Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) will be on heightened security alert from October 30 to November 4 in light of the upcoming Undas.

‘MRT-3 will raise its security to heightened alert from October 30 to November 4 to ensure passengers’ safety during the upcoming Undas,’ the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

In anticipation of the expected surge in passengers during these dates, additional security and station personnel will be deployed to guide and assist commuters, the DOTr said.

The agency added that it is planning to establish police assistance desks at train stations in coordination with the Philippine National Police.

It also assured that sufficient four-car and three-car trains will be deployed during the Undas weekend.

Meanwhile, the Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2) is also on alert despite an expected decrease in passengers, LRT Authority Administrator Atty. Hernando Cabrera told the Inquirer.

Cabrera said they are expecting ‘low ridership’ because there are no classes during Undas and no cemeteries near LRT-2 stations.

Filipinos who have traveled to Japan or Singapore often return with the same bewildered admiration. A wallet left behind on a train is returned hours later. A public toilet remains clean without supervision. A passerby will pause to help a stranger cross the street without expecting a reward or recording it for social media. It is not prosperity that impresses us most; it is civic maturity-the quiet discipline of citizens who act as if the public realm is their personal responsibility. And deep inside, many Filipinos quietly ask: Bakit hindi natin kaya ito?

We envy it because we recognize it. Filipinos know what disciplined care looks like-because we have produced it. Not just in moments of disaster, when volunteerism explodes, but in individuals who have made tenderness a long-term civic discipline rather than a burst of moral emotion.

Consider Fr. Ben Nebres, SJ, former president of Ateneo de Manila University. Instead of treating poverty as a problem of scarcity, he saw it as a crisis of abandonment-of children growing up invisible to the nation. In Payatas and nearby communities, he did not merely run feeding programs. He stayed with families for years, pairing daily nutrition with reading circles, parent accompaniment, and confidence-building-not relief, but formation. Not charity, but citizenship cultivation.

Or Efren Peñaflorida, who pushed the kariton classroom every weekend for over two decades, long after the cameras left. There were no grand pronouncements. No funding windfall. Just a stubborn refusal to accept that slum children must wait for the system to remember them.

And in 2021, Patricia Non quietly placed a bamboo table on Maginhawa Street with the handwritten sign: ‘Magbigay ayon sa kakayahan, kumuha ayon sa pangangailangan.’ No NGO, no press kit. Yet in under three weeks, over 6,000 volunteer-run pantries emerged across the Philippines-before any government directive. That was not mere charity. It was the collective conscience reawakened.

These individuals were not extraordinary because of scale but because of consistency-a trait often mistaken here for sainthood, when in other countries it is simply called citizenship.

The truth is that what we admire abroad-from Japan’s spotless stations to Singapore’s instinctive queue discipline-is not the product of fear or surveillance, but of sustained cultural reinforcement. Urban planners now speak of the 15-minute city, mixed-income neighborhoods, and ‘eyes on the street’-concepts built on a simple premise: when public space is human-scaled and walkable, when people regularly see one another, they begin to notice again. Safety is not enforced-it is practiced together.

And yet, in the Philippines, our systems train the opposite reflex. We engineer invisibility. Gated subdivisions turn neighbors into abstractions. Malls replace plazas. Barangay halls become sites of transaction rather than accompaniment. It becomes possible-even normal-to live in a place and know nothing about those suffering just meters away.

But our problem is not the lack of moral instinct-it is the erosion of moral stamina. As a people, we do not lack the will to care but the infrastructure-cultural and urban-that helps us sustain that care beyond moments of adrenaline.

What if we began to design society around the principle that the opposite of corruption is not law but attention? That the antidote to civic decay is not merely outrage but radical tenderness-the disciplined refusal to look away, especially from those the system makes easy to ignore?

In Singapore, there is a deeply embedded norm called kiasu-fear of being the one who fails the collective. In Japan, the concept of omoiyari-sensitive awareness of others-is taught from preschool. These are not just values. They are civic operating systems.

We have our equivalents-malasakit, pakikiramay, bayanihan-but we have not protected them from exhaustion or repetition fatigue. We deploy them only in calamity, instead of embedding them as a daily reflex.

Perhaps the first civic reform we need is not a new law or agency but a recommitment to this question: ‘How do we design a society in which it becomes difficult to be indifferent?’

The champions we remember-Nebres, Peñaflorida, Non-are not exceptions to Filipino nature. They are evidence of what remains possible. What we admire abroad is not foreign to us. We have simply failed to protect it from dispersion.

It is not too late to rebuild a culture where discipline is not obedience to power but fidelity to one another.

Starting December, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) will begin its call for funding requests to countries seeking financial support due to the impacts of climate change.

But pledges from 28 countries to the funding program managed by the World Bank are still lacking at the current total of $768 million (P45.12 trillion).

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the amount still ‘falls far short of the vast and growing needs on the ground.’

‘The success of FRLD interventions is inherently linked to the availability of resources,’ the DENR said, adding that the call for funding requests will remain open for six months.

‘Developing countries wishing to access the fund directly or in partnership with access entities are invited to engage with the FRLD Secretariat as they are coordinating the preparation of their funding requests,’ the DENR said.

Initial allocation

The DENR’s announcement followed after the FRLD board approved the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM)-a framework governing the provision of grants, with its initial allocation amounting to $250 million (P14.69 trillion).

BIM was launched during a meeting in Manila by the FRLD board from Oct. 7 to 9. The Philippines is the board’s current host, assuming the responsibility in July last year.

The DENR said the grants range from $5 million to $20 million (P293 million to P1.18 trillion) for each climate-related intervention.

‘The launch of the BIM is a testament to our commitment to start providing support to vulnerable developing nations,’ FRLD executive director Ibrahima Cheikh Diong said in a briefing on Oct. 10.

‘We will continue to refine this funding mechanism, shaping how the FRLD will deliver support to communities grappling with the irreversible impacts of climate change in the future,’ he said.

‘Momentum’

FRLD was established by the COP (Conference of Parties) 27 in 2022 to tackle the growing needs of vulnerable communities in developing countries that have been adversely affected by the ‘irreversible’ impacts of climate change.

The fund aims to finance recovery initiatives while ensuring that these interventions are aligned with a particular country’s needs and priorities.

The DENR said the need for the fund ‘has never been more urgent,’ with the board’s meeting occurring at a ‘critical time’ given the ‘worsening climate crisis that is heightening vulnerabilities.’

Diong said the work of the FRLD board ‘is just beginning,’ adding that ‘the initial pledges are a good start, but we must now build upon this momentum.’

In his welcome message during the board meeting, Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the FRLD was ‘only a fraction’ of the estimated climate loss and damage of around $200 to $400 billion worldwide by 2030, only five years away.

By 2027, the FRLD board will initiate its first replenishment process to address this ‘critical gap’ in funding, said the DENR-with preparations for a resource mobilization strategy also expected to begin.

Our task is to develop and refine a strategy based on the Board’s feedback and develop a concrete action plan to secure the substantial and additional funding required to fulfill our mandate,’ Diong said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Tuesday refuted circulating social media posts claiming that a super typhoon may hit the country between Nov. 5 and 7.

Pagasa said that while official forecasts for potential cyclone activity in the next two weeks show that there is ‘medium chance’ of a westward-moving tropical cyclone developing outside the Philippine area of responsibility from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, and may then cross the central parts of the country, it is still ‘highly uncertain.’ ‘We would like to emphasize that since this forecast is still within the two-week range, there remains a high uncertainty in the specific details of the forecast, particularly regarding the exact path and intensity of the potential tropical cyclone,’ Pagasa said in a statement.

Pagasa warned against false unverified information regarding weather forecasts, particularly those involving supposed typhoons.

‘The public is strongly advised to regularly monitor for official updates and advisories issued by Pagasa and refrain from using unverified information from unofficial sources, especially for purposes of disaster early preparedness activities,’ said Pagasa.

EXO will resume their group activities with a fan meeting in South Korea in December and an album; however, Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin won’t be participating in the fan meet.

The K-pop boy group’s fan meeting has been confirmed by their label, SM Entertainment, and is set to take place at the Inspire Arena on December 13 and 14. It was also hinted that a new song will be performed.

The fan meeting will only feature members Suho, Lay, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun. This is notably the first time Lay will be present in group activities in four years since EXO’s 2021 album ‘Don’t Fight the Feeling.’

At the same time, it’s unknown if Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin will be present in their upcoming eighth album, which is scheduled for a 2026 release. The announcement comes two years after Baekhyun, Chen, and Xiumin – who are currently part of INB100 Entertainment – went public with concerns about contract terms and transparency on profit distribution. Last September, the trio and SM failed to reach a settlement in their first court-led mediation.

EXO debuted as a 12-member unit in April 2012 with two units, EXO-K and EXO-M. Kris, Luhan, and Tao eventually left the group in 2014 and 2015. Meanwhile, Lay – while he’s still part of the group – focused on his solo activities in China for the time being.

The eighth album marks three years after their 2023 record, ‘Exist,’ which includes the title track ‘Cream Soda.’

Known for their vocal prowess, EXO is one of the biggest groups of K-pop’s Third Generation. Some of their hit songs include ‘The First Snow,’ ‘Growl,’ ‘Wolf,’ ‘Call Me Baby,’ and ‘Love Me Right,’ to name a few.

Philippine political discourse in the past decade has been dominated by three competing narratives. On one hand, there are the zealots of ‘political will,’ namely those who believe that all we need to solve the complex problems of a 100-million-strong nation in the 21st century is a ‘strongman.’ The appeal of this mystical ideology is uncanny: no need to understand the root causes of societal problems-just blame it all on deracinated liberals and feckless technocrats, who have failed to positively transform our nation since the return of democracy after decades of failed dictatorship.

The ‘strongman syndrome,’ however, has an even deeper attraction, namely what philosophers, such as Hannah Arendt, described as the ‘will to obedience.’ Instead of critically thinking for oneself and painstakingly advocating for long-term reforms, just submit to a secular savior. A consummate politician with a visceral understanding of human nature, former President Rodrigo Duterte was the perfect candidate for this narrative of ‘political will.’ By promising to magically solve all major problems, Duterte managed to captivate the imagination of millions of folks desperate for change.

In response to the predictable failures and catastrophes of Dutertismo, a second narrative gained momentum. Unwilling to accept the overwhelming rejection of Philippine liberalism, a significant section of pro-reform thought leaders pushed for the quasi-elitist ‘bobotante’ narrative, except this time with a twist. Instead of reflecting on the shortcomings of several reformist-liberal administrations, or resorting to the traditional elitist sneer against proletariat voters, they enthusiastically emphasized how ‘disinformation’ is the primary reason behind the ascent of authoritarian populism.

For them, Dutertismo was ‘trouble in paradise’ instead of an organic reflection of mass discontent with liberal politics. According to this narrative, too many folks were supposedly fooled by bots and algorithms to appreciate the fruits of liberal democracy. All we need to do, therefore, is simply fight disinformation-and the rest will follow. In response to the obvious deficiencies of both ‘it’s all disinformation’ and ‘it’s all political will’ schools of thought, a third alternative has emerged in recent years. In contrast to the authoritarianism of Dutertismo and the elitist moralism of its direct competitor, civil society leaders, such as Cardinal Virgilio David, have espoused a more compassionate and humanist perspective that acknowledges both the fundamental dignity and political agency of all voters as well as the centrality of the rule of law.

Interestingly, however, what all three narratives have in common is a shared revulsion at the evil of corruption. In fact, one of the continuities between former President Benigno Aquino III’s ‘daang matuwid’ and Duterte’s ‘not even a whiff of corruption’ political narratives was their supposedly zero-tolerance policy toward corruption. The third narrative, meanwhile, is more politically aspirational, since it has yet to put a truly progressive candidate in Malacañang. What all three narratives also have in common is the presupposition that much of the ills of our society stem from the corrupt nature of our ruling class-and their manipulation of the broader masses.

A careful examination of public policy evidence, however, provides a more nuanced picture, whereby the relationship between corruption and national development is arguably the opposite. A cursory look at the global Corruption Perception Index, for instance, shows that the richest countries, regardless of divergent culture or political systems, tend to have the lowest corruption rates. Meanwhile, the Philippines has almost an identical CPI score with Thailand, Turkiye, and Brazil, which have almost twice our per capita income levels and remarkably more diversified and industrialized economic bases. Longitudinally, many of today’s most advanced societies used to be just as corrupt as the Philippines when they were at our level of development. Think, for instance, of the French Third Republic, when it had almost the same per capita income as the contemporary Philippines. Logically, therefore, corruption seems to be more of an effect rather than a causal factor here. What cutting-edge economic development literature shows is two-fold: (i) higher levels of economic development create pro-reform constituencies and institutional reforms that reduce corruption; and (ii) similarly corrupt nations can have divergent developmental levels due to the differences in their economic policies and state capacity.

Corruption is evil, but it’s more of a structural effect of decades of bad economic policies, weak state institutions, and suboptimal political literacy. Aside from holding corrupt officials accountable, our priority should be civic education, smart economic policies, and overall creation of equitable prosperity and democratic mobilization, which would make vote-buying, electoral manipulation, and graft in government more prohibitive.

Kim Atienza shared that his daughter Emman’s remains will be coming home to the Philippines from the United States, and that her wake will be held in Manila.

The TV host said this through his Instagram page on Monday, Oct. 27, while sharing a portrait of his youngest child.

‘Thank you so much for all the messages of comfort to the family. We may not be able to reply but we appreciate you all,’ he said.

‘Details of the wake in Manila will follow. Emman will be home,’ he concluded.

The comments section was once again filled with celebrities’ offers of prayers and words of comfort to the Atienza family.

Kim’s older daughter Eliana, for her part, expressed her longing for her sister through her Instagram page.

‘I miss you, Emman, with everything that I am and will ever be. I see you in the sunlight between the tree canopy and in the endless stars I know must be there, hidden by city lights,’ she wrote.

‘We were supposed to co-create a better world where our children could play together, and we could laugh knowing we fought and struggled to build this for them,’ she continued. ‘I hope this message reaches you wherever you are. Call me soon, okay?’

Emman, who was diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder, had been active on social media where she shared content about lifestyle, mental health awareness and social issues.

Emman passed away at their home in Los Angeles, California. Her sudden death – which came weeks after she opened up about her struggles with anxiety and online hate – was confirmed by her family last Oct. 24.

As the nation prepares to visit departed loved ones this Undas, the Manila Police District (MPD) has urged parents to keep children and pets at home, warning that overcrowded cemeteries pose serious health and safety risks.

In an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, MPD spokesperson Maj. Phillip Ines said cemeteries in Manila are expected to be packed with visitors starting October 31.

Ines reminded the public of safety protocols and prohibited items.

‘Alcoholic beverages are not allowed, as well as deadly weapons and loudspeakers. Overnight stays and vending are also prohibited,’ he said in Filipino.

‘We also appeal to the public not to bring pets, as they might become stressed inside the cemeteries due to the large crowds,’ he added.

He explained that animals could easily become agitated by the noise, heat, and congestion inside cemeteries.

Ines also urged parents not to bring small children unless necessary.

‘We are appealing to parents; if possible, please don’t bring your children,’ he said in Filipino.

He added that children brought to cemeteries will be given identification tags bearing their parents’ or guardians’ contact information to help authorities reunite them if they get lost.

Ines also said that prohibited items will be strictly confiscated as part of the MPD protocol.

‘We’ve long been reminding the public not to bring the items we mentioned. If they still do, we will confiscate them,’ he said in Filipino.

The MPD will also deploy medical teams and health personnel, in coordination with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and nearby hospitals, to respond to emergencies.

‘We already have a security plan identifying nearby hospitals for each location-the Manila North, South, La Loma, and Chinese cemeteries,’ he said.

Ines reminded the public to follow cemetery regulations, plan visits early, and prioritize safety-especially by leaving children and pets at home during the annual observance

After he was previously linked to Franki Russell, Enrique Gil is once again at the center of dating rumors, this time with a young content creator named Andrea Brown, after their ‘intimate’ photos went viral on social media.

The speculation about a possible romance between the two began after photos which featured the actor and Brown posing closely together in casual settings were shared on X (formerly Twitter) by one of Gil’s anonymous fans.

One of the photos showed Brown leaning on Gil’s shoulder, while she appeared to be sitting on his lap. Another image showed the pair’s mirror selfie.

The online post also included a screenshot of a woman claiming to be Brown’s mother, stating that her daughter is only 17 years old, as well as a video of Gil and Brown dancing inside a room. The anonymous fan who posted the photos claimed that Gil and Brown have been talking since June.

‘Quen and Andrea Brown have been in contact since June, and they’ve been meeting up regularly this month. A few weeks ago, they had a staycation at The Farm Batangas, with Quen covering all the expenses. He’s also offering her a role in a project he’s producing,’ asserted the fan. As of this writing, neither Gil nor Brown has issued a statement regarding the authenticity of the photos or the dating rumors, but they are currently following each other on TikTok and Instagram. After netizens flooded Brown’s TikTok page with comments relating to Gil, the content creator asserted that she is not a minor.

Gil was previously in a relationship with actress Liza Soberano for eight years until the actress confirmed their separation in August of this year.

FPJ Panday Bayanihan Lawmaker Representative Brian Poe has urged stronger national action to ensure emerging technologies lead to inclusive growth and public accountability, as he addressed innovators, policymakers, and industry leaders at the Global Emerging Tech Summit (GETS) 2025 held at the Bataan People’s Center.

With this year’s theme focused on ‘Driving Innovation Through Digital Bayanihan,’ Poe emphasized that the country’s digital progress must be guided by shared responsibility and reinforced democratic values.

‘Our prosperity in this new era will depend on our ability to lift each other up-not by carrying homes on our backs, but by carrying ideas, opportunities, and the burden of governance together,’ he said.

‘Innovation must always have a soul, and that soul is bayanihan.’

Poe outlined a three-pillar legislative approach aimed at building a secure and human-centered digital economy:

* Philippine Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (HB 01196)

Establishes the Artificial Intelligence Development Authority to ensure ethical, transparent, and people-first AI deployment.

* Career Transition Assistance Act (HB 02766)

Supports workers impacted by automation through reskilling programs, wage subsidies, and guaranteed job reintegration, particularly for those in the BPO and creative sectors.

* National Budget Blockchain Act (HB 04489)

Introduces a tamper-proof public ledger to track government spending in real time, enhancing transparency and eliminating opportunities for corruption.

He noted that the blockchain transparency initiative is aligned with broader national efforts, including parallel proposals in the Senate such as SB 1330, known as the ‘Blockchain the Budget Bill,’ which seeks to place the entire national budget on-chain for public visibility from release to auditing.

Poe also commended the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for advancing government digitalization programs such as eGOVchain, which promotes blockchain use in public services to improve transparency, efficiency, and cybersecurity safeguards.

Highlighting Bataan as a case study for regional innovation, he pointed to the province’s thriving economic zones, expanding digital economy, and strong collaboration among local government, national agencies, and private firms in building a future-ready startup ecosystem.

‘The Philippines is ready to move beyond isolated pilots toward integrated partnerships that deliver undeniable national impact,’ Poe said.

‘No institution can achieve this vision alone. True innovation happens when we combine technology and solidarity.’

He also reiterated that emerging technology must always uplift Filipino communities rather than leave them behind.

‘It is not how fast we innovate, but how fair and ethical that innovation becomes,’ he said.

‘The future will not wait, but it will belong to those who choose to build it together.’