Got the girl. Got the last name. Got the forever,’ he said in the caption. ‘Still trying to wrap our heads around these few days in Provence. Married my best friend surrounded by our favorite people, and it was everything we could have dreamed of and more.’

Addressing his wife, he added, ‘Mrs. Batalon, you look good on me.’

Batalon and Leahov announced their engagement in March 2025.

What will a student residence need to offer in 2030 or 2035?

Most certainly, a bed near campus will no longer be enough-neither will the familiar checklist of a pool, gym and study lounge.

The next generation of student housing will have to work harder. It must keep young residents safe while giving them room to become independent. It must support how they study and socialize, but also make space for interests in sports, arts, wellness and culture. And for parents and investors putting money into these developments, it must continue to make financial sense years after the first student moves in.

All these insights emerged at the INQTalks forum, with the theme ‘Student Living Redefined,’ hosted by Inquirer Property and Vista Residences.

Vista Residences Group head Engr. Mike Palisoc welcomed guests to the forum, while Inquirer Property Editor Theresa S. Samaniego moderated a discussion with PDP Architects principal architect Cathy Saldaña, Spectrum Investments president Carl Dy, Human8 senior director Michelle Perez and Human8 director Kris Cabaltera.

Across architecture, consumer behavior and real estate investment, the discussion pointed to a useful way of looking at future student residences: Get both the hardware and the software right.

Get the basics right first

For Saldaña, the conversation still begins with the building itself.

Engineering, durability and safety cannot be overtaken by aesthetics, particularly in a country exposed to earthquakes, flooding and typhoons. That responsibility becomes even greater in student residences, where many occupants are living without their parents or guardians.

‘Especially for university residences, because you’re talking about the youth living there, and in most cases, they don’t have their parents and their guardians with them when they reside in such a facility,’ Saldaña said. ‘So that facility, in and of itself, should be the living example and its property management on how to guide them, on how to nurture, and how to keep them safe.’

Inside the unit, Saldaña said the basics still determine whether a student residence works: Reliable water, proper furniture, study areas and strong connectivity.

Accessibility matters just as much. Rather than prioritizing parking, student-centric developments should more importantly consider how students will actually get to school.

Hardware meets software

For Dy, the ideal student residence needs a healthy mix of ‘a good hardware and a good software.’ The hardware is the building itself, while the software refers to the community and opportunities that can give life to it.

‘For me, as a parent, I look for a place where it encourages the kids to grow,’ Dy said, adding that he also sees room for student residences to host seminars, learning sessions and engagements with companies looking to hire.

Perez also urged developers to move beyond the standard amenity checklist, creating spaces for late-night study, creative work or smaller social interactions. Cabaltera pointed out that this is especially relevant for the Gen Z, who may value independence but still seek connection.

‘There’s still this yearning for connection. We have to understand (what) connection means for them right now,’ she added.

For Gen Alpha, developers may need to look further ahead as children today, Cabaltera noted, are growing up with sports and arts already built into their routines.

‘If we are to resonate with Gen Alpha as teenagers, it has to resonate with the kind of lifestyle that they are actually building now, which is actually a lot around sports and the arts,’ she said. The point, she added, is not to predict every preference in 2035, but to create flexible spaces that can evolve with them.

Technology will also play a larger role, although Saldaña stressed that smart does not have to mean expensive. Buildings should be smart-enabled.

A market that renews itself

Student housing also presents a clear investment case.

Dy stressed that it has a ready market that refreshes every four or five years. An end-user may first buy for a child, then turn the unit into a rental asset. But the resident and buyer are often two different people.

‘This is a student accommodation, but our target client is not the students. It’s the mommy and daddy,’ Dy said.

That may be the central challenge. Parents want safety and reassurance, while the students want independence and spaces that fit how they live.

The student residence of today and of the future will therefore need both: Solid hardware and strong software, with enough flexibility to stay relevant as the next generation moves in.

The provincial government of Pangasinan is pushing for the dredging of major rivers, most of which have become heavily silted, to reduce or eliminate the province’s seasonal struggles with widespread flooding, Gov. Ramon Guico III said.

Guico, in a telephone interview on Wednesday, stressed the need for well-planned and high-quality river protection and infrastructure projects and ‘not a piecemeal approach,’ to ensure a long-term solution to the flooding.

‘There must be a study of all major rivers and tributaries in Pangasinan to determine the flow of water,’ he added. ‘Government agencies, such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Public Works and Highways, should conduct these studies so that a feasible river restoration project can be implemented.’

The provincial government has started dredging the Limahong Channel in the capital town of Lingayen, one of the deltas of the Agno River. The other delta is located in Labrador town.

Guico said the project had been contracted out to a private company at no cost to the provincial government, with the company retaining ownership of the materials dredged from the river. This arrangement was reached because the provincial government has no funds for dredging northward, he added.

However, Guico said the effects of the project had yet to be felt because the contractor has only recently begun removing silt from the mouth of the channel. Initial work was focused on the entrance of Limahong so dredging equipment could enter the channel.

Guico also dismissed reports claiming that solar farms established in the mountainous areas of Pangasinan had contributed to the province’s massive flooding.

He said the areas where the solar farms were put up had already lost much of their vegetation even before the projects began. While reforestation efforts have been undertaken, he said some of the newly planted trees have been destroyed by fires.

Coordination

Guico said the provincial government is coordinating with Dagupan City officials on the possibility of dredging the Sabangan River, the delta of the Sinocalan-Marusay-Pantal River system that is located between Dagupan and Binmaley town and which leads toward the Lingayen Gulf.

Guico also pointed out the need to clear the waterways of fish pens which block the flow of water during monsoon season.

‘If Sabangan is heavily silted, floodwater will be trapped in the river system because it cannot freely flow toward the Lingayen Gulf,’ he said.

The provincial government is likewise preparing to undertake the dredging of the Nayum River, a natural waterway that marks the geographic boundary between Infanta town in Pangasinan and Santa Cruz town in Zambales.

As of Thursday, communities in at least 15 towns and two cities were still flooded, according to the Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

Several national roads in Mangatarem and Calasiao towns and Dagupan City are still not passable to light vehicles, said Pia Navata Flores, PDRRMO spokesperson.

The other towns with flooded communities for weeks now are Agno, Mabini, Aguilar, Binmaley, Bugallon, Lingayen, Malasiqui, Sta. Barbara, San Jacinto and Basista, as well as San Carlos City.

Basista was the latest to confront floods because of the swelling of the Camiling River.

Belle Mariano lived a fangirl’s dream as she joined the crowd of ARMYs cheering for BTS during the Los Angeles leg of the septet’s ‘Arirang’ world tour on Sept. 1.

The actress documented her concert experience through her Instagram page on Thursday, Sept. 3, showing clips of herself singing along to the K-pop supergroup’s hits including ‘Hooligan,’ ‘Mic Drop’ and ‘Dynamite.’

‘Post-concert euphoria,’ she said in the caption.

Mariano enjoyed the concert alongside content creator Mona Alawi, sister of actress Ivana Alawi. Mona also gave a glimpse of the show through a separate post on her Instagram page.

‘A night I’ll never forget,’ Mona said of the experience.

Aside from Mariano and Mona, Filipino actor Christian Bables also earlier teased that he was set to attend BTS’ Los Angeles concert.

BTS is set to hold two more shows in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 5 and 6.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is targeting the resolution of persistent electricity issues in the Visayas and Mindanao before the end of the year as it ramps up the deployment of diesel power barges and additional battery storage systems.

‘I’m working on it to fix the issue before Christmas. It’s not easy, but that’s the target,’ Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said on the sidelines of the 7th Philippine International Geothermal Conference in Batangas.

Garin said they are just awaiting battery energy storage systems to connect to the transmission network, as well as the arrival of diesel barges.

As for long-term solutions, the DOE has already mapped out what baseload power plants will come in by 2028 to 2030, she added.

‘That will really make Visayas more healthy energy-wise,’ Garin said.

She also cited the new circulars and guidelines of the DOE regarding accountability for generation companies, with potential suspension, cancellation of certificate of endorsement, or blacklisting as possible penalties should they fail to maintain their facilities.

Red, yellow alerts

The two main islands, particularly the Visayas, have been suffering from thin power supply due to outages in major coal power plants.

In the past weeks, both Visayas and Mindanao have been under red and yellow alerts multiple times. Since the start of the year, however, there have been 93 yellow and 30 red alerts raised over the Visayas compared to 10 yellow and three red alerts for Mindanao.

On Thursday alone, both islands were placed under a nine-hour red alert.

A yellow alert indicates that available power reserves are thinning, meaning any unexpected plant outage could trigger service interruptions. A red alert, on the other hand, means supply is insufficient to meet demand, increasing the likelihood of rotational brownouts unless consumption is managed.

The situation has prompted the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to implement manual load dropping (MLD) in several areas in the Visayas due to limited generation and zero electricity import from Mindanao.

MLD refers to a controlled and temporary power interruption in selected areas to maintain grid stability. It is typically implemented to prevent blackouts

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Thursday declined to enter a plea during his arraignment in the graft and plunder cases filed against him before the Sandiganbayan.

The anti-graft court’s Fifth Division chair, Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses, entered a plea of not guilty for the senator, who walked into the courtroom on crutches after suffering a tear on his left knee last week.

Estrada is accused of receiving P573.75 million in kickbacks for infrastructure and flood control projects in the National Capital Region, Bulacan and Occidental Mindoro under the 2025 national budget.

Before being arraigned, Estrada’s legal counsel, Laurence Arroyo, said his client waived the reading of the information against him.

Coaccused from DPWH

Arroyo also confirmed that the defense maintains the petition it filed on July 29 to allow Estrada to post bail for the plunder charge.

Plunder is a nonbailable case, but bail may be granted if the court finds that the evidence of guilt is not strong.

The preliminary conference for the case was set for Monday afternoon, Sept. 11.

The senator is charged alongside former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district engineers Manny Bulusan, Arturo Gonzales Jr. and Denryl Caesar Cortuna.

All accused were taken into government custody and committed to New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas on June 1.

Bulusan, Gonzales and Cortuna pleaded not guilty to the charges on June 4, but Estrada’s arraignment had been delayed due to several pending motions.

Briefly allowed to be interviewed by reporters after Thursday’s proceedings, Estrada said ‘I’m okay. According to my doctor, it’s up to me if I want the surgery on my left knee.’

Set up for surgery

Estrada’s left knee snapped while he was preparing for a checkup at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City last week.

His orthopedic doctor told reporters that he had recommended Estrada to undergo a surgery to treat the tear.

Estrada was previously charged alongside former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan.

However, on Tuesday, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division granted a motion by state prosecutors to exclude Bonoan from the graft and plunder charges against him, Estrada, Bulusan, Gonzales and Cortuna.

The Office of the Ombudsman has moved to turn him into a state witness in other cases related to the flood control corruption scandal

Improving economic conditions in the province of Occidental Mindoro has resulted in a reduction of poverty and insurgency incidents.

In a statement released by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) on Friday, Occidental Mindoro Lone District Rep. Leody Tarriela said the province’s dramatic economic turnaround – from 2.1 percent growth to a nation-leading 11.2 percent – offers compelling evidence that bringing roads, electricity, livelihoods and basic government services to formerly conflict-affected communities can break the cycle of poverty and insurgency.

He added that the province’s transformation demonstrates in concrete terms the principle behind the government’s whole-of-nation peace and development strategy: lasting peace cannot be secured by security operations alone, but must be sustained by development that people can see, use and feel in their everyday lives.

Tarriela declared that infrastructure has opened communities once isolated by geography, poverty and decades of armed conflict.

His remarks came amid Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showing Occidental Mindoro posting an extraordinary economic expansion, alongside recent statements from the National Anti-Poverty Commission and Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Secretary Larry Gadon linking poverty reduction and inclusive development with the weakening of conditions historically exploited by insurgent groups.

For decades, Occidental Mindoro was known as the country’s ‘brownout capital’ due to chronic power interruptions lasting from 16 to 18 hours daily, while many remote communities in the province remained vulnerable to communist insurgency.

Improved power supply, expanding infrastructure and sustained peace and development interventions have helped create conditions for investment, employment and greater economic activity.

Power interruptions have been substantially reduced, while seven of the province’s 11 municipalities had attained insurgency-free status by 2024.

‘The 11.2 percent growth is not just a number-it is a symbol of real change,’ Tarriela said. And with improved power supply, the lawmaker said investors came to Occidental Mindoro, bringing in more jobs and opportunities.

With this development, Tarriela said poverty and hunger fell, with government services now truly felt. And this is why, Tarriela said, why people no longer join or support armed groups.

He cited the municipality of Magsaysay as a concrete example of development reaching communities on the ground.

Magsaysay became the first municipality in the country to complete an infrastructure project under the FY 2026 Local Government Support Fund-Support to the Barangay Development Program (LGSF-SBDP), making Mimaropa the first region nationwide to report completed projects under the FY 2026 program.

Under the FY 2026 SBDP, eligible cleared barangays receive funding for high-impact community projects such as farm-to-market roads, water systems, school buildings, health stations and rural electrification-investments designed to address the very conditions of isolation and underdevelopment that allowed insurgency to persist for decades.

Tarriela likewise cited Sablayan, where farm-to-market roads and other development initiatives have begun connecting previously isolated communities to markets, schools, health facilities and government services. He also explained that isolation imposes a heavy economic burden on poor communities.

‘Kung maganda ang buhay ng tao at kumakain ng tatlong beses sa isang araw, nakapag-aral ang mga anak nila-doon nababawasan ang insurhensya (if the people are having a good life and eating three times a day and able to send their children to school-insurgency will be greatly reduced),’ Tarriela said.

He thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the NTF-Elcac for sustaining development interventions in communities emerging from decades of insurgency, stressing that programs such as the BDP help convert security gains into lasting economic and social progress.

Tarriela acknowledged that Occidental Mindoro still faces challenges, particularly in achieving fully reliable electricity and consolidating lasting peace across the province. But its experience, he said, demonstrates what can happen when the government addresses conflict not only through security measures, but by confronting the poverty, isolation and lack of opportunity on which insurgency has historically thrived.

He called for the expansion and sustained funding of the Barangay Development Program, saying many communities across the country are still waiting for the roads, water systems, schools, health facilities, electricity and livelihood opportunities now transforming parts of Occidental Mindoro.

Primelectric Holdings Inc., owned by businessman Enrique Razon Jr., is seeking further expansion, this time through a deal to explore building power distribution systems within economic zones.

The company and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) inked a memorandum of understanding for this move, envisioned to beef up power networks within the selected areas.

Under the pact, Peza would determine the priority ecozones, while Primelectric would evaluate whether the power firm could build distribution infrastructure through More Electric and Power Corporation, Negros Electric and Power Corporation, and Bohol Light Company, Inc.

‘Energy reliability is no longer just a utility concern – it is an investment concern… and by working with an experienced distributor like Primelectric, we are not just securing our own zones, we are also contributing to the bigger national goal of a more resilient and reliable power system, wherever in the country our ecozones may rise,’ Peza director general Tereso Panga said in a statement Friday.

‘We want investors to know that by the time they are ready to commit, power will be one less question they need to ask,’ the official added.