Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Thirteen police officers and their team leader were administratively sued before the National Police Commission (Napolcom) over the alleged rape of an 18-year-old girl and the supposed robbery of her relatives in Cavite.

The 18-year-old, identified only as online seller and dropped-out Grade 9 student ‘Nena;’ her cousin 25-year-old factory worker ‘Stephen,’ and his partner 22-year-old ‘Dona’ filed the case before Napolcom at their Quezon City office on Tuesday.

In a press briefing after the administrative complaint was lodged, Napolcom Executive Officer Atty. Rafael Calinisan identified the team leader as a police lieutenant. The Inquirer opted not to name him due to the nature of the case and until it is able to reach his side for comment.

The Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PNP DEG) previously identified the operatives as a team under their Special Operations Unit Calabarzon (SOU 4A).

According to Calinisan, if the agency finds probable cause in its preliminary probe, Napolcom’s Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Service will file cases for grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer with the Legal Affairs Service.

Operatives going after a ‘target’

At the briefing, Stephen claimed the operatives raided their Bacoor City home while wearing plainclothes and face coverings last Saturday morning.

He noted that he, Nena, Dona and their two grandparents were home at the time of the operation. He also alleged the officers did not introduce themselves as police nor did they present a warrant.

Stephen said the operatives aimed but failed to capture Nena’s boyfriend, whom the PNP DEG previously claimed to be a ‘high-value drug target.’

Speaking to reporters at the press briefing from a nearby holding room to conceal her identity, Nena claimed her boyfriend was not involved with the drug trade.

According to Nena, her boyfriend was caught by authorities in 2019 for playing the betting game cara y cruz, but he was allegedly charged with illegal drug use, for which he underwent a community-based drug rehabilitation program.

She further said her boyfriend was not often at her home.

When Nena’s boyfriend could not be found, according to Stephen, ‘They were forcing us to open my uncle’s room. Even if it was padlocked, they were forcing us to open it. They called for me. When we got down, they hit me on my nape. They threatened to beat me up in the room.’

Dona further claimed the operatives forced them to surrender their cell phones.

‘They went down and I got nervous because they might do something to Stephen’s cousin. Some of the police told us, ‘Go upstairs!,’ maybe so that we wouldn’t see what’s happening down there,’ Dona added.

Alleged rape

Nena said she was in her room just by the house’s gate on the ground floor when the commotion awoke her, then several operatives entered her room.

‘They were scouring through my things. They were looking for anything illegal. They found nothing, so they told me that, because they didn’t get anything illegal, they’ll just get me instead. They told me the team leader would handle me,’ Nena explained.

‘The team leader asked his operatives to leave the room and his comrades were aware that something will happen between us in my room,’ she added.

It was then the team leader allegedly raped her.

When the operatives left, according to Stephen, they allegedly took his and Dona’s cell phones and at least P8,000 in cash from his uncle’s room.

Nena added that the operatives also allegedly took her boyfriend’s shoes, money box, two golden rings, two motorcycle helmets and their motorcycle.

Stephen said they reported the incident to the barangay, which discovered that the operatives were from PNP DEG SOU 4A.

Arrest and administrative relief

Eight of the 14 police officers allegedly involved in the robbery-rape case – including the team leader – were arrested last Sunday at the DEG SOU 4A’s office in Calamba City, according to Bacoor City police chief Lt. Col. Alexie Desamito at the press briefing.

Six more of the police officers were still at large. Desamito said they may have been out of the camp since it was a weekend.

PNP DEG director Brig. Gen. Elmer Ragay previously said four of the six officers still at large expressed their intention to surrender to authorities.

‘I asked them basic questions. ‘Did you conduct a police operation in Bacoor this morning?’ They admitted to it. ‘What happened? What was the result?’ They said they didn’t catch anyone. ‘Did you make a report?’ None. ‘Will you file cases against anyone?’ They said no,’ Desamito said.

Ragay previously said the operating team had a target intelligence packet prior to the operation.

Desamito said a criminal case for violation of Republic Act No. 8353 or the Anti-Rape Law were filed against the police lieutenant while all the 14 officers were sued for a separate case for robbery in band before the local prosecutor’s office on Monday.

Although neither Calinisan, Desamito nor Ragay identified the other officers, a copy of the police report sent to reporters showed they were a police master sergeant, five police corporals, and seven patrolmen.

Ragay previously said he relieved all 14 officers from their posts as well as the PNP DEG SOU 4A chief over command responsibility. /das

Sen. Loren Legarda, vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, secured committee endorsement for the 2026 budgets of the country’s cultural institutions during the plenary deliberations of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Presenting the allocations for agencies at the forefront of heritage, cultural preservation, and the creative economy, Legarda said in Filipino, ‘It is my honor to sponsor the proposed budget for 2026 of agencies tasked to promote culture. This is no luxury but the soul of our nation.’

As the Chair of the Committee on Culture and the Arts and principal author of the National Cultural Heritage Act, Legarda emphasized the statutory role of cultural agencies in safeguarding our nation’s identity and history.

She detailed how their budgets sustain language preservation, education, and arts infrastructure, supporting national development and progress. Legarda urged her colleagues to act decisively, saying that support for these allocations is essential to the integrity of cultural policy and responsible governance.

For fiscal year 2026, she recommended the approval of the proposed budgets for major cultural agencies, including the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Proper, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the National Library of the Philippines, the National Archives of the Philippines, the Commission on the Filipino Language, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Due to Legarda’s effective leadership, the plenary submitted the budget without objection for cultural agencies.

During the deliberations, the budget of the Commission on the Filipino Language was immediately deemed submitted.

‘Mr. President, I’m disappointed that nobody is interested to ask me about languages because there are 135 languages in the Philippines. But if nobody wants to ask me, then I can probably just deliver a privilege speech someday, one day soon. Because it’s very interesting to talk about 135 Philippine languages,’ Legarda remarked.

‘Well, the way I take it, Your Honor, is that you handled it perfectly during the hearing of the committee. That’s why they no longer need to understand anything. Because you were able to explain it well during that time,’ Senate President Vicente Sotto III responded.

Sen. Robinhood Padilla also expressed his full support, stating in Filipino, ‘Our culture and language, those are the roots of our being Filipino. That’s why I, along with Muslims and indigenous people, thank you, Sen. Loren Legarda and the agencies you support.’

Legarda closed her sponsorship with a firm appeal: ‘Investing in our culture is investing in our national identity, creativity, and the future of our countrymen.’

No player hit the jackpot in the draws held on Tuesday, November 25, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

In the major jackpot-bearing games, things went as follows:

Ultra Lotto 6/58 drew the numbers 40-31-06-19-36-42. The jackpot of ?142,401,985 was not won.

Super Lotto 6/49 produced 27-18-13-07-16-49. The jackpot of ?20,142,114.20 went unclaimed.

Lotto 6/42 had the winning combination 22-30-27-03-34-21. Its jackpot of ?12,116,541 also had no winner.

Other game results:

6D Lotto: 0-2-5-7-1-6; jackpot ?3,983,708.20; no winner.

3D Lotto 2PM: 0-5-9; prize ?4,500; 242 winners.

3D Lotto 5PM: 9-0-8; prize ?4,500; 177 winners.

3D Lotto 9PM: 9-0-2; prize ?4,500; 390 winners.

2D Lotto 2PM: 16-28; prize ?4,000; 239 winners.

2D Lotto 5PM: 17-07; prize ?4,000; 161 winners.

2D Lotto 9PM: 10-08; prize ?4,000; 990 winners.

The major jackpot games draw on the following schedule: Ultra Lotto 6/58 on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays; SuperLotto 6/49 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays; and Lotto 6/42 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Draws for the 3D and 2D games are held daily at 2 PM, 5 PM and 9 PM.

Proposals to expand the scope of the country’s anti-violence against women and children (VAWC) laws by defining and including abuses perpetrated electronically have been approved by a House of Representatives panel.

During the House committee on women and gender equality’s hearing on Tuesday, panel chair and Laguna 1st District Rep. Ann Matibag approved a motion to approve in principle and consolidate House Bills (HB) No. 217, 1394, 2013, 2420, 4071, 4779, 5228, and 5642, which define what acts constitute electronic violence against women.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, one of the bill’s authors, made the motion, considering that the proposed measure was already exhaustively discussed and approved during the 19th Congress.

‘Since we have seen an overwhelming support from our resource speaker as well as all our invited guests, and our government agencies present here, I would like to manifest that the e-VAWC bill that has been exhaustively deliberated upon in the previous congresses and was approved by the House of Representatives and transmitted to the Senate in the 19th Congress, in this regard I would like to make a motion to approve the bill in principle,’ Elago said.

‘There was also a motion to approve the bill in principle and for the secretariat to come up with a substitute bill [.] are there any objections? The chair hears none, the motion is approved,’ Matibag replied.

All bills seek to amend Republic Act No. 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 by adding ‘electronic or information and communications technology (ICT) devices’ in the means of committing violations to the said law.

Under HB No. 2013 which was authored by Matibag herself, the following actions are considered as electronic or ICT-related violence:

recording, distribution, use, reproduction, sharing or uploading of any photograph, vide?, or other forms of electronic or artistic presentation showing or depicting in any form or manner the genitalia of a woman or those of her children’s genitalia, pubic area, buttocks, breasts, excretory body part or function, nudity, scenes with sexual context or portrayal of sexual conduct such as sexual intercourse, masturbation, kissing, caressing, hugging, and petting

recording, reproduction, distribution, use, sharing or uploading of any photograph, vide?, or any other form of electronic or artistic presentation exhibiting any sexually-related verbal or nonverbal expression or gesture of the woman and/or her children which may be construed as lewd, indecent, or obscene

recording, reproduction, distribution, use, sharing or uploading of any photograph, vide?, or any other form of electronic or artistic presentation depicting any purported violent or errant behavior of the woman and/or her children, or the use of intoxicating or prohibited substances or drugs reproduction

any similar recording, distribution, use, sharing or uploading of any audio presentation and data, including sound clips of the same nature

use of a photograph, video, voice recording, name or any mark, reference or character identifiable with a woman and/or her children and suggestive of a wrongdoing, conduct or attribute that tends to besmirch the reputation of the woman and/or her children

harassing, intimidating, coercing, threatening or vilifying the woman and/or her children through text messaging or other cyber, electronic, or multimedia technology

stalking, including the hacking of personal accounts on social networking sites and the use of location data from electronic devices

fabrication of fake information or news through text messaging or other cyber, electronic, or multimedia technology

creation of fake social media accounts using an alias or a different individual’s personal information resulting in harm to the woman and/or her children’s reputation

Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao proposed an amendment to Matibag’s bill, to include in R.A. No. 9262’s scope violence perpetrated or condoned by members of the state.

‘Madam Chair we’d like to join the committee chair and to express my intention to be a co-sponsor of House Bill 2013, and just to be short, just to add to the amendment, the amendment of Section 3, letter a [.] I will just introduce one sentence,’ Bag-ao said.

”Violence against women and their children refers to any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child or against her child, et cetera.’ At the end of the sentence, I would like to introduce the sentence ‘It shall also refer to physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the state,’ she added.

The motion was approved by Elago, who was presiding over the hearing during that moment, after Matibag accepted Bag-ao’s amendment.

Last May 2023, during the 19th Congress, House Bill No. 8009 – a consolidation of four bills defining electronic violence against women and children, was approved on second reading.

It was eventually approved on third reading before the 19th Congress adjourned its session.

Similar to the proposed measure discussed earlier, HB No. 8009 sought to amend Section 3 of Republic Act No. 9262 by defining psychological violence as an action that can also be committed through ‘physical, verbal, emotional, electronic or information and communications technology (ICT) devices or other means’. /das

House of Representatives Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos has disputed former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co’s claims that he had insertions in the 2025 national budget, adding that they received intelligence reports that the ex-solon is working with people who are trying to bring down the government.

Marcos, in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday, said that Co – whom he called the ‘newly crowned champion’ of diehard Duterte supporters (DDS) – is fantastical and false, claiming that the former lawmaker is only out to destabilize the government.

According to Marcos, it seems the escape that Co sees is to bring down the government so that he can be absolved of his crimes.

‘Anyone can sit in front of a camera from abroad and spew lies. The statements from the newly crowned champion of the DDS cabal, former Congressman Zaldy Co, are frankly as fantastical as they are false. I hope that the public can be reminded that we are talking of a person with no credibility whose vested interests are to release these videos to destabilize the government,’ Marcos said.

‘Evidently, the only path he sees for himself is one where he stirs political chaos in the hope of escaping his own legal troubles. He wants to bring down the current administration so that he can be absolved of his crimes. In fact, the intel suggests he already struck a deal with those who stand to benefit from such a change,’ he added.

Earlier, Co released the second part of his three-part video, claiming that aside from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Chief Executive’s son – Majority Leader Marcos – also ordered P50 billion-worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget.

Marcos also disputed another allegation from Co – that the latter was removed from his post as House committee on appropriations chairperson last January 2025, during the 19th Congress, because Marcos was mad at him for not delivering enough funds.

The majority leader explained that the decision to remove him as chairperson was done by Congress collegially – and it was because House lawmakers during the 19th Congress ‘caught wind of his insatiable greed and corruption.’

‘Congress is a collegial body and decisions are made through a process of election. Zaldy Co was removed as appropriations chairman because members caught wind of his insatiable greed and corruption. Not because of the whim of any individual,’ Marcos said.

‘The ‘sagasa’ that he orchestrated in certain districts such as Bulacan and other municipalities speak for themselves. To my fellow Filipinos, Zaldy Co is not a journalist or a truth crusader. He is a criminal evading justice. Let us not be fooled by this man. This is not a revelation, this is destabilization,’ he added.

Co has been out of the country even before the flood control mess unfolded, but the former lawmaker broke his silence last November 14, accusing President Marcos, former members of his cabinet, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of being behind insertions in the 2025 national budget.

In the first set of videos released by Co, he claimed that President Marcos, through former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, ordered the insertion of P100 billion for infrastructure projects in the 2025 budget.

Co said Pangandaman instructed him to place P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB). After he supposedly confirmed the directive with Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, Co said he told Romualdez – Marcos’ cousin – about this instruction.

He also backed statements made by a Senate witness that money in luggage was delivered to Marcos and Romualdez.

But Co’s statements have been questioned by several individuals, even by some critics of the current administration. Two college professors – Professor Antonio Contreras and former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno – found a flaw in Co’s claims, noting that the President himself could have done the insertions himself if he wanted to.

There were also concerns as to whether the order indeed came from President Marcos as Co in his statements never said that he got to speak to Marcos directly. On Monday, President Marcos urged Co to come home and testify against him, noting that he has nothing to hide.

I would rather have a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans,’ former President Manuel L. Quezon once (in)famously declared. The conventional interpretation of the quote often reduces it to a high-minded form of patriotic sentimentalism. Less charitable interpretations tend to dismiss it as idealistic folly. But Quezon’s well-intentioned declaration also inadvertently presented a false binary with troubling consequences over the next century.

Quezon intended to emphasize the pricelessness of independence. Over time, however, his eloquently sentimental declaration had the unintended consequence of associating self-rule with malgovernance and corruption. In his new magisterial book, ‘The Profligate Colonial,’ University of California, Berkeley historian Lisandro Claudio deftly explains the crystallization of this self-Orientalizing malice throughout and beyond American colonial rule. From American colonial officers to Western scholars and organizations in more contemporary times, the consistent narrative has been this: The Philippines is ruled by a hapless and helplessly corrupt elite.

What this narrative conveniently elides, however, is the irredeemably corrosive impact of American colonialism, including a puerile tradition of libertarian antistatism as well as ‘pork barrel’ politics that singularly bedeviled US democracy a century ago. Nor did Americans focus on building a strong bureaucracy capable of shepherding sustained economic development. Contrast this to the ruling elites in neighboring Taiwan or South Korea, who faced constant American pressure to curb their greed and engage in land distribution and rapid industrialization lest they fall prey to the communist wave.

There is, however, also a pernicious ideological legacy, which induced not only historical amnesia about American colonial rule in the Philippines but also inadvertently cultivated a shallow political discourse that often dismisses our country as congenially and exceptionally corrupt.

In a recent journal article, titled ‘A Thousand Years of Corruption,’ University of Chicago sociologist Marco Garrido examines a whole series of corruption scandals, dating all the way back to the war-surplus scandal during the Manuel Roxas presidency. What Garrido discovered is that corruption has been an evolving challenge immanent to our political development as a postcolonial nation rather than a monolithic crisis.

Both lay and intellectual discourse, Garrido argues, tend to treat corruption as ‘genetic to Philippine culture or politics’ and as a ‘generic social problem,’ which is divorced from the inherent dynamics of state-building and democratization identified by leading thinkers such as Samuel Huntington. The upshot is a dangerous and ‘intolerant approach,’ which Garrido aptly described as anticorruption ‘fundamentalism.’ Never mind that, practically, all of our most successful neighbors, from South Korea to China and Malaysia, have been constantly grappling with massive corruption scandals throughout their high-growth periods.

In fact, leading economists such as Yuen Yuen Ang of Johns Hopkins University have spoken of ‘corrupt meritocracy’ as an engine of economic development. This obviously doesn’t make corruption ‘okay,’ but shows that there are many forms of corruption (e.g., ‘access,’ ‘petty,’ ‘speed,’ ‘grand theft’)- and, crucially, the Philippines is NOT singularly corrupt but just another struggling and modernizing post-colonial state.

‘Anticorruption fundamentalism,’ which sacrifices analytic nuance in favor of self-Orientalizing moralistic posturing, seems to have colonized even our journalistic and social science discourse. This is most evident in the misplaced response to a recent economic paper by economists Jesus Felipe, Gerardo Largoza, and Mariel Sauler, which was lambasted by commentators as ‘fringe economics’ or, worse, insensitive to the obvious devilry of corruption.

Never mind that the paper’s main point was that bad economic policies, namely underinvestment or lack of industrial strategy, can cause far more poverty and misery than even the worst forms of nepo-kid profligacy and individualized graft. Absolutely, corruption is evil. And corrupt politicians, who stole taxpayer money and oversaw shoddy projects costing countless lives, should be held accountable. Heads have to roll. Justice must be served.

Let’s also keep in mind that our gross domestic product growth decelerated to only 4 percent in the latest quarter, thanks to a massive contraction in infrastructure spending. We surely need to clean up the books and avoid more shoddy flood control projects, but even worse is to forego trillions in foregone economic activity in the name of performative reforms.

Thus, properly balancing good governance reform and productivity-boosting investments is key here. The appropriate metaphor for our government spending conundrum is not the cliché ‘leaky bucket,’ but instead this: avoiding prescribing the wrong medicine that kills the patient.

Officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) who were involved in the alleged money-making scheme in the agency through letters of authority pocketed 70 percent of their collections.

Sen. JV Ejercito disclosed the matter in a press conference on Tuesday, saying that reports he received point to the involvement of some BIR revenue officers and regional directors in the supposed corruption.

LOAs are official documents that grant revenue officers permission to conduct a tax audit of a business or taxpayer.

‘Because the target was supposed to be projected to raise about P6 to P8 billion from these LOAs for revenue generation. But what they raised was only about P2 to 3 billion. Because 70 percent of what is collected is not remitted, instead, it goes into people’s pockets. Only 30 percent is actually remitted,’ said Ejercito in Filipino.

‘From P6 billion, they raised only about P2 billion. It’s kind of sad – everyone is doing their own schemes. I wish at least a larger amount was going to the government. Even if they took a small cut, it’s the other way around – 70 percent is being grabbed, and only 30 percent is going to the government,’ he added.

The senator said he was alarmed about the reports he received after he was notified that even ambassadors of different countries, including the American and European chamber, have fallen victims to harassment by the BIR through LOA extortion.

‘They are weaponizing LOA for corruption,’ Ejercito simply said.

Meanwhile, Ejercito said he’s certain that reports of this alleged corruption have reached former BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr.

Asked if Lumagui can still face sanctions even if he was already replaced, the lawmaker said everyone involved should be held accountable.

‘This is accountability. Even if they already resigned or replaced, I think they still have to be answerable for actions or inaction,’ said Ejercito.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo earlier filed a resolution directing the Senate blue ribbon panel to investigate the alleged misuse and weaponization of letters of authority by personnel of the BIR.

Tulfo, in a press conference on Monday, said numerous complaints have reached his office regarding the alleged corruption in BIR.

Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda was clueless about the alleged P6.5 billion insertion made in the agency’s budget this year.

‘None, not that I know of, because we’re within our NEP [National Expenditure Program],’ Aguda told reporters in an interview at the Senate on Tuesday.

He was asked about Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co’s earlier claim that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), among the agencies that supposedly received a total of P18.768 billion from the P100 billion worth of insertions made in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

According to Co, who previously headed the House appropriations committee, the P100- billion insertion was made at the request of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.

A list of alleged insertions the resigned lawmaker made public last week showed that P5 billion went to the DICT’s Free Public Internet Access Program (FPIAP) while another P1.5 billion was allotted for its eGovernment Systems Development.

Though he said he has yet see and study Co’s claim, Aguda promised to review the budget of the agency this year.

‘But to my knowledge right now, since we’re in the budget process, there doesn’t seem to be anything. It’s the same NEP we had before. If there are any corrections, I’ll let you know,’ he stressed.

The DICT chief noted this is the first time that he would be handling the agency’s budget. He was just appointed by Marcos to head the DICT in March 2025.

‘The previous one wasn’t my NEP anyway,’ Aguda pointed out.

However, when told that the P5 billion insertion in the DICT supposedly went to its FPIAP, particularly to finance the rollout of the Common Tower Project in pilot areas, Aguda surmised Co was probably referring to their ‘Bayanihan SIM’ project.

‘So what would be the problem there, the bidders are major telcos – Globe, Smart, PLDT – and these are listed companies? So if that’s what he’s saying, I’m still not sure,’ he said.

Under the Bayanihan SIM project, the DICT targets to provide 1 million SIM cards to beneficiaries in geographically isolated and displaced areas or Gidas.

Aguda said the public is free to scrutinize DICT’s transactions, noting that all its biddings anyway have been livestreamed on its Facebook since March or even before Marcos ordered all agencies to open transparency portals that would allow the public to monitor their projects.

‘The more people looking into government transactions naman the better.’ he said.

Twenty families in Barangay Bitan-agan in Butuan City have lost their homes after these were washed away by flooding, as Tropical Depression Verbena continues to bring heavy rains across the Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions.

Floodwaters also forced the evacuation of 115 families, or 440 individuals, in at least six barangays in Butuan City, according to a report by the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD).

Those evacuated were from the villages of Bonbon, Amparo, Bit-os, Ambago, Bitan-agan, and Bancasi. The displaced families are currently staying in evacuation centers set up by their respective local government units.

CDRRMD personnel, along with barangay disaster teams, are assisting displaced residents and monitoring weather and flood-prone zones for possible preemptive evacuation.

Following a coordination meeting on Sunday afternoon, the city was placed under blue alert status as of 4 p.m. on Monday.

Officials said work in government offices and classes in all schools may resume if weather conditions stabilize and no new rainfall advisory is issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

So far, the City Social Welfare and Development Department (CSWDD) has provided relief goods to 161 affected families in Butuan City.

In Bayabas, Surigao del Sur, before Verbena made landfall, Mayor Apolonio B. Lozada convened a pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) meeting with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and all barangay chiefs to ensure readiness and coordinated response across communities.

‘We must mobilize all barangays now and ensure families in landslide- and flood-prone zones are evacuated early. Waiting until the storm hits makes our response much harder,’ Lozada said

Dell Palomata is headed to Indonesia after signing a contract with the Medan Falcons for the next ProLiga season.

PLDT supports its longtime player Palomata as she is set to see action in the international club scene for the first time.

‘The whole team and management are very supportive whenever there’s an opportunity like this. We’re so happy for Dell, and this will be a good break for her career,’ PLDT coach Rald Ricafort told the Inquirer in Filipino.

Before her new career milestone opens in Indonesia, Palomata hopes to help PLDT capture its third PVL championship this year and lead Alas Pilipinas in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.

Palomata is currently leading PLDT in the PVL Reinforced Conference semifinals, as they took down Cignal, 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, in the knockout quarterfinals on Monday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-3 middle blocker becomes the first Filipino player to sign with a ProLiga team as an import.

The league will run from January to May 2026 – the same duration as next year’s All-Filipino Conference.

Palomata has showcased her talent internationally after winning the AVC Nations Cup Best Middle Blocker in Alas Pilipinas’ runner-up finish.

The veteran middle blocker also helped Alas win a pair of bronze medals in the SEA V.League