Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Following weeks of surveillance, a joint team of police operatives launched a buy-bust operation in Barangay Kapatagan here, resulting in the arrest of four suspects at around 10:49 p.m. on Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Peter Glenn Ipong, Digos City acting police chief, identified the suspects through their aliases as Li, 40; Dondon, 41; Oning, 37; and Chikoy, 43. The suspects, all men, are farmers and residents of Barangay Kapatagan.

Ipong said the suspects are listed as ‘street-level drug personalities’ from whom authorities seized multiple sachets of suspected meth weighing some 42.14 grams with an estimated street value of ?286,552. Also seized was a caliber .357 revolver with no pertinent documents.

The seized drugs and firearm were forwarded to Davao City for laboratory examination.

Ipong commended the operatives for their dedication, emphasizing the station’s continued commitment to the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign and calling on the public to remain vigilant and supportive in achieving a safer, drug-free Digos City.

The team was composed of drug enforcement units from Region 11; Davao del Sur police office; Digos City police intelligence unit led by Police Captain June Mar Pasobillo; and PDEA-11 personnel, with Ipong as the overall supervisor of the operation.

Lindsey Vander Weide fought through a high fever to power Petro Gazz past erstwhile unbeaten Akari, 29-27, 25-22, 19-25, 17-25, 15-11, in the PVL Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

Despite missing practice on the eve of the match due to a 40-degree fever, Vander Weide suited up and delivered 22 points, including the Angels’ last three, to avert a meltdown after squandering a two-set lead. ‘I’m not feeling great, but I was worse the last two days,’ said Vander Weide, who finished with 20 kills and two blocks. ‘So I knew when I woke up and was at least feeling decent that I was 100% going to play the game no matter what. I wasn’t sure how great I was going to do. I think I could have done a little bit better, but for how I’m feeling right now, I’m happy that we won.’

‘At the end of the day, we pulled it out. I don’t love how we played in the third and fourth set, but the fact that we still won in five after losing the momentum just really shows what we can do as a team.’ Petro Gazz caught fire after Akari forced a fifth set with Brooke Van Sickle mounting a 7-2 start.

The Chargers cut it down to one after four straight points, but Myla Pablo restored the order with a kill and an ace before Djanel Cheng blocked Annie Mitchem for a 10-6 spread. Mitchem kept the Chargers afloat, trimming the deficit to one anew, 11-10, but Vander Weide put on the finishing touches to prevail in two hours and 33 minutes.

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Van Sickle delivered another all-around game with 19 points, 13 excellent receptions, and 12 digs. MJ Phillips had 13 points, including four blocks, while Pablo continued to thrive as an opposite hitter with 12 points.

‘We knew that Akari’s tough. We came out firing, kind of let up a little bit. But we just kept battling, And that fourth set, didn’t feel like it was happening, so we benched a couple of starters. They weren’t too happy, but felt that bring them back, have energy, and we needed it in the fifth,’ said Petro Gazz coach Gary Van Sickle.

Akari dropped to a 2-1 record in its third consecutive five-setter despite Mitchem’s 30-point effort. Fifi Sharma had 18 points, while Eli Soyud and Ced Domingo had 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Petro Gazz battles ZUS Coffee for its third straight win next week on Tuesday at the same venue at 4 p.m., as Akari seeks bounce back against the winless Galeries Tower at 1:30 p.m.

Businessman-turned-politician Leandro Legarda Leviste has consolidated his stake in SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) through a P6.32-billion share transfer from his privately-held holding company.

In a disclosure on Thursday, the group said that Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc., a company wholly-owned by the newbie lawmaker, had transferred its 10.83 billion SPNEC common shares to Leviste.

Solar Philippines is a substantial stockholder of SPNEC. SPNEC said the transaction had been carried out via a special block sale.

However, it noted that this ‘did not change Mr. Leviste’s beneficial ownership in the company.’

Last June, Leviste announced his move to offload some of his stake in SPNEC after winning the post as Batangas 1st district representative. /dda

From that fateful day in March this year when former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by authorities on the strength of an International Criminal Court warrant, then flown to The Hague, Netherlands to stand trial for crimes against humanity for his brutal drug war, the Duterte camp’s main talking points have been consistent: The arrest was illegal, the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, and Duterte’s handover to a foreign court was a kidnapping.

As late as last month, Vice President Sara Duterte was still spouting that core propaganda line by her family and supporters: The elder Duterte was ‘kidnapped’ and subjected to ‘extraordinary rendition.’

Never mind that for a ‘kidnapping,’ Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest was a most extraordinary one. It was backed by a valid warrant from the ICC, and served by the International Criminal Police Organization. Every minute of Duterte’s detention at Villamor Air Base upon his arrival from a Hong Kong rally with OFWs was documented by cell phone cameras, from negotiations with his lawyers to scuffles with police officers involving his common-law partner, Honeylet Avanceña.

Unfit for trial

In the drawn-out proceedings live streamed by his daughter Kitty Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte had his legal counsel present throughout, as well as a coterie of aides, doctors, and other lawyers. He was read his constitutional rights and presented a printed copy of the ICC warrant, and at one point was even allowed to take a nap in an adjacent room as negotiations for his flight stretched on for 12 hours.

At Scheveningen Prison in The Hague where he is now detained, Rodrigo Duterte has been visited a number of times by family members. He has retained the services of a high-profile defense counsel, Nicolas Kaufman, who is unrestrained in his media pronouncements. And the trial itself is effectively stalled for now because Kaufman has claimed that Rodrigo Duterte just months ago still swaggering before his perceived enemies is now so frail and forgetful that he is unfit for trial, forcing the court to have him examined by a battery of medical experts.

Some kidnapping this is. It’s one thing, of course, for the Duterte family and their defenders to sustain their preferred narrative, however false and untenable, about the ex-President.

Political heat

It’s completely a different thing when a top official of the Marcos administration which demonstrated spine and took considerable political heat for the conscientious decision to have Rodrigo Duterte account for his actions adopts the same line and blasts it publicly while still ensconced in his government post. In a social media post that appears to have been subsequently deleted, Teodoro Locsin Jr., the Philippine ambassador to the United Kingdom, baldly stated: ‘Rodrigo Duterte was not arrested by the ICC, he was abducted by Filipinos in the Philippines and handed over to foreigners.’

Having a foreign court try a Filipino citizen was ‘treason,’ added Locsin, an act that ‘foreswore the first attribute of sovereign independence an effective justice system.’

Following public uproar over the post, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which in the Duterte years was headed by Locsin, lamely said it couldn’t confirm that Locsin himself wrote the post, and would ‘seek clarification’ about it.

How hard is it for the DFA to ring up Locsin directly, demand an explanation for his remarks that undermine his own government’s policy, and if warranted recall him from the prestigious post he’s been enjoying under the Marcos administration?

Vintage Locsin

While the DFA is dragging its feet in confirming the post’s actual authorship, the provocation itself is vintage Locsin. This was the same unfettered official who, as the country’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nations at the time and an ardent supporter of Duterte’s drug war, tweeted words on August 2016 that triggered widespread outrage: ‘I believe that the Drug Menace is so big it needs a FINAL SOLUTION like the Nazis adopted. That I believe. NO REHAB.’ Locsin later deleted the tweet apparently the same tack he did with his Duterte ‘kidnapping’ post when the public upbraided him for it.

Locsin is also a lawyer, so he should know what the Supreme Court said in 2021: The Philippines is obligated to cooperate with the ICC despite the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute a withdrawal that, not incidentally, Rodrigo Duterte ordered to shield himself from future prosecution for the excesses of the bloody policy he had unleashed as Davao City mayor, and later as president.

But, according to the high court, ‘Liability for the alleged summary killings and other atrocities committed in the course of the war on drugs is not nullified or negated . The Philippines remained covered and bound by the Rome Statute until March 17, 2019.’

Loud and clear and definitive. Rodrigo Duterte was not kidnapped, and his day in court at The Hague is just, sound, and warranted.

Jessa Zaragoza has reunited with award-winning songwriter-composer Vehnee Saturno for her new single ‘Ang Sakit Sakit,’ marking their first collaboration together in 13 years.

‘Ang Sakit Sakit,’ which was released on Oct. 9, talks about the pain of being betrayed after one’s feelings have been strung along.

‘The track is a powerful lament of love lost to betrayal a painful realization of being strung along, only to discover that someone else had already taken your place in your lover’s heart,’ a press release said, also noting that the single highlights Zaragoza’s signature ‘heartfelt and raw’ interpretation of songs.

For Zaragoza, reuniting with Saturno felt like picking up [where] a ‘powerful conversation’ was left off after a long silence.

”Ang Sakit Sakit’ is classic OPM heartbreak, brought to life with today’s sonic depth and emotional maturity. ‘It reminds me of the pain in ‘Bakit Pa?’ but this time, the hurt cuts from a deeper place,’ she said.

‘Reuniting with Tito Vehnee felt like picking up a powerful conversation after years of silence. This song is for everyone who’s ever loved too hard and been hurt even harder,’ she added.

Aside from Saturno, Zaragoza’s daughter Jayda Avanzado participated in the production of the song as a vocal producer and backing vocalist.

The song was also produced by Bobby Velasco (arranger), Ardie de Guzman (guitars), Oluwatobiloba ‘Tobi’ Samson Omojola (drums), John Cruspero (vocal editor), Shadiel Chan (mixing) and Jan Fuertez (mastering).

Sen. Bam Aquino has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent the proposed bill titled Classroom-Building Acceleration Program (CAP) Act, saying it’s a solution to the country’s classroom backlog.

Aquino issued the call after Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon earlier said that only 22 classrooms were built this year by the DPWH out of the 1,700 targeted for completion.

The senator, author of Senate Bill No. 121, or the CAP Act, said the DPWH clearly cannot address the problem alone.

‘All of us were really surprised. Our backlog is 145,000 above. That’s why these 22 classrooms built by the DPWH are really not acceptable,’ said Aquino, chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

While the measure has already been identified as one of the administration’s priority measures in the 20th Congress, Aquino said the president should take the next step by certifying the bill as urgent to ensure its swift passage.

If passed into law, Aquino said the bill will complement the chief executive’s directive to channel funds directly to local government units (LGUs) to help expedite the construction of much-needed classrooms.

The senator’s proposed measure aims to decentralize classroom construction by expanding the mandate beyond DPWH to include LGUs and non-government organizations with a proven track record.

Under the bill, LGUs and NGOs can then build classrooms in compliance with the Department of Education’s standards and guidelines within their jurisdictions.

Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 was raised in Batanes due to Tropical Storm Salome, the weather bureau said Thursday.

In its 5 a.m. report, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Salome was located over the coastal waters of Sabtang, Batanes at 4 a.m., moving south-southwest at 20 kilometers per hour (kph).

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 65 kph and gusts of up to 90 kph.

Pagasa said Batanes is expected to receive 100 to 200 millimeters of rain, which may cause flooding and landslides.

The agency also raised TCWS No. 1 for the western portion of the Babuyan Islands and the northwestern portion of Ilocos Norte.

Salome is expected to bring rain to Apayao, Abra, and mainland Cagayan.

Pagasa said Salome is forecast to weaken into a tropical depression within the next 12 hours and may further downgrade into a low-pressure area before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Friday afternoon or evening.

Meanwhile, the Intertropical Convergence Zone is expected to cause scattered rains over Mindanao, Negros Island, and Palawan, while the easterlies will bring isolated showers to the Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Isabela, Aurora, and Quezon.

Disasters are becoming more frequent, complex, and costly. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) Global Assessment Report 2025, direct global disaster losses reached $202 billion in 2023, while indirect and cascading effects pushed the true annual cost to $2.3 trillion, highlighting that the full economic toll of disasters extends well beyond immediate physical damage.

Agriculture and property remain among the most vulnerable sectors. Food and Agriculture Organization’s global study has shown that historically, around 84 percent of drought-related economic losses are absorbed by the agriculture sector, a pattern that continues to underscore its extreme vulnerability today. Floods and storms cause widespread destruction to homes, infrastructure, and critical services. The consequences of these shocks extend across entire economies, weakening food security, disrupting supply chains, and eroding development gains that have taken decades to build.

In the Philippines, our agricultural sector suffered an estimated P57.8 billion in losses in 2024, primarily due to El Niño. We also incurred damage to infrastructure in the amount of P43 billion.

This year’s World Risk Index report highlights that disasters result from a combination of natural events or exposure and social vulnerability or lack of preparedness, aggravated by poverty and weak structures. The report focused on flood risk, a significant issue facing the Philippines in light of the current flood control scandal. Globally, floods are becoming more of a risk, exacerbated by climate change and human changes to natural land use and topography.

Recently, the Apec Business Advisory Council, together with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and Liveable Cities, organized an online forum on disaster risk resilience, bringing together panelists from Chile, Taiwan, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Philippines to share lessons and practices on disaster preparedness.

Losses are not inevitable. The UNDRR has found that every $1 invested in disaster risk reduction can generate savings of up to $15 in response and recovery. Strengthening preparedness through early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, and risk-informed planning has proven to significantly reduce both human and economic costs.

The savings in loss and damage are perhaps best illustrated by the experience of Taiwan. The 7.3-magnitude Jiji earthquake in 1999 killed over 2,400 people, injured 11,305, and destroyed or damaged 100,000 buildings. The following year, the government passed the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act, designated an annual National Disaster Prevention Day, and undertook a series of preventive and preparedness improvements. These included strengthening building codes and infrastructure resilience, retrofitting buildings, installing early warning systems and improving public preparedness, enhancing disaster management and response, strengthening community and international support, promoting continuous learning, and fostering public-private partnerships. Preparation paid off. When another 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the same area in 2024, casualties were reduced to 18, injuries to 1,115 people, while severe damage was limited to 84 buildings.

Our online forum yielded 10 insights:

1. Disaster resilience is both a humanitarian and economic imperative. Preparedness saves lives and protects development gains.

2. Policy and practice must go together to address vulnerability. Policy alone will not solve the problem.

3. Preparedness pays dividends, as Taiwan’s experience above has shown.

4. Regional coordination multiplies the effectiveness of domestic response and systems, as in the case of Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management and the Pacific Alliance in Central America.

5. Financial innovation is central to closing the resilience funding gap, as demonstrated by the Pacific Alliance’s and the Philippines’ respective catastrophe bonds.

6. Private sector engagement is critical in building resilience, as illustrated by PDRF and the UN’s Connecting Business initiative.

7. The corporate sector has been moving from ‘donors to doers,’ getting more hands-on involved in preparedness and response, aside from being donors.

8. Capacity building and knowledge transfer underpin sustainable resilience. More hands-on training strengthened institutional response.

9. Community engagement and ‘last mile’ communications were important. Key messages needed to be understood by both policymakers and the general public down to village and household levels.

10. Strong governance anchored resilience efforts. It ensured accountability, coherence, and political commitment to transform policy into tangible practice on the ground.

These insights will hopefully help shape regional approaches and recommendations to ensure we can withstand shocks, protect vulnerable sectors, and maintain progress toward resilient and sustainable growth.

Guillermo M. Luz is chief resilience officer of the PDRF and an alternate member of the Apec Business Advisory Council.

Ellen Adarna marked daughter Liana’s 1st birthday, but netizens were quick to notice that her husband, Derek Ramsay, was seemingly absent at the important celebration.

In Instagram Stories, Adarna gave her followers a peek at the intimate party, where her mom, son Elias, whom she shares with former partner John Lloyd Cruz, and other family members were present. In one of the photos, Adarna was captured sitting with her daughter near a rainbow-colored cake with a pastel balloon arch and dining tables with fresh flowers as the backdrop. Among the celebrity guests was actress Beauty Gonzalez. Ramsay was noticeably missing in the shared images of the celebration, which made netizens share their reactions on social media.

‘Kakalungkot na 1st birthday pa lang ng anak nila di na kumpleto. But that’s life, di talaga mako-control ang mga mangyayari,’ wrote one Facebook user.

‘Kawawa talaga ang bata, siya nag-suffer. Kalungkot na 1st birthday ni Lilipot,’ added another netizen. Despite not being seen at the birthday party, Ramsay posted his own greeting to his daughter, sharing photos and a video showing their cute father-daughter moments.

‘Watching you grow this past year has been the greatest joy of my life. Every smile, every little giggle, every ‘Papa,’ and every milestone. Even the quiet moments when you’re simply resting in my arms have filled me with a kind of love I didn’t know was possible. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I thank life every day for the gift of you,’ the actor wrote in part of his greeting.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-Ibig) have partnered to provide affordable, accessible, and sustainable housing for PEZA employees and the broader ecozone workforce.

In a statement on Thursday, PEZA said the teamup involves implementing various programs that enable qualified PEZA employees to acquire homes through Pag-Ibig’s financing.

PEZA said beneficiaries will also gain access to a dedicated pool of acquired assets and accredited developer inventories. Bulk and group sale initiatives will also be taken ‘to make homeownership more attainable,’ it added. According to PEZA, more than 600 personnel within its workforce and about 1.8 million Filipinos working in PEZA-registered ecozones nationwide are expected to benefit from this tie-up.

‘PEZA commits to study the expansion of these benefits and opportunities afforded by our [memorandum of understanding], that this may be extended to the labor force employed within the ecozones, and will continuously promote Pag-IBIG programs among [PEZA-registered enterprises] in order to create reach for you, added program impact, and for the protection of our labor force,’ PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said.

Also, PEZA and Pag-Ibig Fund will enter into a collection servicing agreement to streamline the repayment process and help borrowers better manage their financial obligations.

Full suite of housing programs

Panga said the full suite of housing programs will be available to beneficiaries. These include end-user financing, home improvement loans, rental housing, Expanded Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program and access to the Pag-Ibig Acquired Assets Program.

‘Alongside Pag-Ibig Fund, we will explore more housing opportunities, identify viable sites and work toward developing PEZA housing projects that are affordable, accessible and sustainable,’ he added. PEZA and Pag-Ibig recently conducted an online briefing to apprise about 500 ecozone workers about PEZA’s latest programs and Pag-Ibig products.

PEZA approved P154.7 billion worth of investments in the January to September period. That was a 33.5-percent increase from a year ago, attributed to strong investor confidence.