Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

to grow, Philippine Airlines (PAL) is expanding its flagship Manila-Los Angeles nonstop service from 14 to 18 flights weekly starting June 1, 2026.

Currently, PAL’s Manila to LA schedule operates twice daily using the Boeing 777 aircraft. By June next year, this will increase to three times a day on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. ‘By increasing our capacity on this key route, we are opening doors for travelers to experience the world-class service and heartfelt hospitality unique to Philippine Airlines, while also supporting the dynamic economic relationship that drives opportunities between the Philippines and the U.S.,’ said PAL President Richard Nuttall.

This expanded service, he added, provides seamless access to PAL’s extensive domestic and regional network, making onward travel throughout the Philippines and across Asia easier and more convenient.

Travelers flying to Los Angeles will also benefit from expanded connectivity to other parts of the United States through PAL’s airline partners.

The increase of flights to Los Angeles marks a significant step in PAL’s North American expansion and coincides with the planned boost in Manila-Seattle services, which will grow from three to five times weekly beginning November 25, 2025.

These additions further bolster the airline’s daily flights to San Francisco and Guam, thrice-weekly service to New York, and five-times weekly flights to Honolulu.

Complementing the flag carrier’s existing daily Manila-Guam service is PAL’s soon-to-be-launched thrice-weekly Cebu-Guam nonstop flights starting December 16, 2025, establishing the only direct air link between the two destinations.

The upcoming increase in flight frequencies to the United States will further boost cargo capacity by up to 60 tons per week across Manila, other parts of Asia and Los Angeles, with connections to different US states through airline and trucking partners.

These initiatives highlight PAL’s commitment to delivering exceptional service, enhancing travel accessibility, and offering more ways for passengers to discover the rich culture and renowned hospitality of the Philippines.

All’s well that ends well, as the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) held a dialogue with Viva Communications Inc. and ‘Dreamboi’ director Rodina Singh, to address the viral video of a content creator hurling an expletive remark against the government agency.

Led by MTRCB chairperson and CEO Diorella ‘Lala’ Sotto, the dialogue was held at the government agency’s headquarters in Quezon City on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Also present at the dialogue was Viva president Vincent Del Rosario, as well as its MTRCB executives Eloisa Matias, lawyer Pedro Cedar Gabriel Solidum and Anna Farinah Mindano.

According to Sotto, the dialogue ended with a ‘mutual understanding’ among the involved parties and ‘constructive outcomes’ came out of it.

‘Our discussion with Viva Communications, Inc. regarding the film ‘Dreamboi’ was very productive. The engagement fostered constructive outcomes and strengthened our mutual understanding as we move forward together,’ Sotto said.

For her part, Singh said the dialogue centered around the importance of filmmakers creating timely films while practicing mindfulness toward their target audiences.

‘Ang masasabi ko sa mga kapwa ko manlilikha na siguro mas panahon na para gumawa ng mas napapanahon na materyal but at the same time we also need to know kung anong klaseng mga audience ang gusto nating ma-reach, at sa pakikipagtulungan natin, umaasa tayo na kasama natin at katulong natin ang MTRCB sa paglikha ng mga kwentong makabuluhan at mga kwentong napapanahon,’ she said.

‘Dreamboi’ – an entry to the CineSilip Film Festival – made headlines after the government agency flagged it twice before it earned an R-18 rating on its third review. The film eventually swept major awards at the festival’s awarding ceremony, including Best Film and Best Director.

Malacañang on Tuesday expressed confidence that the upcoming holidays will boost the country’s economic growth in the fourth quarter of the year.

These remarks came in response to the 4 percent economic growth recorded for the third quarter of 2025, the slowest pace seen in four years.

This was the weakest gross domestic product (GDP) performance since early 2021, when the economy shrank by 3.8 percent because of strict COVID-19 lockdowns.

‘According to the DBM [Department of Budget and Management], we talked to them, and they said that we expect GDP growth to improve in the coming, this last quarter of the year, because we have expected private holiday spending supported by government programs, as well as growth in exports,’ Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said at a briefing.

‘And the president’s order is to use the P1.307 trillion program budget correctly so that business sectors can see that the government is spending correctly, and this will boost the economy and consumption and investment,’ she added.

Castro also echoed Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan’s recent statements that typhoon disruptions have impacted the economic growth.

‘These disasters have definitely slowed down economic growth,’ she said.

Asked whether the ongoing investigation into the flood control projects also affected the economy, she responded in the affirmative.

‘As far as I know, there is an impact. There is an impact. But again, I will provide the details when they have a report,’ she added.

Authorities in Zamboanga City intercepted two motorized vessels loaded with smuggled cigarettes in the waters off Sta. Cruz Island in Zamboanga City on Wednesday afternoon.

Brigadier General Eleazar Matta, Zamboanga Peninsula Police Regional Office director, disclosed that during a seaborne patrol, the operating teams detected two suspicious motorized boats, which they later trapped and were found loaded with 1,532 master cases of assorted cigarettes with an estimated market value amounting to P107.2 million.

The authorities arrested seven crew members who were residents of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga City after they failed to present documents for the cargo.

The smuggled cigarettes were placed under the custody of the police’s 2nd Zamboanga City Mobile Force Company, while the motorized boat and the arrested individuals were turned over to the Zamboanga City Police Station 11 for inquest proceedings.

LeBron James took a key step toward returning to the Los Angeles Lakers when he practiced with the team’s G-League affiliate in El Segundo, California, on Wednesday.

James has not played this season because of sciatica, a lower-body nerve issue on his right side.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said James practiced with the South Bay Lakers, James’ first practice action of the season. Redick told the media about the practice before the Lakers played at Oklahoma City on Wednesday night. He said reports he received were that James looked good.

‘He was able to participate in the practice,’ Redick said. ‘Got up and down a little bit with just some, like, warm-up transition drills and progressed to five-on-five in the halfcourt, and got, I think about 12 to 15 possessions of live 5-on-5 contact.’

James, who is entering his 23rd NBA season, is the league’s all-time scoring leader. The Lakers won eight of their first 11 games without him.

The filing of complaints against Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco ‘Kiko’ Barzaga over violent incidents related to the September 21 rally is a good development so that he will know these issues are not joking matters, Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno said.

Puno, in an online interview on Thursday, was asked about Barzaga’s latest ordeal, after the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) confirmed that it has indeed filed criminal complaints against the Cavite lawmaker.

Puno also claimed that there is a precedent to Barzaga’s actions, noting that the latter was expelled from school due to violence-related incidents.

‘That issue of violence mentioned by the CIDG, we know that he has a history of such incidents, he appears to have been expelled from three schools, and the reason for each expulsion was violence-related – he pointed a gun and a knife at somebody, something like that,’ Puno said in Filipino.

‘So maybe, it’s good that the CIDG filed a complaint against him because he might think that it’s a laughing matter, right? It’s good that he will learn his lesson, that it’s not correct to incite violence against other people, something like that,’ he added.

CIDG director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II on Wednesday confirmed that they have filed complaints against Barzaga over violent incidents during the Sept. 21 anti-corruption protests.

‘I confirm, though, that this Group had filed a criminal complaint against Francisco Barzaga in relation to the violent incidents which occurred in Mendiola and Recto, Manila on September 21, 2025, before the office of the Quezon City Prosecutors’ Office,’ Morico said in a message to reporters.

‘With this development, however, we are refrained from issuing statements relative to the said criminal complaint as it may preempt or influence the outcome of the preliminary investigation pending before the city prosecutor,’ he added.

Barzaga separately confirmed the existence of complaints against him through a social media post on Wednesday, uploading a copy of a document that appeared to be a subpoena from the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office for violations of Articles 138 and 142 of the Revised Penal Code, pertaining to inciting to rebellion and inciting to sedition.

The violations were allegedly related to Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

Puno in the past, has called out Barzaga – a former member of the National Unity Party (NUP) that the Deputy Speaker chairs – over his behavior and social media posts.

Last September, Puno said that Barzaga appears to be unwell, as his actions have not been what is normally expected of a government official. The House official said that Barzaga, at the height of discussions over a change in leadership, barged inside Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos’ office and told everyone to ‘sit down’ before laying his plans if he becomes Speaker.

Puno said everybody in the room was shocked, but Barzaga was accommodated, with Marcos allegedly listening to what Barzaga had to say.

Barzaga, in response, said he will not release his medical records to quash claims that he is ‘unwell’, as it might set a dangerous precedent for people who would be accused of having a mental illness.

Still, Puno and NUP brought Barzaga’s behavior before the House committee on ethics and privileges, amid belief that his conduct has been prejudicial to government service.

Puno said the hearing on Barzaga’s issue was delayed only because of the successive cyclones. It would resume on Monday, November 17, Puno said.

‘The hearing of the ethics committee about him was postponed due to the cyclones, but it will push through this coming Monday. On our part, we wrote to the committee, said that ‘you know, the charges are there, we placed our stand,’ we said that it’s okay if we do not have a long discussion since our arguments are already laid down,’ Puno said.

‘It’s like the prosecution rests after submitting our charge. We do not want to talk anymore, all we have to say is there,’ he added.

After leaving NUP, Barzaga started posting different criticisms against House members, cabinet officials, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, and even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

There were also insinuations from Barzaga, asking alleged ‘protesters’ not to burn the Batasang Pambansa complex down until they have evacuated employees and documents.

Newly listed Maynilad Water Services, Inc. reported Thursday that its core earnings in the first nine months grew 18 percent to P11.4 billion despite market challenges.

In a stock filing Thursday, the company said its topline climbed 9.5 percent to P27.7 billion on the back of a tariff hike imposed early this year.

‘Our operational gains and disciplined execution show that our fundamentals remain sound, and that we are on track with our 2025 operational and financial objectives,’ said Maynilad president and chief executive officer Ramoncito Fernandez.

Maynilad is the water and wastewater services provider for the West Zone, covering 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila and Cavite.

It finally went public last week, raising about P34.3 billion as it secured the support of 12 cornerstone investors.

Amid reports of an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa broke his silence on Thursday by talking about his faith on social media.

Dela Rosa, who has been absent for the past two Senate session days, shared two separate posts on his personal Facebook page: one showing him holding an image of the infant Jesus, or Santo Niño, and another featuring photos with Father Cianno Ubod of the Compostela Parish Church in Cebu.

‘My patron saint, my kabirthday always in January. Viva Pit Senior Santo Niño!’ he captioned his photo with the Santo Niño.

Meanwhile, he talked about his first personal encounter with Ubod on the second update.

‘Times like these, we need to seek some guidance from our spiritual adviser. Thank you Father Ciano,’ he said.

It is unclear if Dela Rosa is still in Cebu, but a week ago, he posted videos of himself helping typhoon-hit residents in the province.

Dela Rosa has yet to personally respond to the reported issuance of an ICC arrest warrant against him.

His legal counsel, Atty. Israelito Torreon, earlier, said they have been made aware of circulating reports but do not have independent confirmation as to whether or not the information is accurate.

Dela Rosa is facing charges of crimes against humanity in relation to the role he played at the time of then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war.

Dela Rosa, as Philippine National Police chief, issued Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016, which was the basis for the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has suspended for 90 days the license of a motorist who engaged in a road rage and allegedly physically assaulted a 60-year-old man in Quezon City, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.

According to a show-cause order issued by the LTO and posted on Thursday, the complainant was the senior citizen’s child, who reported on a social media page that his father was involved in a road incident.

The motorist, driving a Toyota car ‘attempted to alight from his vehicle when a motorcycle driven by the complainant’s father honked to draw his attention and avert a possible collision,’ the LTO said.

‘Instead, the driver intentionally struck the complainant’s father and, after alighting, proceeded to physically assault him,’ it added.

Furthermore, the complainant alleged in a social media post that the Toyota driver had previously hit another motorcycle rider.

‘In a Facebook post, the complainant shared that the driver of a Toyota Altis honked at his father, who was driving a motorcycle, and allegedly even hit him with the car door and punched him. Before the incident, the same driver had also reportedly hit another rider,’ the DOTr said in English in an issued statement.

The Toyota driver was ordered to appear before the LTO Intelligence and Investigation Division to explain why he should not be held liable for reckless driving and why his license should not be revoked for being an improper person to operate a motor vehicle, the agency said.

His vehicle has also been placed under alarm status to prevent any transactions while the driver is under investigation.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has welcomed the new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Charlito Martin ‘Charlie’ Mendoza, saying the agency remains ‘in good hands’ under his leadership.

Mendoza, who served as Finance undersecretary for the Revenue Operations Group from April 2024, succeeded Romeo Lumagui Jr.

‘We will miss Usec Charlie at the DOF, but I believe the BIR needs him more at this time. I trust that under his leadership, the BIR will meet and even exceed our revenue targets,’ Recto said.

‘Above all, I trust that he will always keep the well-being of our taxpayers at the heart of all your efforts,’ he added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Mendoza on Wednesday. As undersecretary, he had already been supervising both the BIR and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) since the start of his tenure.

A key part of his role was leading a campaign that sought to curb smuggling and illicit trade through digitalization. The initiative helped the Department of Finance exceed its revenue target in 2024.