Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Amid dating rumors, Klea Pineda denied that she and Janella Salvador got a couple tattoo after their photo at a tattoo shop recently went viral.

Pineda told reporters at the QCinema International Film Festival press launch on Tuesday, Oct. 22, in Quezon City, Diliman, that she and Salvador did go to a tattoo shop but not to get a matching tattoo.

‘Hindi ko nga alam kung bakit kailangan pa kumalat ‘yung ganung klaseng photo. Pero yes, galing kaming tattoo shop (I don’t know why that kind of photo needs to go viral. But yes, we went to a tattoo shop),’ she said. ‘Hindi siya couple tattoo (It’s not a couple tattoo).’

The Kapuso star explained that she wanted to keep private whatever tattoo they got separately.

‘Ayaw namin, ayokong ipakita kung ano man ‘yung tattoo na nakuha ko, and ‘yung tattoo na pinagawa niya kasi gusto namin, ako, i-keep ‘yun na private. Kung makita niyo sa photos, e di makita niyo,’ she said.

(We don’t want to show off whatever tattoo I got, and the tattoo she had done because we, I, want to keep it private; if you see it in the photos, then that’s it.)

Pineda and Salvador have been spotted at multiple sightings, most recently at a tattoo shop in Makati, after they became close working on the queer film ‘Open Endings,’ which is part of the QCinema lineup this year following its debut at Cinemalaya in August.

The ‘StarStruck’ alumna reiterated that whatever is going on between her and Salvador at the moment, she wants to protect and keep it to herself.

‘This time, mas pinipili ko na kung ano man ‘yung mga magagandang nangyayari sa akin sa love life ko, sa lahat ng aspeto ng buhay ko, gusto ko siya protektahan, ‘yung happiness, ‘yung magandang bagay na ‘yon,’ Pineda explained.

(This time, I’m choosing to focus on whatever good things are happening to me in my love life, in all aspects of my life; I want to protect that happiness, that good thing.)

‘Kung ano man ‘yung nakikita niyo sa social media, ‘yun na ‘yon, wala na kaming dapat iexplain, hindi naman namin utang na loob sa mga tao na ipaliwanag kung anong meron, kung anong klaseng relationship ‘yung meron kami,’ continued the actress.

(Whatever you see on social media, that’s it; we don’t have to explain anything . We don’t owe it to people to explain what’s going on or what kind of relationship we have.)

Pineda previously dated content creator Katrice Kierulf for two years before confirming their separation earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Salvador was in a relationship with actor Markus Paterson, with whom she shares a 4-year-old son, Jude. /edv

A public school teacher was shot dead by her husband inside a classroom in Matalom, Leyte, on Wednesday morning, the Police Regional Office 8 (PRO-8) reported.

This marks the second shooting incident inside a school campus in Leyte this month.

On October 16, a teacher in Tanauan, Leyte, was shot and wounded by her estranged husband but managed to survive. The suspect was immediately arrested by responding authorities. Police said jealousy was the motive behind the attack.

In Matalom, the victim, identified by police as alias ‘Ellen,’ 39, married, and a teacher at Agbanga Elementary School in Barangay Agbanga, Matalom, was allegedly gunned down by her husband, alias ‘Lino,’ 49, jobless, and a resident of Barangay Caridad Sur, Matalom.

Based on a police report, the incident occurred around 11:05 a.m. inside the classroom of one of the victim’s co-teachers. Initial investigation revealed that the victim ran into the room seeking help after being chased by her husband, who followed her and, without hesitation, fired several shots using an unidentified firearm, hitting her multiple times and killing her instantly.

After the shooting, the suspect fled aboard a white Suzuki minivan heading toward Matalom proper.

Personnel of the Matalom Municipal Police Station immediately responded to the scene after receiving a call from a concerned citizen at around 11:09 a.m. Police are currently conducting a hot pursuit operation to track down the suspect, while nearby stations have been alerted to set up chokepoints and dragnet operations.

Authorities have requested the Matalom Municipal Health Officer to conduct a post-mortem examination, while the Baybay City Forensic Unit has been tasked to process the crime scene

The Senate blue ribbon committee will continue its probe into other alleged anomalous transactions of the government.

Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III, during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday, said the blue ribbon committee will continue probing into other reported anomalies surrounding government transactions.

‘It will continue. The blue ribbon’s probe will continue into other anomalous transactions or accountability of any public officers. That is precisely the reason that the blue ribbon was created, to look at the accountability of public officials,’ Sotto said partly in Filipino.

Apart from flood control projects, farm to market road (FMR) projects surfaced during recent Senate hearings after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian revealed that over P10 billion worth of FMRs programmed under the 2023 and 2024 national budgets have been ‘extremely overpriced.’

One project, for example, cost 23 times more than the standard price set by the DPWH while others saw markups of up to 70 percent, further bloating the project cost.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel Jr., meanwhile, said the DPWH set a P15,000 per meter standard cost for FMRs, but this could go as low as P10,000 if the ’30 percent’ markup was trimmed.

Guard Harold Alarcon used University of the Philippines’ loss to La Salle as motivation in their game against league-leading National University on Wednesday in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.

Behind Alarcon, the Fighting Maroons opened their second round campaign on a high note with a 78-74 win and dealt the Bulldogs just their second loss in eight outings.

Alarcon starred with a season-high 24 points on top of four assists, three rebounds and a steal to help UP bounce back from their 72-69 loss to a depleted La Salle side without key cogs Mason Amos and Kean Baclaan last Sunday.

‘We wanted to start the second round by setting the tone because we came from a loss,’ the graduating guard said.

‘We learned from our mistakes and lapses in that game and we brought those lessons here in this game.’

Before UP’s statement win over the league-leading Bulldogs, Alarcon struggled against the Green Archers, missing nine of his 14 shots from the field.

Aside from wanting to start the second round strong, Alarcon also cited one of his biggest motivations to be his final go-around with the Fighting Maroons.

‘I need to play like my life depends on it because this is my last second round in the UAAP and this is my last year as well.’

The Fighting Maroons gained solo third place at 5-3, overtaking the Green Archers (4-3).

The Philippines’ world-renowned islands once again captured international acclaim as Boracay and Palawan islands were named among the Top Islands in Asia in the 2025 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.

Boracay ranked fourth in both the UK-based Condé Nast Traveller and US-based Condé Nast Traveler lists, reaffirming its global status as one of the region’s premier beach destinations.

Meanwhile, Palawan placed fifth in the US edition, highlighting its continued appeal among international travelers.

Boracay earned a score of 92.65, trailing behind Indonesia’s Bali and Lombok and Sri Lanka, in a Condé Nast Traveller (UK) ranking dated October 7. The publication, which owns magazines like Vogue and GQ, praised the island’s pristine waters and vibrant local culture that continue to attract visitors from across the globe.

Bouncing back

In the Condé Nast Traveler (US) rankings, Boracay received 90.54 points, while Palawan followed closely with 90.23, joining other top Asian destinations, such as Vietnam’s Phú Quoc, Malaysia’s Langkawi, and Thailand’s Koh Samui.

These recognitions were based on votes from thousands of readers who shared their personal travel experiences and rated destinations according to natural beauty, hospitality, and overall visitor satisfaction.

Tourism in Boracay suffered heavily at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021 when travel restrictions were imposed, forcing many hospitality accommodations on the island to close.

The island’s tourism industry has since bounced back. For the first half of October alone, the island received 66,756 tourists-most of whom were domestic visitors (54,047), according to the Malay-Boracay Tourism Office in a Facebook post on Monday.

Foreign tourists from October 1 to October 15 totaled 12,238, while visiting overseas Filipino workers numbered 471, the office added.

Sustainable tourism

Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco earlier lauded similar accolades as reflective of the Philippines’ commitment to sustainable and high-quality tourism. ‘These global recognitions reaffirm our standing as one of the world’s most beautiful destinations,’ she said in a previous statement.

The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are among the longest-running and most prestigious travel polls in the world, serving as a benchmark for excellence in the global tourism industry.

Boracay’s consistent inclusion in the top five and Palawan’s strong showing underscore the Philippines’ enduring charm among travelers, boosting efforts to position the country as a leading tourism destination in Asia

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) will livestream its hearings beginning next week, according to ICI Chairperson Andres Reyes.

Reyes made the disclosure at the Senate committee on justice’s hearing on anomalous infrastructure projects in the country.

‘We don’t have the facility, and we don’t have the rules of procedures. In spite of no rules allowing us, we will now go on a livestream next week,’ said Reyes.

‘Once we get to be able to have the technical capability with us already, I repeat, we will start doing live streams next week,’ he told the senators.

In his opening remarks, Reyes admitted that the creation of ICI needs refinement and ‘more power.’

He particularly lamented how people were able to ‘get away with P500 billion,’ noting that this is the commission’s inspiration to work hard.

‘ICI is only 39 days old. For the last 21 days, we only had three lawyers and now we have some volunteers from the PAO and other agencies and we will try our best to full blast investigation of all these frauds,’ he said.

In a bid to refine the commission, they would begin livestreaming their proceedings.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who was presiding over the hearing as panel head, said ICI’s pronouncement is welcome news.

‘People would like to know the facts of these cases and would like to be updated as to the developments and progress of the investigation. A livestreaming of the proceedings will definitely address this concern of the public,’ said the senator.

The Palace likewise welcomed the news, saying that the decision to do so lies in the hands of the ICI.

‘That is in the hands of the ICI. Whatever they need to show that their proceedings are impartial, we’re leaving it to their decision,’ Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro told reporters in a Viber message.

On September 11, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 94 creating the ICI, following reports and investigations into alleged anomalies in the country’s flood control projects.

‘The Administration is firmly committed to maintain honesty and integrity in public service, and will take decisive measures to repress and hold accountable government officials and employees, and any other individual, who engage in graft, corrupt practices, or other acts that undermine the national interest and betray the people’s trust,’ the order reads.

As a recommendatory body, the ICI will, acting on complaint or motu proprio, ‘hear, investigate, receive, gather, and evaluate evidence, intelligence reports, and information, against all government officials and employees, and any other individual, involved in anomalies, irregularities, and misuse of funds in the planning, financing, and implementation of government flood control and other infrastructure projects nationwide,’ it adds. /apl /gsg

Acting Transportation chief Giovanni Lopez conducted an inspection of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines’ (CAAP) air traffic management center (ATMC) to prevent a repeat of the airspace shutdown in 2023.

According to the Department of Transportation in a statement on Wednesday, Lopez held the inspection ahead of the observation of All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day, as well as the holiday season.

During the check up, Lopez instructed CAAP to perform all necessary measures for repairs and upgrades of the ATMC.

The ATMC serves as the facility for controlling and overseeing all inbound and outbound flights, as well as overflights within the Philippine airspace.

‘I just want to emphasize that I don’t want a repeat of what happened last January 1, 2023,’ the acting transport chief stressed.

Meanwhile, CAAP, for its part, said it has implemented upgrades in its existing Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM).

CAAP said it also already purchased new uninterruptible power supply units for its CNS/ATM to prevent what happened in 2023 from happening again.

‘We checked the redundancy, among others. Let’s just make sure that what happened before won’t happen again so that no passengers will be inconvenienced, especially from All Saints’ Day up to Christmas and New Year,’ Lopez said.

It was on the first day of 2023 when CAAP’s ATMC went down due to power outage, resulting in loss of communication, radio, radar and internet.

The system issue caused disruption of flights and affected thousands of passengers in the country as well as in other airports in the country. /apl

Maynilad Water Services Inc. wants to raise P34.33 billion from its initial public offering (IPO) of P15 per share, the last debut at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) for this year.

In a notice on Tuesday, the PSE said Maynilad would offer 1.66 billion common shares to the public and 24.91 million shares to First Pacific Co. Ltd.

The IPO has an overallotment option of up to 249.05 million shares and an upsize option of as much as 354.7 million secondary shares.

The offer period will run from Oct. 23 to Oct. 29, and Maynilad is set to list under the ticker ‘MYNLD’ on Nov. 7. That will be just over a year ahead of its January 2027 deadline with the government.

Public listing

The public listing is a requirement of Maynilad’s concession agreement with the government through the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.

If fully subscribed, Maynilad’s IPO will be the largest since Monde Nissin Corp.’s stock market debut in 2021, when the latter raised a record P48.6 billion.

The final price comes after Maynilad’s cornerstone investment agreement with the International Finance Corp. (IFC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The IFC committed to invest $100 million and the ADB $145 million into Maynilad’s IPO. That is, if the offer price did not exceed P15 each.

Apart from IFC and ADB, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office is also pledging its support for Maynilad’s IPO through its Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures (Mobilist) program.

Citicore, too

This is the same agency that pitched in $12.5 million into the IPO of Edgar Saavedra-led Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. last year. That enabled Citicore to raise P5.3 billion from its stock market debut.

Since then, the UK government has committed to boost trade and investment flows to the Philippines, particularly looking at sustainability-related projects.

For its part, Maynilad recently received the Philippines’ first Green Equity label. This would enable the firm to attract more investors by tagging its shares as ‘green’ prior to its offer.

At the same time, asset management firm Robeco Switzerland Ltd. is also participating as a cornerstone investor for an investment size of up to $20 million.

Maynilad’s IPO will be the last for the local bourse in 2025. This year has proven to be a challenging one for local equities as investors navigate geopolitical conflict, trade tensions and domestic corruption scandals.

So far, Cebu-based fuel retailer Top Line Business Development Corp. is the only company to have listed this year, raising P732 million. INQ

Converge got another triple-double from rookie Juan Gomez de Liano while Larry Muyang was solid in his debut in taking down Terrafirma, 125-108, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Gomez de Liano finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists even as Muyang added 10 points and five rebounds as Converge bounced back from its out-of-town defeat at the hands of the TNT over the weekend.

The FiberXers improved to 2-1 in the season-opening conference after it took for them two quarters to eventually wear down the Dyip.

Terrafirma dropped to 1-2, spoiling the first game of Aljon Mariano, who part of the deal that sent Maverick Ahanmisi from Barangay Ginebra in exchange for the first round pick in next season’s Rookie Draft.

Ahanmisi didn’t suit up for Terrafirma due to an injury.

His younger brother Jerrick scored 16 while rookie JM Bravo added 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks for the Dyip.

It was the second triple-double in the young PBA career of Gomez de Liano, who first did the trick during the season-opening rout of Titan Ultra more than a week ago in Rodriguez, Rizal.

Muyang, meanwhile, finally saw action for the FiberXers after his MPBL stint with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns came to an end last week. Archie Concepcion and John Lloyd Clemente also made their debuts for the FiberXers.

Alec Stockton topscored for Converge with 22 points, Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana each had a double-double and Schonny Winston added 14.

AirAsia has claimed the leading title for budget airlines in Asia, bagging two major citations at World Travel Awards (WTA) 2025.

The Malaysian low-cost carrier was feted as ‘Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline’ for the 13th time. It also received its ninth consecutive ‘Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline Cabin Crew’ award.

In a statement, AirAsia spokesperson Steve Dailisan expressed his excitement about the airline’s ambitions of becoming a leading low-cost carrier across the globe. Expanding its fleet to Middle East and Central Asia is part of the horizon.

New routes

Last week, AirAsia X (AAX), the airline’s subsidiary for long haul flights, launched its first inaugural direct flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

In September, AAX also announced its first direct flight route from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Bangkok, Thailand, which is set to commence by the end of the month.

For two consecutive years, the wide-bodied aircraft subsidiary was recognized as the ‘World’s Leading Long-Haul Low-Cost Airline’ by the WTA. It has been nominated anew for the global leading airline category this year.

‘Not just an airline’

‘Many have been with us since our early days and together we have built not just an airline, but a movement that believes in making travel accessible for everyone,’ said Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group, Bo Lingam.

‘As we grow our network and evolve into a truly global low-cost network carrier, that shared spirit of inclusivity, innovation and care will continue to define us,’ he added.

Besides the double win, the Malaysian low-cost carrier was also shortlisted for two WTA regional categories: Asia’s Leading Airline – Customer Experience 2025 and Asia’s Leading Online Travel Agency candidate for AirAsia MOVE, a travel platform.

The announcement of all awardees for the global category will take place in Bahrain on Dec. 6, 2025.