Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

More than a decade ago, my electrical engineering class of 2011 at the Technological University of the Philippines Taguig had our plant visit to Cebu as part of the curriculum. I still remember how thrilled I was at the idea of riding a plane for the first time, spending time with my classmates and friends, and savoring the province’s beauty, grace, and mystery while integrating ourselves with the industry.

We stayed in the province for three days and two nights. The tour included a visit to an internationally recognized battery company, an environmental friendly property powered entirely with solar power and a day-long trip to a National Grid Corporation of the Philippines facility. I enjoyed Cebuano food, but the people? They were as vibrant as the sun.

But that stark picture of the Queen City of the South changed overnight with Typhoon ‘Tino’s’ recent onslaught.

As of this writing, the casualty count has surged to 114, while 127 people remain missing. Photos of the destruction fill social media: dirt-tainted piles of cars in the streets, dead bodies on the sidewalk, houses reduced to flash flood debris, and endless, delirious calls for help by my fellow Filipinos in the south. The whole situation has been disheartening.

One can always point to climate change why it happened. Based on the 2025 World Risk Index, the Philippines is the most vulnerable country to natural disasters, ranking as the most disaster-prone country in the world. Key factors include high exposure to natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, as well as vulnerability due to its fragmented geography and large coastal populations.

According to the weather bureau, the rainfall in Cebu surpassed a 20-year return period, which translates to a 5-percent chance of extreme rainfall or worse happening in any given year. But the impact could have been mitigated had the budget allotted for flood control projects been fully implemented with integrity?

Pamela Silagan Baricuatro, the governor of Cebu Province, indicated that there’s corruption in the flood control projects amounting to billions of pesos. Meanwhile, former Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia indicated that the Department of Public Works and Highway’s shortcomings in implementation contributed to the fiasco.

We have seen this movie before. Calamity happens. People die. Government officials blame each other. Isn’t it tiring?

Our people must realize that corruption kills. When funds do not go to their proper destination to improve people’s lives but to the elite, soulless pockets, someday, somehow, they will be affected and inflicted with a catastrophe unimaginable to the human condition. It’s evident that during calamities, the most vulnerable sector is the poor. Our electorate must remember the names of officials who didn’t push for what’s best for them. We must push the government to do better and implement institutional changes to protect our forests, waterways, and observe a holistic technology and data-based approach for mitigation similar to what Singapore and Japan have.

It’s inevitable, the Philippines will face another typhoon, calamity, or super typhoon. The time to wake up from the cloud of corruption is today-before it’s too late.

Governor Sol Aragones ordered the demolition of 67-year-old buildings at Calo Elementary School on Friday, citing safety risks from the deteriorating structures.

The governor conducted an ocular inspection of the Bay town school, built in 1958, where she observed cramped classrooms and learned about recurring flooding during heavy rains.

‘We saw here that the classrooms are very old,’ Aragones said, stressing the urgency of replacing the hazardous structures.

Provincial Engineer Gil Agarri led technical inspections to assess structural integrity and plan new construction, which may include a multi-story building.

‘We’re going to build new school buildings and fix this problem right away,’ the governor said.

The Philippine women’s futsal team absorbed a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Poland on Friday in a rough start to its Fifa Futsal Women’s World Cup campaign before a home crowd at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Despite efforts to keep the match close, the Filipina5 eventually got battered by a Polish side that led by two goals from Julia Basta, including the opener more than six minutes into the contest.

Early chances by Inday Tolentin gave the mostly partisan audience of 2,211 hopes of an upset but Poland proved why it was ranked 14th in the world and secured the maximum three points.

Poland equaled the scoreline produced by Argentina earlier against Morocco to conclude the tournament’s first matchday.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino was on hand to witness the Filipina5’s first match that capped off the opening act of the inaugural futsal competition for women.

Tolentin nearly got the Filipina5 on board but her attempt hit the post. Poland would respond when Basta fired a shot that goalkeeper Samantha Hughes couldn’t secure, eventually going past the line for the score.

The Filipina5 of coach Rafa Merino tried to keep as close as possible. However, Natalia Matuzewska produced a tapper from close range with less than two minutes before halftime that doubled Poland’s lead.

Flanigan had a chance early in the second half to pull one back, but her attempt went for naught. Poland would shortly score for the third time behind Julia Szokstak, followed by Basta’s second.

It became 5-0 after Klaudia Kubaszek’s shot hit Filipina5’s Lanie Ortillo’s foot for an own goal, then the sixth came from Klaudia Dyminska with 10 minutes remaining.

Although Ahtisa Manalo did not take the Miss Universe 2025 crown, her fellow Quezonians celebrated her strong showing after she was named third runner-up in the pageant held at Impact Challenger Hall in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

‘Still our Miss Universe!’ Quezon Gov. Angelina Tan posted on Facebook after Manalo’s placement was announced.

‘The whole Quezon province is so proud of you! Mabuhay ka.’

Tan praised Manalo’s long journey, saying her 18-year pursuit is ‘a testament to your courage, determination, and the heart that fuels your advocacy.’

A native of Candelaria town, Manalo, 28, began competing locally at age 10, joining her first pageant as a fourth-grader. Her rise on the national and international stages has drawn strong local support.

Candelaria Mayor George Suayan likewise expressed the town’s pride.

‘The entire town of Candelaria is filled with pride and joy because of your achievement. You have shown the world the beauty and heart of a true Candelariahin!’ he wrote on Facebook.

‘You remain a winner in the hearts of the people of Candelaria. We are proud of you,’ Suayan added.

Quezon 2nd district Rep. Cong. David Suarez also extended his congratulations to Manalo for her ‘remarkable performance’ at the 74th Miss Universe pageant.

‘From right here in Candelaria, Quezon – from our beloved second district – you carried the Philippine flag with honor, excellence, and a truly Filipino heart,’ Suarez said in a post in Filipino on social media.

He described Manalo’s achievement as ‘more than the crown, you became a light of hope’.

‘You proved that with hard work, courage, and belief in oneself, there is no stage in the world that a young Quezonian cannot reach,’ the solon emphasized.

Mexico’s Fatima Bosch won the Miss Universe 2025 crown, defeating 119 contestants.

Thailand’s Praveenar Singh was first runner-up, Venezuela’s Stephany Abasali placed second, while Manalo and Côte d’Ivoire’s Olivia Yacé finished as third and fourth runners-up, respectively

Some red flags remain in the 2026 national spending plan despite some welcome shifts in the Senate, a coalition of budget watchdogs said Thursday, as they make a last-minute appeal to make more changes as the budget is headed for the bicameral conference committee soon.

In a statement, the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) said that while they welcomed several positive changes to the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) introduced by the Senate, Congress must still work to further pare down allocations for pet assistance programs, confidential and intelligence funds, unprogrammed appropriations, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).

The group, composed of civil society organizations, researchers, and grassroots advocates pushing for a more transparent and rights-based budget, said the Senate’s committee report reflected ‘significant corrections’ to the House-approved version but still fell short of what is needed to prevent another flood-control-style corruption scandal.

For example, while the Senate cut risky and possibly duplicate projects in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), some P600 billion in infrastructure items still require closer review, PBC said.

This includes the P16-billion budget for farm-to-market roads, which recent congressional inquiries say are often overpriced, as well as the Department of Health’s P14.5-billion health facilities enhancement program, which was found to have idle super health centers.

Congress should likewise scrutinize the confidential and intelligence funds, which increased by P629 million to P11.6 billion in the Senate version-a move the coalition called ‘a step backward.’

Over-funded agencies

Also still incorporated into the Senate version is the unexplained increase of P11 billion that the House of Representatives gave itself during the third and final reading of its version last September.

Perhaps more importantly, the Senate also increased its own budget by P1 billion to P8.6 billion, or a 14-percent jump compared to the original proposal.

The Office of the President also has a bigger budget at P27.4 billion, in large part because of the budget for Manila’s hosting of the 2026 Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and its confidential and intelligence funds.

‘At the time of the flood-control corruption scandal, the worst corruption scandal in recent history, where members across government have been implicated by witnesses who have come forward, we call for prudence and moderation in these proposals to restore public trust,’ they warned.

The DPWH’s flood management budget, meanwhile, plunged from P250 billion as proposed in the National Expenditure Program to just P10 billion in the Senate version.

However, the coalition urged lawmakers to mandate the agency to update outdated design manuals to align with climate resilience, accessibility, and road safety standards.

PBC also noted that although the Senate halved NTF-Elcac’s budget from P8 billion to P4 billion, more cuts are warranted given recurring concerns over the task force’s barangay development allocations.

Under-funded programs

Transport advocates within the coalition also raised alarms over the underfunding for key public transport and active mobility programs under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) that remain underfunded.

For road safety, for example, the DOTr asked for P100 million for maintenance and other operating expenses, but got zero in the committee report.

For active transport, the DOTr requested P2 billion to fund safe pedestrian pathways and protected bike lane networks, but was only given P105 billion.

For road-based public transport, P4.6 billion was requested for service contracting and the public utility vehicle modernization program, but only half of it, or P2.5 billion, was allotted in the committee report.

The watchdogs also pressed Congress to reconsider cuts to major social protection programs, including the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which lost P11 billion, and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., whose allocation remains below what public health advocates estimate is required to meet universal health care targets.

Controversial stage

The bicameral conference committee, composed of select senators and House members, is expected to meet in the coming days to consolidate the final version of the 2026 national budget before it is sent to Malacañang for signing in December.

PBC said lawmakers must use the bicam as the last opportunity ‘to restore public trust’ by prioritizing transparent, science-based, and rights-based budgeting.

The Liberal Party bloc in the House of Representatives has also called for an ‘open and transparent’ bicam as the 2026 budget process nears its most controversial stage.

On Thursday, the bloc led by Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima said opening up the notoriously secretive bicam, where insertions to the budget were allegedly made in the past years, was ‘long overdue. It is not optional, it is non-negotiable.’

‘It is a gross injustice to continue denying access of the public to the proceedings of the bicam, which constitutes a deprivation of the constitutionally guaranteed right of the Filipino people to information on matters of public concern. They are entitled to know where every centavo of their taxes goes,’ they said in a joint statement.

Among others, they demanded that Congress ensure the livestreaming of the full bicam meetings and deliberations and that comprehensive meeting minutes be published.

Congress must also publish a detailed matrix of the differences between the House and Senate GABs and how they were reconciled, and disclose proponents of amendments.

The media must also be allowed to cover the bicam proceedings, and civil society organizations must also be given access and opportunity to raise questions and comments.

Aside from De Lima, other signatories include Representatives Edgar Erice of Caloocan City, Adrian Michael Amatong of Zamboanga del Norte, Arlene ‘Kaka’ Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands, Jaime Fresnedi of Muntinlupa City, Cielo Krisel Lagman of Albay, and Alfonso Umali Jr. of Oriental Mindoro.

After the victory of Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch as the new Miss Universe 2025 titleholder, French-Lebanese musician Omar Harfouch couldn’t help but speak out to allege that she is a ‘fake winner,’ as the results of the pageant had already been predetermined.

Bosch was declared the winner amid protests from pageant observers, pointing out that the Mexican beauty queen’s performance in major competitions and even in the question-and-answer portion paled in comparison with her runners-up, among them the Philippines’ Ahtisa Manalo.

Harfouch courted controversy when he resigned as part of the eight-member Miss Universe 2025 selection committee who would adjudge the delegates given the pageant’s laid out criteria.

Just minutes after the announcement, Harfouch took to his Instagram page on Friday, Nov. 21, to say Bosch’s victory is merely due to her father’s dealings with Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha.

‘Miss Mexico is a fake winner. I, Omar Harfouch, declared yesterday exclusively on HBO America, 24 hours before the Miss Universe final, that Miss Mexico would win because Miss Universe owner Raul Rocha is in business with Fatima Bosch’s father,’ he wrote.

The singer-composer alleged that Rocha earlier urged him to vote for Bosch ‘for the sake of business.’

‘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!’ he continued. Harfouch announced his resignation on Tuesday, Nov. 18, just three days before the coronation on Friday in Bangkok, Thailand, where Ahtisa Manalo of the Philippines was named third runner-up.

The composer-businessman said that his resignation was due to a ‘disrespectful conversation’ with Rocha as he accused the organization of arranging an ‘impromptu jury’ tapped to draw the 30 semifinalists.

Harfouch further alleged that the secret panel is made up of ‘individuals with personal relationships with some of the Miss Universe contestants,’ stating that a member of the unofficial group had a romantic relationship with one of the delegates.

MUO refuted Harfouch’s allegations, stating that the competition evaluations continued to follow the organization’s ‘established, transparent, and supervised’ protocols.

‘[MUO] firmly clarifies that no impromptu jury has been created, that no external group has been authorized to evaluate delegates or select finalists, and that all competition evaluations continue to follow the established, transparent, and supervised MUO protocols,’ read the statement in part.

Aside from Harfouch, another judge, former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele, has announced his stepping down as a member of the selection committee, citing ‘unforeseen personal reasons.’

Bosch previously went viral after a standoff with Thai hosting committee chair Nawat Itsaragrisil, resulting in a walkout which was supported by then reigning queen Victoria Theilvig and other delegates, amid the seeming power struggle within the Miss Univerge Organization

A total of 116 former rebels (FRs) from Matuguinao, Samar have formally applied for amnesty after completely abandoning the communist ideology.

The former rebels filed for amnesty during a two-day orientation and intake activity organized by the Local Amnesty Board (LAB) – Catbalogan, in partnership with the 43rd Infantry Battalion and the local government of Matuguinao.

The activity, which concluded in Barangay Mabuligon on Thursday, was led by Mayor Aran Boller.

The LAB secretariat provided a comprehensive briefing on the government’s amnesty program, including step-by-step procedures from initial application to endorsement to the Office of the President.

The panel also clarified which offenses are covered by the amnesty proclamation and which are excluded.

On the first day alone, 82 FRs submitted their applications, with 34 more completing their intake activity the following day.

All applicants took their oath of allegiance before Public Attorney’s Office lawyers, who ensured that each participant fully understood the commitments associated with the amnesty program.

In a phone interview on Friday, Boller emphasized the significance of the initiative in sustaining peace gains in one of Samar’s previously insurgency-affected areas.

‘The strong turnout is an encouraging indication of the former rebels’ determination to clear their names and reintegrate into mainstream society as productive, law-abiding citizens,’ he said.

Boller said the initiative reflects the municipal government’s firm commitment to ending local insurgency and providing sustainable pathways for former rebels to rebuild their lives within their communities

Faster capital recycling via real estate investment trusts (REIT) is anticipated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pushing for major changes in the rules governing the asset class.

Upcoming reforms include the conditional easing of the minimum public ownership requirement and reinvestment proceeds. They also aim to include more assets in the framework, such as real estate used for transportation and telecommunication businesses.

REITs are corporations that invest in income-generating real estate assets, like malls, office buildings and renewable energy power plants.

‘The proposed reforms will help ensure that the REIT framework remains robust and responsive to evolving market needs, thereby enabling the real estate sector to unlock more capital that will further support their growth and contribute more to the development of our economy,’ SEC chair Francis Lim said.

Public float

Under the SEC draft circular released on Nov. 18, the regulator seeks to ease the minimum public ownership requirements, allowing for a ‘temporary dip’ from the required 33 percent.

However, this should be cleared by the SEC and the Philippine Stock Exchange once they submit their plan and timeline to return to the mandated public float or the portion of the firm owned by the investing public.

Aside from this, the SEC targets to extend the period for the utilization of reinvestment proceeds to two years from the previous one year.

Broader coverage

Key assets in the transportation and telco sectors are also on the table for inclusion in REITs, as regulators proposed to broaden the scope of income-generating properties under the REIT Act of 2009.

Soon, REIT investors may add other assets to their portfolio, which may include toll roads, railways, airports or air navigation facilities, ports, information and communications technology infrastructure, energy infrastructure and data centers, among others.

Existing REITs in the Philippines include the Ayala group’s AREIT Inc., Citicore Energy REIT Corp., Filinvest REIT Corp. and the Gokongwei group’s RL Commercial REIT Inc.

The SEC hopes to get public comments on the draft rules by Dec. 3. INQ

Savouge Aesthetics kicked off the semifinal round of the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference with a 25-27, 25-16, 25-22, 25-21 win over University of Santo Tomas-Gameville on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Playing under the bright lights of the Big Dome for the first time in league history, Mark Calado and Giles Torres rose to the occasion to help Savouge win its first semifinal round assignment.

Calado dropped 20 points off 17 kills and three blocks, while Torres provided six of the team’s 11 blocks and had nine kills and two aces to finish with 17 points. Shawie Caritativo chipped in 10 points and 14 receptions.

Savouge has less than 24 hours to prepare for Australia’s ProVolley Academy on Saturday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan, 1 p.m.

‘We’re happy because that was really our goal. We wanted to start the round-robin semifinals with a win so we could keep our momentum going,’ said Savouge coach Sydney Calderon. ‘I’m also happy because over the past three days, the players really worked hard in training, and it showed; everything we practiced came out in the game.’

UST-Gameville, which missed Alas Pilipinas players Josh Ybañez, Al-Bukarie Sali, JJ Macam, and coach Odjie Mamon due to their training camp in Taiwan, dropped its first semifinals game.

GBoy De Vega stepped up for the Golden Spikers with 18 points and 24 receptions. Andrei Delicana and Sherwin Umandal had 14 and 12 points, respectively.

UST takes on Cignal, which it upset in the preliminary round, on Saturday at 5 p.m.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his eulogy for the late Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, said that he hopes to live to 100.

In his emotional speech during a necrological service at Malacañang Palace, Marcos expressed admiration for how sharp Enrile remained despite his age.

Recalling a conversation with the late statesman, 68-year-old Marcos said, ‘Tito, ano bang sikreto? [Uncle, what’s the secret?] I want to be like you also when I’m-and first, I want to live to be 100 years old. And I want to be like you when I’m 100 years old.’

‘And then sabi niya, ‘Alam mo anak, I’m not sure that I’m 100 years old. I think I’m older.’ Sabi ko, ‘Bakit?”

(And then he said, ‘You know, my child, I’m not sure that I’m 100 years old. I think I’m older.’ I asked, ‘Why?’)

”Nawala ‘yung records ko sa giyera’,’ Enrile told Marcos.

(My records from the war were lost.)

This was when the President revealed that Enrile’s age was not 101, but 103, as confirmed by the latter’s daughter, Katrina.

Enrile died on November 13. He will be laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on November 22.

As defense chief, Enrile played a key role in implementing martial law during Marcos Sr.’s rule.

He later withdrew his support and became one of the central figures in the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, which forced the Marcoses into exile