Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Tropical depression Wilma battered Eastern Visayas with continuous rains and strong winds on Friday, December 5, triggering flooding, landslides, widespread class and work suspensions, and the halting of sea travel across the region.

Floodwaters submerged several areas in Catarman, Northern Samar, and Quinapondan, Eastern Samar as the weather system continued to dump heavy rains.

In Borongan City, at least 364 families from Barangay Siha were affected by flooding, according to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Other barangays-Cagbonga, Cabong, San Pablo, and Suribao-also reported inundation.

In Sogod, Southern Leyte, a rockslide struck a portion of the major road in Barangay Kahupian, prompting authorities to warn motorists of possible further slope failures as the rains persist.

Local governments across Eastern Visayas have activated emergency response teams and monitoring units as more rains are expected in the coming days. The Office of Civil Defense urged communities to remain vigilant for potential flash floods and landslides.

Amid worsening weather conditions, the governors of Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Southern Leyte, and Biliran ordered province-wide suspension of classes and work. Several municipalities in Leyte and Samar also declared class suspensions.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) suspended sea travel in Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, western Leyte, and Biliran, directing all vessels to seek immediate shelter and reminding fisherfolk to follow safety measures amid rough sea conditions.

The PCG also issued a maritime advisory after a non-propelled barge, Green Dragon, went missing near Homonhon Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Its anchor reportedly broke, causing the unmanned vessel to drift from its mooring area. Mariners navigating the area were advised to stay alert and report any sighting of the barge to the nearest Coast Guard station.

The Coast Guard said monitoring is ongoing to prevent any navigational hazard the drifting barge may pose.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has placed its regional operations on high alert.

The agency has prepositioned 77,866 family food boxes, 12,716 ready-to-eat food packs, and 18,574 non-food items in strategic locations. An additional P2.59 million has been allocated for emergency response

The Department of Health (DOH) thanked the Supreme Court (SC) for its ‘wisdom’ in its order on Friday to return P60 billion in excess funds from the National Treasury to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

‘The Department of Health and its attached agencies, including PhilHealth, is focused on implementing the Universal Health Care Act through orderly and sustainable health financing,’ Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said in Filipino in a statement

‘We thank the wisdom of the Supreme Court with regard to the questions on health financing. We’re now waiting on the advice of the Solicitor General for the next course of action.’

The SC ruling declared void Special Provision 1(d) in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which authorized the return of the ‘fund balance’ or excess reserve funds of government-owned or controlled corporations like PhilHealth to the National Treasury.

The high court found Special Provision 1(d) ambiguous for the concept of ‘fund balance,’ which is not defined in the 2024 GAA. It also declared the provision void since it impliedly repealed Section 11 of the UHCA and Sin Tax Laws.

Section 11 of the UHCA requires PhilHealth to maintain reserve funds up to a two-year ceiling of projected program expenses

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is on alert to aid in possible response efforts as Tropical Depression Wilma approaches the country’s landmass.

Wilma was last seen 170 kilometers (km) east of Borongan City, Eastern Samar, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa) 8 p.m. tropical cyclone bulletin.

‘Our personnel on the ground were already alerted and they are ready,’ Acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement on Friday.

‘Coordination will be done with concerned local government units and agencies for public safety that include preemptive evacuation and prepositioning of mobility and rescue assets,’ he added.

Wilma is projected to make landfall over Eastern Visayas on Saturday and traverse the region until Sunday.

The tropical depression was moving westward slowly while packing maximum sustained winds of up to 45 km per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 55 kph.

Twenty-three areas across the country have been placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1, which warns of strong winds between 39 and 61 kilometers per hour (kph) in the next 36 hours, posing minimal to minor threat to life and property

There should be a review of existing tax laws – like the expanded value added tax (eVAT) to increase the take-home pay of workers, Cavite 2nd District Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla said on Wednesday.

Revilla, in a privilege speech during the House of Representatives’ plenary session, said that a review of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law and the eVAT would bode well for the middle class, which she described as the economy’s backbone.

Despite the country’s economy relying on the middle class, Revilla said they are one of the ‘most heavily taxed and least supported sectors.’

‘Who are the middle class? They are the sector of society considered as the backbone of the country’s working population, we usually hear them appealing and complaining about the government, they are the ones working daily, considered as weather-proof, and their taxes fuel the country’s social aid programs,’ Revilla said.

‘It is estimated that 40 percent of our population are from the middle class [.] but it is not automatic that if you are from the middle class, you are living comfortably, you are from a vulnerable sector because you do not have a safety net, you are one medical emergency or family health crisis away from falling into the poverty line,’ she added.

Revilla said that several of her constituents from Cavite have complained about high expenses, prompting them to ask for tax breaks or reprieve.

‘(A resident from Bacoor town) says her family’s needs would not be covered by a monthly income of P30,000 pesos, as more than half or P18,000 only go to food, electricity, internet connectivity, and other utilities. Another P2,000 also goes to their transportation expenses, which means they have no savings. She feels the government is not paying attention to their struggles,’ Revilla relayed.

‘(For another resident from Molino), she is heavily taxed by the government, she wants that the tax deducted from her monthly income of P38,000 be reduced, or maybe remove VAT as their salaries to buy food and other needs have been taxed already,’ she added.

According to Revilla, helping middle income families may also result in helping overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), as most of the households from this sector are aided by migrant workers.

‘And if we are talking of their contribution, we should include in these conversations our OFWs, because they sacrifice a lot by working from afar just to help their families and our economy. Let us remember that a lot of middle income families are OFW families also,’ she said.

‘Let’s start by reviewing the TRAIN law and study options for lowering income taxes. Let’s face it, our people clamor for transparency as to where their taxes go. People think that their taxes only go to corruption, and it’s painful. We can start rebuilding trust by giving back to our people their taxes being one. We must remember that what we may lose in revenue, we can still redeem in increased consumption,’ she added.

This is not the first time that a lawmaker proposed to lower or suspend VAT and other taxes. Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste asked the House committee on ways and means to discuss House Bill (HB) No. 4302 or the proposed VAT Reduction Act of 2025 – which seeks to bring down the VAT from 12 percent to 10 percent.

Leviste last September filed HB No. 4302 in a bid to help Filipino families cope with rising prices of goods.

Inflation in the Philippines eased to 1.5 percent in November on the back of a decline in food costs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

The latest reading is slower than October’s 1.7 percent. It came in below the 1.6-percent median forecast of 10 economists that the Inquirer polled last week.

Also, the latest print landed within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) forecast range of 1.1 percent to 1.9 percent for November.

This brings the 11-month average to 1.6 percent, well below the BSP’s 2 percent to 4 percent target band for the full year.

The slowdown in inflation was largely driven by easing food prices, the PSA said. Inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by only 0.1 percent and accounted for 85.3 percent of the downtrend

The chase for quarterfinal berths and the twice-to-beat privileges in the PBA Philippine Cup resumes on Friday after a three-week break due to the Fiba window.

Brothers Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño face off for the first time in the big league as Converge takes on Magnolia at 5:15 p.m. at Ynares Center in Antipolo City before San Miguel Beer and TNT square off at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of last season’s title series.

More crucial games are on tap this weekend, especially for one team in the hunt set to lose its top player tasked with a higher calling.

All four teams seeing action hold identical 5-2 slates, with the winners to create a four-way tie for the lead with Rain or Shine and NLEx, which allowed Robert Bolick to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand.

Bolick and the Road Warriors play Magnolia on Sunday at Ynares Center, Montalban in Rodriguez, Rizal, before he skips the last two outings against TNT on Dec. 13 and Converge on Dec. 17 as he represents flag and country in the biennial meet.

‘It’s very crucial since the team standings are so close,’ NLEx team governor Ronald Dulatre said of Bolick’s situation. ‘But if it’s for the national team, for the country, we need to fully support and prioritize and Berto (Bolick) really wants to play also for the flag.

‘We just need to focus on our Sunday game with Magnolia so we can give Berto a good send-off before he flies to Thailand with Gilas,’ he added.

Three other PBA stars are also off to Thailand for the Games, even though their teams are desperate to catch up in the playoff race.

Blackwater, tied with Terrafirma at the bottom at 1-6, will miss rookie guard Dalph Panopio and veteran forward Abu Tratter, while Titan Ultra, holding a 2-6 card, allowed shooter Von Pessumal to take part as well.

They are joined by free agents Matthew Wright, Thirdy Ravena, Justin Chua and Jamie Malonzo in the roster, which the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) confirmed on Thursday after its fourth revision due to confusion over the eligibility ruling in the past few months.

Also in the squad are Ray Parks Jr., who was allowed to take a break from his stint with Japanese club Osaka Evessa of the B.League, University of the Philippines redshirt Veejay Pre, Adamson’s Cedrick Manzano and College of St. Benilde’s Allen Liwag.

‘After a tedious back and forth due to initially unclear and constantly changing rules in player eligibility, we at the SBP have submitted this list to the local organizing committee and it has been vetted and has undergone pre-approvals,’ the SBP said.

Powerhouse initial list

The SBP initially listed the likes of Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame to the standard 5-on-5 event that will be handled by coach Norman Black, but Thailand ruled with finality last week that naturalized players and those who failed to secure a passport after the age of 16 are deemed ineligible for the Games.

La Salle’s Mike Phillips, listed in one of the revised versions of the roster, is also out because of the eligibility ruling, while Geo Chiu was also scratched due to Abra’s entry in the National Finals of the MPBL.

Meanwhile, the Converge-Magnolia tussle will see the first PBA clash between brothers Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño in an additional subplot to the contest even as San Miguel and TNT meet for the first time since last season’s Finals.

June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz resume club duties as teammates after Gilas Pilipinas and Guam met twice in the first window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Saturday’s matches, also in Antipolo, are Terrafirma-Titan and Blackwater-Phoenix, while Sunday’s nightcap in Rodriguez pits Converge and Rain or Shine.

No player hit the jackpot in either the Ultra Lotto 6/58 or the Mega Lotto 6/45 draw on Friday, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

The Ultra Lotto 6/58 winning combination was 13-55-28-48-36-20, with a jackpot of ?49.5 million. PCSO said no ticket matched all six numbers.

In the Mega Lotto 6/45 draw, the winning numbers were 13-03-45-42-21-04. The ?10.29 million jackpot also went to no bettor.

Minor games

4D Lotto: 5-1-7-5; top prize ?23,441; 42 winners

3D Lotto 2 p.m.: 2-4-4; ?4,500 per winner; 174 winners

3D Lotto 5 p.m.: 5-0-0; ?4,500 per winner; 521 winners

3D Lotto 9 p.m.: 9-9-6; ?4,500 per winner; 257 winners

2D Lotto 2 p.m.: 17-16; ?4,000 per winner; 128 winners

2D Lotto 5 p.m.: 11-28; ?4,000 per winner; 545 winners

2D Lotto 9 p.m.: 19-10; ?4,000 per winner; 644 winners

Draw schedule

Ultra Lotto 6/58 draws take place every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. Mega Lotto 6/45 is held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

The re-auction of the luxury cars of contractor couple Cezarah ‘Sarah’ and Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya generated over P9 million in revenue after two more vehicles were sold on Friday.

Four remaining vehicles of the couple were put up in this second auction after the BOC failed to secure successful bids for them in the first auction on November 20. In the first auction, the BOC was able to sell only three vehicles for a total of P38,211,710.

In this second auction, the following vehicles were sold:

a Toyota Tundra to RMCE Metal Products Trading Corp. for P3,480,000 (with an updated floor price of P3,473,253.97)

a Toyota Sequoia Jose Maria Esteban III for P6,000,000 (with a floor price of P4,669,554.50)

The BOC collected a total of P9,510,300.

Meanwhile, no bidders were once again declared for Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Bentley Bentayga. The floor price of Rolls Royce-Cullinan was lowered from P45,314,391.11 to P36,281,415.72 and Bentley Bentayga from P17,311,121.93 to P13,878,800.38.

‘Direct offer’ option

With the remaining two vehicles failing to secure bidding in the first two auctions, BOC Spokesperson Atty. Chris Bendijo said that they will wait for the recommendation from the auction committee to conduct a negotiated sale option or ‘direct offer.’

‘Just to enumerate again the remedies available under our existing CAO [Customs Administrative Order], if there are up to two failed biddings in an auction, we can now accept direct offers, this is the negotiated sale option,’ Bendijo told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English during an interview.

‘Of course, we cannot resort to donation to other government agencies for their use because it is inappropriate to donate sports cars to other government agencies for their use,’ he added.

Bendijo explained that under direct offer, it is the general public that will submit their offers unlike in the auction where it is the BOC that determines the floor price of the vehicles. Bendijo added that Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno will consider the direct offers if they are deemed acceptable.

Bendijo also said that the agency will publish the direct offers in hopes that they will receive higher offers. He then reiterated that under the CAO, officials and employees of BOC, importers, forwarders, consignees, and owners of the vehicles being offered are prohibited in submitting direct offers.

Meanwhile, Bendijo clarified that the option of condemnation of the vehicles is not automatic after two failed biddings.

‘It is just an available option but as I have mentioned clearly, the preference of Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno is not to destroy but to convert it into revenue because this is more beneficial given the state of our country where we are in need of funds,’ he noted. /atm

Ian Torres hit a wild shot at the buzzer as College of St. Benilde lived to fight another day after a 77-75 win over San Beda in Game 2 of their NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball semifinals series on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

With steely nerves, Torres buried a contested floater from the free throw line as time ran out.

‘I was exhausted but I told my coaches, ‘I got this,” said a confident Torres.

‘I looked at the clock and saw there was only a second left so I just went for it.’

Before Torres’ heroics, the Red Lions missed a couple of close cracks to take the lead with Nygel Gonzales failing to convert on a drive and Jomel Puno botching a putback attempt that left the door open for the Blazers to win it.

Benilde big man Allen Liwag secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Torres, who went the length of the court for the winner.

Torres finished with 17 points as the Blazers forced a do-or-die Game 3 on Sunday.

Tony Ynot led CSB with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals while Justine Sanchez added a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Liwag, the reigning MVP, chipped in nine points and 15 rebounds.

San Beda nearly pulled the plug on Benilde’s title bid despite playing without its star swingman Agjanti Miller due to a knee contusion.

Gonzales and Bryan Sajonia carried the offensive load for the Lions in the loss with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

The scores:

ST. BENILDE 77 – Ynot 19, Torres 17, Sanchez 14, Liwag 9, Umali 7, Ancheta 6, Celis 5, Gaspay 0, Cajucom 0, Morales 0, Cometa 0, Oli 0, Galas 0

SAN BEDA 75 – Gonzales 17, Sajonia 16, Puno 14, Estacio 7, Celzo 6, Lina 4, Reyes 4, Andrada 3, Calimag 2, Etulle 2, Bonzalida 0

Quarter scores: 23-24, 36-42, 60-58, 77-75

Beijing-As the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) convened in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon, the world’s focus is narrowly set on carbon emissions and net zero pledges. Yet, this tunnel vision blinds us to the elephant in the room: Ecosystem destruction is not a carbon problem alone-it is the systemic sabotage of the planet’s most powerful climate control mechanism.

Since 2023, extreme weather events have shattered most model projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Meteorologists are grappling with this new reality. Standard climate models were designed for a stable world that we have irrevocably left behind. But wait, there was a crucial omission. The dynamic land-atmosphere water cycle-powerfully mediated by living forests-has inexplicably been relegated to a mere footnote in the carbon story.

Indigenous wisdom has long understood what science is only now proving. Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, who wrote ‘The Falling Sky,’ told me: ‘Don’t white people see that if they cut down the forest, the rain will dry up?’

This isn’t metaphor-it’s the physics of the biotic pump. Forests function as the beating heart of the hydrological cycle. Trees transpire vast volumes of water vapor, which rises and rapidly condenses into clouds, aided by hygroscopic cloud seeds also emitted by the plants. This intense condensation causes an abrupt drop in atmospheric pressure, which creates a powerful, natural suction force that pulls humid air from the oceans deep into continental interiors.

The biotic pump theory was pioneered by Russian scientists Anastassia Makarieva and Victor Gorshkov, in close cooperation with Brazilian researchers, including myself. Our studies have revealed this mechanism operates globally. In the Amazon, the pump pulls trade winds from the North Atlantic across the equator, penetrating deep into South America. In Siberia, boreal forests maintain the ‘Eurasian flying rivers’-crucial atmospheric moisture sources for vast portions of China and Central Asia.

When we break the biotic pump, a menacing phenomenon emerges: massive, stagnant bubbles of hot, dry air settle over deforested regions, blocking humidity circulation and triggering desert-like conditions across vast continental areas. This mechanism explains seemingly disconnected catastrophic events: unprecedented heat waves, prolonged droughts, and apocalyptic flooding. The flying rivers of moisture that once circulated healthily over preserved areas are now violently colliding with these atmospheric barriers.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: Even if we zeroed out carbon emissions, the climate emergency would persist without massive ecological restoration. While carbon dioxide is key to long-term warming, ecosystem destruction introduces a dangerous short-term multiplier. By damaging the ocean-atmosphere-land water cycle-effectively the Earth’s air-conditioning system-we drastically amplify the climate’s sensitivity to carbon dioxide. For South-South cooperation and the vision of an ecological civilization to be more than just buzzwords, we must face this reality: Forests aren’t just carbon sinks. They are the planet’s primary climate regulators, its freshwater generators, and the very foundation of continental habitability.

The good news is that nature has the regenerative power to reclaim what was destroyed. Over 400 million years, the biosphere has conquered continents through unconceivably complex and incredibly sophisticated mechanisms. Recognizing this natural prowess must become the gauging sign of our own existential intelligence. Nature had eons to spare; we do not. Yet, we can still choose to learn and give back a helping hand to speed up this regreening.

The stakes are truly global. Just as Amazonian deforestation threatens South America’s water security, the exploitation of Siberian forests endangers the stability of the water cycle for large swaths of Europe and Asia.

Protecting and restoring ecosystems must therefore become an absolute priority alongside reduction in emissions. This mandate requires fundamentally reforming agriculture and cattle ranching, currently the main vectors of destruction. It means recognizing that supply chain restructuring isn’t simply about carbon accounting but about maintaining and restoring the living systems that regulate water, temperature, and climate stability.

Since 2023, the biosphere has shown worrying signs of multiple-organ collapse. But a cure exists. Give forests a chance, and they will heal the climate-and us. This conviction is not naive optimism. It is the practical application of physics, deep ecology, and 4 billion years of evolutionary genius.

The challenge for COP30 is clear, yet momentous: Will we finally acknowledge the elephant in the room? Will we commit-without compromise-to fully restoring our still marvelous green planet? China Daily/Asia News Network