Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Gilas Pilipinas mainstays AJ Edu and Dwight Ramos helped their respective teams preserve their winning streaks in the B.League.

Edu made his presence felt on both ends of the floor anchor as the Gunma Crane Thunders breezed past the Akita Northern Happinets on Sunday at CNA Arena Akita.

The 6-foot-10 big man anchored Gunma’s defense with three blocks while also contributing 10 points and seven rebounds.

Gunma completed a resounding sweep of Akita, which it also whipped 81-48 on Saturday. With the win, the Crane Thunders stretched their winning run to five games for a 9-6 slate.

Ramos and the Levanga Hokkaido also continued their winning ways.

Hokkaido made it four in a row after beating the Shiga Lakes, 108-99, on Sunday.

Ramos collected 11 points, three rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block as Hokkaido improved to 11-4. Levanga has been on a tear, having won eight of its last nine games.

Osaka Evessa swingman Ray Parks and Yokohama B-Corsairs guard Kiefer Ravena also won.

Parks was on target from long range, hitting 3-of-4 3-pointers for 11 points in an 83-81 squeaker over the Saga Ballooners. Osaka improved to 6-9.

Ravena, meanwhile, had eight points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal as Yokohama (5-10) turned back the Toyama Grouses, 107-94 at Yokohama International Pool.

Francis Lopez’s FE Nagoya, however, wasn’t so lucky as they succumbed to an 82-64 loss at the hands of the Koshigaya Alphas at Nagoya City Nakamura Sports Center.

Lopez struggled with only four points and seven rebounds as Nagoya crashed to 5-10.

The Senate of the Philippines officially launches its redesigned and upgraded website today as part of its continuing efforts to enhance its three main purposes: transparency, accessibility, and security in providing legislative information to the public.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who led the unveiling ceremony, said the improvements were made to ensure that the public can obtain information with ease.

‘The website was redesigned with a cleaner, modern, and user-friendly interface to make information easier to find, access, and understand. It can now be accessed seamlessly across all devices. You can navigate Senate documents, bills, and resolutions with greater speed and clarity,’ Sotto said.

He further emphasized that live broadcasts of sessions and events are now available on the platform, most especially the accessibility of the whole budget process.

‘This is what freedom of information looks like in practice – giving citizens direct and convenient access to the work of their representatives,’ Sotto added.

Senate Secretary Atty. Renato Bantug Jr., in his opening remarks, affirmed the importance of the website upgrade: ‘By providing real-time information and interactive tools readily accessible to every Filipino, we are strengthening the bridge between the vital work conducted in this chamber and the citizens that we serve.’

The new website, presented by Senate IT Team Lead Ms. Lou Galban, highlights key features such as modern and user-friendly design, compatibility across all devices, a comprehensive section on Senators’ profiles and accomplishments, and the capability to host live broadcasts.

The website also places emphasis on Senate Assistance services, including medical, social, and citizen support programs, improved search functionality for laws, bills, and other services, easy access to important public information, fast and secure system performance, and consistent maintenance to ensure the site remains current and well-developed.

The platform is envisioned to serve as a reliable and accessible gateway to the Senate’s official information and legislative updates.

Thousands of passengers were stranded while a few sea vessels ran aground as Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-wong) battered large parts of the country, authorities said on Monday.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that 7,213 passengers, truck drivers, and cargo staff remain stranded on Monday morning across 156 ports in 10 regions.

Also stranded were 3,663 rolling cargoes, 171 vessels, and 28 motorbancas, while 541 boats and 185 motorbancas took shelter, the PCG added.

Sea travel was suspended after tropical cyclone wind signals as high as Signal No. 4 were hoisted in parts of Luzon and the Visayas due to the typhoon.

The PCG said the highest number of stranded passengers was in the Bicol region, with 2,590 individuals, while hundreds of others were in ports in Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas.

In addition, four sea vessels ran aground in waters off Antique, Batangas, and Palawan.

PCG civil relations deputy commander Capt. John Barrameda said there were no casualties from the incidents or any threat of an oil spill from the vessels.

No major damage

On the other hand, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) said no major damage was reported in airports.

In a statement, Caap said only minor damage was observed in ceilings, roofs, glass panels, and perimeter fences of some airports, as well as temporary disruptions to power and connectivity.

Operations in the following airports have been temporarily suspended for clearing operations: Bulan and Bacon Airports in Sorsogon, Sangley Airport in Cavite, Plaridel Airport in Bulacan, Iba Airport in Zambales and Subic Bay International Airport in Subic Bay Freeport.

On the other hand, the following airports have resumed normal operations: Bicol International Airport, Masbate Airport, Naga Airport, Virac Airport, and Daet Airport, all in the Bicol region, and Cauayan Airport in Isabela.

Caap said Baguio Airport has also reopened, although flights remain suspended until further notice due to poor visibility caused by heavy rains.

Toll-free

Private transport firms also removed toll fees for marked government vehicles routed for relief and recovery operations in affected areas. This was in response to the government’s appeal to ensure that assistance reaches typhoon victims across the Luzon and Visayas regions faster.

San Miguel Corp.’s infrastructure arm announced the waiving of tolls in the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx), Metro Manila Skyway, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAx), South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), and Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR).

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. also offered free access to its expressway subsidiaries, North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), NLEx Connector, Manila-Cavite Expressway (CavitEx), and Cavite-Laguna Expressway (Calax). Its toll infrastructure in the Visayas region, Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway Corp., also raised its tolls, especially since Cebu was one of the hardest hit by the previous typhoon.

Effective Nov. 9, the Philippine Ports Authority also removed the collection of roll-on and roll-off terminal fees from rescue vehicles.

Damaged bridge

It also ordered that these vehicles be given priority in the queue and loading process.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has also called on domestic airlines to allot free cargo space to transport relief goods to areas affected by Uwan.

The DOTr has ordered the damage assessment of a Philippine National Railways (PNR) bridge connecting Barangays San Rafael and Maipon in Guinobatan town, Albay province.

The DOTr said the damage resulted in the temporary suspension of the Naga-Legazpi route, which serves around 400 passengers daily.

It instructed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to increase the number of public utility vehicles plying the area to accommodate affected passengers.

The PNR will also conduct an inspection and assessment of the entire Bicol commuter train route to ensure that no other structures were damaged.

Several roads in the City of Manila will be temporarily closed to give way to the three-day Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) rally in Rizal Park from Nov. 16, Sunday, to Nov. 18, Tuesday, calling for government transparency and accountability.

In an advisory on Tuesday, the Manila Police District (MPD) said the following roads and road segments will be closed from Nov. 16 to 18:

Southbound lane of Roxas Boulevard from Katigbak Drive to P. Ocampo

Northbound lane of Roxas Boulevard from President Quirino Avenue to Katigbak Drive

Northbound and southbound of Bonifacio Drive from Anda Circle to Katigbak Drive

Katigbak Drive and South Drive

Independence Road

P. Burgos Avenue from Roxas Boulevard to Taft Avenue

Finance Road from P. Burgos Avenue to Taft Avenue

Ma. Orosa Street from P. Burgos Avenue to Kalaw Avenue

Kalaw Avenue from Taft Avenue to Roxas Boulevard

Roundtable (Palacio Street and Gen. Luna Street)

The MPD added that the following re-routing schemes will be in place during the rally:

Vehicles coming from McArthur, Jones and Quezon Bridge intending to utilize southbound lane of Roxas Boulevard shall take P. Burgos Avenue straight to Taft Avenue

Vehicles coming from Ma. Orosa Street shall turn right to United Nations Avenue to Taft Avenue

Vehicles coming from A. Maibini Street shall turn right to United Nations Avenue to Taft Avenue

Vehicles coming from United Nations Avenue intending to utilize Roxas Boulevard shall turn left to M.H. del Pilar Street

Vehicles coming from Bonifacio Drive shall turn around at Anda Circle or may utilize A. Soriano Avenue

All vehicles coming from Intramuros Area shall utilize Magallanes Drive then turn right to P. Burgos Avenue

All trailer trucks and heavy vehicles coming from the Pasay area utilizing Roxas Boulevard northbound shall turn right to President Quirino Avenue, while light vehicles may use Roxas Boulevard service road northbound

All trailer trucks and heavy vehicles coming from Mel Lopez Boulevard (R-10) going to Roxas Boulevard shall turn left to Capulong Street, straight to Yuseco Street to Lacson Avenue (Old truck route)

The Philippine National Police (PNP) previously said it was deploying over 15,000 officers for security during the rally.

Malacañang said on Tuesday that preemptive measures will remain in place in anticipation of Typhoon Uwan’s (international name: Fung-Wong) re-entry to the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).

At a briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro was asked whether President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had issued any directives on the possible re-entry of the typhoon to PAR on Wednesday evening.

‘It’s still the same. Our agencies and the President will not stop to provide immediate assistance to prevent possible disasters to our countrymen; the preemptive measures are still there because that is also the news that could return. Let’s pray that it will not happen again,’ she responded.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather specialist Chenel Dominguez said on Tuesday morning that Typhoon Uwan will no longer be a threat to many parts of the country, despite its anticipated re-entry.

‘Typhoon Uwan exited the Philippine area of responsibility at 1:30 a.m. today. And we also expect it to re-enter PAR heading towards Taiwan,’ she said.

‘But because it will affect Taiwan, we don’t expect it to have a direct impact on most parts of our country,’ she added.

However, the weather system’s wide expanse may bring strong winds to extreme northern Luzon once it re-enters PAR.

Typhoon Uwan left at least 18 dead and around 2.4 million residents displaced, based on the latest data from the Office of Civil Defense.

In a social media post on Monday, Marcos lauded emergency response teams for Typhoon Uwan and added that the preemptive evacuations they carried out ‘made all the difference.’

‘I want to thank our local governments, first responders, and volunteers for acting quickly and working together to keep our people safe. The preemptive evacuations you carried out made all the difference. Your prompt action is very significant,’ Marcos said in the post.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano thumbed down on Tuesday beliefs that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is higher than local courts, appealing in return for the Philippine government to have faith in its own criminal justice system.

With this view, Cayetano, in an ambush interview, said if a warrant of arrest against Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa from the ICC comes out, the ‘final arbiter’ must be the local courts.

‘We are the most pitiful in the entire world if Filipinos can easily be surrendered abroad, with no courts to go to,’ said Cayetano.

During the interview, Cayetano was also asked how an international court would submit to a local court.

‘It doesn’t work that way. That’s completely wrong. An international court is not higher than a local court. In fact, many local sovereign courts are higher than an international court. In fact, your local (courts) need to allow the international ones – that’s why you can withdraw from the treaty,’ said Cayetano.

The senator then appealed to the Philippine government to trust the country’s own justice system and its courts.

‘I think the main advice should really be to our leaders, which is to have faith in the Philippine criminal justice system, have faith in our courts,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Cayetano said he has yet to talk to dela Rosa.

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

As Duterte’s former top cop, dela Rosa was the one who issued Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016 when he assumed the position of Philippine National Police chief.

The memo was the basis for Project Double Barrel, which started Duterte’s war on drugs, which was later dubbed as Oplan Tokhang.

A day after Duterte’s arrest on March 11, dela Rosa broke his silence, saying he was ‘ready to join’ Duterte in The Hague and ‘take care’ of the former president.

‘If all legal remedies are exhausted and still justice is to no avail, then I don’t want my family to suffer from cops looking for a heartbeat. I am ready to join the old man, hoping that they would allow me to take care of him,’ dela Rosa said then.

The floodwaters that wreaked havoc in Cebu province did not swell and spill from rainstorms alone but from years of substandard flood controls, destructive land development, and the clandestine looting of public funds.

Typhoon Tino’s rampage killed over 200 people and displaced more than 3 million across eight regions. That is the staggering, lethal cost of public works corruption – and it is still climbing.

As Supertyphoon Uwan followed in Tino’s wake, it seems Filipinos are fated to suffer a double whammy of back-to-back storms and uncoordinated local responses, compounded by illegal extraction and construction activities and useless flood control projects.

In hardest-hit Cebu, still reeling from the Sept. 30 earthquake, low-lying communities were swallowed by floodwaters after rivers overflowed, trapping residents on rooftops and sweeping away vehicles and houses. Dozens of people drowned, with their bodies recovered only days after the storm, buried under mud or pinned beneath debris that used to be their homes.

Not acts of nature

‘We did everything we can for the typhoon but you know, there are really some unexpected things like flash floods,’ Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro said, struggling to explain the tragedy. But many of those ‘unexpected things’ were not acts of nature but the predictable outcomes of official negligence.

The governor acknowledged that torrential rains were likely worsened by heavy siltation from quarrying and by substandard flood control projects.

‘There has to be an investigation of the flood control projects here in Cebu, and people should be held accountable,’ she said.

That investigation will now have to include more than 500 flood control projects in the province alone. Of these, 343 were implemented during the Duterte administration, with two already terminated, while 168 were undertaken under the Marcos administration, 55 of which are in progress.

President Marcos has declared a state of national calamity and ordered a review of all these contracts.

‘That’s also the reason why President Marcos ordered an investigation [over flood control projects]. Budgets have been allocated for these, yet they seem to be not functioning at all,’ Palace press officer Claire Castro quoted the President as saying.

Direct result of corruption

Mr. Marcos knows these floods are the direct result of corruption, and the culprits couldn’t be more obvious: contractors who cut corners, developers who circumvented the law, and the officials and lawmakers who not only coddled them but, in several cases, were the contractors and developers themselves.

In the aftermath of the typhoon, rescuers from the Philippine Red Cross received desperate calls from residents trapped on their roofs in Liloan, Consolacion, and Mandaue. ‘We have received so many calls from people asking us to rescue them from roofs and from their houses, but it’s impossible,’ said Red Cross Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang.

Tragedy likewise befell an Air Force helicopter ferrying relief goods to storm-hit areas when it crashed in Agusan del Sur, killing all six onboard, an unfortunate result of systems failing both those who need rescue and the rescuers as well.

Meanwhile, more than 2 million people have been affected, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Almost half a million individuals are sheltering in evacuation centers, while hundreds of thousands more have no roofs above their heads.

A number of bridges remain impassable; large swaths of the Visayas are without electricity, leaving households in the dark. The Department of Health has raised a ‘code white’ alert for rapid medical deployment, while the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy scramble to repair roads and restore power lines.

Fatal consequences

But these belated mobilizations only illustrate how the country’s disaster response relies more on human courage and survival skill than institutional strength.

It is not enough to blame geography. Yes, the Philippines sits in the path of 20 tropical cyclones and endures countless earthquakes each year, but since when did climate vulnerability become an excuse rather than a call to action?

Agencies tasked with probing public works corruption, from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to the Office of the Ombudsman, must take into account not only the offenses committed by officials, developers, and contractors but their fatal consequences.

After all, what makes each storm deadly in the Philippines is not just flooding and landslides. When flood control funds go to the pockets of the corrupt, when dikes, pumping stations, and drainage systems routinely fail, when evacuation plans are imaginary and search-and-rescue teams are nonexistent, the people have little patience to listen to their President say he’s ‘very, very sorry.’ For these Filipinos victimized twice over by corruption and neglect, the only apology that matters is accountability.

Hollywood actor Jeremy Renner has denied a series of allegations made by Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou on social media over the past week.

Zhou, 37, had accused Renner of sending her explicit photos, threatening to report her to the immigration authorities and exhibiting disturbing behavior during a meeting that forced her to lock herself in a room.

Renner’s representative told American media outlets such as People and Variety that ‘the allegations are totally inaccurate and untrue.’

Renner, 54, is best known for playing the superhero Hawkeye/Clint Barton in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

In a series of social media posts that began last week, Zhou said Renner had contacted her in June.

‘Mr. Renner first contacted me directly in June, sending personal and intimate photographs of himself, behavior that, according to public reports, he has exhibited before,’ she wrote on Nov 3. ‘He convinced me of his sincerity, saying he had been single for a long time and was open to a long-term relationship.’

Zhou wrote that Renner later entered into written agreements with her Italian production company to collaborate on a documentary and an animated film.

‘Yet, after the project’s release two weeks ago, he has refused to do any public promotion, despite our repeated pleas, public and private, for support,’ she wrote, adding that Renner denied ‘any personal relation or professional collaboration’ through fan accounts.

Zhou’s posts over the week included photos of Renner and screenshots of what appeared to be personal messages between them. The hashtag #canceljeremyrenner was included in many of the posts.

She also told British newspaper the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview published on Nov 6 that he had gone on drunken rants during a meeting that left her afraid.

‘I had to lock myself in a room to be safe, praying he would not come into the room at night as he was really angry,’ she said. ‘I did not say a word, I was so scared for my life.’

American media outlet People said Renner’s legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter to Zhou on Nov 7, demanding that she stop ‘defamatory communications’ and refrain from republishing ‘false, fabricated and salacious lies’, threatening legal action otherwise.

Zhou countered on social media on Nov 8 that she had sent three cease-and-desist letters to Renner in the past week, calling on him not to make any false statements about her or her company.

Renner was in the news in early 2023 after a near-fatal accident in which he was run over by a snowplough. The actor has since largely recovered from the incident.

First Gen Corp. saw its earnings edge higher in the first nine months of 2025 despite weaker power demand and prices.

In a disclosure Tuesday, the group said its attributable recurring net income went up by 3 percent to P12.1 billion from P11.6 billion a year ago.

Its topline, however, dipped 3 percent to P102 billion from P104.6 billion, amid lower power sales and the decline in spot market prices recorded by its natural gas and geothermal businesses.

Contributions from the company’s hydro business, on the other hand, soared by 65 percent to P1.31 billion.

FGen LNG, meanwhile, booked a recurring profit of P1.8 billion.

‘As a whole, we were happy to see First Gen’s net income steadily increase this year. This was despite industry dynamics of lower electricity prices and softer demand,’ First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said.

OPM artists KZ Tandingan, TJ Monterde and Dionela provided aid to the victims of recent typhoons Tino and Uwan through financial donations.

Celebrity couple Tandingan and Monterde donated P1 million to non-governmental organization Angat Buhay, which was founded and chaired by former Vice President Leni Robredo, to support relief efforts for those affected by the calamities.

‘This generous donation was made possible through the overwhelming kindness of our ‘kababayans,’ who contributed during the ‘Sarili Nating Mundo’ events in Perth, Sydney, and New Zealand, along with the Monterdes’ and the Sarili Nating Mundo Team’s contributions from their tour,’ the pair’s talent management company Cornerstone Entertainment said on its Instagram page.

‘While the funds were initially intended to support both Visayas and Mindanao, the couple has chosen to focus first on Visayas, where the recent Typhoon Tino has caused additional destruction and suffering,’ it added. ‘They are committed to raising more funds for those affected in Mindanao, recognizing that Visayas is currently in greater need.’

Dionela, for his part, shared through his Instagram Stories a photo of himself holding a white board where his statement was written.

‘My first major concert is happening on November 21 and 22 and I’m beyond grateful that tickets are almost sold out, with just a few seats,’ he said.

‘Today, I made a decision that God impressed upon my heart. I’ll be donating everything I earn from this concert to help the victims of the recent typhoon,’ he added. ‘The concert is called ‘The Grace Tour’ and I guess this is what grace is all about.’

Typhoons Tino and Uwan, which struck the country within days apart, displaced over a million people across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

As of Tuesday morning, Nov. 11, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has reported 232 deaths, while 112 remained missing.