Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

If not from Malacañang, where should the public turn for information about what is happening in the country?

This was the question raised by Palace Press Officer Claire Castro to Vice President Sara Duterte, who described everything Castro says as ‘nakakabobo’ and shameful for the Office of the President.

‘The Vice President does not want the public to listen to the Palace’s messages because they become aware of the truth and learn about the President’s programs for the country. So where should the people listen? To the misinformation being spread by her and her allies?’ Castro said in Filipino in a Viber message to reporters.

The Palace official also pointed to a report by the Commission on Audit (COA), which flagged the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for the alleged misuse of funds.

‘In her latest statement claiming that the OVP’s funds and projects were well-planned, the COA contradicted her after noting the OVP’s failure to comply with the law, rules, and guidelines,’ Castro said, speaking Filipino.

‘The COA found deficiencies in the OVP’s financial statements. documents and situation reports were missing, beneficiaries could not be identified, and it was unclear where and to whom their funds actually went,’ she added.

These remarks came after Duterte, in a livestreamed interview in The Hague on Tuesday, slammed Castro’s statements that the fight against greedy government officials should start at the OVP.

”This is what I’ve been saying all along: we shouldn’t carry what she says because, first of all, she doesn’t say anything sensible; what she says only makes people look foolish,’ Duterte said when asked for a reaction to Castro’s objections to her statements.

‘And secondly, it brings shame, especially when she speaks with the Office of the President seal visible, because the whole world sees it. It brings embarrassment as Filipinos. That’s why it’s better to ignore it so the news doesn’t spread,’ she also said in Filipino.

This was not the first time Castro and Duterte engaged in a public spat. Last May, Duterte told the public to stop listening to Castro, describing her words as ‘trash.’

Agusan del Sur 2nd District Rep. Adolph Edward Plaza on Wednesday warned that the country is facing a worsening ‘soil health crisis’ that threatens food production and farmers’ livelihoods.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day Stakeholders Forum on Soil Testing Protocols and Information Systems at the Datu Lipus Makapandong Covered Court here, Plaza urged agricultural agencies to ground their policies in science, saying outdated tools and one-size-fits-all programs have eroded soil quality and undermined farm productivity.

He said meaningful agricultural reform must begin with ‘listening to science,’ not political convenience or tradition.

‘This is not about politics or bureaucratic optics,’ he said. ‘We must accept that only science can make our policies coherent, responsive, and strategic to national development.’

Plaza, who served 15 years as governor before entering Congress, recalled how early briefings from soil experts in 2022 exposed him to the gravity of the damage caused by decades of ‘wanton reliance on synthetic fertilizers’ and fragmented government interventions.

He said the brunt of the crisis falls on farmers who endure low harvests, shrinking incomes, rising costs, and fewer opportunities for their children. ‘With low harvest comes desperation. With low yield, the children of our farmers lose their fair share of life’s battle,’ Plaza explained.

Plaza stressed that soil conditions vary widely across the country, making local diagnostics essential. ‘The soils of Agusan are not the soils of Bataan, Ilocos Norte, or Australia,’ he said. ‘Policies must reflect the reality of each locality.’

He invited scientists to treat Agusan del Sur as a ‘living laboratory’ for soil research that directly improves farmer productivity and well-being. ‘More than scientific evolution, this must lead to agricultural transformation,’ he said

Pagtawas, or pagtatawas, is a divinatory practice used by folk healers across the country. Traditionally, healers use tawas (also known as ‘alum’), a white rock that has antimicrobial properties. They would melt the rock into a basin and interpret whatever image comes out. These days, candles are also used as an alternative.

There are many ways to do tawas, but the most popular one is to drip melted candle wax into a bowl of water while whispering prayer spells (known as bulong or orasyon). You also see this in the graphic novel (now TV series) ‘Trese,’ where the titular character uses it to commune with the dead.

I have been quietly obsessed with this practice for months now, not for its occult uses, but for its possible use in psychological therapy. I even did a workshop on it a few months ago for artists and mental health practitioners, in collaboration with The Arts and Health Institute and Magis Creative Spaces.

I am excited to have seen some renewed interest in this topic because a group from the Angeles University Foundation just presented their own research on this practice during the recent Sikolohiyang Pilipino conference. I hope we get more research on this practice-not just on

why

people do it but also how to do it properly, and how it can actually help us today.

When I read the melted wax of the pagtawas, I read it from the lens of my own understanding-shaped by my training in psychotherapy, my research and immersion in folklore, and my experience providing therapy. I do not claim to be an albularyo or babaylan. I do not claim to call on spirits. But like the folk healer, I also work with unseen forces. These forces are mental. They are internal tensions, social pressures, family expectations, moral dilemmas, and so on.

Pagtawas, I think, is an incredibly useful way to interact with these difficult things in an indirect way. Someone who approaches me might not be ready to admit that they have betrayed someone they love-and so, when I drip the wax in the water and show them that it

looks like

someone is angry, maybe that will give them permission to admit that they might be at fault. And then we can move on to saying, ‘So, what do you think we can do to reach forgiveness?’

Folklore has a psychological intuition that we cannot just set aside. It is shaped by human experience with their social and physical environments. We pass it on through stories, customs, and helpful metaphors. When we set aside something as common as the pagtawas practice, just because we are afraid that it might be ‘demonic’ or ‘unscientific,’ we are also revealing how little we actually know about it. And, unfortunately, we are also revealing how unwilling we are to study our own culture.

There are so many therapeutic practices that we participate in today that are actually rooted in spiritual traditions: yoga, meditation, dream interpretation, guided imagery, and so on. We have learned that all of these have value for our physical and mental health. precisely because we actually studied them.

Bishop Emeritus of Novaliches Antonio Tobias urged erring members of the House of Representatives to return ill-gotten wealth and face accountability for corruption and other anomalies.

Tobias made the call in a message he delivered during a Thanksgiving mass on Wednesday at the House North Wing building.

‘As congressmen and women, my dear Honorable Congressmen, your duty is also to solve the current problems of our country. Especially those alas you have helped to flourish by massive corruption and involvement in serious crimes of human trafficking and offshore gaming operations, kaya some of us, some of you have to get out and escape,’ he said.

‘Return all you have stolen in restitution. Share with God the blessings you receive in abundance; there is no corruption there yet. Share also what you leave behind, not only to your family but also to your country, proportionately, according to the dictates of your own conscience,’ he added.

He likewise advised lawmakers involved not to leave the country.

Earlier, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla revealed that the ongoing flood control probe could affect over 10 percent of the House of Representatives’ lawmakers.

‘Many will be affected. More than 10 percent of its members would be affected at the very least. Membership of the House,’ the Ombudsman said.

‘But this is only low-hanging fruit. If this is eight, there will be around 12 to 15 more that have a conflict of interest. This will be painful, as I’ve said before; this entails a lot of sacrifice,’ he said.His statement came after the anti-graft body received fresh recommendations from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to charge former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and seven other active lawmakers of graft and other charges.

The surge of Chinese nationals linked to agricultural smuggling in the country alarmed two senators on Wednesday.

The extent of their involvement in the smuggling of agricultural products was highlighted by Sen. Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan at the resumption of the hearing of the Senate committee on agriculture, food and agrarian reform.

According to the panel chairman, the past hearings of the committee have already exposed how agricultural smuggling was cornered by Chinese nationals, in connivance with local businessmen and erring government officials.

‘Mayroong circumstantial evidence na sinasamantala nga ng mga sindikatong base sa China ang corruption sa mga ahensya ng pamahalaan,’ Pangilinan said.

(There is circumstantial evidence that syndicates based in China are indeed exploiting corruption in government agencies.)

From the gaming industry, Sen. Erwin Tulfo also observed the sudden shift of a number of Chinese nationals to the power industry and now to the importation industry.

‘I know they are investing in our company pero di ba medyo nakakapagtaka suddenly may upsurge tapos yung iba involved pa sa illegal activity? Mabuti sana kung legitimate yung activity,’ Tulfo later said in the hearing.

(I know they are investing in our company, but isn’t it a bit suspicious that there’s suddenly an upsurge, and some of them are even involved in illegal activities? It would be good if their activities were legitimate.)

The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica) confirmed receiving the same reports when asked by the senator if they are aware that many Chinese nationals have already taken control of the local power and importation businesses.

In fact, the agency has been tasked to conduct investment screenings before permits are issued to importers, according to Nica Assistant Director General for Counterintelligence Dennis Godfrey Gammad.

‘We signed a memorandum of agreement together with other departments that Nica will conduct investment screenings.’ Gammad said. ‘Before they issue permit, Nica is the one vetting the company.’

But Tulfo wants the intelligence community to be more aggressive in looking into the presence of Chinese entities in the country.

‘Kasi baka isang araw, pag gising natin e lahat na ho ng negosyo natin e controlled na ho ng kapitbahay ho natin. Wala na hong matitira naman,’ he said.

(We might wake up one day with all of our businesses controlled by our neighbors. There won’t be anything left for us.)

‘Baka mamaya isang araw pati mga farmers natin e puro mga Chinese nationals na ho, wala na ho yung mga Filipino. Sila na magte-take over. This is not really good,’ the senator added.

(Maybe one day, even our farmers will all be Chinese nationals, and there won’t be any Filipinos left. They will take over. This isn’t really good.)

Factory gate prices stalled in October, edging up by less than half a percent year-on-year as some manufacturing sectors, particularly electronics, dampened overall growth, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

PSA’s latest monthly survey of manufacturers showed the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose just 0.3 percent from a year earlier, while month-on-month it grew 0.4 percent.

Although October’s PPI posted slight growth, it slowed from September’s 0.8 percent year-on-year increase.

PPI measures the average change in factory gate prices over time.

The benign factory gate prices were mostly due to the computer, electronic and optical products sector, which saw its PPI drop 1.0 percent in October, a sharp reversal from a 0.6-percent annual rise in September.

Food products

The industry accounted for more than half of the slow growth, or 56 percent, in overall manufacturing prices.

Growth in other manufacturing sectors also slowed in October.

Food products rose just 0.4 percent year-on-year, down from 0.7 percent in September, mainly due to the deceleration in the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils.

Basic metals also increased 1.4 percent, but were weaker than the preceding month’s 2.2 percent gain.

Inflation

Month on month, the PPI rose faster than the 0.1-percent increase recorded in September. The acceleration was driven mainly by the rebound in coke and refined petroleum, which swung to a 1.0 percent gain from a 1.9 percent drop in the preceding month.

Transport equipment and computer, electronic, and optical products also posted faster increases – up 0.8 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively – together accounting for more than 90 percent of the sector’s overall monthly acceleration.

The muted movement in factory gate prices comes as October headline inflation also held steady at 1.7 percent.

PSA is set to release the November inflation report on Dec. 5. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the figure to land between 1.1 percent and 1.9 percent – still below the official 2- to 4-percent target range for the ninth straight month, but slightly faster than October’s benign print. Economists polled by the Inquirer last week, meanwhile, forecast November inflation at 1.6 percent.

Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste said on Wednesday that it is ‘tragic’ that the House has suspended Cavite 4th District Rep. Kiko Barzaga, while it has yet to probe Construction Workers Solidarity (CWS) Party-list Rep. Edwin Gardiola.

‘I find it tragic that we prioritized the case of Congressman Barzaga before Congress even acted on the allegations-before even conducting an investigation into the allegations involving Congressman Gardiola’s DPWH projects,’ Leviste said, speaking Filipino, during a press briefing.

‘It is not specifically stated in the rules that a social media post is more egregious than alleged corruption in the DPWH. It is within the discretion of Congress to prioritize one matter over the other,’ he added.

Barzaga was suspended for 60 days after an ethics complaint was filed against him for his ‘reckless, offensive, and irresponsible use of his social media platform’ that is ‘unbefitting of a House member,’ according to the recommendation of the House committee on ethics.

On the other hand, Leviste previously tagged Gardiola in the alleged flood control anomalies, saying Gardiola is the second biggest proponent of DPWH infrastructure projects.

He also claimed on a later occasion that companies linked to Gardiola ‘bought an estimated P22 billion of projects in the 2025 DPWH National Expenditure Program.’

Following this, Leviste also expressed disappointment over Gardiola’s supposed behavior during the House session on Monday when Barzaga was suspended.

‘I was hoping to hear him respond to the allegations, and instead, what I saw is that he attended the session and walked around the session hall talking to other members of Congress as if nothing happened, as if it was normal for someone to be accused of billions of pesos in corruption and not give any explanation or response to the allegations,’ Leviste shared.

‘I’m disappointed that others in Congress acted on the floor as if it was totally normal, too. It showed that Congressman Gardiola is unperturbed by the allegations that he has not yet responded to and that others in Congress do not see anything wrong with it,’ Leviste further said.

It was during the same session that Leviste took an unsolicited selfie with Gardiola, which the latter tagged as an ‘attempt to rage-bait, ridicule, and malign.’

Leviste defended his actions, saying he had not seen Gardiola in any of the plenary sessions over the last three months and that he instinctively wanted to commemorate the latter’s appearance.

‘Congressmen were asked to attend the session to vote on the suspension of Congressman Barzaga. and for whatever reason, it was the first time that I saw Congressman Gardiola in the plenary session in three months. When I entered the hallway, he was right there. my instinct was to capture the moment,’ Leviste explained.

Additionally, Leviste said that when the flood control mess had just begun, Gardiola asked to talk, but during the House session on Monday, the CWS representative waved him off.

‘I tried to talk to him because I talked to him on the phone of another member of Congress as we were starting these statements. And he said, ‘usap tayo kasama ni speaker’ [Let’s talk together with the Speaker], but he never got back to me because then I made public comments,’ Leviste said.

The Batangas congressman also said that he was not trying to follow Gardiola to his seat to disturb him, but that it just so happened they are seatmates in the session hall.

Some personnel from the Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa for possible violations of anti-graft and procurement laws over his alleged close ties with a health contractor.

In an 11-page complaint filed on Wednesday, the personnel, referring to themselves as concerned DOH employees as complainants, accused Herbosa of ‘fraternizing’ with Zuellig Pharma Corporation.

The complaint alleged that Herbosa, as the concurrent DOH Head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE), ‘continuously fraternized’ with the pharmaceutical company despite active participation in the agency’s bidding and procurement activities.

According to the complaint, Herbosa had been attending company-sponsored trips, social gatherings and out-of-town activities.

The relevant DOH personnel acknowledged that while Herbosa’s participation may be seen as an act of hospitality toward the contractor, these events occurred at a time when the company ‘had an active ongoing procurement interest with his office.’

Some of these procurements include the acquisition of inactivated polio vaccine amounting to P674 million and the procurement of Retuximab worth P122.9 million, both of which are under ‘ongoing protests’ based on the Commission on Audit’s observation memorandum in 2025.

Zuellig’s subsidiaries, Metro Drug Inc. and Intepharma Holdings and Management Corp., also lodged a protest, but in relation to the procurement of chick embryo cell rabies vaccine amounting to P24.9 million.

‘Sec. Herbosa’s fraternizing with the Zuellig group creates a dangerous environment where decisions can be influenced behind the scenes, and where a single contractor is granted privileged access that no other bidder enjoys,’ the concerned DOH employees said in its complaint.

They also included in their complaint several screenshots showing Herbosa’s supposed close relationship with the company, including a Facebook post by Zuellig Family Foundation showing the health secretary’s participation in one of its consultative forums in 2023, congratulating his confirmation as DOH secretary also in 2023, his attendance to the company’s forum in Thailand last February, and the company executives’ visit to his office.

For the employees, Herbosa’s supposed close relationship with the company constitutes violations of the anti-graft law, the government procurement law, and the code of conduct for officials and employees.

They asked the ombudsman to investigate the cabinet official for possible violations.

Aside from the investigation, the complainants also asked the ombudsman to place Herbosa under preventive suspension and impose possible administrative penalties.

For graft, the complaint said Herbosa, being a public officer himself, ‘repeatedly joined’ trips and other social activities of the company.

‘This direct connection between the contractor’s pending transaction and the HOPE’s repeated receipt of benefits satisfies the elements of Section 3(b) [of the anti-graft law],’ the complaint said, referring to the anti-graft law’s provision which prohibits public officials from receiving any gifts or benefits ‘in connection with or transaction between the government and any other part.’

The complaint further stated that Herbosa allegedly received these benefits while Zuellig, being the contractor, was waiting for his decision ‘on matters directly involving a government contract.’

There was also ‘clear conflict of interest’ under Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, since Herbosa ‘developed a personal and social relationship with the contractor through repeated participation in their sponsored events and activities.’

‘Secretary Herbosa continued to act on procurement matters involving the same contractor, without disclosure, recusal, or any attempt to avoid the conflict,’ the complaint said.

As for the alleged violation of the procurement law, the complaint said the revised implementing rules and regulations of the law penalize procurement officials who allow themselves to be ‘unduly influenced by a bidder.’

For them, Herbosa’s ‘repeated participation in contractor-sponsored activities, while procurement matters were pending, shows a clear willingness to be influenced,’ adding that the ‘no contact rule’ under the law is applicable to all procurement officials.

‘The combination of contractor-sponsored benefits, repeated social closeness during pending procurement matters, and continued involvement in deciding the contractor’s protest presents a deeply alarming risk to public accountability,’ the complaint said.

The Inquirer has reached out to Herbosa for his side but he has not responded to the queries as of press time.

Police investigators are currently zeroing in on the circumstances of a red car that appeared outside the residence of Oscar Bucol Jr., village chief of Barangay Tres de Mayo here, just before he was gunned down on the evening of Nov. 25.

Lt. Col. Venus Ortoyu, spokesperson of the police’s Special Investigation Task Group (SITG)-Bucol, said details about the red car could provide significant lead to other vital details of Bucol’s killing.

Bucol was on Facebook Live and his camera captured the red car’s arrival outside his house. A few moments later, a shot rang out and Bucol cried for help as he was hit.

The village chief, who had a 300,000 following on Facebook mainly due to his public commentaries, died as he was taken to a hospital.

Investigators have summoned the footage of CCTV cameras of residents and of the local government’s public safety office in the area to establish the movements of the vehicle in question, before, during and after the shooting.

Probers also wanted to establish whether the vehicle was used to ferry the gunman to the area and as a getaway car.

The day after the killing, Col. Leo Ajero, Davao del Sur police director, said that an initial assessment of the case generated several persons of interest, all mentioned by the victim in his earlier social media posts and pronouncements.

Ortoyu has not yet responded to questions whether the SITG-Bucol are following the same initial findings in its probe of the killing.

Lawyer Israelito Torreon, counsel for the Bucol family, said that apart from the SITG-Bucol, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is being requested to do a parallel probe into the case.

Torreon told reporters that this was upon the request of the family to ensure that there will be no stones unturned and that a foolproof case against the perpetrators could be established.

Meanwhile, Ortoyu revealed that Lt. Col. Peter Glenn Ipong, who was relieved as Digos police chief after the incident, and 20 other police officers had shown no trace of gunpowder burns after undergoing a paraffin test as part of the ongoing investigation

The House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously passed on third and final reading a measure allowing unused internet data to roll over until the end of the year or be converted into rebates so that consumers need not lose unused data at the end of a given period.

During plenary session, 222 House members voted to pass House Bill No. 87, or the Rollover Internet Bill, which mandates that all unused data allocation of subscribers who avail of internet data package promo offers be accumulated until the end of the year, on the condition that the subscriber renews the subscription right after the lapse of the offer duration.

The authors of the bill – Cavite Reps Ramon Jolo Revilla III and Lani Mercado-Revilla, and Agimat Partylist Rep. Bryan Revilla – said the bill is aimed at correcting what they considered as the ‘fundamentally unfair’ situation where internet service subscribers lose unused data at the end of a given period.

‘For postpaid users, this often means forfeiting paid but unused megabytes or gigabytes. For prepaid subscribers, it means re-purchasing similar data promos just to maintain connection – often without maximizing their previous allocations,’ they said in their explanatory note.

They added that the measure ‘strengthens digital inclusion, especially for students, remote workers, small business owners, and families who are now more reliant than ever on online platforms.’

Should it eventually be signed into law, the bill also provides that unused data allocation for a year could be converted to rebates, which may be used as payment for internet service in the succeeding year.

Users who still have unused data allocation but do not renew their subscriptions within five days from the lapse of the promo period shall result in a 20 percent reduction of the allocation until the subscription is renewed.

After five days and the user still fails to renew their subscription, the unused data allocation shall be considered consumed.