Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The affinity between Carlos Yulo and his younger brother Karl Eldrew goes beyond blood or body type-or Korean bowl haircuts.

They’re also both gymnastics royalty.

Carlos, of course, is the more accomplished of the two, having won two Olympic gold medals in Paris last year, not just with his skill, but with the preternatural ability to shut down the noise surrounding him until all that is left in the venue is him and whatever apparatus he is trying to master.

Karl Eldrew hopes to be as successful in his sport, too. And he does it with a personality of his own: He is more expressive, looking to the crowd before and after his routines.

Maybe it’s his relative youth.

At one point, he pointed to his compatriots during the opening day of the 2025 Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championship at Newport Resorts Hotel on Thursday night.

Carlos noticed it briefly.

‘I didn’t see it much because I’m watching the other gymnasts as well, but if [doing these things] helps [his performance], there’s no problem,’ Carlos said.

The older Yulo hopes, though, that Karl Eldrew will tone down the act a bit.

‘[I]f he gets distracted because of what he does, I advise him not to do it. Just focus on what’s in front of you, because we all have different styles,’ Carlos said.

So far, Karl Eldrew’s enthusiasm hasn’t seemed to dampen his performance at all. In fact, his energy pushed him to four event finals in the global competition.

The Adamson standout reached the final of the all-around, but is faced with a lot of ground to cover after finishing with 78.332 points for 15th place.

Aside from that, Karl Eldrew also qualified for the finals of the horizontal bar, floor exercise and vault categories.

Aside from aiming for the podium in those events, Karl Eldrew also has bigger plans for his career and he has announced plans to pause his schooling so he can focus on gymnastics.

‘I plan on stopping after my senior high school,’ he said. ‘I have to stop, to focus on my gymnastics career and learn Nihongo so I can speak with my coaches properly. I have to focus on myself and my career first.’

As someone who has been in the same situation on a much bigger scale, Carlos knows what his younger sibling will face. And he has more pointers for Karl Eldrew, especially for this tournament.

‘Whatever he trained for in the past, he should keep doing those and focus more. In the finals, everyone is tired. So the battle will be mental,’ the many-time world champion said. ‘For me, he should focus. He should think about what he does and just enjoy. The competition is already hard in itself, so he should enjoy the moment when he’s competing.’

Karl Eldrew takes on all-comers on Saturday when he competes in the all-around finals against 23 other competitors around the globe

The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) on Friday said it recorded fewer online scams so far in 2025 but maintained that it was monitoring possible scams ahead of the holiday season.

PNP ACG logged 7,081 cases of online scams in the entire year of 2024, while only 3,941 cases have been reported so far in 2025, spokesperson Lt. Wallen Mae Arancillo said in an interview on DZMM.

‘It decreased compared to last year since many of our fellow citizens have become more knowledgeable about what to do and what not to do during our social media interactions and online transactions,’ Arancillo explained in Filipino.

‘Though, we’ve seen that online scams done by cyber criminals usually really increase during the Ber months compared to the previous months. That’s what we’re monitoring,’ she added.

Acting PNP Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. previously ordered the law enforcement agency to crack down on online scams ahead of this year’s holiday season.

Among the most frequent scams the PNP recorded so far this year were online selling scams (1,630 cases); investment or task scams (589 cases); vishing scams (431 cases); hijacked profile or identification scams (326 cases); and loan or lending scams (251 cases), the agency previously said in a statement last Tuesday

The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday reminded Filipinos to clean their surroundings and seek early medical care upon experiencing symptoms of dengue, as the agency reported over 14,000 cases of the illness over two weeks in October.

In an episode of dzMM Teleradyo, Health Promotion Bureau Director Tina Marasigan said the agency recorded 14,038 dengue cases from October 12 to 25, 2025. She noted that this was 8 percent lower than the 15,182 tallied from September 28 to October 11, 2025.

She also said these cases were recorded before tropical cyclones Tino and Uwan hit the country, raising the possibility of stored water in containers becoming breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti, or the mosquito species known to carry dengue.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa also said that while dengue cases are observed all year round, the agency monitors more dengue consultations during the rainy season and ‘ber’ months (September to December). He said the dengue cases and influenza-like illnesses may overlap during these seasons.

‘The difference, you can get dengue from vector or mosquito bites. Mosquito bites increase (when water is) stored in containers during the rainy season. Vector control is the solution, once you decrease the number of mosquitoes, dengue cases will lessen,’ Herbosa said in the same episode.

Marasigan stressed the importance of health measures to prevent contracting dengue.

‘That’s why the agency is reminding the public not to be complacent and strengthen activities such as emptying water in containers, broken tires, trash cans, and others,’ Marasigan said.

The agency urged the public to seek medical consultation when the following symptoms occur:

Fever

Rashes

Body ache

Headache and vomiting

Herbosa said dengue fast lanes were set up in DOH hospitals to easily accommodate patients showing dengue symptoms. He added that hospitals have sufficient dengue test kits for diagnoses.

St. Benilde leaned on the returning Allen Liwag to pull past Emilio Aguinaldo College, 87-82, and secure a twice-to-beat advantage in Group B of the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament on Friday at San Juan Arena.

The Blazers ended the eliminations on a three-game winning streak, finishing with a 9-4 record.

‘Now, it’s back to zero. The real challenge comes,’ coach Charles Tiu said. ‘In this format, like they said, anyone has a chance and I think that’s what we’ll get.’

Liwag, returning from a shoulder injury, led Benilde with 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Matthew Oli and Jio Gonzaga added 14 and 12 points, respectively, to support the reigning NCAA MVP.

EAC remained at the bottom of Group B with a 4-9 finish, though Jude Bagay and Aldeo Lucero went down swinging with 25 and 20 points.

Benilde is set to face Group A’s third seed Mapua in the quarterfinals, a rematch of last season’s Finals, after the Cardinals fell to Arellano, 62-58, earlier Friday.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) have recommended the filing of plunder and other charges against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and other ICI officials submitted their joint referral report containing recommendations to the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday morning.

‘The recommended action contained in the second to the last page, Letter A – violation of Republic Act 7080 or an Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder; Letter B – violations of Section 3A, B, and E, and H of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. And finally, violation of Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code on direct bribery,’ Dizon said in a short press conference after the referral.

‘These have actually already been announced by the President in his statement earlier this morning. But these we leave up to the Office of the Ombudsman for further investigation and for eventual filing,’ he added.

Sought for initial comment, Romualdez’ office said the former Speaker was ready to face any charges against him.

According to Dizon, the joint referral includes contracts involving Sunwest Inc. and Hi-Tone Construction from 2016 to 2025, covering projects worth roughly P100 billion (P67 billion for Sunwest and P32 billion for Hi-Tone). The referral also contains the sworn testimonies of retired Sgt. Orly Guteza in relation to Romualdez and Co.

Guteza is the ‘whistleblower’ floated by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who alleged that suitcases of cash were delivered to the two lawmakers as kickbacks.

However, Guteza failed to appear before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) twice after he was summoned over issues surrounding his sworn statement, a document the court later found to contain a falsified or forged notarial signature.

On Sept. 25, Guteza appeared before the Senate blue ribbon committee and read the same sworn statement in connection with alleged anomalies in flood control projects. Guteza had claimed that lawyer Petchie Rose Espera notarized the document, a statement the latter denied, leading her to file an incident report with the Manila RTC.

In that sworn statement, the retired marine personnel alleged that he personally delivered suitcases of cash to the residences of Co and Romualdez.

The DPWH and ICI joint referral comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that cases against Romualdez and Co are already underway in relation to an alleged corruption mess.

‘As I mentioned in my previous report, I will continue to update the public about the cases and the information we are receiving regarding flood control projects that are not in good condition,’ Marcos said in Filipino in a short video statement posted on social media.

‘And so now, I want to inform our countrymen that all the information gathered by the ICI and the DPWH will be referred and turned over to the Ombudsman for investigation. This concerns information about former Speaker Martin Romualdez and Zaldy Co,’ he added.

Marcos said that once all evidence is consolidated, complaints for plunder, violations of the anti-graft law, or indirect bribery may be filed against the two lawmakers.

On Tuesday, the Ombudsman filed two counts of graft and a malversation charge against Co over ‘serious irregularities’ in a P289.4-million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.

Also named in the complaint were several former DPWH officials and an executive of Sunwest Construction.

The Ombudsman’s panel of prosecutors recommended no bail for the malversation charge, citing that it involved an amount exceeding the P8.8-million threshold.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III called out the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) during its budget deliberation, urging the agency to address the abuse of government convoys while ordinary citizens face worsening traffic congestion.

Speaking to the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) under the Philippine National Police (PNP), Sotto recommended that personnel handling convoys undergo proper training to ensure road courtesy.

‘May we request that you make them undergo regular lectures, reminders, workshops to be more polite and with proper decorum, [be] respectful,’ he said.

He added that some convoy personnel tend to aggressively clear roads, which irritates motorists. ‘Pero ‘yung mga kababayan natin, maraming naiinis, na tinatabig sila, tinatabi sila,’ he noted.

Senator JV Ejercito, sponsor of the DILG budget, responded that the agency has already taken steps to curb the issue. ‘The PNP said that they have already cut down the convoys with escorts to nine officials,’ he said. ‘Dati po kasi marami talaga.’

The nine officials entitled to special plates and convoys include the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and others.

Ejercito also pointed out that Sotto himself does not use a convoy. ‘I share the same, nabibiktima rin tayo, the Senate President, the number three most powerful person in the land, walang escort, walang driver. [The Senate President] drives [his] own car, sana naman mahiya naman ‘yung iba. That’s worth emulating,’ he said. /dm

Miss Universe Organization (MUO) president Raul Rocha immediately defended the pageant from allegations that Fatima Bosch’s win was rigged, as fueled by French-Lebanese musician Omar Harfouch on social media.

Shortly after Mexico’s Fatima Bosch was declared as Miss Universe 2025, Harfouch claimed that the results were already predetermined as Bosch’s father already had alleged ‘business’ dealings with Rocha.

‘Miss Mexico is a fake winner. Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha is in business with Fatima Bosch’s father,’ the musician said. ‘Raul Rocha and his son urged me, a week ago in Dubai, to vote for Fatima Bosch because they need her to win ‘because it will be good for our business,’ they said to me!’

However, Rocha seemingly took offense to Harfouch’s claims when asked whether the pageant’s results were indeed rigged in a post-Miss Universe 2025 press conference in Thailand on Friday, Nov. 21.

In a video by pageant platform pageanthology, the video showed the upset Rocha approaching the journalist who asked about the rumors. The MUO president then showed screenshots of his exchange with Harfouch.

Another post from Pageant Talk showed a glimpse of Rocha and Harfouch’s alleged argument, with the MUO president declaring that he will ‘cancel’ the latter as a judge of the global tilt.

‘I’ll cancel you. we were talking about beyond the crown. Our philanthropic program for social benefit that has been worked on for a whole year, and you have messed this project up with [your] unfortunate message,’ Rocha’s message read.

Before the coronation of the scandal-laden global tilt, Bosch caught the attention of fans after walking out on Miss Universe VP for Asiana Nawat Itsaragrisil, after she was confronted by the Thai business mogul during a sashing ceremony.

Ahtisa Manalo, who represented the Philippines, was named third runner-up at the end of the pageant.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said more charges will be filed against individuals involved in the flood control scandal, gauging at least 14 to 15 more cases before the year ends.

Remulla himself disclosed this in an ambush interview in the Senate after the chamber’s deliberations on his office’s funding for 2026.

‘There will be more charges filed. Maraming kaming ipa-file na kaso. Marami na under preliminary investigation. There are at least about 15 cases right now, 14 or 15 cases,’ said Remulla.

When he was asked to comment on the Independent Commission for Infrastructure as well as the Department of Public Works and Highways recommendation to file plunder and other charges against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, the Ombudsman simply said that he has yet to look at the contents of the recommendation.

‘We will have to evaluate it. We have to look at the contents of the recommendation and the documents so we will know how to act on the matter. Kasi everything is evidence-based. We cannot file cases without evidence as part of our filing,’ he said.

‘Hindi ko pa nakikita yung filing kasi dumiretso na ako dito. So what they turned over this morning, I haven’t seen yet. So I can only act on it by Monday. Kasi I have another function to go to after this,’ he added.

Romualdez was implicated in the flood control scandal after Orly Guteza, former security consultant of Co, alleged that the former House Speaker received kickbacks from government projects.

Co, meanwhile, was tagged on alleged anomalous infrastructure projects, particularly flood control works in Bulacan, after former district and assistant engineers testified that he was involved in budget insertions that ballooned to at least P35 billion from 2022 to 2025.

They further claimed that kickbacks were delivered to Co, including one alleged delivery of P1 billion in cash packed into more than 20 suitcases and transported in several vans to his penthouse unit at a luxury hotel in Taguig.

The Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Friday said it has issued subpoenas against ‘certain individuals’ in connection with the investigation into alleged corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects.

In a message to the Inquirer, CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II cited a directive from acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. to ‘extend its full cooperation and support’ to the Independent Commission on Infrastructure’s (ICI) probe.

‘In line with its investigative mandate, the Group has issued subpoenas to certain individuals pursuant to its authority under [Republic Act] No. 10973. Other persons concerned may be summoned during the course of the ongoing investigation,’ Morico said.

RA No. 10973 gives the CIDG director the power to issue subpoenas. It also gives the CIDG the authority to file a case for indirect contempt before a regional trial court if a respondent defies the subpoena.

However, when pressed on the matter, Morico declined to identify the individuals they subpoenaed in connection with the ICI investigation.

‘We refrain from providing further information on the matter as investigation is underway. These matters will be better expounded by the ICI,’ the CIDG director explained.

The PNP previously met with the ICI and government agencies in a closed-door command conference in Camp Crame, Quezon City last Nov. 12.

In a statement, the PNP previously said the conference ‘aimed to validate priority ‘ghost projects,’ expand investigation coverage nationwide, and streamline coordination among the inter-agency teams tasked with inspections, documentation and eventual case filings.’

The PNP earlier said its role in the flood control scandal investigation was ‘technical support in the areas of engineering verification, forensic validation and information systems development.’

This small town of Surigao del Sur province came alive with music, movement, and community spirit as it celebrated the 21st Gakit Festival alongside its 64th founding anniversary on Thursday, November 20.

The two-day festival that kicked off on Wednesday honored the enduring cultural legacy of the ‘gakit.’ Once essential for transport, trade, and inter-community ties, these traditional bamboo rafts remain at the heart of the town’s identity, making this year’s celebration a meaningful tribute to Bayabas’ ancestral traditions.

One of the festival’s highlights was the street and fluvial parade where decorated gakit glided across the panoramic waters of Bayabas facing the Pacific Ocean, escorted by standby rescuers from the police, Bureau of Fire Protection and Search and Emergency Response Teams of Surigao del Sur (SERTTS-Bayabas) led by municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer Geralyn B. Guibao.

Residents from its seven villages also participated in ‘Larong Pinoy’ competitions at Bayabas Bay Park, featuring arm wrestling, palo sebo, copras/bunot, boat racing, tug-of-war, and alimango racing, traditional Filipino games that rekindled childhood memories and reinforced community bonds.

Municipal tourism officer Jude Limbaro underscored the cultural significance of the fluvial tradition. ‘This is a tribute to our forefathers who were farmers and fishermen,’ he said.

The gakit highlighted the symbolic union of bamboo, skilled hands, and nature’s abundance. ‘The bamboo rafts embody the unified and enduring strength of our primordial people, resilient and flexible,’ he said.

Seven barangays (Lapaz, Magobawok, Amag, Cabugo, Panaosawon, Balete, and Cagbaoto) competed for the Best Gakit Display.

Barangay Magobawok village chief Catalino C. Bandola shared that their gakit took over a month to prepare, using indigenous and recycled materials such as nipa, anahaw and banana leaves, coconut husk, and native plants. Their design featured lobster-inspired art and traditional fishing tools like the bobo, a fish trap made from bamboo or rattan. ‘This activity promotes volunteerism and fosters camaraderie and unity,’ Bandola said.

Other activities included a 21-km marathon, mountain bike race, volleyball and basketball.

Throughout the festival, families flocked to the town’s Food Avenue, sampling local delicacies that added flavor to the festivities.

For many, the festival is ‘a moment to see our community smile together.’ ‘It reminds us why Bayabas is home,’ said a resident.