Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Office of the Ombudsman is conducting lifestyle checks on more than 100 officials of ‘income generating’ government agencies including the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla disclosed this Tuesday during the House committee on appropriations deliberating its over P7 billion proposed budget.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno asked Remulla if the anti-graft body is conducting a lifestyle check.

‘We have 107 lifestyle checks being conducted as we speak, and we are adding more to the list because we have been actively pursuing information on the people in [Bureau of] Customs, in LTO, and other income-generating agencies of the government because this is where most of the lifestyle sins happen,’ Remulla said.

‘I’m very happy to hear that you have been conducting lifestyle checks,’ Diokno said in response.

Last year, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. also ordered a lifestyle check on all government officials-starting with those in the Department of Public Works and Highways as part of a widening scrutiny of flood-control projects

Quezon City 5th District Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas has filed a bill seeking to address concerns over rising campus violence and youth safety through the establishment of a parent association.

Under House Bill No. 5682, also known as the National Parent Council Act, an official parent-teacher advisory body called the National Parent Council will be established to strengthen oversight in schools, Vargas said.

‘Education is a shared responsibility. Habang nagbibigay ng academic learning ang ating mga paaralan, sa tahanan naman natututunan ang tamang asal at pag-uugali ng ating kabataan,’ Vargas said on Tuesday, Aug. 24.

(Education is a shared responsibility. While our schools provide academic learning, it is at home where our youth learn proper conduct and behavior.)

The move follows the recent school shooting at a private school in Zamboanga, involving a junior high school, that left two students killed.

Vargas said the council is directly attached to the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), guaranteeing ‘seats for parent representatives in local government education committees as well as individual school advisory boards nationwide’

The initiative seeks to enable concerned parents to have a direct involvement in school policies and administration, as well as participate in DepEd’s policy formation, he added.

Vargas said parent representation in schools would allow them to monitor the youth’s behavioral state and intervene on potential signs that may lead to campus violence.

The National Parent Council Act also aimed to provide tax exemptions on all parent association members’ donations and contributions in approved school projects.

Meanwhile, parent participation will also have a mandatory evaluative criterion in the schools’ accreditation process.

‘Ang pagpapatibay ng pag-uugnayan sa pagitan ng mga magulang at paaralan ang pinaka-epektibong paraan para protektahan ang ating mga anak at gabayan sila para maging responsableng mamamayan,’ he said.

(Strengthening the partnership between parents and schools is the most effective way to protect our children and guide them to become responsible citizens.)

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and SM Prime Holdings Inc. will move down to the Mid Cap segment of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS) following its latest semiannual review.

The FTSE September 2026 review for Asia Pacific, excluding Japan and China, showed both companies being excluded from the Large Cap segment and included in Mid Cap.

Meanwhile, Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions Inc. and Megaworld Corp. were moved from Mid Cap to Small Cap.

Emperador Inc. will join them in the Small Cap segment after being added in the latest review.

Unlike Converge and Megaworld, which were reclassified from Mid Cap, Emperador was listed as an ‘add to small.’ The inclusion marks Emperador’s return to the FTSE GEIS universe.

Still, Trading Edge chief investment strategist Ron Acoba played down the significance of changes involving the smaller index segments.

Acoba said there are ‘hardly any tracker funds’ that mirror the Small Cap indices, particularly those under FTSE.

Tracker funds, he noted, are mostly centered on the main or Large Cap indices.

As such, changes in the Small Cap and Micro Cap segments are unlikely to have a significant impact on the affected stocks, he said.

Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and Cebu Air Inc., operator of Cebu Pacific, will leave the Small Cap segment after failing the investable market capitalization requirement, according to the FTSE data.

Cebu Air, however, will move into the Micro Cap segment.

Several other Philippine companies will also join the Micro Cap group.

These include Alliance Global Group, Apex Mining, Bloomberry Resorts, DDMP REIT, OceanaGold Philippines and RFM.

Alpha Integrated REIT Management, which FTSE classified under Singapore, was also added to the Micro Cap segment.

The changes form part of FTSE Russell’s September 2026 semiannual review of the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan and China.

FTSE GEIS covers large-, mid-, small- and micro-cap securities across developed and emerging markets.

Under FTSE’s methodology, companies are ranked by market capitalization and undergo investability screens before being assigned to size segments.

FTSE conducts full regional universe and liquidity reviews semiannually in March and September, while review-driven changes are implemented after the close on the third Friday of the review month

Sen. Loren Legarda has again extended her medical leave to Sept. 2, Senate Secretary Renato Bantug confirmed on Monday.

‘Office of Sen. Legarda sent notice today that the Senator shall be on medical leave from August 24 to 26 and September 1 to 2,’ Bantug told the Inquirer in a text message.

This is the senator’s fourth medical leave, covering both the Senate plenary sessions and the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Her earlier leaves were for Aug. 3 to 5, Aug. 11 to 12, and Aug. 17 to 19.

‘Unfounded accusations’

According to the National Bureau of Investigation, Legarda left the country together with her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, on Aug. 2 via Hong Kong, with France as the final destination.

Her departure came after the Office of the Ombudsman announced that she and Leviste, along with former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, were subject to a preliminary investigation for graft and plunder in connection with alleged ‘ghost’ solar projects worth over P10 billion.

Legarda has denied the allegations, calling them ‘utterly false and baseless.’

‘We need to flag it’

She also said in a statement that her medical leaves were filed ‘in accordance with Senate rules.’

‘Neither I nor anyone else deserves to be subjected to unfounded accusations over the exercise of one’s legal rights. I have committed absolutely no wrongdoing,’ she added.

Last week, the Office of the Ombudsman said Legarda’s extended leave of absence for medical reasons now seemed ‘suspicious’ in view of the ongoing investigation against her and her son.

‘Sen. Loren Legarda is on her third or fourth extension for travel authority for medical reasons, which we have begun to find quite suspicious already,’ Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said in a press briefing.

‘We need to flag it because she has an ongoing case with the Ombudsman,’ he added.

Over the weekend, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that reports of Legarda seeking asylum abroad are ‘fake news.’

Lacson shared that Legarda had previously complained of lung problems that supposedly required medical attention.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) flagged a supposed lack of funding to strengthen law enforcement efforts against cigarette smuggling, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

During a House of Representatives ways and means committee hearing on Tuesday, DOF Fiscal Policy and Monitoring Undersecretary Karlo Fermin Adriano said the BOC and BIR had submitted reports to the department detailing what their respective bureaus needed for the campaign.

This was in response to a question from FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list Rep. Brian Poe, who is also a vice chairperson of the House appropriations committee.

Adriano enumerated the following concerns raised by the BOC:

Insufficient funds hindered the implementation of the compulsory acquisition provisions of CMTA (Customs Modernization and Tariff Act or Republic Act No. 10863) to counter undervalued shipments;

Insufficient funds for the acquisition of land, air and water assets to combat bulk smuggling in the high seas within the territorial waters of the Philippines;

Lack of legal support for BOC personnel while in the line of duty, testifying against personalities involved in smuggling; and

The full implementation of the National Single Window system.

Compulsory acquisition provisions refers to Section 709 of the CMTA, which allows the BOC to ‘acquire imported goods under question for a price equal to their declared customs value plus any duties already paid on the goods.’

The provision sought to ‘protect government revenues against undervaluation of goods.’

Further, the National Single Window system stores standardized information on imports, exports and transit on a secure electronic platform.

Meanwhile, according to Adriano, the BIR only reported ‘insufficient funds to hire personnel, acquisition of assets and/or machinery to conduct nationwide raids on illicit trade of tobacco products.’

The DOF undersecretary also told Poe that they will ask the BOC and the BIR to provide additional information as to how much more funds they need.

‘For this type of smuggling, it’s really a function of tax enforcement,’ Adriano explained.

He cited a study, which surveyed sari-sari stores and audited empty cigarette packs, finding that illicit tobacco trade in Mindanao was higher compared to Luzon despite the Philippines having only one excise tax rate for that type of products.

Adriano further cited a study in which illicit tobacco trade in Malaysia jumped from 40 percent in 2015; to 50 percent in 2025 after the latter’s government doubled the excise tax on the products.

‘That’s why we’re going to recommend nga, if we’re gonna have some reform in tobacco [taxation], we would like to include administrative reforms,’ he stressed.

Malacañang on Tuesday said the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) could ‘fairly’ investigate a confrontation between their personnel, while warning that those found to have abused their authority could be removed from their posts.

‘The president has confidence in both agencies, the PNP and the BOC, that they can properly and fairly investigate what happened between the two agencies,’ Palace press officer Claire Castro said.

While an investigation is ongoing, the two agencies committed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that they would not allow undesirable personnel to remain on either side.

‘If there was indeed alleged abuse, then those involved must be held accountable,’ she said.

She warned that personnel found to have committed violations could be removed from their positions.

The PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) relieved and reassigned the head of its Regional Highway Patrol Unit-National Capital Region (RHPU-NCR) and 12 of his men over an alleged confrontation with BOC-Port of Subic agents at a warehouse in Sta. Maria, Bulacan on Aug. 19.

Armed civilian-clothed HPG operatives swooped down on the Bulacan warehouse, frisked and handcuffed BOC personnel. The standoff was eventually defused following the intervention of BOC officials.

The HPG officers claimed that they were conducting a raid on the warehouse where 225 boxes of illicit Carnival Red cigarettes worth an estimated P8.4 million were seized. They claimed a BOC personnel allegedly opened the warehouse and collected payment during the transaction.

The BOC personnel, however, alleged they were conducting a legitimate ‘incineration’ operation.

It was later discovered that the raid stemmed from operational confusion, as the HPG operatives were actually targeting a different location within the area.

According to Castro, PNP chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez said the ongoing investigation would look into why HPG officers from the NCR conducted the operation in Bulacan, instead of the local police unit or the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

The investigation will also determine whether the HPG had the proper mandate to conduct the alleged buy-bust operation, considering that its primary functions include traffic enforcement, security and anti-carnapping operations.

But the PNP said there might be specific instances when HPG personnel could pursue an operation involving suspected contraband if it originated from a highway and was being tracked by police.

In a statement on Tuesday, the BOC backed its personnel involved in a confrontation with the PNP-HPG, while calling the incident isolated and urging stronger coordination between the two agencies.

BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno said Customs personnel ‘must be accorded due respect, professionalism, and proper treatment at all times, consistent with established inter-agency protocols.’

‘The BOC and PNP have a proven record of successful joint operations that have resulted in the apprehension and seizure of billions of pesos worth of smuggled and illicit goods. This longstanding cooperation must be preserved and strengthened,’ the BOC added.

Nepomuceno directed officials to use the incident to strengthen interagency coordination and improve operational protocols to prevent similar confrontations.

The Joint Normalization Committee (JNC), a mechanism under the Bangsamoro peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), has reorganized its composition as it vowed to regain momentum on its deliverables, which include the decommissioning of MILF fighters.

The committee reorganized its ranks on Monday, naming former OPAPRU Presidential Assistant David Diciano as GPH-JNC head and Bangsamoro Member of Parliament Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba as MILF-JNC head.

OPAPRU stands for the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity.

Diciano and Dumama-Alba will co-chair the JNC, a joint GPH-MILF peace mechanism tasked with ensuring the smooth implementation of the normalization track under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). The body serves as a mechanism for coordinating all components of the normalization process for decommissioned MILF combatants, their families, and communities.

The GPH-JNC members include OPAPRU Presidential Assistant Noel Baraceros and Ariel Hernandez, while the MILF-JNC members are Sheikh Bashir Tahir Abdulbayan and Mohd. Noory Bin Anshary.

Ma. Erlinda R. Vila heads the GPH-JNC Secretariat, while Aliuddin Haron heads the MILF JNC Secretariat.

OPAPRU announced these developments Tuesday afternoon in a social media post.

Diciano said the government has already allocated funds for the next two years to ensure significant progress in implementing the normalization program.

He expressed hopes the JNC’s reorganization will regain its momentum and build on what it has achieved over the years.

For her part, Dumama-Alba said that the work for peace is a continuous journey, emphasizing that the principles of continuity and jointness must remain at the core of the JNC’s interventions.

‘The credibility of the peace process depends not only on what we implement, but on how faithfully and jointly we implement what we have agreed upon,’ she stressed.

‘At this point in our journey, I believe that we need stronger coordination and deeper cooperation between the GPH and the MILF. We may sometimes have different perspectives institutionally, but we share a common responsibility,’ Dumama-Alba noted.

In July 2025, the MILF suspended the fourth and last phase of decommissioning for its combatants.

‘It is hereby resolved that the decommissioning of the remaining 14,000 MILF combatants and 2,450 weapons shall commence only upon the substantial compliance of the GPH in the other tracks of normalization, including the provision of a socio-economic package as agreed upon by the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels to the 26,145 (earlier decommissioned) combatants,’ the MILF said in a resolution

Kanlaon Volcano generated a grayish ash plume on Monday morning that rose 200 meters above the summit crater and drifted east, prompting ashfall in parts of Canlaon City and the suspension of in-person classes at all levels.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the emission was recorded at 5:51 a.m. by the Upper Pantao Observation Station.

Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas issued Executive Order No. 80, Series of 2026, ordering the suspension of in-person classes in all public and private schools in the city starting at noon on Monday until further notice.

The order also covers school activities requiring physical attendance, citing the need to protect students, teachers and school personnel from respiratory hazards and road safety risks associated with volcanic ash.

School heads and teachers were instructed to ensure the orderly dismissal and safe transit of students following the suspension.

Monitoring

The city’s Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, in coordination with the Department of Education, will continue to monitor Kanlaon’s activity and issue further advisories, Cardenas said.

Authorities advised parents, guardians and the public to remain alert and monitor official updates from the Department of Science and Technology-Phivolcs.

Kanlaon remains under Alert Level 2, which indicates that the volcano is exhibiting moderate unrest and that there is a possibility of sudden steam-driven or phreatic eruptions.

Tama bang sabihin na ang pondo ay na-disburse sa loob lamang ng 11 days?’ (Is it correct to say that the funds were disbursed within just 11 days)

This was the question posed by prosecution counsel Mae Divinagracia to Office of the Vice President Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio regarding the confidential funds, which were disbursed on December 20, 2022, and spent from December 21 to 31, 2022, based on the liquidation report presented.

WATCH: No confidential funds recorded under Robredo’s OVP, says Ortonio

However, Ortonio declined to directly answer that the funds were disbursed within 11 days.

Rather than directly confirming the 11-day period, Ortonio referred to the document and it showed a liquidation for a cash advance for the period of December 21-31.

Defense counsel Ferrer objected, saying the prosecution was asking Ortonio to interpret the document.

Divinagracia countered that she was only asking the witness to make a ‘simple arithmetic’ calculation that the witness could easily make based on the document.

Ortonio then answered, saying, ‘based on the computation, and based on the document, it will reflect 11 days.

House prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua questioned the Office of the Vice President (OVP)’s handling of accomplishment reports (ARs) bearing allegedly fictitious names, asking why such records would still be kept in a vault if the identities listed in them were not genuine.

‘If it is merely fictitious, what is the purpose? Why put it in the vault in the first place? The purpose of the law, of the Joint Circular, is to place in the vault the names of legitimate informants, the identities of those who will be recruited as informants,’ Chua said.

He made the remarks during the prosecution panel’s post-trial press conference when he was asked about receipts bearing the names Antonio Pagong, Timon Andrew Pusa, Don Piang, May Pamana, Shane Ngitngit, and Xuniso P. Belat, which were presented during the testimony of former OVP special disbursing officer Gina Acosta on Monday.

Under the Joint Circular governing the use and liquidation of confidential and intelligence funds, documentary evidence of payments related to confidential funds’ disbursement must be placed in a sealed envelope, kept confidential, and stored in the vault of the special disbursing officer.

The Commission on Audit’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (COA-ICFAO) may inspect the vault containing the classified information when necessary.

‘Why did the Joint Circular require these to be placed in a sealed envelope, marked confidential, and kept in a vault?’ Chua said.

Chua then questioned whether genuine identifying records for the individuals supposedly represented by the names in the ARs were maintained elsewhere.

He said that without such records, confidentiality could become a barrier to accountability rather than a controlled measure intended to protect the identities of legitimate confidential informants.

The defense has yet to present its evidence and address whether the names appearing in the ARs were indeed aliases