Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Philippine transport technology provider Global Electric Transport (GET) aims to triple its electric bus fleet by year-end to meet increased demand for electric vehicles, deploying these units on public routes and corporate shuttles.

GET operates the Community Organized Managed Electric Transport (Comet), which is a China-made electric minibus. The company uses these vehicles for its public ‘Love Bus’ service and shuttle operations for major multinational companies in the country.

About 110 Comet buses currently ply Philippine roads, including units owned by GET and its partners.

But GET president and cofounder Sigfrido ‘Freddie’ Tinga said the goal is to bring the fleet to more than 300 units, as interest in electrified mobility gains traction even in public transportation.

The company has ordered 100 units, which will be delivered in early November. GET is looking to place another 100-unit order to reach its year-end target, although Tinga acknowledged that some deliveries could slip into January due to supply-chain constraints.

Tinga said the war-driven fuel crisis ultimately accelerated interest in, and acceptance of, EVs for public transport.

‘The Iran war was our COVID moment,’ he told the Inquirer, likening the shift to the growth of the fintech industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

GET’s public Love Bus network includes routes connecting Batasan and Bonifacio Global City, as well as the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange area and Mall of Asia. Meanwhile, its corporate shuttle business serves companies such as JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.

Gov’t projects

Tinga said bigger government partnerships are also in the pipeline.

GET, which has worked with the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, is keen on bagging transportation projects in Cebu and Bases Conversion and Development Authority-managed estates in New Clark City and Camp John Hay.

‘It looks like we will end up doing their BRT,’ Tinga said, referring to the long-delayed Cebu bus rapid transit. ‘We should have an agreement signed by next month, and it’s going to be less than six months to roll out the system.’

GET is also proposing a partnership with Victory Liner that would bring its payments and ride-tracking system to the bus operator.

Beyond offering electric buses, GET also has its own charging infrastructure and fleet-management technology that tracks vehicles, passengers, routes, battery levels, and maintenance issues in real time. Ridership data can also help anticipate demand and adjust routes and schedules accordingly.

‘We’re offering the system to the big bus companies, not the vehicle,’ Tinga said.

Public transport

Each Comet costs about P4.5 million, but Tinga said financing arrangements could bring the effective rollout cost to around P2.5 million per vehicle. At that level, deploying 10,000 units across Metro Manila would cost roughly P25 billion.

‘A 10,000-unit fleet rollout in Metro Manila will solve your problem,’ Tinga said, arguing that such a network could make a substantial dent in the capital region’s transport shortage without building new roads.

Asked whether he saw competition from the growing number of ride-hailing services using EVs, Tinga said GET’s proposition was different as it focuses on offering a more private-like commuting experience at public transport prices.

Mapua leaned on Cyrus Cuenco to outlast Emilio Aguinaldo College, 89-84, in overtime in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday night at San Juan Arena.

Cuenco turned in 28 points that went with four rebounds and four assists to push the Cardinals to their third straight win for a 3-3 record.

‘Our captain stepping up in overtime is such a big thing for us,’ coach Chito Victolero said.

‘It’s nice to have a veteran that we can rely on and step up during crunch time.’

Cuenco scored seven points in the extra session, six of which came in a game-deciding 9-0 run.

Ivan Lazarte also played a big role in the victory with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He buried a triple that gave the Cardinals an 81-72 cushion before sinking two free throws for an 83-76 advantage with 1:32 to go.

The Cardinals squandered a 71-66 lead late with MJ Raymundo’s clutch jumper pulling the Generals even at 72 with three seconds left in regulation to send the game into OT after Cuenco missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer.

Wilmar Oftana had 12 points for the Generals, who absorbed their fourth loss in six games.

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) has joined the government’s Expanded Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (Expanded 4PH) Program, making its residential projects available to qualified Pag-IBIG Fund members under preferential pricing and buyer incentives.

Under the memorandum of understanding, qualified Pag-IBIG members can purchase participating RLC Residences units using Pag-IBIG housing loans, including some ready-for-occupancy homes.

RLC is the latest addition to Pag-IBIG’s housing program partnerships, which include Ayala-led Avida Land Corp. and Amaia Land Corp., SM Development Corp., Filinvest Land Inc., and Megawide Dreamrise Residences Inc.

‘We know how much owning a home means to our members and their families. That dream becomes more attainable when an affordable home price is matched by financing that keeps monthly payments within their means,’ Pag-IBIG CEO Marilene Acosta said in a statement.

‘Through our partnership with Robinsons Land, we are bringing together its preferential pricing and buyer incentives with our affordable Pag-IBIG Housing Loans,’ she added.

In late May, Pag-IBIG raised its maximum housing loan limit to P10 million from P6 million. Borrowers can repay their loans over 30 years, with interest rates ranging from 5.75 percent to 9.75 percent, depending on the fixing period.

Pag-IBIG is also offering promotional rates of 4.5 percent for loans of up to P4.9 million and 5.75 percent for loans above P4.9 million up to P10 million. Both rates remain fixed for the first three years and continue in effect until the end of 2026.

For borrowers under the Expanded 4PH Program, the subsidized 3-percent annual interest rate will remain in place.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag asserted on Tuesday that it was former Davao City chief information officer Jefry Tupas who actually brought out that there were threats to his life-and not the bureau’s agents.

Matibag said this in response to Tupas’ recent statement, alleging that the NBI ‘initiated efforts’ to bring him to Manila on September 29 after agents who went to his house supposedly offered him security, as they had received a ‘verifiable threat’ that he would be abducted by the Dutertes.

Tupas, a former aide of Vice President Sara Duterte, is implicated in the ‘cash delivery’ claims of dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr.

Gracioso is alleging that he handed over suitcases of money to Tupas for the vice president.

According to Matibag, Tupas welcomed the NBI agents who arrived at his North Cotabato residence to invite him to the bureau amid the bureau’s investigation into Gracioso’s claims.

Matibag said Tupas expressed his willingness to cooperate, noting that he even had a coffee with the NBI agents.

‘Sa kaniya nanggaling yun na natatakot siya sa buhay niya without saying kung kanino siya natatakot,’ Matibag said in an interview with reporters.

(It came from him that he was afraid for his life without saying who he was afraid of.)

‘So noong sinasabi niya na natatakot siya, ang sabi ng ahente, ‘That’s why we’re here.’ We will protect you kung merong threat sa’yo,’ he added.

(So when he said he was afraid, the agent said, that’s why we’re here. We will protect you if there is a threat to you.)

The NBI director also said Tupas committed to going to the NBI headquarters in Pasay City but first requested a subpoena.

‘Sabi niya, ‘Gusto ko lang sana may subpoena, baka kasi naman isipin ng aking mga dating kasama na nag-volunteer pa akong pumunta’,’ he said.

(He said, ‘I just wish there was a subpoena, because my former companions might think I volunteered to go’.)

But Matibag said he was shocked when Tupas suddenly changed his statements and sent an affidavit responding to Gracioso’s claims, a day after the NBI issued a subpoena to him.

The NBI director likewise denied Tupas’ statement that he conversed with him over the phone.

‘It’s not true na kinusap niya ako na ako mismo nag-inform sa kaniya. Ang kausap ko, yung mga agents on the ground na sabi ko, ‘Make sure that he is safe,” Matibag said.

(It’s not true that he asked me to inform him myself. I was talking to the agents on the ground and I said, ‘Make sure that he is safe.”)

‘Problematic timeline?’

Following Matibag’s remark, Tupas’ lawyer Caesar Europa, in a phone interview with reporters, stood by his client’s recent statement that it was really the NBI agents who brought up the alleged threat to his life.

The counsel emphasized that Tupas did not request protective custody from the NBI.

‘Nabulagta nga sila noong biglang may dumating doon na nag-offer ng protective custody,’ he said.

(They were taken aback when someone suddenly arrived there offering protective custody.)

‘Kaya raw sila nag-ooffer ng protective custody kay Jefry kasi meron daw information na may threat na ipapa-abduct siya. At ang pagkakasabi sa akin ni Jefry is ang sabi raw, ang magpapa-abduct sa kaniya ay mga Duterte. Hindi naman naniwala si Jefry na ipapa-abduct siya ng mga Duterte,’ he reiterated.

(That’s why they’re offering protective custody to Jefry because there’s information that there’s a threat that he’ll be abducted. And what Jefry told me is that he said the ones who will abduct him are the Dutertes. Jefry didn’t believe that the Dutertes would abduct him.)

The counsel likewise denied that Tupas asked for a subpoena, noting that the document was dated September 28, a day before the NBI agents went to his client’s place.

‘Kung si Jefry ang humingi ng subpoena, bakit meron nang subpoena noong 28 pa? Hindi pa sila nag-uusap noon… Medyo may problema tayo sa timeline,’ the counsel said.

(If Jefry requested the subpoena, why was there a subpoena on the 28th? They weren’t even talking then… We have a bit of a problem with the timeline.)

Europa likewise said a lawyer who assisted Tupas can attest that he really talked with Matibag over the phone while the NBI agents were at his place.

The legal counsel said he does not know the whereabouts of Tupas, and his last communication with him was on October 2.

On Thursday, October 1, Tupas’ other legal counsel, Toby Diokno, appeared before the NBI to represent him in complying with his subpoena and submit his affidavit.

Tupas denied Gracioso’s allegations, saying that he did not know the dismissed police officer.

Gracioso is claiming to have delivered more than P2 billion to the vice president. P1 billion to former President Rodrigo Duterte, and P100 million to Davao City First District Rep. Paolo Duterte in tranches starting in 2018 upon the instructions of his former boss, former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

The defense of Vice President Sara Duterte is set to resume its cross-examination of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat Executive Director, lawyer Ronel Buenaventura on Tuesday, a day after an eight-hour impeachment trial focused on the financial transactions of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

The House of Representatives did not violate the law when it obtained and discussed Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records during its deliberations on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said.

Luistro, a Batangas representative, made the statement after Day 33 of Duterte’s impeachment trial, as the defense warned of possible criminal liability for those who disclose confidential AMLC information.

She said the proceedings of the House committee on justice, which she chairs, formed part of the impeachment process mandated by the 1987 Constitution.

‘I just want to express the position of the prosecution that there is no violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act when we conducted our hearing in the justice committee and where we issued (a) subpoena for the AMLC records,’ Luistro said at a press briefing.

‘We were exercising our duty as members of the House, we were exercising our duty, which is to initiate all impeachment cases,’ she added.

Luistro cited Article XI, Section 3(1) of the Constitution, which gives the House ‘the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.’

Under the provision, impeachment complaints are referred to the appropriate committee, in this case, the House committee on justice.

While Republic Act No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, does not provide a specific exception for impeachment proceedings, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 1405, or the Bank Secrecy Law, allows the examination of bank deposits in cases of impeachment.

Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero cited the same provision in allowing AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura to testify about covered and suspicious transactions involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

‘In as far as the House is concerned, we maintain the position that everything that happened in the justice committee, including the plenary, in relation to this impeachment case, is part of our mandate and therefore falls under the exception to the confidentiality of data of AMLA or AMLC,’ Luistro said.

Luistro also expressed concern that the defense’s warnings could have a chilling effect on the media covering the impeachment proceedings.

‘I’m apprehensive that it might cause some chilling effect, especially to the media, that we are committing criminal violations,’ she said.

‘Let us not forget the significance of this impeachment trial: this is one of the paramount provisions, most important provisions of the Constitution as it gives our beloved countrymen the redress against erring impeachable officials,’ she added.

Luistro said the same principle should apply to the Senate impeachment court, as well as to the media covering the proceedings.

‘In other words, in behalf of the prosecution team, kami po’y naninindigan, wala nilabag na batas – either the Anti-Money Laundering Act noong nag-conduct kami ng clarificatory hearing, noong nag-issue kami ng subpoena kaugnay ng AMLC records, and we feel the same way sa kasalukuyang ginaganap na impeachment trial ng Senado,’ Luistro said.

(In other words, on behalf of the prosecution team, we maintain that no law was violated, either the Anti-Money Laundering Act when we conducted clarificatory hearings and issued a subpoena for AMLC records, and we feel the same way about the ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.)

‘At gano’n din sa mga media na ang ginagawa ay isang malayang pamamahayag lamang, kaugnay pa rin ng public interest, which is involved in this impeachment trial,’ she added.

(The same applies to the media, which is merely exercising press freedom in relation to the public interest involved in the impeachment trial.)

Buenaventura testimony

Escudero described Buenaventura’s testimony as the longest ever by a witness in a past or present impeachment proceeding in the country, citing the volume of documents he had to present.

At one point, Buenaventura confirmed that Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, were involved in P193 million worth of transactions in a single day on March 28, 2014.

Buenaventura later testified that CALE88, a food company owned by Carpio that produces banana chips, received more than P319.3 million in funds from China.

The testimony echoed a claim made by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV during a press briefing last Friday.

Trillanes had expressed his intention to testify before the Senate impeachment court but later withdrew, saying he wanted to spare the prosecution panel from additional pressure.

Instead, the former senator publicly presented what would have been his testimony.

This was not the first time Buenaventura had confirmed figures cited by Trillanes.

On April 22, the AMLC chief confirmed the existence of at least 18 Duterte-related transactions cited in Trillanes’ sworn affidavit.

A former music pastor in Ohio who appeared briefly on ‘American Idol’ was sentenced Monday, Oct. 5, to life in prison without the possibility of parole, after a jury convicted him last week of murdering his wife while he was having an affair.

The judge said Caleb Flynn, 40, used his Christian faith to manipulate others and showed no remorse for actions marked by ‘layers of deceit, manipulation and cruelty.’

With tears rolling down his cheeks, Flynn apologized to his family just before being sentenced, starting with his two young daughters, who were home when he shot his wife in her sleep. He called their births the ‘greatest joy in this life.’

Although he said he accepted responsibility for his words and decisions, Flynn remained adamant that he was innocent.

‘As I stand here before God, who is my ultimate judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife,’ he said.

Prosecutors said Flynn staged a home invasion in February and claimed a burglar killed his wife, Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach. In his 2013 appearance on ‘American Idol,’ Flynn credited his wife with encouraging him to chase his dreams on the singing contest. He did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood.

During the trial, Flynn didn’t testify on his own behalf, nor did anybody else.

Family members, including Ashley’s parents, spoke in favor of the harsh sentence Monday, while saying they had forgiven Flynn because they didn’t want her legacy to be hatred.

Her sister, Kayla Keyt, said Flynn’s actions have scarred their entire church community, prompting children to run into their parents’ bedrooms to make sure their fathers haven’t killed their mothers.

As a family member read a statement written by his daughter Ava, Flynn sobbed uncontrollably as a pile of tissues grew on the defense table in front of him. At one point, it appeared he might fall over.

‘Mommy was the perfect person,’ her statement said. ‘The absolute perfect person. What did she ever do to you to make you hate her so much?’

‘My heart aches to see you hurt, but then I think it was your choice. It was your choice to leave your only two daughters. It was your choice to hide everything from everyone, and it was your choice to kill the only mother I’ve ever had,’ Ava said. ‘Unfortunately, that was a choice that cannot be erased, even though I really wish it could.’

She added, ‘Please tell Jesus that you’re sorry. It’s not going to change your punishment, but it will determine your eternal reward someday.’

In a separate statement, his daughter Alyssa said she wouldn’t visit him in prison.

‘Ashley Flynn was the best thing that ever happened to you. You had the best life ever, and you decided to throw it away for a girl who was half your age,’ she said. ‘How could you stand in that church and sing about how much you love God when you knew all the secrets you had inside?’

‘I wish that you could come to understand that actions have consequences and you have a lot to pay,’ she added. ‘The least you could do is tell everyone you did it and receive your outcome.’

During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he shot his wife at their house in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. He sent a text message to his lover the night before the shooting, saying, ‘I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,’ prosecutors said.

During the trial, Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.

The gun used to kill Ashley Flynn was not found at the scene, and his attorney told jurors that investigators found no evidence that Caleb Flynn fired a gun that day. Prosecutors said his fingerprints and DNA were at the scene and that his devices showed him moving around the house, even though he claimed he was asleep at the time of the shooting.

It was not the intent of Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team to threaten any party when one of its counsel pointed out possible violations of bank secrecy laws in presenting Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) documents before the Senate impeachment court, said defense spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa.

Poa made the pronouncement after the conclusion of the 33rd day of Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, which got heated on the part of the defense after four senator-judges called out one of its counsel, Atty. Mark Vinluan.

Vinluan raised possible administrative and criminal liability against those who disclose and report confidential information, including the media, during his cross-examination of AMLC secretariat executive director Ronel Buenaventura-which to some senator-judges, bordered on intimidation.

‘We regret that they felt that way. I think for Attorney Vinluan, that was not the intention. I think he was just reading the law and he just wanted to raise that with the witness,’ Poa said in a chance interview.

‘But again, we regret if any senator felt that way because, as you know, it’s not the intention to threaten anyone,’ he added.

Asked if the defense already has plans to make amends on how the senator-judges perceived his cross examination, Poa responded with uncertainty, pointing out that it is up to Vinluan to lead their cross.

‘The defense really did not intend to threaten anyone, or at least create a perception of threatening anyone and that, of course, includes the senator judges, the witnesses, and even the media,’ reiterated Poa.

Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo was among those who took the floor and called out Vinluan, reminding him that the Senate impeachment court had already allowed the disclosure of AMLC records during the trial.

He went as far as telling the defense lawyer to give the court a break and not to intimidate anyone.

Senator-judge Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan, for his part, shared Tulfo’s sentiments by stating that Vinluan’s argument was ‘uncalled for.’

For Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros, it was wrong for Vinluan to ‘even indirectly’ threaten the media, adding that there should be no ‘chilling effect’ on the ‘Fourth Estate.’

Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura admitted on Tuesday that he could not explain the gap between Vice President Sara Duterte’s declared net worth and reported financial transactions involving her and husband Manases Carpio.

Raising the ‘absurd possibility’ of adding Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) from 2022 to 2025, Presiding Officer and Sen. Francis Escudero came up with a total of P336 million.

This figure, however, was still short of the P424 million that reportedly went in and out of the couple’s bank accounts during the same period, Escudero said, citing AMLC records submitted to the Senate impeachment court.

‘Hindi pa rin umabot ng P424 (million). Meaning to say, on the assumption na walang ginastos, walang ginastos mula sa lahat ng assets nila at lahat na dineposito sa banko, hindi pa rin naabot sa ganito kalaking halaga,’ Escudero pointed out, while asking questions to AMLC Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura.

(It still did not reach P424 million. Meaning to say, assuming that nothing was spent from all of their assets and everything was deposited in the bank, it still would not reach this amount.)

Buenaventura was presented by the prosecution in relation to allegations that Duterte had amasses unexplained wealth and failed to declare all her assets in her SALNs.

‘Sa palagay at pananaw nyo, ulitin ko, in the realm of possibilities, what would explain this huge amount? Posible ba yung in and out?’ he asked the witness.

(‘In your opinion-and I’ll ask again, in the realm of possibilities-what would explain this huge amount? Is it possible that it was simply money going in and out?)

Noticing that Buenaventura was struggling to respond to his question, Escudero surmised that that the witness could not explain the gap.

The witness agreed, saying: ‘Hindi ko po maipaliwanag.’

(I cannot explain it.)

Escudero further pressed the witness to explain how the couple’s transactions could have amounted to P424 million when the vice president’s monthly salary was only P350,000.

‘Apologies po your your honor, I cannot explain,’ Buenaventura answered.

Escudero raised the same questions on the reported P4.4 billion combined transactions of the couple from 2007 to 2025.

‘Again, I bring it to its absurd point. We tried to add to all of the amounts in the combined Salns for those covered period of 2007 to 2025, it totaled only P840 million,’ he said.

‘In the realm of possibilities again, can you explain how it could reach that amount knowing that the highest salary in 2025 was at P98 million and the lowest salary in 2007 was at P7 million? Can you explain it, Sir?’

Buenaventura said he would not be able to explain or answer the question as he just relying on their records.

When Escudero asked again if he could think of any possible explanation, the witness said, ‘Medyo nahihirapan din po ako.’

(‘I’m also having some difficulty explaining it.)

‘So hindi nyo rin po kayang paliwanan kung bakit umabot ng ganito P4.4 billion yung amount? Based on the data I relayed to you on the Saln?’ the presiding officer asked further.

‘So you also cannot explain why the amount reached P4.4 billion, based on the data I relayed to you regarding the SALNs?)

‘Hindi ko po masagot po, Your Honor,’ the AMLC official said.

(‘I cannot answer that, Your Honor.)

A seaman died after he was hit by the compartment door of a passenger bus while jogging along a roadside in Guinayangan town, Quezon, on Oct. 5, police said.

In a report dated Oct. 6, Quezon police said the victim was jogging along the provincial road in Barangay Gapas at about 5:45 a.m. when he was accidentally struck by the cover of the bus’ undercarriage compartment. It was not clear why the door was ajar while the bus was moving.

The victim suffered severe neck injuries and was rushed to Magsaysay District Hospital in nearby Lopez town, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Police arrested the 38-year-old bus driver.