Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Las Vegas Aces top reserve Jewell Loyd was listed as doubtful for Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals Wednesday night against the Golden State Valkyries, but Stephanie Talbot and Dana Evans might return to the lineup.

Talbot and Evans are questionable.

Talbot has not played the past two postseason games because of an injured left leg, and she was replaced in the starting lineup by Loyd. Loyd hurt her left leg in Sunday’s 71-60 series-opening loss.

Starting all but one game this season, Talbot averaged 4.0 points and 2.6 rebounds, but in the postseason has upped that to 8.5 points and 3.5 rebounds.

Loyd, long one of the league’s top perimeter shooters, was the Aces’ first player off the bench in the regular season and averaged 8.0 points.

Evans has not played since Sept. 22 because of a right knee injury. She played just 14 games this season, but was a key player off the bench last season averaging 8.4 points and 2.9 assists when the Aces won their third title in four years.

More areas are forecast to experience drought from October 2026 to March 2027 as the El Niño continues to prevail in the country, the state weather bureau said on Wednesday.

In the climate outlook of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), weather specialist Junie Ruiz noted that less rainfall in the country is expected during this period.

Pagasa recently declared the end of southwest monsoon or ‘habagat’ season and observed weaker winds and declining rainfall associated with the weather system.

Drought

Ruiz said that six provinces in Luzon and Visayas will experience drought in October and November.

Pagasa defines drought as three consecutive months of receiving way below normal rainfall.

Ruiz added that drought may prevail in 17 areas by December, 45 areas in January 2027, 78 areas in February 2027, and 84 areas in March 2027.

Strong El Niño

He also said that a strong El Niño remains present in the tropical Pacific.

He added that this phenomenon may reach a very strong state by the end of 2026 and will continue until the first half of 2027.

Tropical cyclone forecast

Despite the presence of El Niño, he said that three to five tropical cyclones are expected to enter or form inside the Philippine area of responsibility from October this year to March 2027.

One or two tropical cyclones are expected from October to December, one in January, while there is a slim chance of tropical cyclone formation for February and March next year.

‘May El Niño tayo kaya posible ang mas kaunting ulan at mas mainit na temperature sa mga susunod na buwan. Pero patuloy pa rin nating babantayan ang mga weather system na magdadala ng maraming ulan sa bahagi ng bansa gaya ng ITCZ [intertropical convergence zone], shear line, amihan, and tropical cyclones,’ he said.

(The El Niño is prevailing now, that’s why we can expect less rainfall and hotter temperatures in the next months. But we continue to monitor weather systems that will bring rains in the country, such as ITCZ, shear line, northeast monsoon, and tropical cyclones.)

El Niño impact

The Department of Agriculture earlier said that El Niño has already affected 223,214 farmers in 14 regions in the country, with damage in the agriculture sector already reaching around P6.87 billion.

The country may suffer from higher electricity rates and more power outages as the super El Niño threatens to strain the energy system and trigger a surge in consumption, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said on Tuesday.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) earlier said that due to the effects of the weather phenomenon, a state of calamity has been declared in 106 cities and municipalities in the country, with 388,000 people affected.

Even without El Niño, Filipinos are already airing their frustrations over elevated power costs, triggered by surging oil prices following renewed tensions in the Middle East.

The very dry conditions caused by the weather pattern, however, is also seen to bring up demand for electricity.

‘It’s possible because demand-supply relationship always has an effect on the market,’ Garin told reporters on the sidelines of the Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting in Pasay City.

But she assured the public that the Department of Energy (DOE) has been in close coordination with the Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure that those selling electricity in the spot market – where power is traded between producers and distributors to boost supply – do not take advantage of the situation.

El Niño refers to the abnormal warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures, a phenomenon often linked to extreme climate conditions such as drought, erratic rainfall and stronger heat waves.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration had said it expects El Niño to peak toward the end of 2026 and persist until early next year.

The Department of Science and Technology also warned that all provinces would experience drought by March 2027.

Impact on supply

Pressed on the possibility of more power outages, Garin admitted that El Niño would have an impact on supply.

‘I don’t want to be a doomsayer, but I just want to be very transparent about this. When it’s very hot, our rivers are dry, so that’s hydro already. Our coal power plants, not only are we over-extending their production, but also the heat affects their efficiency,’ she said.

‘Of course, solar, even if you think that solar automatically produces more when it’s hotter-if it’s too hot, then there is also a negative impact on that,’ Garin added.

According to her, the DOE is already preparing to tap other options to help boost power supply, although she urged the public to practice conserving energy.

‘This is one way we can help: turning off our lights, pulling the plugs for appliances that we don’t need, and that would help us achieve at least 10 to 20 percent reduction in our demand,’ Garin said.

On Monday, the NDRRMC said a state of calamity had been declared in the following areas because of El Niño: 66 areas in Cagayan, 23 in Caraga, 12 in Bicol, four in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), and one in Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City).

A total of 388,375 individuals or 104,149 families have so far been affected, mostly in Cagayan (47,587 individuals), followed by Caraga (45,507 individuals), Bicol (11,055 individuals), and Calabarzon (191 individuals).

The NDRRMC said that over P39 million in assistance has been provided to 24,618 of the 35,893 families in need.

National University got back to its winning ways after trouncing Adamson, 85-66, in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament at Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.

Following a tough loss to Ateneo on Saturday, the Bulldogs dominated the Soaring Falcons to improve to a 3-2 record.

‘It’s a good response but we still had a subpar performance. We gave too much three-pointers. We need to address that,’ NU coach Jeff Napa said.

‘Against Ateneo, we gave up a lot of triples, same as today, we need to address that but still, this is a good win.’

NU used a red-hot start to dictate the pace against Adamson, which tripped to a 2-2 card.

The Bulldogs led big early, enjoying a 50-35 halftime spread before staving off the Falcons’ fightback in the third period.

Adamson cut the deficit down to six, 58-52, before NU restored order with a 6-0 spurt to end the third.

PJ Palacielo paced NU with 19 points and eight assists while Paul Francisco had 17.

Mo Diassana and Reinhard Jumamoy tallied double-doubles with the former registering 15 points and 12 rebounds and the latter tallying 12 and 10. Tebol Garcia joined the scoring frenzy with 12.

Ray Allen Torres finished with 14 points, Matt Erolon scored 12 while Mathew Montebon and Precious Jonah turned in 11 points a piece for Adamson.

Every October, the country marks the Special Month for the Conservation and Protection of the Tamaraw in Mindoro, highlighting efforts to protect one of the Philippines’ most iconic – and most threatened – animals.

The observance was established in 2002 through Proclamation No. 273, signed by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to increase public awareness of the tamaraw’s importance as part of the country’s natural heritage and biological resources.

The declaration came after the country saw decades of decline in the tamaraw population. The world’s rarest buffalo, the species is found only on the island of Mindoro, southwest of Luzon.

Once estimated at 10,000 individuals, the tamaraw population had dropped to only 154 in 2000, based on data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Mimaropa.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the tamaraw as critically endangered, indicating that it remains at an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Latest government data showed a modest rise in the tamaraw population, with the DENR counting 425 in Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park this year, up from 380 last year.

But as the Mindoro Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc. (MBCFI) said, the rampant clearing of forests and grasslands for farms, houses, businesses and infrastructure is still pushing the critically endangered species to the brink.

‘If areas have always been a grassland or a forest land, let us no longer convert them into agricultural areas, residential areas, business districts, or build additional infrastructure there,’ said MBCFI Executive Director Kathy Lene Cielo.

Habitat loss

One of the biggest threats confronting the tamaraw, which is endemic to Mindoro and now confined to protected and critical areas on the island, is the widespread loss and degradation of its natural habitat.

The initiative Species on the Brink identified habitat degradation as the main threat to tamaraws in the 20th century, explaining that land conversion for agriculture, coupled with population growth, reduced the areas where the cattle species could live and feed.

Agricultural fires have likewise threatened tamaraw habitats.

Based on data from Global Forest Watch, Oriental Mindoro had about 148,000 hectares of natural forest, covering roughly 69% of its land area, but the province lost about 511 hectares of primary forest between 2002 and 2021.

Poaching

The killing of tamaraws also played a critical role in the species’ decline.

June Pineda, coordinator of the DENR’s Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP), previously attributed the species’ population decline to continued habitat destruction, hunting and poaching.

Tamaraws were hunted for both subsistence and sport, Species on the Brink said, leading to a drastic decline in their population: ‘Although protected by law, the illegal capture and killing of this species remains.’

On Oct. 23, 1936, Commonwealth Act No. 73 was signed to prohibit the killing, hunting, wounding or taking of Bubalus mindorensis, the scientific name of the tamaraw.

Livestock and disease

The expansion of cattle ranching is also considered a threat. Species on the Brink explained that domestic cattle can compete with tamaraws for resources and may expose the wild buffalo to diseases.

The possibility of disease transmission becomes concerning when domestic livestock and wild tamaraws occupy overlapping areas. Interbreeding with domestic cattle is also a threat confronting not only the tamaraw but all wild cattle species in Asia.

Recent conservation work has provided evidence that tamaraws are no longer restricted to Mounts Iglit-Baco Natural Park, with new populations confirmed in the Upper Amanay Ranges, located between Occidental and Oriental Mindoro.

As the website Re said, the tamaraw ‘may feign toughness, but they need our help to make a full comeback,’ especially since threats have sent their population spiraling downward over the years.

On the 35th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial Wednesday, representatives of multiple banks testified on the financial records of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, as the prosecution continued presenting evidence on alleged unexplained wealth.

Witnesses from Asia United Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Metrobank, Security Bank, BPI, PNB, and BDO were called, covering at least 30 bank accounts across eight banks whose combined ending balances the prosecution claims exceeded P190 million not declared in Duterte’s SALN.

A notable development surfaced when Senator-judge Francis Pangilinan’s questioning of Security Bank Branch Banking Group Head Leslie Cham revealed that two peso-denominated checking accounts belonging to Calle88 Foods Corp., a banana chips company partly owned by Carpio, were closed in July 2026, the same month the impeachment trial began.

The first account, ending in 2013, had a 2025 ending balance of P16,987.59, while the second, ending in 8581, had a 2025 balance of P21,164.27. [5]

The prosecution’s attempt to probe whether BPI maintained foreign accounts for Duterte and Carpio was blocked after Presiding Officer Francis Escudero sustained a defense objection, ruling the inquiry was outside the scope of the subpoena.

Escudero also scolded the prosecution’s assisting counsel for failing to have documents ready to support public prosecutor and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan during the presentation of insurance company witnesses, and separately reprimanded the clerk of court secretariat for minor inefficiencies.

Palace press officer Claire Castro, a lawyer, weighed in on the evidentiary significance of the bank records, saying they carry substantial value and would be difficult to dispute without evidence of tampering. She was quoted as saying, Bank records do not lie.

Also, outside the court, Sens. Robinhood Padilla and Bong Go and PDP-Laban filed a fresh Supreme Court petition on Sept. 29 to block application of the Senate’s reduced impeachment conviction-vote threshold, even as an earlier set of three similar petitions was dismissed.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Wednesday he would ask Vice Mayor Jeryll Harold Respicio of Reina Mercedes, Isabela to undergo a drug test following an outburst during a Sangguniang Bayan session.

‘Ipapa-drug test ko muna. Parang wala sa sarili eh. Ayun lang. I advise him we will give him a drug test kasi mukhang adik eh yung asal niya eh,’ said Remulla during an ambush interview.

(I’ll have him undergo a drug test first. He seems out of his mind. That’s all. I advise that we give him a drug test because his behavior looks like that of an addict.)

‘Meron bang normal na vice mayor na ganun? Parang wala sa sarili eh, parang hindi halal,’ said Remulla.

(Is there any normal vice mayor who acts like that? He seems out of his mind, as if he wasn’t elected.)

‘Meron doon yung abuse towards a person of authority nung pinagsisigawan niya yung pulis nakatayo lang yung pulis doon eh pero we are still investigating and I am leaving it to Gov. [Rodolfo] Albano [III] to handle it. Hindi muna ako,’ added Remulla.

(There was an abuse against a person in authority when he shouted at the police officer, who was just standing there. But we are still investigating, and I am leaving it to Gov. Albano to handle it. Not me for now.)

This is a developing story.

The House Appropriations Committee and its commission of select lawmakers complied with an internal parliamentary rule that mandates a detailed public report of the 2027 spending bill.

This report contain changes to the original budget proposal.

Sorsogon Rep. Manuel ‘Wowo’ Fortes Jr. made the statement on Wednesday.

Fortes said the budget panel also provided copies of the bill as tweaked by the Budget Amendments Review Sub-committee (BARSc) before the floor took up the measure.

He made the remarks after ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio demanded details as the House moved to discuss on second reading the P7.2-trillion spending bill.

‘The amendments, as approved by the BARSc, were incorporated to the substitute text of House Bill No. 10858 under Committee Report No. 638, as submitted to the plenary,’ Fortes told lawmakers.

Floor discussions on the budget bill hit an early snag after Tinio raised a parliamentary point of order.

He observed that the BARS violated the House rule book’s Rule 9, Sec 28-D.

This rule mandates the sub-committee to ‘produce a detailed report that includes any and all realignments and modifications… including the proponent-legislators.’

The BARSc convened last Thursday to finalize roughly P116 billion in proposed realignments from the executive’s draft budget.

The proposal channeled the bulk of the funding toward state social welfare programs and infrastructure projects.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, who presided over the meeting, said the panel will forgo crafting a separate budget report.

She announced that the committee was opting, instead, to incorporate the proposed amendments directly into the bill slated for plenary discussion.

The BARSc presented the realignments on a projected spreadsheet during a public livestream of its proceedings.

‘It is very clear in the rules that the BARSc must have a separate report,’ Tinio then said.

‘It cannot be said that the revised version of the House General Appropriations Bill is that report,’ the minority solon pointed out.

Kamanggagawa party-list Rep. Elijah San Fernando, who is also part of the House minority bloc, said lawmakers were not given ample time to review the substitute spending bill.

He said copies of the roughly 4,000-page measure had only been delivered to their offices at 2 a.m. on an unspecified date.

Adding to transparency concerns, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco also raised that the BARSc failed to disclose which agency budgets or programs were reduced, so that P116 billion could be realigned.

As we culminate National Teachers’ Month and celebrate World Teachers’ Day on Oct. 5, we honor Filipino teachers across basic, higher, and technical-vocational education. This year’s global theme, ‘Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures,’ reminds us that honoring teachers must extend beyond ceremonies and greetings. It must be reflected in their professional status and compensation.

For thousands of Department of Education (DepEd) teachers, this year’s celebration carries additional significance because of the Expanded Career Progression System. In September, the Department of Budget and Management released an additional P8.68 billion covering salary differentials for 93,344 reclassified positions whose career advancement had already been approved.

The situation in higher education raises a different question: Are we valuing the qualifications and responsibilities expected of our faculty in state universities and colleges (SUCs)?

An Instructor I in an SUC remains at Salary Grade 12, with 2026 monthly compensation starting at roughly P34,000 and increasing according to the salary step. Yet entry into the position generally requires a master’s degree.

During Commission on Higher Education’s (CHEd) budget deliberations, ACT Teachers party list Rep. Antonio Tinio questioned this disparity and called the current minimum compensation an ‘injustice.’ CHEd chair Shirley Agrupis acknowledged concerns involving plantilla positions and said CHEd would discuss them with the Civil Service Commission. Tinio requested that CHEd submit a position paper recommending a higher minimum salary grade for SUC instructors.

The issue deserves policy examination. Under DepEd’s career structure, classroom teaching positions now extend from Teacher I through Teacher VII and onward to the Master Teacher ranks. The contrast becomes striking when an Instructor I is expected to possess a master’s degree while beginning at SG 12.

House Bill No. 8968, principally authored by Tinio with Representatives Sarah Jane Elago and Renee Louise Co, proposes a P50,000 minimum salary for higher-education teaching personnel. Another pending measure proposes upgrading higher-education teaching personnel to SG 16.

SUC faculty do have the ongoing JC3 Cycle 2 Faculty Reclassification mechanism, but its demanding evaluation standards and extensive documentary requirements demonstrate why career progression alone cannot substitute for reviewing entry-level compensation.

Several policy questions merit consideration: whether Instructor I should be upgraded from SG 12; whether qualification requirements and compensation across education sectors should be harmonized; and whether higher salaries should be accompanied by stronger faculty standards.

If the government raises entry-level compensation substantially, SUCs can reasonably be expected to maintain rigorous hiring standards, including completed, legitimate graduate degrees from reputable institutions, and strengthen safeguards against questionable credentials.

Standing with teachers means examining both what we demand from educators and what we provide them in return. Filipino teachers should feel valued not only every Teachers’ Day, but every day they teach, research, mentor, innovate, and serve the nation.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued new guidelines clarifying for covered taxpayers the procedures for complying with the requirements of its Enhanced Electronic Documentary Stamp Tax (eDST) System.According to a BIR statement issued on Wednesday, the guidelines are contained in Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 107-2026, which was published on Oct. 1. They provide clearer procedures for enrolling in the system and using it, and for resolving common compliance issues.

‘The Enhanced eDST System gives covered taxpayers a secure and standardized electronic way to affix documentary stamps and comply with their DST obligations. By improving the electronic process and clarifying how the system should be used, we want these transactions to be easier and more reliable for taxpayers,’ BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said.

Under the circular, covered taxpayers must also enroll in the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) to file BIR Form No. 2000 and pay the documentary stamp tax. They should also attend the BIR orientation on the Enhanced eDST System before using it.

For notaries public, including those employed by law firms or other offices and those engaged as third-party or outsourced service providers, the circular requires them to enroll in the eDST System in their individual capacity and maintain their own eDST account.

They must also update their BIR registration classification to ‘Professional’ and ensure that their records reflect their authority to perform notarial services.

The circular also provides safeguards for erroneous documentary stamp affixations and technical problems. Refund claims may be filed for double, multiple, or erroneous affixations.

Taxpayers affected by system downtime, connectivity issues, delayed responses, or non-posting of payments may secure a Trouble Ticket Number from the BIR Contact Center as proof that the incident was timely reported.

Taxpayers required to use the Enhanced eDST System have until Dec. 31 to enroll, while newly registered taxpayers covered by the mandate must enroll within 90 days from the date of their BIR registration.

Pending enrollment, covered taxpayers shall continue to comply with their documentary stamp tax obligations under existing rules.

The Enhanced eDST System forms part of the BIR’s Digital and Data Transformation agenda under BIR DARES, aimed at modernizing tax administration and making compliance more efficient for taxpayers.