Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning to the Christmas genre after 30 years, this time taking on the role of Santa Claus in the upcoming holiday heist film ‘The Man with the Bag.’

Schwarzenegger last starred in a Christmas genre film in 1996 with ‘Jingle All the Way,’ a Christmas family comedy.

In ‘The Man with the Bag,’ Schwarzenegger stars as Santa, whose iconic red bag is stolen by a rogue elf with a grudge, played by Awkwafina. With Christmas at risk, Santa turns to a thief from his ‘Naughty List,’ played by Alan Ritchson, to help recover the stolen bag.

Ritchson’s character assembles a crew of criminally skilled misfits, with assistance from elves and reindeer, to pull off the biggest heist of their lives and save Christmas.

‘The Man with the Bag’ also stars Berkeley James, Michael Cyril Creighton, Liza Koshy, Kyle Mooney and Jane Krakowski, with Ken Jeong and Awkwafina.

Adam Shankman directed the film from a screenplay by Allan Rice. Producers are Lawrence Grey, Ben Everard, Reg Tigerman, Dan Spilo and Ritchson.

The film is set to premiere globally on Prime Video on Dec. 2.

AirAsia Philippines ended its Bohol operations on Wednesday with its last scheduled flight arriving at the Bohol-Panglao International Airport (BPIA).

The Airbus A320 aircraft operating Flight Z2354 landed at BPIA at about 9:45 a.m., marking the airline’s final scheduled service on the Manila-Bohol route.

The company said it suspended its Bohol route as part of broader network and schedule adjustments, while it reviews its domestic operations and focuses on capacity on other routes.

AeroRoutes reported that the Manila-Panglao service was scheduled to be cancelled effective Thursday, with Wednesday listed as the final operating day.

The route suspension also comes as AirAsia Philippines prepares for a fleet renewal. AirAsia has announced plans to introduce Airbus A220 aircraft to the Philippines as it begins retiring older A320s.

Earlier reports placed the first A220 deliveries for the Philippine operation in 2027, while a more recent report said the airline expects the aircraft to arrive by 2028.

The A220s are expected to provide better fuel efficiency and lower operating costs than the older aircraft. AirAsia has said the fleet modernization will also support future network expansion.

AirAsia Group earlier said the company was reviewing its Philippine network and that suspended domestic routes, including Bohol, could return depending on demand and the airline’s network plans.

Despite AirAsia’s departure, BPIA continues to serve both domestic and international passengers.

Current flight listings show Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific serving Manila, while Cebgo operates routes including Davao. Internationally, Jeju Air and Jin Air continue to operate direct services between Bohol and South Korea, including Seoul-Incheon and Busan.

The latest available schedules therefore indicate that five airlines remain serving BPIA on scheduled domestic and international routes: Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Cebgo, Jeju Air and Jin Air.

For Bohol’s tourism industry, the suspension removes one of the airlines serving the province’s growing air market, but the airport retains multiple domestic and international connections

American Emma Navarro, a three-time WTA tournament champion, revealed a three-year battle with health issues on Wednesday, battling against her body as she found success on the court.

Navarro, ranked 24th in the world, said she will skip the remainder of the 2026 campaign to prepare herself for a 2027 Australia return.

‘I’m taking the rest of this year to work on dialing in my medication and fueling protocols so that I can hopefully feel back to 100% again,’ Navarro wrote in an emotional Instagram post.

Navarro won the WTA Strasbourg title in May, was runner-up in June at Nottingham and reached her fourth Grand Slam quarter-final at this month’s US Open.

But the 25-year-old said her dizziness and headaches from under-fueling her body only faded for her to feel comfortable a couple of months ago.

‘I felt able to play tennis as myself again… to compete without it taking the life out of me,’ she wrote.

Navarro said she was diagnosed last year with RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport), where the body does not receive the energy needed to support daily life and physical activity, and ‘Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.’

After meeting with doctors and specialists last November, she was told she had been under-fueling for years and her body was fighting back.

‘Over the past year I have gone all in,’ she said. ‘Although it took me a while to start feeling better, I gradually made progress. I began eating what my body needed to recover from the deficit I had been in.

‘So yeah, I gained some weight this year, but I also gained my life back,

‘I have enough energy to seize every day, to train and compete as hard as I want to and to live a life outside of tennis.’

Navarro said in 2023 she began feeling frustrated and angry and became sick often.

‘I couldn’t think straight a lot of the time,’ she wrote. ‘I had trouble remembering things and articulating thoughts. My brain felt slow and tired, as did my body.’

She reached as high as eighth in world rankings after a 2024 US Open semi-final run but became ill in China weeks later.

‘I couldn’t see the ball. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t play. I couldn’t even feel,’ she wrote.

Police and school authorities in the town of Bacarra in Ilocos Norte are investigating separate reports involving an alleged shooting threat at Bacarra National Comprehensive High School (BNCHS) on Thursday, Oct. 1.

An individual was allegedly heard saying a shooting might occur inside the school.

The police immediately coordinated with school officials and implemented security measures.

BNCHS, meanwhile, said one concern involved a learner who allegedly posted threats against public safety on social media.

School personnel coordinated with the learner’s parents and authorities.

The school also reported receiving circulating reports about a possible shooting.

However, based on its initial assessment, ‘no credible shooting threat has been established at this time.’

According to BNCHS, classes and operations were scheduled to resume on Friday (Oct. 2), with safety measures in place.

Police and school officials urged the public to rely on verified information and refrain from spreading unverified reports, rumors or screenshots that could cause unnecessary alarm.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla challenged former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and his wife to return to the Philippines and take a polygraph test amid allegations linking them to alleged cash deliveries to the Duterte family.

‘The lie detector test is not admissible in court. But I’m asking the Velasco couple to come home and take the same test. We’ll see who’s telling the truth,’ said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief at an ambush interview after an event at Pasay City on Thursday.

Remulla said they are in Niseko, Japan, adding that they have a residence there.

‘They have a house there, the most exclusive vacation spot in the entire Japan. It’s expensive there in Niseko, only rich people go there,’ he added.

National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag said the Bureau of Immigration had confirmed that Velasco departed for Nagoya, Japan, on Aug. 30.

‘Latest is Niseko,’ Remulla told the Inquirer upon clarification of Velasco’s location.

On Wednesday, former police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. took a lie detector test at the NBI in connection with his affidavit alleging that he delivered suitcases, called ‘maleta,’ containing cash to some members of the Duterte family.

Gracioso alleged that he delivered cash in several batches to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte beginning in 2018, allegedly on Velasco’s instructions.

Velasco, through his spokesperson, denied the allegation, describing Gracioso’s cash delivery claim as fabricated.

The Philippine National Police earlier confirmed that Gracioso was dismissed effective Sept 11 due to an administrative case.

‘Gracioso has a tainted past. That’s why he was dismissed. But even a broken clock is right twice a day,’ said Remulla in mixed English and Filipino.

Remulla said the polygraph indicated that Gracioso was telling the truth when asked about delivering the bags.

‘But the polygraph is not admissible in court. Still, I dare the Velasco couple to come and take the same polygraph so we can see who is really telling the truth,’ he added. /

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte shifts to a full-day schedule Thursday as the Senate impeachment court moves to speed up proceedings before taking a break for the 2027 national budget deliberations. The court will hear the case from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays until Oct. 15, with the prosecution expected to present witnesses on Duterte’s alleged hidden wealth, including former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, and a Davao property registrar

Juliana Candelaria scored a silver medal for the Philippines on the opening day of the taekwondo competitions in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Candelaria placed second in the women’s individual poomsae final with a score of 9.1300, behind South Korea’s Jung Haeun, who won gold with 9.3100.

Thailand’s Thitaree Kaewolanwasu and Japan’s Yuiko Niwa got the bronze medal.

Poomsae is the non-combat discipline of taekwondo.

Candelaria was the first to see action for the Philippine taekwondo team, which also has athletes competing in the kyorugi events.

Fellow Filipino Jeus Yape, meanwhile, also qualified for the gold medal round of the men’s individual poomsae.

Candelaria’s silver is the second for Team Philippines on Thursday after Amaya Cojuangco in the women’s compound archery.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is assessing the sworn statement of former police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., applying the legal principle of the ‘totality of circumstances’ in ensuring that any prospective criminal charges or witness protection coverage will hold up under judicial scrutiny.

Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the DOJ received Gracioso’s affidavit from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) late last week.

Vida explained that the NBI and the DOJ are conducting a parallel review of the affidavit so that, if it reaches the court, it can withstand scrutiny

‘The NBI has its mandate as investigators,’ Vida explained.

‘For us at the DOJ, the lens we use is twofold: whether the individual qualifies for our protection program, and whether the testimony satisfies all legal elements required to build a solid criminal case that can withstand cross-examination in court.’

Gracioso, a former aide of former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco alleged that he personally delivered suitcases full of cash to Vice President Sara Duterte between 2018 and 2020.

Aside from the vice president, he also identified other political figures. The money allegedly originated from projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Addressing queries about the witness’ background and potential credibility issues, such as possible involvement in illegal activities, Vida said such background is not uncommon among key witnesses.

‘In our experience, people involved in these schemes aren’t always clean-they may have participated in the wrongdoings, acted as bagmen, or been part of bribery arrangements,’ Vida said.

‘All of these factor into our evaluation, alongside the person’s motivation and the overall factual setting.’

Vida stressed that the DOJ is actively verifying material points of the statement against open-source reports and external corroboration, noting that some public information supports the claims while other aspects remain disputed.

‘We don’t want to file weak cases,’ Vida emphasized.

‘The goal is to ensure that whatever case is brought forward will stand the test of a judge and survive rigorous cross-examination,’ Vida added.

After speaking his ‘truth’ on his past relationship with Jennylyn Mercado and their son Jazz, Patrick Garcia received support from his wife, Nikka Martinez, who described him as a ‘good man.’

Martinez expressed her love for the actor through her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, Sept. 29. On the same day, Garcia’s tell-all interview with Ogie Diaz was shared on the latter’s YouTube channel.

‘I won in this life. I fell in love with a good man and I’ll never stop being grateful for that,’ the quote card shared by Martinez read. ‘A self-made man. A hardworking man. A gentle man and safe man. A man who takes care of me in all the ways that matter.’

Martinez also made mention of Garcia’s Instagram handle and wrote, ‘Lavyew (love you).’

In his interview, Garcia denied the nearly two-decade-old claim that he abandoned Mercado while she was pregnant with their son Jazz. He claimed it was the actress who did not want him to be involved in the pregnancy, saying she refused his efforts to support her and that she cut off their communication at the time.

Garcia also revealed that he has not spent time and provided financially for Jazz since 2017 because Mercado has supposedly been unresponsive to his messages.

Garcia further noted during the interview that his decision to finally speak up was prompted by Michelle, his eldest daughter with Martinez, who convinced him to do so because of the continued bashing toward him and their family.

Mercado’s management agency, Aguila Entertainment, said the actress will not comment on Garcia’s statements. It nonetheless relayed Mercado’s appeal to stop the bashing toward the actor’s family. In a separate post, her manager Becky Aguila, speaking as her ‘second mom,’ told Garcia that he will never get her respect.

Meanwhile, Mercado’s actor husband Dennis Trillo responded to Garcia, ‘Hindi ako pabor sa bashing, pero salamat at naalala mo si Jazz dahil na -ash ang anak mo. Spread love not hate.’

The local government of San Jose in Occidental Mindoro has launched a donation drive to protect the endangered tamaraw, a wild buffalo endemic to Mindoro.

The ‘Piso Para sa Tamaraw’ campaign was launched by the municipal government through its Municipal Tourism, Culture and the Arts Office (MTCAO) and Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO).

The campaign coincides with the observance of Tamaraw Conservation Month this October.

This initiative encourages individuals, families, students, workers and community groups to contribute whatever amount they can for the project.

The organizers emphasize that even small donations can support collective conservation efforts.

The observance of Tamaraw Conservation Month is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 273, series of 2002, which established the annual celebration to promote awareness and protection of the species.

The tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) is found only on Mindoro island.

The endangered animal is considered as one of the Philippines’ important wildlife conservation priorities.

The San Jose municipal government is urging residents to take part in safeguarding the species and in preserving the province’s natural heritage for future generations