Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Supreme Court has denied the very urgent motion filed by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa seeking to compel the production of the alleged International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against him.

In a statement, the Supreme Court Office of the Spokesperson said the justices rejected Dela Rosa’s plea during a full-court session on Tuesday.

It instead directed the respondents to comment on a separate manifestation alleging that Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla had publicly stated that an ICC arrest warrant had already been issued against the lawmaker and that a diffusion order against him was in place.

Dela Rosa’s manifestation, filed on Nov. 13, also claimed that the Philippine government would surrender him to the ICC without undergoing extradition proceedings, and that the Department of Justice had placed at least three witnesses under the Witness Protection Program at the ICC’s request.

‘Acting on these submissions, the SC denied the Very Urgent Motion seeking to compel the production of the alleged ICC warrant. It directed respondents to comment on the Very Urgent Manifestation, through personal service and filing, within a non-extendible period of 10 days from notice,’ the spokesperson said.

The pleadings stem from the main petition filed by Dela Rosa and former President Rodrigo Duterte on March 11, which challenged the latter’s arrest and turnover to the Hague, the Netherlands, and the government’s cooperation with the ICC.

The Orchid and the Ashtray have become theatrical props in a process that should prize results over rhetoric. What began-presumably-as a civil-society effort to spotlight constructive engagement at WHO FCTC Conferences of the Parties has metastasized into a crude instrument of narrative control. When awards meant to encourage progress instead reward conformity to an orthodox line, they cease to be useful; they become propaganda.

Look at the record. Countries routinely lauded in advocacy circles are not always those producing the biggest declines in tobacco harm. According to WHO’s 2025 fact sheet, India’s adult tobacco prevalence fell from 33% in 2010 to an estimated 22% in 2025, and Thailand’s from 27% to roughly 20% over the same period-meaning both are unlikely to meet the WHO’s 30% reduction target by 2025. Meanwhile, Japan and Sweden, which have embraced pragmatic pathways for adult smokers-heating technologies in Japan, snus in Sweden-have achieved dramatic reductions in combustible cigarette use and some of the lowest smoking prevalences in their regions. Japan’s cigarette demand plunged by more than half between 2010 and 2022 as many smokers migrated to heated tobacco products; Sweden now records smoking prevalence near historic lows in Europe, with snus widely credited for much of that displacement.

Yet Japan and Sweden rarely figure as models in the awards-driven narrative. By contrast, countries that dutifully recite the same ideological script get celebrated, even when their outcomes lag. This is not benign favoritism-it is a perverse incentive structure. Awards that reward alignment with dogma rather than measurable public-health outcomes steer policy discussions away from what actually reduces death and disease and toward what looks good on a campaign placard.

The Philippines is a cautionary example of how this dynamic can malign earnest, context-sensitive policymaking. With roughly 16 million adult smokers, policymaking must balance public health goals with adult autonomy, farmer livelihoods and enforceable regulation.

Proposals to create a working group of state parties and an expert advisory arm-ideas meant to resolve complexity, not to obstruct progress-were nonetheless caricatured by outside observers. That matters, because it signals to national delegations that independence and nuance will be punished with ridicule rather than assessed on their merits. It is encouraging, however, that at COP10 the Philippines received formal recognition from Committee A for a whole-of-government approach that acknowledged national realities while cooperating internationally-proof that the treaty process itself can reward prudent, pragmatic engagement.

The deeper problem is institutional: observers observe; Parties negotiate. The Global Alliance for Tobacco Control (GATC), which hands out these ‘awards’, is merely an observer. When outside actors such as the GATC begin to masquerade as scorekeepers and moral arbiters-handing out Orchids and Ashtrays according to a narrow ideological script-the clarity of that architecture erodes. Negotiation requires trade-offs: taxation and enforcement, swapping illicit-trade control for customs capacity, supporting farmers through transition, and now the thorny regulation of alternative nicotine products that may be less harmful than combustible cigarettes. These are not trivial choices; they deserve rigorous evidence, transparent metrics and a respect for national sovereignty-not performative shaming.

If advocacy awards are to retain any credibility, they must change their rubric. Celebrate outcomes, not orthodoxy. Reward meaningful declines in combustible tobacco use, demonstrable reductions in disease burden, and policies that responsibly expand safer alternatives for adult smokers. Publish transparent, data-driven criteria. Include independent scientific review. And stop using public humiliation as a substitute for debate.

Public-health advocacy should be about saving lives, not scoring political points. Treat adult smokers as citizens with rights, recognize that harm reduction can be part of a realistic public-health toolkit, and give nations credit for measurable progress-however uncomfortable it may be for an ideological posture. The moment observers put virtue-signaling ahead of verifiable outcomes, they compromise the very cause they claim to advance. It is time to retire the spectacle and restore evidence to the center of global tobacco-control recognition.

Police in Maguindanao del Norte arrested an Army sergeant for transporting suspected smuggled cigarettes during checkpoint operations in Parang town on Sunday, police said on Monday.

Lt. Colonel Jopy Ventura, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), identified the soldier as Technical Sgt. Vergelio Marapao Jr, 46, a resident of Zamboanga City and a member of the First Army Scout Ranger Battalion in Carmen, Cotabato province.

Ventura said Marapao was driving a Toyota Vios and was flagged down about 7 p.m. on Sunday at a checkpoint manned by personnel from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion in Barangay Macasandag, Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.

He said the mobile force police found 10 small boxes containing 248 reams of smuggled San Marino cigarettes with an estimated value of P194,680.

Marapao is facing charges for violation of the Anti-Smuggling Act Law, even as his vehicle and the smuggled cigarettes were turned over to the Bureau of Customs.

In Midsayap, Cotabato, a trader was arrested on Monday for transporting smuggled cigarettes at a police checkpoint in Barangay Central Glad.

Police said P36,000 worth of contraband was seized from the suspect, identified as ‘alias Al.’ The investigation is still in progress.

In Makilala, Cotabato, agents of the Highway Patrol Group, while conducting a law enforcement operation, chanced upon a pick-up vehicle loaded with smuggled cigarettes in Barangay San Vicente, also on Monday.

The suspect, Jerric Albarico of Barangay Kawayanon, Makilala, was transporting in his Nissan Navara some P427,000 worth of smuggled cigarettes.

HPG personnel first discovered that Albarico had an expired car registration and, upon inspection, found piles of smuggled cigarettes

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday the ‘peaceful’ Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) rally was a ‘stark contrast’ to violent incidents during the Sept. 21 anti-corruption protests.

‘The PNP considered the INC rally peaceful and orderly with zero reported incidents,’ acting chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement.

‘This was a stark contrast to the September 21 rally in Manila, where hundreds were arrested and several individuals were injured. This improved outcome [was due] to clearer coordination, better preparation, and the steady presence of trained personnel on the ground,’ he added.

The violence during the Sept. 21 anti-corruption rallies erupted at the Ayala Bridge and the Mendiola Peace Arch, both of which were near Malacañang Palace.

Police arrested over 200 individuals-several of whom were minors-and at least two reportedly died during the riots, prompting human rights groups to condemn law enforcement for allegedly not exercising ‘maximum tolerance.’

The INC ended its rally Monday night, saying its members ‘did not need’ three days to call for ‘transparency and a better democracy.’ The protest was originally set to run until Tuesday.

The crowd at the INC rally reached a peak of 600,000 attendees at around 6 p.m. Monday, according to the Manila Police District.

The PNP previously said it deployed over 16,000 police officers and raised a full alert status to secure the rally.

The protests were spurred by alleged corruption involving flood control and other infrastructure projects.

DigiPlus Interactive Corp. (DigiPlus) is acquiring a stake in Hong Kong-listed International Entertainment Corp. (IEC), a group that operates an integrated and casino complex in Manila, for P12 billion.

The company told the local bourse Tuesday that it signed a convertible notes agreement. The transaction will issue the convertible notes in two tranches – split in HK $800 million per batch.

It can also convert the notes with an initial price of HK 1$ per share, allowing DigiPlus to secure 53.89 percent in IEC’s capital stock.

‘The acquisition will strengthen DigiPlus’ omnipresent entertainment ecosystem by adding a strategic offline platform that seamlessly connects with its digital network,’ the firm said.

DigiPlus operates BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, and GameZone.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will file cases before the Ombudsman against some government officials who left the country as it was reeling from back-to-back typhoons.

On Nov. 8, the DILG ordered all elected and appointed local officials to suspend their travels abroad from Nov. 9 to Nov. 15 to ensure their presence on the ground during the onslaught of Supertyphoon ‘Uwan’ (international name: Fung-wong).

Asked about their investigation of the officials who defied the DILG order at a chance interview in Camp Crame on Monday, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said, ‘We’re almost done. We will file the corresponding cases at the Ombudsman for the blatant violations they committed.’

According to him, around 24 officials will be charged, some from Cebu who flew to Europe just as Typhoon ‘Tino’ (international name: Kalmaegi) devastated the province on Nov. 4.

Remulla said they face charges of abandonment of duty, gross neglect and insubordination.

Complicated process

Asked when the charges will be filed, he told reporters: ‘We’ll see. We are completing our investigation. We’re getting their return flights. It’s a very complicated process.’

‘Whoever needs to be punished will be punished,’ he added.

Among the officials who were reported to have defied the travel ban were Isabela Gov. Rodolfo Albano III and eight Cebu local officials. They were Pilar Mayor Manuel Santiago, Poro Mayor Edgar Rama, Tudela Mayor Greman Solante, Cebu provincial council member Andrei Duterte, Liloan Mayor Aljew Jordan Frasco, San Francisco Mayor Alfredo Aquillano, Catmon Mayor Avis Ginoo-Monleon and Compostela Mayor Felijur Quiño.

The DILG office in Cagayan Valley previously said that Albano’s official travel leave was filed and approved weeks before Uwan struck Luzon. The Cebu local officials, on the other hand, had sought permission from Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro back in September to go to the United Kingdom for the World Travel Market.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD), meanwhile, said that as of Monday, the number of people killed by Tino was at 269 while for Uwan, it was 28.

According to OCD deputy spokesperson Diego Mariano, of the 269 deaths due to Tino, the majority were reported in Cebu (150), followed by Negros Occidental (77) and Negros Oriental (23).

Six were killed in Agusan del Sur, three in Capiz, two each in Leyte, Southern Leyte and Dinagat Island, while Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras and Bohol reported one fatality each.

Of the 28 deaths due to Uwan, only Ifugao logged double-digit fatalities at 10, followed by Kalinga with four. Nueva Vizcaya, Mountain Province and Benguet recorded three fatalities each.

Agri, infra damage

A total of 113 individuals remain missing due to Tino, mostly in Cebu (57), followed by Negros Occidental (50) and Negros Oriental (6), while only two individuals are yet to be accounted for due to Uwan.

On the other hand, Tino left 523 either injured or sick, compared with 52 for Uwan.

In terms of damage to infrastructure and agriculture caused by Tino, the figures were at P490.1 million and P484.8 million, respectively, according to the situation report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

A separate NDRRMC situation report for Uwan estimated the damage to infrastructure at P2.2 billion and P1.9 billion for agriculture.

Cebu bore the brunt of Tino, whose torrential rains caused heavy flooding, which accounted for many of the deaths and damage in the province.

Uwan’s torrential rains, on the other hand, set off flash floods and landslides in northern Luzon provinces.

Their combined effects led President Marcos to approve the declaration of a state of national calamity in the country, enabling government agencies to draw from emergency funds and fast-track the procurement of essential goods and services for typhoon victims.

No bettor won the P128.19-million Grand Lotto 6/55 jackpot in the draw Monday night, November 17, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

The winning numbers were 05-44-40-12-50-22.

No bettor also won the P64.64-million Megalotto 6/45 jackpot in its Monday night draw, where the winning numbers were 28-31-04-16-24-41.

The Grand Lotto 6/55 was last won by a lone bettor last Oct. 6 for a P223.58-million jackpot, while the Megalotto 6/45 was also last won by a lone bettor last Oct. 8 for a P13.25-million jackpot.

The next draw for both the Grand Lotto 6/55 and the Megalotto 6/45 will be on Wednesday night.

Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation will release a compilation album on Dec. 1, a first for her as a solo singer, SM Entertainment announced Monday, Nov. 17.

The K-pop star is celebrating her decade-long career as a soloist with the album ‘Panorama: The Best of Taeyeon,’ which will consist of 24 songs including the titular ‘Panorama’ and rearranged versions of her previous music.

Taeyeon has been forging a solo path since 2015, approximately eight years after she debuted as the leader and main vocalist of Girls’ Generation. She has put out three full-length albums and six mini albums on her own and became the bestselling solo female K-pop in 2022.

Earlier this year, Taeyeon and Red Velvet’s Wendy made headlines after they voiced their disappointment over SM Entertainment’s lack of communication and support, which led to their absence from the agency’s 30th-anniversary concert ‘SMTown Live 2025 in Seoul.’

In August, Sam Smith released a new version of his smash-hit title ‘I’m Not the Only One’ featuring Taeyeon as a project for the 10th anniversary of his debut album.

House of Representatives Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III has called out former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co for making grave allegations about the corruption scheme in the 2025 budget while still refusing to come home and cooperate with authorities.

Dy in a statement on Tuesday said that this is the reason he revoked Co’s travel authority last September – to allow the former lawmaker to come home and testify regarding the budget mess and the infrastructure corruption issue, as his name has been mentioned in several hearings and discussions.

But instead of returning to the country, Dy said Co remains outside and has resorted to releasing video statements – while his former colleagues have already faced and testified before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

‘That’s why one of the first things I did as Speaker was to cancel the travel authority of former Rep. Zaldy Co, so that he can come home and face the allegations against him. After he failed to return home, we coordinated with the DOJ (Department of Justice) so that the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) could expedite the cancellation of his passport. But until now he remains in another country – and has only released a video statement,’ Dy said.

‘Meanwhile, all of the lawmakers who have to explain something voluntarily faced and coordinated with ICI. They are all willing to cooperate and work with the ICI to explain their side. Former Rep. Co did not do this,’ he added.

Instead of bringing clarity to the budget issues and the flood control controversy, Dy said Co only added to the confusion with his video statements.

According to the Speaker, Co’s grave allegations must be made under oath and before competent authorities like the ICI.

‘This is a clear difference: while others are trying to clarify matters, former Rep. Co was evasive. Instead of helping clear things, he only added to the public’s confusion,’ Dy said.

‘Videos take abroad are not enough. When there are grave allegations, the bases must also be as firm. He needs to face, take an oath, and present evidence to authorities like the ICI. And if we need to give him protection, we will coordinate with the appropriate agencies to ensure his safety while he is giving out his testimony,’ he added.

Co has been out of the country ever since the corruption scandal broke out, but the former lawmaker ended his silence last Friday by claiming that former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman instructed him to place P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

The directive, Co said, supposedly came from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Co claimed that after he confirmed the directive with Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, he then told Marcos’ cousin, former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, about this instruction.

Co then said that Romualdez supposedly gave the go signal as ‘what the President wants, the President gets.’

In the second part of the video uploaded on Saturday, Co said that Marcos received kickbacks equal to a quarter of the P100 billion insertions for public works that the Chief Executive wanted in the 2025 national budget.

But Co’s statements have been questioned by several individuals, even by some critics of the current administration. On Friday, 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.

Contreras and Magno were referring to the National Expenditures Program (NEP), the proposed budget prepared by the executive branch which is handed over to the House of Representatives within 30 days after a president’s State of the Nation Address.

The House then deliberates the NEP, and makes amendments – either by deduction or augmentation of funds for projects – and thereby creating the GAB.

After this, the House submits its version of the GAB to the Senate for its own deliberation. The Senate then makes its own amendments, eventually prompting the creation of the bicam – a small group of House and Senate members who meet around November or December to thresh out differences in their GAB versions.

Co made other claims in the three-part video statement, like allegations that Romualdez threatened to kill him. However, several House officials on Monday noted that Co’s claims sounded like a plot that only happens in movies.

The former Ako Bicol solon has been on the hot seat for a long time already, as he is accused of being behind issues hounding the 2025 national budget and the government’s infrastructure program. At one of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearings, contractor-couple Curlee Discaya and Sarah Discaya said several lawmakers – including Co – asked and received kickbacks from projects.

Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, former officials of the Bulacan first district engineering office, also tagged Co and other lawmakers as allegedly involved in the kickbacks scheme for infrastructure projects.

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) on Tuesday reiterated that it was ‘against moves that are against the Constitution.’

This came in a statement after the INC ended its rally for ‘transparency for a better democracy’ on Monday night (Nov. 17). The protest-action was supposed to run until Tuesday, Nov. 18.

‘From the very start, we have stressed that we are against moves that are against the Constitution. We started peacefully and we ended peacefully,’ the INC said on Tuesday.

‘Taking into consideration the speed and extent of media coverage, both local and international, that the rally generated, it did not need three days to achieve the goal of sending the message that we are calling for justice, accountability, transparency, and peace,’ it added.

Leading up to the rally, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) warned of groups that may infiltrate the INC rally to destabilize the national government.

However, in a statement later on Tuesday, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the two-day rally was peaceful.

‘This ended with no one hurt, nothing damaged, and no chaos caused. This is a victory for democracy. No rights were trampled on and no voices were unheard,’ Remulla maintained.

‘Justice is coming. At this time, the wheels of justice are churning. The guilty will be imprisoned. The guilty will be judged. And many will be held accountable for their actions,’ he added.

The protest stemmed from alleged corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects.