Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. on Tuesday urged lifting a finance cap that limits the amount the Philippines could borrow from foreign lenders, as the country seeks to modernize its forces amid tensions with China.

At the House hearing on the Department of National Defense’s (DND) budget for 2027, Teodoro told lawmakers that the finance and budget departments set the loan limit, so it would be better to scrap the $300 million cap imposed under a 1974 presidential decree.

Presidential Decree No. 415 authorizes the president ‘to contract such loans, credits or indebtedness including supplier’s credit, deferred payment arrangements upon such terms and conditions as maybe agreed upon with any local or foreign source or lender not exceeding Three hundred million United States dollars, or its equivalent in other foreign currencies at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of the contracting of the loans.’

‘They have total control over the financial agreement that will be made,’ Teodoro said.

The Philippines is seeking to modernize its forces amid tensions with China in the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea within the Philippine exclusive economic zone. It has earmarked about $35 billion, or P2 trillion, over the next decade for military upgrades, including warships, aircraft and auxiliary systems.

Funding limitations have hobbled efforts to expand Manila’s military capabilities. The DND was allotted P40 billion for its modernization efforts this year, with an additional P50 billion in standby funding.

Teodoro said the P50 billion it proposed for upgrades next year is earmarked for multiyear contract payments.

‘As the days go on, things get more expensive,’ he added.

The moment she crashed the top 20 of the WTA world rankings, Alex Eala knew things would only get tougher from that point.

‘The gap [between ranking spots] is much wider,’ she said.

She’ll have to work double time to keep her momentum going, and the US Open will provide her opportunities to do so as she competes in mixed doubles and singles at the Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York.

Eala, who moved two spots up the world ranking at No. 18 on Monday, is paired with Felix Auger-Aliassime in mixed doubles and the two are set for a clash against the husband-and-wife tandem of world No. 9 Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils on Tuesday morning (Manila time).

The Filipino superstar and the Canadian world No. 4 have a lot to fight through if they want to win the $1 million top prize of the event, as they have been drawn in the same bracket as women’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, the mixed doubles top seeds.

Valuable time

Sabalenka and Djokovic will open against Canadian-Filipino Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals to face either Eala and Auger-Aliassime or Svitolina and Monfils.

The mixed doubles event will provide Eala valuable court time as she pursues her first Grand Slam singles trophy starting on Sunday in New York.

The draw for the singles will drop three days before the main-draw matches begin. The qualifying round for singles has already started.

‘I think what’s great is [playing in mixed doubles] keeps you in that competitive mindset,’ Auger-Aliassime said in a TV interview. ‘It’s different [from] when you’re kind of relaxed in training, and you’re doing appearances and sponsor stuff.’

‘It’s different when you’re out there on the court and someone’s trying to beat you,’ the Canadian star, who said he is excited to get a taste of the ‘Eala Effect,’ added. ‘To stay in touch with that [competitive mindset] during the week with the mixed doubles, that is also not as much pressure as the singles, I think is a great thing.

‘Everybody’s playing the part, everybody is super competitive. So I think I’m going to love it out there.’

Auger-Aliassime will certainly enjoy the opportunity to play behind a large and supportive crowd that turns up in arenas all over the world every time Eala sees action.

‘It’s kinda funny because she’s younger than me, but I feel like she has the fan base and she’s carrying the crowd,’ he said.

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.

The House of Representatives Committee on Labor and Employment has sponsored a measure aimed at enhancing workers’ safety against climate-related threats and hazards.

House Bill No. 10559 under Committee Report No. 552 seeks to strengthen the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) framework by integrating climate-adaptive measures.

‘Hindi dapat maging kapalit ng kabuhayan ang kalusugan. Hindi dapat maging kapalit ng trabaho ang buhay. At hindi dapat kailanman mangyari na ang isang manggagawa ay kailangang mamili sa pagitan ng pagkita para sa kanyang pamilya at pagprotekta sa kanyang sarili,’ House Committee on Labor and Employment chairperson Rep. Ramon Jolo Revilla said on Tuesday.

(Health should not be sacrificed for livelihood. Life should not be sacrificed for a job. And a worker should have to choose between earning for their family and protecting themselves.)

He said that unpredictable weather has become a daily occupational risk to workers, particulalry those working outdoors.

‘For construction workers exposed to intense heat and employees who must report for work amid heavy rains and severe weather, climate change is no longer an abstract issue but a danger they confront in earning their livelihood,’ said Revilla.

Revilla added that the measure also seeks to impose stiffer penalties for OSH violations, which resulted in the injury or death of a worker.

He, however, clarified that the move is not intended to criminalize ‘ordinary mistakes’, but to penalize ‘willful or grossly negligent violations that put workers in danger.’

These include identified risks, violations, and deficiencies in training or protective equipment that are disregarded by the company or employer.

‘Hindi sapat na sabihin nating may OSH program ang isang kumpanya. Ang tanong ay-handa ba itong harapin ang mga panganib na kinakaharap ng ating mga manggagawa ngayon? Handa ba ito sa matinding init o bagyo? Handa ba itong protektahan ang manggagawa bago pa mangyari ang aksidente?’ he said.

(It is not enough to simply say that a company has an OSH program. The question is-is it prepared to address the risks our workers face today? Is it prepared for extreme heat or typhoons? Is it prepared to protect workers before an accident occurs?)

‘Hindi natin pinaparusahan ang pagkakamali. Pinapanagot natin ang sadyang pagwawalang-bahala sa kaligtasan,’ he added.

(We don’t punish mistakes. We hold accountable willful disregard for safety.)

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Tuesday accused Senator-judge Imee Marcos of trying to clear Vice President Sara Duterte of allegations of misusing confidential funds (CF).

During the 17th day of Duterte’s impeachment trial, the sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. repeatedly pressed former Office of the Vice President (OVP) Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta on whether Duterte personally handled or took any of the confidential funds she disbursed.

Acosta said she never saw Duterte take or keep any of the money.

Castro said while it is Marcos’ right to ask questions, it was apparent where her line of questioning was headed.

‘First and foremost, she wants to get the vice president off the hook from the allegations concerning the use of confidential funds. Through her questions, she is trying to establish that the vice president did not physically handle the money and was supposedly not involved in preparing the documents,’ Castro said at a briefing.

‘But let us remember that the witness herself admitted that the order to release the entire P125 million in confidential funds came from the vice president, through her security officer, Colonel Lachica, when the funds reached the OVP,’ she added.

Castro also said Duterte was the one who exercised command and control over the CF, adding that Duterte did not have to physically hold the money to have it spent, as she could simply give the order.

‘And that is exactly what the former SDO of the OVP, Gina Acosta, admitted. She did not hesitate to acknowledge that the person who gave these orders was none other than the vice president,’ she added.

In her testimony, Acosta recounted what appeared to be a continuing practice of entrusting confidential funds to a security officer under Duterte, from her years as Davao City mayor to her tenure at the OVP.

She said it was standard operating procedure in both offices to turn over confidential funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, despite knowing that he was not a bonded officer.

Senator-judge Joel Villanueva suggested that Lachica be called to testify, noting that Acosta had acknowledged having no personal knowledge of how the funds were actually used.

The court has yet to determine whether the practices described by Acosta constituted misuse of public funds or violated applicable rules.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla proposed making charges related to unregistered firearms punishable by jail terms of up to 20 years long in a bid to combat gun-related violence.

‘Now, when you catch someone with loose firearms, it’s bailable. Lalabas ka lang. You have a record pero bailable, then you go to a hearing,’ Remulla said in a statement on Tuesday.

(Now, when you catch someone with loose firearms, it’s bailable. You can just post bail. You have a record, but it’s bailable, then you go to a hearing.)

‘I’m asking Congress to take steps to make it non-bailable and to make it [punishable by a jail term of] 20 years,’ he added.

Remulla previously called on lawmakers to make charges related to loose firearms a nonbailable offense by amending Republic Act No. 8294, colloquially known as the ‘Robin Padilla Law.’

The secretary’s proposal was in response to the fatal school shootings in Tacloban City on June 22 and Zamboanga City on August 18, both involving government-issued firearms wielded by their owners’ minor relatives.

The DILG chief earlier explained that, in both incidents, the gun owners themselves may only face charges for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, which is punishable by prison correccional or up to six years of imprisonment.

According to Remulla, he was expecting his push for tougher gun laws to be addressed by Congress by next January.

‘Gun ownership also carries with it gun responsibility. The government should have the right to inspect their homes at any time and to see if the guns are in safekeeping at any time,’ he said.

‘It is a privilege granted in the Philippines. It is a privilege, not a right,’ he added.

The DILG chief particularly highlighted that, in the wake of both the Tacloban and Zamboanga incidents, law enforcement agencies must review their firearm policies.

‘We have to be strict with all our policies with uniformed personnel and let them realize the gravity of the situation that’s happening,’ Remulla said.

The employees’ union of the Angeles City government has defended Mayor Carmelo Lazatin II against online criticism over his supposedly delayed order to suspend classes on Tuesday due to inclement weather.

The mayor suspended classes at around 6:30 a.m., but parents and guardians criticized the timing, saying their children were already in school or on their way there when the announcement was made.

The Association of Government Employees for a New Dynamic Angeles City (AGENDA) defended Lazatin’s decision, saying it was unfair to judge the mayor ‘solely on a single decision while overlooking the many responsibilities he carries as the city’s chief executive.’

The group said the suspension of classes was only one of the mayor’s many concerns.

‘Maagang dumarating si Mayor sa City Hall at gabi na kung minsan ay nandito pa rin siya, sinusubukang matapos ang mga kailangang tugunan para sa araw na iyon. Hindi po makatarungan na basta na lamang husgahan at i-bash ang isang lider na araw-araw ay nagsisikap para sa maayos na pamamahala,’ AGENDA president Aiza Zapanta said in a statement sent through the city information office.

(The mayor goes to work early at City Hall and sometimes leaves late to resolve the day’s problems. It is not right to judge a leader who spends each day toiling for good governance)

AGENDA said the decision to suspend classes should also consider other sectors whose livelihoods could be affected by the cancellation of face-to-face classes.

It said transport workers, including jeepney and tricycle drivers, as well as small and medium enterprises and other businesses near schools, would lose income when classes are suspended.

‘Marami rin ang umaasang may pasok dahil nakasalalay dito ang kanilang arawang kita. Kaya bawat desisyon ay kailangang pag-isipang mabuti,’ the group said.

(Many livelihoods rely on schools remaining open. so every decision needs a thorough review of its consequences).

AGENDA urged the public to exercise restraint and responsibility online, saying constructive criticism was welcome but personal attacks and online bashing should be avoided.

The suspension order, posted on the city government’s and Lazatin’s Facebook pages, drew about 3,000 comments, with hundreds of netizens criticizing the late suspension.

Several parents said their children, particularly preschool and elementary pupils, were already in school or on their way when the suspension was announced.

Some netizens said classes start at either 6 a.m. or 7 a.m., making the late announcement inconvenient and potentially risky, particularly amid heavy rains and flooding in some areas.

‘Sana po pakiagahan po ang announcement, mga 2 oras bago ang oras ng pasukan,’ a netizen commented on the mayor’s and the city government’s posts.

The impeachment court on Day 16 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial declared Office of the Vice President (OVP) assistant chief-of-staff Lemuel Ortonio as a hostile witness, allowing the House prosecution to ask him leading questions during direct examination./

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Tuesday said he is supporting the proposed hazard pay for civilian government personnel assigned in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Teodoro made this remark during the House committee of appropriations’ hearing for the 2027 proposed budget of the Department of National Defense.

‘Yes, because they are subjected to risk also and this includes civilian personnel to be deployed in highly critical areas,’ Teodoro replied when asked by Akbayan party-list Rep. Dadah Ismula if he supports measures to pay civilian government personnel deployed in the WPS a hazard pay.

Teodoro pointed out that the hazard pay can also apply to personnel assigned to highly critical areas, such as teachers serving as electoral board members in election hotspot locations.

He acknowledged and raised a concern on how a hazard pay should be applied to the qualified civilian personnel when they also have the welfare of their family to think of.

He cited as an example a first responder deployed in flooded areas where he said that the concerned family may be given housing benefits so the personnel can fulfill their responsibilities to their job.

The House Special Committee on the West Philippine Sea earlier approved House Bill No. 8673, filed by the Akbayan Party-list, which seeks to grant hazard pay to personnel deployed in the WPS, along with provision of insurance, medical and psychological services, and maritime safety training

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union- La Union Governor Mario Eduardo C. Ortega assumed the chairmanship of the Regional Peace and Order Council in Ilocos Region, taking his oath of office on Monday at the provincial Capitol.

Ortega took his oath before Jonathan Paul M. Leusen Jr., regional director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

With his designation, Ortega will spearhead and strengthen collaborative efforts among government agencies, local government units, and other stakeholders in implementing programs and initiatives aimed at promoting peace and order, public safety, preventing crimes, and addressing security concerns across the Ilocos Region.

‘It is an honor to be appointed to this position. It is not only an honor for me but also for the province because this recognizes our capability. But this is not an easy task because we are looking after the safety not only of our province but of the entire region and the country, especially with what is happening in the West Philippine Sea,’ he said.