Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

While Ahtisa Manalo is currently competing in Thailand for the Philippines’ fifth Miss Universe victory, two of her national pageant ‘sisters’ are off to Vietnam to carry the country in different contests.

Cyrille Payumo, who competed alongside Manalo in the 2024 Miss Universe Philippines pageant, will compete in the third edition of the Miss Charm pageant next month.

Manalo’s 2025 Miss Universe Philippines batchmate Chelsea Fernandez, meanwhile, will take part in the second edition of the Miss Cosmo pageant, also next month.

Payumo finished in the Top 10 in the 2024 national pageant, with Manalo placing as second runner-up. After the show, they received The Miss Philippines-Charm and The Miss Philippines-Cosmo titles, respectively.

Miss Universe Philippines organizer Empire Philippines also holds the sister brand The Miss Philippines that manages other international pageant franchises.

Fernandez, another pageant veteran, was among the six finalists in the recent national pageant, and subsequently received The Miss Philippines-Cosmo title. Manalo took home the main prize.

Payumo and Fernandez faced members of the media at their sendoff press conference held at the Empire Studio at Estancia Mall in Pasig City on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

They were joined by Mister Pilipinas-Man of the Year Michael Angelo Toledo, who is vying for the country’s second win in the 2025 Man of the Year contest in Bali, Indonesia.

Payumo had previously brought honor to the coutry when she posted the Philippines’ fifth win in the Miss Tourism International pageant in Malaysia in 2019.

Fernandez competed in The Miss Globe pageant in Albania in 2022, where she finished in the Top 15 and brought home a crown as winner of the ‘Head-to-Head Challenge.’

Toledo himself is a pageant veteran, placing third runner-up in the inaugural edition of the Mister Fitness Supermodel World contest in Vietnam in 2023.

The 2025 Man of the Year contest in Bali will conclude on Nov. 24, while the 2025 Miss Charm pageant’s coronation will be on Dec. 13. The 2025 Miss Cosmo finale is scheduled on Dec. 20.

Security Bank Corp. on Friday reported a 7-percent increase in its net income in the first nine months of the year, reaching P9.1 billion from P8.5 billion as more clients obtained loans.

The lender said in a statement that its earnings rose amid the continued reduction of the central bank’s benchmark interest rate.

The company also said that its total revenues surged by 22 percent to P48.8 billion.

Net interest income jumped 15 percent to P37.2 billion. Net loans expanded by 8 percent to P672 billion, driven mainly by retail.

In the retail segment, home loans grew by 15 percent, credit cards by 27 percent and auto loans by 42 percent.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has been slashing policy rates, with some industry sources expecting further rate cuts next year. This, as the local economy posted slower growth in the third quarter of 2025.

With lower borrowing costs, consumers and businesses are encouraged to spend more or take out loans for housing and cars.

‘Customer-centric’ growth

‘We delivered another strong quarter, underscoring our continued focus on customer-centric growth, digital transformation and operational efficiency,’ said Sanjiv Vohra, president and chief executive officer of Security Bank.

‘Revenues continued to grow faster than expenses, with revenues rising 6.7 percent quarter-on-quarter against just a 0.8 percent growth in expenses,’ the CEO said.

As the bank invested more in manpower and digital transformation, operating costs went up 20 percent.

Total deposits likewise rose 25 percent to P901 billion.

The bank’s common equity tier 1 ratio jumped to 12.7 percent, while total capital adequacy ratio increased to 13.6 percent.

Security Bank has a total of 365 branches across the country, with 15 new branches launched during the January to September period.

Last September, the firm raised P21 billion from the debt market, its largest bond issuance yet. INQ

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Saturday cautioned against the ‘political exploitation’ of the allegations made by former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, who recently broke his silence after being implicated in the corruption of budget insertions and kickbacks in government infrastructure projects.

This came after Co on Friday claimed that he was told by former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to stay out of the Philippines, despite planning to return to the country after his medical check-up, as these were directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

‘We likewise caution against the political exploitation of these allegations, especially when released at sensitive moments that may inflame public sentiment or be used to influence political outcomes,’ the CBCP said in a statement, penned by its president Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David.

Co said that he used to believe the promise that he would be taken care of the president, but he said that ‘what I didn’t know was that what they meant by ‘we will take care of you’ was that I would be used as a scapegoat for their anti-corruption campaign.’

Co also implicated Romualdez and Marcos as the alleged masterminds behind P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget.

Co then published a list of proposed projects that Marcos, through Romualdez, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Adrian Bersamin, purportedly requested to be inserted into the budget at the bicameral conference committee level.

The CBCP is then calling for ‘truth, justice, and due process to prevail,’ emphasizing that the ‘Filipino people deserve clarity, not conjecture; truth, not rumor; accountability, not manipulation.’

With this, the CBCP also urged Co to return home noting that if his accusations are credible and with verified evidence, he must file charges before proper courts and under oath.

‘Public declarations on social media, however alarming, cannot take the place of formal testimony in the appropriate legal venues. For the good of the nation, such claims must be examined transparently, impartially, and in accordance with the rule of the law,’ the CBCP stressed.

After Co’s accusations, Malacañang belied the claims, describing them as ‘completely without basis’ and ‘hearsay.’

The month of November marked several huge losses in pop culture. Yesterday, I wrote about the impact of Stan ‘The Man’ Lee, and last night I realized why I should not write about Kevin Conroy, also. Since their passing was respectively only a few days apart, and to celebrate one’s life is never too late, never taken for granted. And honestly, I believe on my part, if you are as deeply ingrained in comic books as I have been for many decades, it is a responsibility to honor all of these heroes of mine and of millions of others all over the world.

Because without them, our young lives, growing up in a decade that was full of wonder, amazement, and discovery of what was out there in terms of entertainment, would have never been the same without these special individuals, and today, I give my respect to the only definitive voice of Batman, the late, great Kevin Conroy.

November 10, 2024, marks the second death anniversary of a man who didn’t just play a comic book character; he became the character. Kevin Conroy, the legendary voice behind the Dark Knight for three decades, passed away on November 10, 2022, at the age of 66 after a short battle with cancer. The fact that he continued to provide his voice for Batman in various forms of media despite being revealed later on that he knew he was dying, what does this say about this man?

Kevin Conroy wanted to lend his voice as much as he could while he could for the fans and not just for himself. Kevin Conroy displayed a greater sense of duty here, as he kept doing his voice acting knowing that time is longer on his side, and does that not remind you of the fearless spirit of Batman himself? Indeed, it does without a doubt.

To say he was the ‘best’ Batman is an understatement. For legions of fans, myself included, he was the only Batman. The voice you hear in your head when you read a Batman comic, or watch any modern interpretations of him in animated shows and video games. That’s Kevin Conroy. From the moment he first uttered those now-legendary lines in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, he set a perfect standard that no live-action actor, no matter how good their chin acting, has managed to surpass or even reach.

Kevin Conroy not only got into the character’s psyche, but he became it each time he was in the voice booth recording his lines for Batman: The Animated Series. Even now, when I have watched the interviews, documentaries, and clips uploaded of him recording his lines in the early 90s, you could see the focus, the attention to every nuance, pronunciation, and enunciation of his words, and the mastery of his voice acting was second to none. He was a master of his work. A genius without a doubt, that is for sure.

His genius lay in his understanding of the duality of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Other actors played Batman as a disguise and Bruce Wayne as the real person. Kevin Conroy knew better. As he once explained, Bruce Wayne was the mask, the ‘charming, debonair, playboy’ persona, while Batman was the truth, the tormented soul. His ability to switch between the two with just a subtle vocal shift was, in a word, perfection.

The legacy he leaves behind is vast and influential. To learn on my part that he voiced the Caped Crusader in over 60 different productions is astounding, including films like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, numerous animated series, and the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham video game franchise, including Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. He even made a live-action appearance as an older Bruce Wayne in the CW’s ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ crossover event in 2019, a moment of pure fan service that felt incredibly earned. His portrayal resonated because it had depth, vulnerability, and a commanding authority that felt inherently, genuinely ‘Batman.’

Kevin Conroy will be sorely missed by his family, friends, and a legion of fans worldwide. But his voice, that one-of-a-kind voice that defined justice and the night for an entire generation, will never truly fade.

He is gone, but his legacy is as eternal as the Dark Knight himself.

Rest in peace, Kevin Conroy. You are the Batman.

San Beda leaned on Agjanti Miller’s late-game heroics to pull away from Jose Rizal University, 65-56, in Group B action of the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament Saturday at the San Juan Arena.

Clinging to a 59-56 lead in the final two minutes, the Red Lions turned to Miller, who buried back-to-back triples to shut the door on the Heavy Bombers and secure an 8-3 record-the best mark in the group.

Miller finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

‘I took a little step back in this game because I’ve been sick all week, so this is like a first game back for me,’ Miller said. ‘At the last second, the ball came to me and I just had to put the game away.’

Bryan Sajonia paced San Beda with 18 points on 50 percent shooting.

JRU slipped to 6-6, falling a game behind fourth-place Letran (6-5). Allen Laurenaria and Shawn Argente scored 12 points each for the Heavy Bombers in the loss.

Government contractor Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya on Friday named several incumbent and former House members on his payoff ledger.

Discaya bared the contents of this ledger during the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing.

The contractor named in his payoff ledger Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, Quezon City 4th District Rep. Marvin Rillo, Caloocan 3rd District Rep. Dean Asistio, Quezon City 5th District Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas, Quezon City 6th District Rep. Marvin Co-Pilar and Uswag Ilonggo party-list Rep. Jojo Ang.

Also named by Discaya were former Undersecretary Terence Calatrava of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas and former Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo.

These individuals were among the 17 personalities already accused by Discaya of allegedly soliciting money from them after they won in a government project bid.

All of the lawmakers and Calatrava denied the accusation of Discaya.

Bernardo, who is also in the hearing to testify and implicate senators in the kickback scandal, was also asked to react on Discaya’s ledger which mentioned him.

The former undersecretary, citing Discaya’s testimony, said that the alleged payoff was given to Manny Bulusan of the DPWH-North Manila District Engineering Office and not to him.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian pressed Bernardo: ‘You are not denying that it came from Mr. Discaya, or you just don’t remember?’

‘I don’t remember,’ Bernardo replied.

‘You just need to check?’ Gatchalian asked, to which Bernardo answered in the affirmative.

This ledger is just partial since Discaya said he was not able to get them all when he was briefly released in detention on Friday, accompanied by Senate security to obtain the document in his residence.

Committee chairman Panfilo Lacson then told Discaya to obtain all of the ledgers which contained the names of all lawmakers he implicated in his previous testimony.

Discaya remains in Senate detention after being cited for contempt by Lacson on Sept. 18 for lying about the reason behind his wife Cezarah’s absence.

Lacson said he will write a request to Senate President Vicente Sotto III to allow Discaya to return to his residence and get all the documents needed.

‘We will allow you to go back. I will write to the Senate president as to when, but take everything you need and don’t go back and forth,’ Lacson said.

‘Maybe you just want to go home,’ the senator quipped.

‘That’s true, because I miss my children and my house,’ Discaya told the senator.

Former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Elizaldy Co should return home and cooperate with investigations into infrastructure corruption and the alleged budget mess, Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said after the ex-lawmaker broke his silence and implicated key officials.

De Lima in a statement on Friday said that Co should testify under oath, so that his statements would be used in investigations and in courts.

Co in a video statement earlier claimed that key administration officials-particularly Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and Presidential Legislative Liason Office Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin-told him that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. allegedly ordered the placement of P100 million worth of insertions.

‘We urge former Rep. Zaldy Co to return to the country and fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation into the anomalous flood control and other infrastructure projects,’ de Lima said.

‘He should take an oath and tell the whole truth before the proper forum,’ she added.

The Makabayan bloc, composed of ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co, meanwhile, said that Marcos should explain himself and address the issues.

‘This testimony demolishes any pretense that Marcos Jr. is innocent or unaware of the corruption plaguing his administration. He is not merely complicit-he is the chief architect. The President personally approves the release of unprogrammed funds and directly orders billions in budget insertions. The buck stops with him,’ Makabayan said.

‘While we acknowledge that Zaldy Co’s testimony may be motivated by self-preservation after being made a scapegoat and charged while others enjoyed protection, this does not diminish the gravity of his revelations. The list of projects he included in his revelation should be investigated including the private contractors involved,’ they added.

According to Makabayan, Co’s revelation also confirms their suspicions that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was bloated despite the 1987 Constitution stating that the highest budget priority should be given to education.

‘The testimony reveals what we have long suspected: that the bloating of DPWH’s budget beyond even that of DepEd is not accidental but deliberate. When Zaldy Co stated that only P50 billion could realistically be inserted into programmed appropriations without making DPWH’s budget exceed DepEd (Department of Education), this was allegedly overruled by Malacañang because this was apparently already promised to the President,’ Makabayan said.

‘We note that Zaldy Co has yet to reveal Part 2 of his testimony, which allegedly involves the actual delivery of money to the residences of Marcos Jr. and Romualdez. This only deepens the imperative for a thorough and independent investigation,’ they added.

Co in the video statement said Pangandaman asked him in 2024 to confirm with Bersamin as to whether the President really ordered putting P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Bill. After getting the confirmation, Co said he told former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez about this instruction.

According to Co, he believed that the orders came from Marcos because Bersamin said that the project was placed in a brown leather bag-which he remembered to be the same bag that Marcos spoke about when he, the President, and Romualdez returned from a trip to Singapore.

Co said that Marcos ordered the Presidential Security Command (PSC) to fetch the bag when it was left, with the Chief Executive saying that everything else can be left but not the brown leather bag.

After getting these confirmations, Co said he appealed to Pangandaman and Bersamin to just put half of the P100 billion to unprogrammed funds so that funds for DPWH would not exceed the allocation for DepEd. Co also said he is surprised as to why Marcos is saying that he cannot recognize the 2025 budget.

Questions have surrounded the 2025 budget ever since the budget bill was finalized by the bicameral conference committee. In January 2025, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab and his ally, former President Rodrigo Duterte both claimed that the budget was illegal since there were blanks in the bicam report that the House ratified.

Former Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, who was then the acting chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, said that the blank items in the bicam report had exact figures already, insisting that blanks were only left for final calculations.

Quimbo also said back then that it was the Senate committee on finance’s technical staff which prepared the bicam report on the General Appropriations Bill (GAB). Furthermore, Quimbo noted that the adjustments can be seen on the Senate’s committee report.

Co, meanwhile, is facing several issues regarding the 2025 national budget and the infrastructure project scandal.

At one of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearings, contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya named several lawmakers-including Co-who allegedly asked for and received kickbacks from infrastructure projects, after their firms were able to bag government contracts.

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

Co is also accused by Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco of mangling the 2025 budget, claiming that party-lists affiliated with Co received more than P4 billion worth of allocations from DPWH-P2.23 billion for Ako Bicol, P2.06 billion for Barangay Health Workers which is represented by her niece, former Rep. Natasha Co, and P13 billion under Elizaldy Co himself.

As early as August, Tiangco has been asking Co to reveal all the amendments made by the small committee for the 2025 budget, to show that the House leadership is truly serious about its push for reforms.

Security Bank Corp. saw its net profit rise by 7 percent to P9.1 billion as more clients obtained loans in the first nine months of this year.

The bank disclosed Friday that its total revenues also booked a 22-percent gain to P48.8 billion.

The lender’s net interest income jumped 15 percent to P37.2 billion. Net loans expanded by 8 percent to P672 billion, driven mainly by retail.

In the retail segment, home loans increase 15 percent, credit cards 27 percent and auto loans 42 percent.

Total deposits likewise rose 25 percent to P901 billion. INQ

Acting Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered the agency to trace the origins of bomb threats made against the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila campus.

The university received the threats on Thursday through an email to a UP Manila-Philippine General Hospital programmer, then through a text on an instant messaging app to a doctor there.

Police found no explosives in the school.

‘[Nartatez] has mobilized intelligence and cybercrime units to swiftly identify and pursue the individuals responsible for disseminating malicious bomb threats against the University of the Philippines Manila campus,’ the PNP said in a statement on Friday.

‘Nartatez also tasked all local police units to intensify security measures, including heightened visibility and immediate response protocols, to prevent any further disruption and secure the academic communities,’ it added.

In a statement later on Thursday, the UP Office of the Student Regent (OSR) questioned the timing of the bomb threats, citing upcoming protest actions to condemn government corruption and observe International Students Day.

An incumbent House of Representatives member and a former lawmaker have agreed with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s view that charges should only be filed against individuals when there is evidence pointing to their involvement in corruption.

In a statement on Friday, Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said Marcos’ declaration is a welcome development since there have been a lot of accusations that have not been substantiated.

‘Accountability is not served when it is weaponized by selfish partisan interests and biases without factual proof or evidence. It is difficult. They got used to speculations and fake news,’ he noted.

‘The president has made it very clear: There is no evidence against former Speaker Romualdez. That should end all the manufactured blame and allow investigators to focus on the real anomalies that need answers,’ he added.

Marcos, in a press briefing on Thursday, was asked if former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez – his cousin – was part of the initial list of personalities who will be charged.

In response, Marcos said he did not think so, because there is not enough evidence that has been unearthed against the former speaker.

The president noted that while there are many suggestions on who else the government should file cases against, evidence must be presented first to support their claims.

Former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, meanwhile, said that Marcos’ statements effectively ended the so-called ‘fall guy’ narrative.

Barbers was Romualdez’s former chief political officer and was the overall chairperson of the House quad committee during the 19th Congress, when Romualdez still headed the House.

‘With the president himself saying there is no evidence against former Speaker Romualdez, all scapegoating efforts collapse on their own. The fall guy narrative ends here,’ he said.

‘But of course, people would not stop to push for the former speaker’s inclusion into their narrative to blame him,’ he continued.

‘Now, the true work will start, because what the president said is clear – only truth and accountability should prevail,’ the lawmaker said.

‘The fight is evidence-based, not on mere speculations of individuals. Whatever allegation there is should be proven through clear and trustworthy evidence, not through hearsay or lies,’ he added.

On Thursday, House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno said there appears to be not enough evidence to merit complaints against Romualdez.

Puno, in an online interview, said that lawyers approach the flood control mess with the mindset that complaints can be filed based on two grounds – malversation and plunder.

The House official explained that malversation points to the diversion of funds for a project, while plunder is conspiracy among involved personalities to steal public funds of at least P50 million.

However, Puno explained that evidence at hand would not implicate Romualdez as he was not a signatory of key flood control documents like the proposed budget or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

He said that accountability rests on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Puno also noted that testimonies made against Romualdez were questionable – referring to the statements made by Orly Regala Guteza who appeared before the Senate blue ribbon committee, claiming that he delivered luggage with money to Romualdez.

He pointed out that there were serious issues with Guteza’s testimony after a Manila court found his sworn statement as falsified, as notary public Petchie Rose Espera did not notarize the document and her signature and notarial details had been forged.

House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V also said that Marcos’ statements should be a reminder that all investigations must be anchored on evidence and not mere speculation.

Romualdez has not been connected to any of the top companies doing the flood control projects, but he was one of the lawmakers named by contractor-couple Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya and Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya of allegedly receiving kickbacks from the projects.

Romualdez called out the Discaya couple’s claims, calling it ‘false, malicious and nothing more than name-dropping.’