Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The holiday season arrived early as Festival Mall, Alabang, lit its towering 30-foot Christmas tree-a nostalgic display of capiz lanterns, nutcrackers, stockings, and warm golden lights that cast a soft glow across the bustling halls. This dazzling celebration is just the beginning. Soon, across all Filinvest Malls, visitors will be swept up in the same radiant holiday spirit, coming together to revel in the most wonderful time of the year while sharing in a milestone that inspires pride across the Filinvest family.

This year’s festivities feel bigger and brighter than ever as Filinvest celebrates its 70th anniversary-a group milestone shared with the communities, and a reminder of seven decades of dreams, memories, and meaningful connections.

Where everyday memories take center stage

As families return to their favorite Filinvest destinations this December-whether for a concert, a new restaurant, a last-minute gift, or simply to enjoy the glow of holiday lights-they’ll find the same warmth that has defined these well-loved destinations for years. In every shared meal, every small discovery, every familiar tune from a weekend choir, there is a reminder that Christmas is made of moments we hold dearest.

Ever guided by its enduring mission of moving dreams forward, Filinvest celebrates 70 years, creating spaces where these moments-and the Filipinos that enjoy them-can flourish. ‘At Filinvest Malls, kindness turns moments into memories. This Christmas, we celebrate connection, compassion, and the joy of being part of one community-a spirit that has guided the Filinvest Group for 70 years of enabling Filipino dreams,’ says Mitch Dumlao, first vice president and retail business unit head of Filinvest Malls. Through this enduring commitment, Filipino families can thrive, celebrate, and keep making new memories together.

A grand celebration for a grand milestone

Marked by its 70th year, this year’s holiday celebrations shine with an even deeper spirit of compassion and connection. At Festival Mall’s tree-lighting, children with special learning and developmental needs were welcomed as the season’s first guests of honor, immersing themselves in moments of pure holiday wonder. This heartfelt gathering, made possible with the Muntinlupa Social Services Department, served as a luminous reminder of what the season-and Filinvest Malls-is truly about: spreading joy where it matters most.

The celebration continues with the Lanterns of Dreams display at Festival Mall, where handmade lanterns crafted by Filinvest companies illuminate the halls in a radiant tribute to unity and shared purpose. These lanterns aren’t just lights-they represent the community’s collective aspirations, echoing the Filinvest group’s anniversary theme, ‘Moving Dreams Forward.’ Each glowing lantern reflects the idea that the brightest moments happen when communities come together.

As Filinvest celebrates seven decades, these moments bring that vision to life. The legacy of its founders continues to inspire the creation of spaces where families can thrive, connect, and make new memories, carrying the spirit of fun and community into the coming year. Through Filinvest’s decades-long dedication to uplifting Filipino families, that enduring spirit is alive in every lantern, every event, and every moment unfolding across the malls this season-a celebration of growth, generosity, and the magic of the holidays.

Spreading the christmas atmosphere across Filinvest Malls

While Festival Mall in Alabang kicked off the season with its official Christmas launch on Nov. 7, 2025, the holiday cheer has quickly spread across all destinations. It continues throughout November and December with the Holiday Hymns Concert Series on weekends, and Santa Meet and Greet sessions on Dec. 13, 14, 20, and 21, keeping the spirit alive for families across the community.

Each location brings its own unique holiday magic. Main Square Bacoor brings neighbors together with its Christmas Memory Raffle and the eagerly anticipated children’s carol competition, while Westgate Alabang offers intimate Yuletide moments through chorale performances on Nov. 29 and Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20, complemented by Merry Moments with Santa on Dec. 7 and 14.

In Filinvest Malls Dumaguete, open spaces brim with Christmas bazaars from Nov. 24 to 30 and Dec. 15 to 21, alongside carol performances on Dec. 12, perfect for exploring local treats and gifts. Filinvest Malls Mimosa in Clark welcomes car lovers and weekend explorers with its Volks and Folks Car Meet and Flea Market on Nov. 29 to 30, while Fora Mall and IL Corso round out the season with food and gift fairs celebrating regional delicacies.

Signature Filinvest experiences: Play, sport, and adventure

The joy of shared play remains a hallmark of Filinvest Malls. Families can spend an entire day at Festival Mall in Alabang, enjoying its beloved amusement centers-Pixie Forest and X-Site. These spaces are designed for every age, from whimsical rides for children to interactive challenges for teens and adults. Birthday celebrants are treated to a complimentary Ride-All-You-Can pass, giving them and their friends extra reasons to celebrate, while all guests can take breaks at the dedicated Food Hub, which offers crowd-favorite snacks and quick bites for a convenient pause between rides and play.

This season, Roller Fever adds a new layer of excitement, now launching at both X-Site in Alabang and Fora Mall Tagaytay. Its neon-lit indoor skate rink, pulsing with K-pop energy, offers families a high-energy way to glide, spin, and share fun moments together. At Fora Mall, the Champion Sports Park provides space for fitness groups and weekend athletes to gather, compete, and enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle. Sports enthusiasts can also discover the pickleball court at Main Square Bacoor, a hidden gem perfect for trying a fun and fast-growing sport.

For curious explorers, the I Belong Museum in Festival Mall sparks wonder with its retro-futuristic theme ‘Yesterday’s Tomorrow, Today,’ blending education and play in a whimsical environment. Over in Cebu, IL Corso transforms the coastline into an adventure hub with Ultimate Watersports, including parasailing, jet skiing, banana boats, and wakeboarding-perfect for thrill-seekers and families looking for a holiday adrenaline rush.

Shop, discover, enjoy newly opened stores

Anchored by its founding mission, Filinvest Malls continues to create memorable experiences for its customers across all destinations. Shoppers can discover exciting new destinations at Festival Mall in Alabang, including Muji’s first branch in the South, the upgraded Asics flagship store for runners and fitness enthusiasts, and Nike, expanding the mall’s roster of global lifestyle brands.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s Cebu celebrates its 44th anniversary with the opening of its first green architecture branch, offering a unique dining experience amid the excitement at IL Corso.

About Filinvest Malls

Filinvest Malls is a group of malls that offers a wide range of shopping, dining, and leisure options for varied lifestyles-from regional shopping centers to community malls. These include Festival Mall in Alabang, Main Square in Bacoor, Fora Mall in Tagaytay, IL Corso in Cebu, and Filinvest Malls in Dumaguete. Today, Filinvest Malls bring together a redefined lifestyle of safety, comfort, and ease to the communities where they are located.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday ordered the Philippine National Police to enforce the arrest warrants against former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co and 15 other people accused of graft and malversation tied to a substandard P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.

The warrants were issued on Friday by three divisions of the Sandiganbayan where the Office of the Ombudsman filed two counts of graft and one count of malversation through falsification last Tuesday against Co, 10 DPWH officials and five company officers of Sunwest Inc., the project contractor.

Step toward justice

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), the fact-finding body created by President Marcos to investigate irregularities in the flood control projects of the government, said the order to arrest Co and the others was a step toward attaining justice for the people.

ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka said on Saturday that the Sandiganbayan’s warrants were ‘very important in the trial of the accused in the flood control scandal.’

‘This signals the start of the court process to achieve justice for the people,’ he said in a statement. ‘This would also serve as the legal basis for the return to the country of those involved.’

The ICI had recommended the prosecution of Co and the others.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Friday said in an interview with dzMM Teleradyo that he was giving the accused until Monday, Nov. 24, to surrender.

‘Otherwise, we will hunt them down,’ he said, adding that ‘we will do everything we can to make them face the law.’

No order yet on passport

Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said on Tuesday that they requested the antigraft court to cancel the former congressman’s passport and asked the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to put a red notice out for Co.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday night said it had not yet received a court order canceling Co’s passport, which is required under the New Philippine Passport Act.

A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to find and provisionally arrest a person ‘pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.’

Remulla said that two months ago, the Interpol issued a blue notice for Co. This allows the 196 member states of the Interpol to share information about his whereabouts.

Co resigned from Congress and is currently abroad. His lawyer said he won’t return to the country because of threats to his life.

In his dzMM interview, Remulla said Co was in Japan last Monday, then flew to China and may have traveled on to Europe later in the week.

In a statement on Saturday, the DILG said ict directed the PNP to serve the warrants ‘properly and in full accordance with the law,’ adding that enforcement would proceed regardless of political ties.

Taguig home locked

‘Enforcement will not depend on personalities or politics. Anyone who is the subject of a lawful warrant will be apprehended,’ it said.

‘The law applies equally to all and the DILG will carry out what needs to be done,’ it added.

It emphasized that due process would be observed and all individuals covered by the warrants would be treated fairly.

The Taguig City police may have been the first PNP unit to attempt to arrest the billionaire ex-congressman.

A team from its warrant and subpoena section, along with officers from the Southern Police District (SPD), on Saturday morning went to his condominium on the 56th floor of the luxury Horizon Homes by Shangri-La at The Fort in Taguig but found it locked.

The officers were informed by the property’s duty manager Richard Paul Estampa and security manager Miguel Del Prado that Co was not at the unit, which had been sealed for nearly a month, indicating nonoccupancy, the SPD public information office (PIO) told the Inquirer.

No bail recommended

It said that surveillance and monitoring efforts will continue ‘to locate and apprehend the accused for prompt service of the warrant.’

Co and 15 others are charged in Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division with graft for causing undue injury to the government. Co is the only accused in the Seventh Division in the second graft case for allegedly receiving unwarranted financial benefits.

All 16 are accused of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents in the Sixth Division. They allegedly were involved in making bogus accomplishment reports and false certifications in order to collect project payments.

The Ombudsman did not recommend bail for this charge as the funds involved exceeded the P8.8 million threshold.

Co’s coaccused are:

1. Gerald Pacanan (Regional director, DPWH-Region IV-B)

2. Gene Ryan Alurin Altea (assistant regional director, DPWH Region IV-B, now DPWH Bureau of Maintenance director)

3. Ruben Delos Santos Santos Jr. (assistant regional director, DPWH Region IV-B)

4. Dominic Gregorio Serrano (chief, Construction Division, DPWH Region IV-B)

5. Juliet Cabungan Calvo chief, Maintenance Division, DPWH Region IV-B)

6. Dennis Pelo Abagon (OIC-chief, Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division; regular member, BAC, now OIC-chief, Planning and Design Division, DPWH Region IV-B)

7. Montrexis Tordecilla Tamayo (OIC-chief, Planning and Design Division, DPWH Region IV-B)

8. Lerma Dotado Cayco (accountant IV, BAC, DPWH Region IV-B)

9. Felisardo Sevare Casuno (project engineer III, DPWH Region IV-B)

10. Timojen Adiong Sacar (material engineer, DPWH Region IV-B)

11. Aderma Angelie Alcazar (president and chair of the Board of Directors, Sunwest Inc.)

12. Cesar Buenaventura (treasurer and Sunwest board member)

13. Consuelo Dayto Aldon (Sunwest board member)

14. Engineer Noel Yap Cao (Sunwest board member)

15. Anthony Ngo (Sunwest board member)

Clavano said at a press conference on Tuesday that the road dike project along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, which amounted to a total of P289,498,230.06, was found to have serious structural deficiencies.

He said Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon and Oriental Mindoro Gov. Bonz Dolor inspected the project on Sept. 9 and found that the steel sheet piles used for the road dike were far below the required standards-only 3 meters in length instead of 12 meters specified in the engineering design.

Below specification

It is ‘highly possible that all other sheet piles used in the project were also below specification,’ Clavano said.

The cases against Co were the first filed against those allegedly involved in the corruption scandal linked to irregularities in the government’s flood control projects where lawmakers and other officials received what now amounts to billions of pesos in kickbacks.

Just days before the graft and malversation charges were filed in the Sandiganbayan, Co broke his silence about his alleged involvement in the flood control anomalies with a bombshell three-part video statement accusing the President and former Speaker Martin Romualdez of receiving up to P56 billion in kickbacks from a P100-billion budget insertions allegedly ordered by the President and confirmed by the Speaker, his cousin.

Mr. Marcos did not directly respond to Co’s allegations, saying he did not even want to dignify his claim. Romualdez insists that he wasn’t involved in any wrongdoing and that his conscience was clear.

The DPWH and the ICI on Friday recommended the prosecution of Romualdez and Co on charges of plunder, graft and bribery in connection with flood control projects undertaken by Sunwest and Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corp., both linked to Co.

It was the first time that Romualdez was held criminally liable in the flood control corruption scandal. The charges against him are pending a review of the evidence by the Ombudsman.

Legal remedies

Co’s lawyer, Ruy Rondain, said on Saturday that his client would later seek legal remedies to the charges and the arrest warrants.

‘For now, we trust that regular procedures were followed on the arrest warrants. We will therefore take our remedies in due course,’ he told the Inquirer.

Rondain said he reserved the right to comment on the plunder and the other criminal charges against Co ‘until after I’ve verified the facts.’

The scandal broke out in August following disclosures by the President himself that only 15 companies out of 2,000 nationwide accounted for nearly 20 percent of the over P500 billion worth of flood control contracts across the country from 2022 to 2025.

These companies included Sunwest, cofounded by Co, and Hi-Tone, founded by his brother, Christopher Co.

His brother preceded him as representative of Ako Bicol party list, serving in the House from 2010 to 2019. Co took his place from 2019 until he resigned from Congress on Sept. 29 while he was abroad.

Co, who had served as chair of the House appropriations committee, had said that he and his family were involved with Sunwest since 2019. -WITH A REPORT FROM PNA

Cordillera teachers on Saturday demanded that future budgets allocated for education should resolve all the gaps in classrooms and faculty wages that still plague mountainside schools, as they prepare their own national protest against corruption on November 28 ahead of the next round of the Trillion Peso March on Bonifacio Day (November 30).

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) in the Cordillera outlined next week’s plans of action after launching the local movement Guro Laban sa Korapsyon (Teachers against Corruption) to express outrage over the multimillion-peso public works kickbacks paid to government officials and several lawmakers and to demand an increase in the national education budget which should be equivalent to 6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

This year’s budget of P737 billion represents only 4 percent of GDP, and has not been enough to compensate for the recent disasters and fluctuating inflation that affects household spending, said Joel Capulong, ACT-Cordillera president. Next year, the projected 2026 budget for education has increased to almost P929 billion.

In Baguio, virtually all the campuses are taking part in a series of rallies next week: among them the University of the Philippines (UP) Baguio, the University of the Cordilleras (UC), the University of Baguio (UB), Easter College and the biggest, Saint Louis University (SLU), according to their representatives at the briefing.

Each campus would stage its own rally on Friday next week, with participating teachers and students told to wear white, before they all march out and converge with other protesting schools at downtown Baguio in the afternoon, said Louise Montenegro, ACT-Cordillera coordinator.

The teachers would also take part in the Baguio leg of the November 30 protests at Session Road, she said.

Ronald Taggaoa, president of the union of faculty and employees of SLU (Ufeslu), said their members are ‘angered and have jointly objected to any form of corruption in government,’ stressing that the thought of billions of pesos lost to graft offends every taxpayer.

Ufeslu joins a growing clamor for the return of the corrupted funds so it would be used to improve public services, he said. SLU teachers also demanded the full use of the freedom of information mechanism to allow the public better access to government transactions, stronger protection for whistleblowers and accelerate the digitalization of government services to reduce opportunities for graft, said Taggaoa.

Capulong said the teachers’ mass actions across provinces will highlight the government’s 165,000 classroom shortage (which the 2026 budget resolves by allocating funds to build only 4,000 new classrooms), and a teacher shortage of about 150,000 (but only 32,000 new teachers are to be hired in 2026).

This translates to the required 2,030 new classrooms for the mountain region or a 540 classroom shortage in Benguet province, 114 shortage in Baguio City, 112 in Apayao province, 288 in Mountain Province, 220 in Ifugao province, 264 in Kalinga, 197 in its city, Tabuk, he said. Capulong did not provide the classroom gaps in Abra.

He said the numbers do not reflect the impact of recent storms, like Uwan, which left serious damages to 148 classrooms. Minor repairs would be required for 461 classrooms, according to the Department of Education in the Cordillera.

Salaries also need improvements, Capulong said. He said Department of Education employees still struglle with their take home pay due to expensive market and grocery items, even though the teacher salary grade 1 had risen from P28,512 in 2024 to about P30, 000.

Earlier on November 18, an estimated 5,000 college students walked out of their classes on Tuesday to stage anti corruption rallies, beginning at noon in the Benguet State University at Benguet capital town La Trinidad, and followed at mid-afternoon by students who exited their classes at UP Baguio, UC, UB and SLU.

At 5 p.m., they converged at Malcolm Square in downtown Baguio, where student leaders blamed the previous Duterte administration and the current government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for tolerating the graft which had been an ‘open secret’ for many generations.

This was despite Marcos’ role in disclosing flood control project anomalies during his recent State of the Nation Address in April.

The students voiced their sentiments about education budget cuts, local threats to livelihoods like a public-private partnership proposal by a mall giant to build a modern Baguio public market and the impending phase out of traditional Baguio jeepneys.

The students also denounced the continuing ‘impunity’ of corrupt officials who remain unpunished.

Many of them participated in previous mass actions like the first rally on September 21 and the October 7 march organized by Baguio Bishop Rafael Cruz, which culminated in a Mass he led at the Baguio Cathedral. SLU students dominated the thousands of marchers who blocked traffic for hours as they walked from the Baguio Convention Center to the Cathedral.

Some of them also took part in the October 18 rally held outside the La Trinidad Public Market to express outrage over anomalies that occur closer to home. About a hundred students and youth activists that day denounced P3 billion worth of allegedly fraudulent public works projects to control Benguet flooding, as well as slope stabilization projects involving rocknetting along the province’s mountain roads, in a rare expression of activism for a normally conservative vegetable trading town.

The October 18 protest was the first gathering of local activists since 2022 and was a display of militancy to which La Trinidad’s Ibaloy, Kankanaey and multiethnic populace and a huge migrants population are unaccustomed, said Kenneth Arroco, La Trinidad chair of the Kabataan party-list group, which helped organize last month’s Benguet rally

AC Bonifacio might’ve departed from the upcoming K-pop thriller ‘Perfect Girl’ due to a freak accident, but she is nonetheless grateful for the opportunity to be chosen for an international film.

Bonifacio exited the production of ‘Perfect Girl’ after her involvement in a motorcycle accident in Bangkok, Thailand, which came weeks after she was confirmed to be part of the film.

In an Instagram post on Saturday, November 24, she said that she is currently focusing on her recovery while expressing her gratitude to be considered.

‘Blessed to have been chosen to be a part of an international film with such a powerhouse all-Asian cast. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always pan out the way we want it to,’ she said.

‘I was so excited to finally announce ‘Perfect Girl’. I did my auditions, booked the part and had been shooting in Bangkok already. Freak accidents happen and it’s unfortunately forced me to take a rest and focus on healing and getting better,’ she continued.

Despite the accident, Bonifacio said she has been ‘surrounded by so much love,’ as she was taken care of by her loved ones and ‘gained a new family’ in her castmates.

‘But even in such a tough moment, I was surrounded by so much love. I gained a new family in this project. People took care of me, checked up on me, and made memories with me that I’ll always treasure. So grateful for every single one of them. Will always be thankful for this journey I had with them,’ she said.

The actress assured her supporters that she ‘will not give up’ in spite of her accident. She also jokingly asked if there are ‘any one-arm dance trends’ that she can do at the moment.

‘I’m very thankful for everyone who’s supported me through all of this. My journey doesn’t stop here – I will continue to work hard and not give up. Everything happens for a reason,’ she said. ‘Buti nalang left side ang angle ko let me know if there are any one-arm dance trends, I gotchu guys. I love you guys, thank you for everything.’

Bonifacio received messages of support from her castmates Arden Cho and Nancy McDonie, as well as her boyfriend Harvey Bautista, Maki, and Kai Montinola in the comments. The ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ alum was confirmed as a cast member of the Hong Won-ki-helmed film last October, which also stars Cho, McDonie, and May Hong.

Other stars include Billlie’s Siyoon, Cherry Bullet’s Chaerin, Jeon Somi, Peter Lee Jae Yoon, Samantha Cochran, Ally, Adeline Rudolph, and John Kim.

‘Perfect Girl,’ which will feature six original songs, tells the story of a K-pop group currently on the hunt for their final member ahead of their debut. However, the introduction of a mysterious girl leads to the members getting ‘hunted and attacked one by one.’ Further details on the film’s release date and plot are yet to be announced. /edv

For supposedly wearing a police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) uniform without authority, Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro is facing an administrative complaint filed by Byron Garcia, the brother of former Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

The complaint, which was received by the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Cebu on Nov. 21, accused Baricuatro of violating Article 179 of the Revised Penal Code, which prohibits the unauthorized use of uniforms and insignia reserved for public authorities.

In his affidavit, Garcia said Baricuatro posted a photo on her verified Facebook page on Nov. 10, in which she appeared to be wearing a Philippine National Police SWAT uniform. The image was part of her birthday post thanking the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) for surprising her at the Capitol grounds on Nov. 9.

According to Garcia, the attire in the photograph bore elements associated with official police gear, including PNP SWAT arm patches, a large ‘SWAT’ marking on the chest, a Cebu Police Provincial Office emblem and other regulated badges and insignia.

He insisted that these items are issued exclusively to active PNP personnel assigned to SWAT units.

Garcia emphasized that Baricuatro is not a member or officer of the Philippine National Police and therefore has no authority to wear or display police uniforms.

‘Demolition tactic’

He argued that the act could mislead the public, undermine the authority of active police officers and create a false impression of police affiliation. A copy of the photo was submitted as evidence, and Garcia reserved the right to file additional documents to support the complaint.

Baricuatro, a first-time governor, belied the allegation, saying the image circulating online was AI-generated and not an actual photo of her wearing a SWAT uniform.

‘The uniform shown is not even an authentic PH SWAT uniform,’ she said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

The governor explained that the photo came from a birthday greeting prepared by the CPPO and ‘was never intended to portray me as wearing an official police uniform.’

She described the complaint as part of a political smear campaign.

‘This case appears to be part of a demolition tactic by my political opponents. an ongoing attempt to undermine my leadership,’ Baricuatro said.

Byron, who was jail administration consultant during Gwendolyn Garcia’s hold at the Capitol for over a decade, was a vocal critic of Baricuatro during the campaign for the midterm polls last May

The iconic Solidaridad Bookshop is now owned by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste after it was put up for sale last June.

In a statement, the bookshop said ownership was transferred after Solidaridad was successfully sold and turned over to Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda, who was a long-time friend of National Artist F. Sionil Jose, the former owner of the bookshop.

‘Leviste is making this investment to ensure Solidaridad’s continued operations and help preserve the legacy of F. Sionil Jose, with the ongoing advice of the Jose family,’ the bookshop said.

The Jose bookstore on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila, opened in June 1965 with a collection of books curated by Jose himself.

It served as a gathering place for many of the Philippines’ literary giants, writers, intellectuals, academics, cultural workers, and civic leaders, and is known for having the widest collection of Filipiniana books in the country.

On January 6, 2022, the national artist died in his sleep at the age of 97.

‘Our family will always cherish the memory of Solidaridad and the work our parents put into it. We are excited about the transition to new ownership and wish them success as they continue the legacy of F. Sionil Jose,’ the Jose family said in the statement.

Meanwhile, Leviste expressed his gratitude to the Jose family for entrusting Solidaridad to him.

‘We thank the Jose family for entrusting us with Solidaridad. We hope they can remain involved and help ensure that the bookshop’s operations stay true to its history and the legacy of F. Sionil Jose,’ he said.

Sixteen years after the Maguindanao massacre, where 58 people, including 32 journalists, were killed in the worst election-related violence in Philippine history, the victims’ families and the media continue to struggle for justice.

The nonprofit Center for International Law (CenterLaw) said it would file an urgent motion before the Court of Appeals (CA) to resolve the pending appeals in the massacre cases and to judicially recognize journalist Reynaldo Momay as the 58th victim.

In separate statements on Sunday, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) expressed support for the families seeking resolution of the pending appeals, including the recognition of Momay and the damages sought by his heirs.

‘We recognize the ongoing demand for justice across our nation, especially from the families who have endured years of suffering. This is not only a call for retribution but a demand for accountability, an end to impunity, and assurance that such an incident will not happen again,’ PTFOMS said.

As an office under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., PTFOMS pledged to work with all stakeholders to ensure due process and pursue accountability for those responsible.

‘Let the memory of our fallen colleagues – their courage and dedication – strengthen our collective resolve,’ said the office, now headed by Jose Torres Jr., former director general of the Philippine Information Agency.

‘We reaffirm our commitment to creating a safe environment for all media practitioners, upholding the rule of law, and defending the right to a free press,’ it added.

The PTFOMS said it remained committed to protecting media workers and ensuring justice for victims of media-related violence.

No changes

NUJP, however, noted that many of the conditions faced by journalists in 2009 remain.

‘Dynasties remain entrenched in power, and because of economic realities, media workers continue to be at risk of being caught in political rivalries,’ it said.

The group also urged newsrooms and media organizations to strengthen safety protocols, uphold editorial independence, and ensure employees receive a living wage – particularly those outside Metro Manila who remain ‘the worst paid and least protected’ in the industry.

Five journalists have been killed since Marcos took office in 2022 – lower than the 23 killed during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In 2024, no Filipino journalist was murdered for their work for the first time in more than two decades, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The case of former radio anchor Ma. Vilma Rodriguez on October 22, 2024, was not officially classified as work-related.

Reporters Without Borders ranked the Philippines 116th out of 180 countries in its 2025 press freedom index, an improvement of 18 places from 2023.

The Marcos administration attributed the improved ranking to the state of press freedom in the country.

Media attacks up

Despite the improved rankings, media watchdogs reported an increase in attacks against journalists under the current administration.

From July 2022 to April 2025, NUJP and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) recorded 184 cases of red-tagging, surveillance, legal intimidation, online harassment, and other attacks – a 44 percent increase compared to Duterte’s six-year term.

Since 1986, when the restoration of democratic institutions reopened space for press freedom, more than 170 journalists have been killed in the Philippines.

Of these cases, only 50 convictions have been secured; 31 were connected to the Maguindanao massacre, according to CMFR.

Of the 93 cases that reached the courts, 39 were dismissed, 36 ended in acquittals, and nine were archived.

The low number of cases reaching trial and the limited convictions remain ‘clear signals of an enduring culture of impunity.’

A radio technician of an FM station in Dipolog City was arrested by authorities in a buy-bust operation last Friday, police said on Sunday.

Lt. Col. Khisna Asaali, Dipolog City police chief, said the operation was conducted at around 2:30 p.m. along Malvar Street in Barangay Miputak, Dipolog City, and had the 50-year-old suspect yield some 200 grams of meth, estimated to be valued at P1.36 million.

The meth was contained in plastic sachets, Asaali said.

Later at 4:55 p.m., Asaali said they received some 300 grams of meth contained in six sachets, in all valued around P2.04 million, surrendered by personnel of the radio station where the suspect worked.

The management of the radio station told police that upon learning of the buy-bust operation against the technician, they initiated a private search of the personal belongings in the room of the suspect, Asaali said.

The haul of illicit substances was brought to the Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Forensic Unit-9 for examination.

The suspect was placed under the custody of the Dipolog City police station and is set to face charges for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Four of the accused in alleged flood control anomalies are being tracked down after law enforcers failed to find them at their addresses, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said.

The QCPD on Sunday reported that despite visiting all registered addresses of the accused, the operatives failed to serve warrants to them because ‘none of the subjects were present during the attempts.’

Listed below are the individuals who were not found in their residences:

Dominic Gregorio Serrano (Construction Division Chief, Department of Public Works and Highways Region IV-B)

Lerma Dotado Cayco (Bids and Awards Committee accountant IV, DPWH Region IV-B)

Timojen Adiong Sacar (material engineer, DPWH Region IV-B)

Anthony Ngo (Sunwest board member)

According to the QCPD, its officers attempted to serve a warrant to Ngo on the evening of November 21; however, the caretaker at his listed residence stated that ‘the accused no longer resides at the address, and his whereabouts could not be determined.’

The following day, in a follow-up operation, police checked for Ngo at the Rolling Hills Subdivision, where his family said ‘they have had no communication with him since the issuance of the warrant and requested that further inquiries be directed through their legal counsel.’

On the same day, the police also visited the residences of Cayco, Sacar, and Serrano.

Cayco’s relatives at a condominium in South Triangle told operatives that Cayco was ‘on leave and not at the premises,’ the QCPD reported.

Meanwhile, security personnel at the two residences of Sacar confirmed that ‘he could not be located,’ and his Pinyahan residence had already been vacant since August.

Serrano was also not found by police, and his neighbors claimed that he was last seen ‘approximately two weeks before the issuance of the warrant.’

The QCPD vowed to intensify its follow-up operations, ‘including sustained district-wide manhunt efforts,’ together with national agencies such as the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime – International Police, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The four accused were implicated in a substandard P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro alongside former Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, seven other DPWH employees, and four other Sunwest board members.

Taguig City police have also launched a search for Co after he was not found in his residence during an attempt to serve him his warrant of arrest.

The warrants were issued on November 21 by three divisions of the Sandiganbayan where the Office of the Ombudsman filed two counts of graft and one count of malversation through falsification last November 18. /das

The decade of the 1970s was lived under the shadow of martial law. Some artists and writers went underground, and the crony press materialized in the form of the Daily Express, Bulletin Today, and Times Journal.

Pinoy folk and Pinoy rock came of age at this time, with the protest song ‘Bayan Ko’ sung during Masses and in folkhouses, along with Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Boxer’ and the nationalistic songs of the bands Asin and Heber Bartolome’s Banyuhay.

The mid-1970s saw Ryan Cayabyab’s ‘Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika’ winning the top prize in the First Metropop Music Festival, edging out Freddie Aguilar’s ‘Anak.’ It was the latter song, though, that became a breakout international hit.

A rock singer-guitarist from Leyte, Mike Hanopol, also burst into the musical scene with his signature song ‘Laki sa Layaw (Jeprox).’

The ditty became some kind of anthem, however negative, for the youths of that era, the survivors of whom are now in their 70s or 80s. Cool, laid-back

A ‘jeprox’ was a cool, laid-back young man, street-smart and easygoing, and born to middle-class comfort. Something of a spoiled brat, he cultivated vices, drank, was lazy, and made a general nuisance of himself. What he wanted was always given to him, and yet he remained unsatisfied.

Hanopol succinctly captured this sense of juvenile drift in ‘Laki sa Layaw’s’ lyrics: ‘Lahat ng gusto niya, ibinigay na sa kanya, ngunit wala pa rin siyang kasiyahan’ (Everything was given to him, yet he was still unhappy).

The singer-lyricist wondered if there was still hope for someone brought up like this, and left the issue open: ‘Meron pa kayang pag-asang magbago, ang taong lumaki sa layaw?’ (Is there still hope for someone who grew up spoiled?)

Hanopol would go on to compose many other songs, like ‘Himig Natin’ and Beep Beep,’ and produce 20 albums, three of them gold and three Aliw Award winners. But it is the song ‘Laki sa Layaw (Jeprox)’ that has remained in the national consciousness.

Now 79, Hanopol lives in semiretirement, performing occasionally. Interestingly, he has converted to Messianic Judaism (a faith that combines elements of Judaism and Christianity), and tends to his small congregation in Antipolo City.

Musical play

Comes now ‘Jeprox the Musical,’ a play inspired by the songs of Hanopol and starring David Ezra as the rocker-songwriter (Miko to his family); Jett Pangan as Tatay Paking, the father; Geneva Cruz as Mike’s mother Liwayway, who dies early in the story but whose presence is felt even after her demise; Jeffrey Alejandro and Nino Alejandro as band members Willie and Paulo, respectively; and Sheila Ferrer as Paz, the love interest.

This new Filipino musical play is directed by Frannie Zamora and written by Nick Pichay, with Jed Balsamo as musical director.

‘The very good script by Nick is not predictable. The music is the most integral part of the production and we have a live eight-piece band. I want to make it [the show] as realistic as possible,’ said Zamora in a recent interview.

The story traces the main character’s differences with his father, ‘a conservative man who did not believe in concerts, and this causes tension between him and Miko,’ said Pangan. ‘All of this is presented with the music of Mike Hanopol, but it is not his life story. It’s about the struggle of living in an uncertain time; you don’t know what will happen.’

Added Pangan, ‘The theme is very universal and the music is important. The relevance of the song (‘Laki sa Layaw: Jeprox’) has never left us from the time it came out, and I think it’s even more relevant today. It is a message of hope.’

A production of Tanghalang Una Obra, ‘Jeprox the Musical’ runs till Nov. 30 at GSIS Theater, CCP Complex.