Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

A man attempting to cross the Tarlac River despite the poor weather was almost swept away but was rescued. His companion remains missing, Tarlac City Mayor Susan Yap told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

Roy Mallari, who survived the rampaging river, was brought to the Tarlac Provincial Hospital for examination and treatment, while authorities search for Raymond Montenegro. Yap said they may have been intoxicated, citing a police investigation

No further details were made available at presstime.

But the city government posted a strong reminder that residents are prohibited from swimming, crossing. or even staying near the Tarlac River.

‘Pakiusap, huwag nang maging matigas ang ulo. Unahin ang kaligtasan. Huwag na nating ilagay sa panganib ang ating sarili at huwag nang dagdagan ang panganib at trabaho ng ating Rescue Team, lalo na’t nagpapatuloy pa ang search and rescue operations,’ the post stated.

(Our appeal is that people need not be bullheaded. Prioritize your safety. Do not put yourselves in harm’s way, as this affects the safety of our rescue team who must go out there and seek you out

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Tuesday asked lawmakers from the House of Representatives to increase the agency’s funding for next year, noting that budget cuts under the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) may hinder the implementation of proposed irrigation projects.

During the House committee on appropriations’ briefing on the budget proposal of NIA, NIA Administrator Engr. Eduardo Guillen said the agency proposed funding by program expenditure classification worth P232,778,193,000, which is significantly less than the P46,355,900,000 allocated for the agency under the NEP.

Guillen noted that his agency’s proposal for next year is a 268-percent increase from its 2026 budget of P63,246,735,000.

‘The reduction is mainly attributed to the significantly lower allocation for capital outlay, which comprises the bulk of NIA’s irrigation investment requirements,’ Guillen said.

Guillen also cited significant budget cuts in improvement of service roads in national and communal irrigation systems. The NIA proposed P17,705,462,000 and P2,389,865,000 fundings for national and communal irrigation systems, respectively, but he said that only P250,000,000 were allotted for each project.

He added that the agency proposed the budgets for the repair of the following: national irrigation systems (P38,261,911,000); communal irrigation systems (P20,515,660,000); and pump irrigation systems (P10,415,188,000) while he said that these projects were allotted P2,021,555,000, P920,000,000, and P3,000,000,000 under the NEP, respectively.

Meanwhile, restoration of national and communal irrigation systems had a proposal of P7,260,567,000 and P13,245,386,000, respectively while they were allotted P1,000,000,000, and P250,000,000 under the NEP, respectively.

The administration also said that the new national irrigation and small reservoir irrigation projects were allotted by the agency of P34,939,697,000 and P11,083,425,000, respectively while they were allocated of P7,561,321,000 and P4,579,000,000, respectively under the NEP.

Guillen shared that as of December 31, 2025, only 2.20 million hectares have been developed out of the country’s total potential irrigable area of 3.13 million hectares.

A total of 12 developers wanting to explore geothermal opportunities in the Philippines may receive financial support through the government’s $170-million derisking facility, an official said.

Speaking to reporters last week, Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said that about five more groups are waiting to see if they can be included in the list of initial parties.

She said that some of the companies have teamed up with foreign investors.

Guevara did not disclose the names of the applicants, but said the list was already provided to the Asian Development Bank, the Department of Finance and the Department of Economy, Planning and Development.

The Philippine geothermal resource derisking facility (PGRDF) seeks to address the challenge in shelling out massive investments to kick-start exploration activities by launching a cost-share exploration drilling scheme with qualified companies.

The exploration and drilling stage is considered the most risky part of the business, as players need to be ready and cough up about $10 million to $12 million per well, with no assurance of a commercial geothermal resource.

The Department of Energy and Land Bank of the Philippines signed in December an agreement for the rollout of the derisking facility.

‘Geothermal development requires significant investment long before a single kilowatt is delivered to consumers. Through the PGRDF, government is helping the exploration stage so that viable prospects can move faster from resource confirmation to project development,’ Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said in a previous statement.

Executing agency

Under the pact, the Department of Energy will act as the executing agency, tasked with policy direction and governance, as well as overall program oversight.

Landbank, meanwhile, is the facility administrator and manager, overseeing subloan applications.

The 29-year-old man who allegedly killed his three-year-old son in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur is suspected of using illegal drugs, police said Tuesday.

The father, who reportedly stabbed his son to death inside their home in Barangay Lacong on Friday, August 28, is currently at large.

During a press briefing, Philippine National Police (PNP) public information chief Col. Allen Rae Co said people who knew the suspect told investigators that he had been using illegal drugs.

‘This father could’ve been using illegal drugs,’ Co said, adding that they are already looking into the matter.

Police are also checking whether the suspect had a previous criminal record.

When asked if the PNP would also examine whether the suspect might have been experiencing mental health problems, the PNP official said, ‘Yes, that will come after. Hopefully, if we will be able to track him.’

Meanwhile, authorities are determining the whereabouts of the victim’s mother.

‘There were no mentions in the report yet as to where the mother is,’ Co explained.

Co said the investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to track down the suspect and determine the circumstances surrounding the victim’s death.

Air quality in Koronadal City was recorded from ‘fair’ to ‘good’ on Tuesday morning, Sept. 1, as the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 12 continued to monitor the city under its haze watch following forest fires reported in Kalimantan, indonesia.

Based on EMB’s Sept. 1 hourly PM2.5 monitoring, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was at 62 at 9 a.m. and 52 at 10 a.m., both classified as ‘fair.’

Readings improved to the ‘Good’ category beginning at 1 a.m., when the AQI dropped to 31.

The AQI remained within the ‘Good’ range through 10 a.m., with hourly readings ranging from 25 to 50.

The latest figures also showed an improvement from the 24-hour average recorded as of Aug. 31, when Koronadal’s PM2.5 AQI stood at 69.8, or within the yellow ‘fair’ category.

Under EMB’s air quality guide, readings from zero to 50 are classified as ‘Good,’ meaning air quality is considered satisfactory with little or no health risk. Readings from 51 to 100 fall under the ‘Fair’ category, during which sensitive individuals may experience respiratory symptoms such as coughing.

EMB advised the public that regular outdoor activities may continue but urged residents to remain updated on air quality conditions.

The monitoring comes amid reports of forest fires in parts of Indonesia, which lies south of the Philippines and relatively close to Mindanao.

EMB- 12, however, has yet to confirm whether the air conditions being monitored in Koronadal are linked to the haze from Indonesia.

Koronadal is the capital of South Cotabato and seat of government of Region 12 or Soccsksargen

The subsidiaries of energy giants San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and Aboitiz Power could lock in Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) 600-megawatt (MW) supply deal after they submitted the lowest offers at a recent bidding.

In a statement on Tuesday, Pangilinan-led Meralco said six groups had joined in the auction, where Mariveles Power Gen Corp (MPGC), Sual Power Inc (SPI), and GNPower Mariveles Energy Center (GMEC) proposed the lowest bid prices.

MPGC and SPI, both under SMC’s power arm San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp., offered P5.3573 and P5.4357 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), respectively. Both offers were for 200 MW supply.

Aboitiz Power Corp.’s GMEC, meanwhile, offered P5.5789 per kWh for the entire 600 MW supply. But Meralco said the firm decided to slash its offered capacity to 200 MW, completing the full capacity requirement.

The other bidders were: Masinloc Power Co. Ltd, Therma Luzon Inc., and Energy Development Corp.

‘The Meralco BAC-PSA (Bids and Awards Committee for Power Supply Agreements) has fully complied with its mandate to conduct the bid in an open and transparent manner to achieve the least cost of electricity in accordance with rules and regulations set by the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),’ Meralco BAC-PSA chair Lawrence Fernandez said.

The company will conduct a post-qualification evaluation prior to issuance of notice of award.

The planned 15-year power supply deal from the bidding would still be up for review and go signal of power regulators. Meralco seeks to have the initial 300 MW baseload supply by February 26, 2028. The remaining capacity is eyed by February 26, 2029.

The Philippine peso opened the shortened trading week at a new record low as broad strength in the US dollar pressured the currency.

On Tuesday, the peso opened at 62.25 per dollar, dropping to a low of 62.35, exceeding the previous record of 62.27 from Aug. 28.

Local markets were closed on Monday due to a public holiday.

On Friday, the Philippine peso fell to a record low, dropping below 62 per dollar for the first time, as rising oil prices and a stronger US dollar outweighed the effects of the central bank’s recent interest-rate hike

No bettor won the jackpots in the Ultra Lotto 6/58, Super Lotto 6/49 and Lotto 6/42 draws on Tuesday, Sept. 1, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

The Ultra Lotto 6/58 winning combination was 32-25-23-22-01-41 for a jackpot of ?258.47 million. No ticket matched all six numbers.

The Super Lotto 6/49 combination was 45-22-41-08-36-02, with the jackpot at ?25.18 million. There was no jackpot winner.

For Lotto 6/42, the winning numbers were 17-24-08-33-37-01 for a jackpot of ?21.86 million. No bettor won the top prize.

Minor games

PCSO also released the results of the day’s minor lotto games:

6D Lotto: 3-6-7-7-9-6 – ?1.14 million; no winner

3D Lotto 2 p.m.: 3-1-3 – ?4,500; 202 winners

3D Lotto 5 p.m.: 9-2-7 – ?4,500; 232 winners

3D Lotto 9 p.m.: 3-3-2 – ?4,500; 232 winners

2D Lotto 2 p.m.: 11-04 – ?4,000; 190 winners

2D Lotto 5 p.m.: 05-07 – ?4,000; 473 winners

2D Lotto 9 p.m.: 16-23 – ?4,000; 823 winners

Draw schedule

Ultra Lotto 6/58 draws are held every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Super Lotto 6/49 draws take place every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, while Lotto 6/42 draws are held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Presiding Officer Francis Escudero clarifies during Day 20 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial that a viral image showing Office of the Vice President (OVP) Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio allegedly wearing an earpiece during the trial was fake.

Escudero says verification showed that the image was AI-generated and ‘simply false.’

He also reminds witnesses that they must testify based solely on their own knowledge and without coaching or influence from their lawyers or any other person

Conservation officials are stepping up efforts to protect one of Samar’s rarest treasures after signs of possible illegal timber poaching and other human disturbances near areas where the endangered Samar rafflesia grows.

The Protected Area Management Office-Samar Island Natural Park (PAMO-SINP), in partnership with the local government unit of Basey, recently conducted a communication, education, and public awareness campaign to encourage residents to help protect Rafflesia manillana and its remaining habitat, which is mainly located in Barangay Guirang.

The Samar rafflesia is classified as endangered under Administrative Order No. 2026-20 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which places greater urgency on protecting both the species and the forest environment where it occurs.

The community campaign was conducted after conservation personnel saw signs of possible illegal timber poaching and other disturbances in and around areas known to support Rafflesia.

Officials explained to residents that protecting the plant is particularly challenging because the rafflesia has an unusual life cycle. Unlike ordinary plants, rafflesia has no stems, leaves, or roots, and cannot survive independently. It depends on a specific host vine for nutrients and requires an intact forest environment to complete its life cycle.

This makes the species especially vulnerable to activities that disturb or destroy its forest habitat. Even when the Rafflesia is not directly collected or damaged, removing trees and vegetation around its habitat can affect the conditions for the plant to survive and reproduce.

PAMO-SINP personnel pointed to the ecological importance of R. manillana, its endangered status, and the community’s role in protecting the forest ecosystem that supports it.

Residents were also encouraged to monitor their surroundings and report suspected illegal activities that could threaten the rafflesia or its habitat.

The orientation included discussions on Republic Act No. 11038, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018, which covers ecosystems and biodiversity within protected areas and prohibits unauthorized activities that damage, alter, or destroy protected habitats and wildlife.

For conservation officials, protecting Samar rafflesia is not simply about preserving a rare flower. Because the species is closely tied to its host vine and forest environment, its survival indicates the health and integrity of the wider ecosystem.

The forests of Samar provide habitat for numerous plant and animal species while also supporting communities that depend on forest resources. Protecting remaining Rafflesia habitat therefore forms part of a broader effort to conserve the island’s biodiversity.