Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

When I arrived in the Philippines over a year ago, I was welcomed not only by the warmth of the people but also by a resilient economy brimming with potential. In the months since, I have had the privilege of visiting Metro Manila’s business districts, Cebu’s modern international airport, and Davao’s agribusiness communities. I look forward to travel even more in other parts of the country to discover similar stories of progress. Each visit has offered me a glimpse of the Philippines’ vast economic potential-a country that is poised to sustain a robust growth in the years ahead, driven by its young dynamic workforce, expanding middle class, and strategic location.

Over the years, the Philippines has become a key destination of European investments, a vital trading partner, and a steadfast ally in advancing sustainable development goals. In 2024, bilateral trade in goods between the European Union and the Philippines amounted to 16.8 billion euros. The EU was the Philippines’ fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for 7 percent of the country’s total trade in goods. EU’s foreign direct investment stock in the Philippines amounted to 14.2 billion euros in 2024.

Building on this solid foundation and recognizing the potential and the size of the Philippine market, we have opened a new and exciting chapter in our bilateral economic relations with the resumption of the negotiations for an EU-Philippines bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) last year- a decision jointly made by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., reflecting a shared commitment to deepen our economic partnership.

The EU aims for an ambitious, balanced, and comprehensive FTA that translates economic progress into real opportunities for our peoples. It is our objective to create new market access opportunities on trade in goods, services and investment, and for government procurement. Beyond market access, we aim to establish clear and effective rules across all trade and investment-related areas in order to facilitate trade as well as to encourage more investments in both the EU and the Philippines.

The EU-Philippines FTA is also designed to cover new and emerging areas. For the EU, one key objective is the removal of obstacles to digital trade as well as trade in energy and raw materials thereby supporting the twin digital and green transitions. Through the FTA, the EU also aspires to promote sustainable development and ensure that economic growth is achieved responsibly through robust and enforceable disciplines on trade and sustainable development. This way, the FTA becomes an enabler of a more inclusive and sustainable future for both EU and the Philippines. These are areas where the EU and the Philippines are already working hand in hand.

Another important area in the FTA, where the Philippines has competitive strength, is Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The EU aims to protect IPR, including the recognition of geographical indications, to foster innovation and give recognition to unique goods from both Europe and the Philippines. In terms of timeline, our target is to conclude as swiftly as possible and ensure quality in the substance of the agreement.

While the EU-Philippines FTA negotiations are advancing, the Philippines continues to benefit from the EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+)-a special incentive arrangement that grants zero percent tariffs on two-thirds of all EU product categories. As the Philippines would graduate to an upper middle-income status in the coming years, it would lose the GSP+ preferences after a transition period. The FTA would stand as an immediate relay if negotiations are completed. The GSP+ is more than a trade preference. It comes with requirements to implement core international conventions related to human rights, good governance, and sustainable development. The Philippines’ continued participation in the GSP+ scheme underpins the country’s commitment to uphold these shared values.

At the same time, the EU remains committed to supporting the Philippines through various cooperation initiatives that strengthen capacities in areas such as green transition and digitalization, which can empower Filipino companies to seize the opportunities that a future FTA brings.

The EU and the Philippines are not just trade and investment partners. We are partners in growth, sustainability, and in shaping a future that is more resilient and inclusive. Together, we can turn today’s momentum into tomorrow’s success. The FTA is more than an economic agreement-it is an investment in the shared prosperity of our peoples.

Massimo Santoro is the ambassador of the EU to the Philippines. Prior to joining the European External Action Service as head of office of the secretary general and head of policy coordination, he served as a national diplomat in the Permanent Representation of Italy to the EU in Brussels, and was deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Italy in Belarus.

Senators Loren Legarda and Bam Aquino on Monday proposed on Monday an across-the-board cut in all infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2026 in light of the systematic overpricing revealed by recent corruption scandals.

Legarda and Aquino floated the suggestion at a Senate subpanel on finance’s hearing on the proposed 2026 budget of the DPWH.

Legarda first brought up the matter, asking Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon if he and his team would consider it reasonable to implement a 25 to 30 percent across-the-board cut on all DPWH infrastructure line items.

Legarda said this could be a ‘temporary corrective measure’ in the 2026 budget, so that the 2027 funding would be more ‘scientific.’

‘It seems only right that the changes should not happen in 2027. It can’t wait because the people have already paid taxes, and those taxes are what we use for the infrastructure we’re going to build. If we say, ‘Well, we didn’t do that, it’s still for 2027′ – then I won’t be able to sign off on the 2026 General Appropriations Act if we don’t lower the prices of the line items,’ Legarda said in Filipino.

So this across-the-board move is a good indication that we are serious about reforming our budgetary process,’ she added.

Dizon admitted that some projects of the DPWH were indeed found to be overpriced by more than 20 percent, but instead of recommending an across-the-board budget cut, the DPWH chief said a targeted budget adjustment would be better.

‘Prices are different in the National Capital Region, different in Cebu, different in Palawan, and different in Mindoro. But clearly, there is overpricing. So what we are doing now is going through them one by one – examining each region individually to identify which items are overpriced,’ said Dizon.

Dizon said they are ‘going through the process already,’ adding that they would be announcing a recommendation in the next few weeks.

‘If you will allow us, maybe we can announce this once we are committee-ready. We’ve only been here for just a little over a month, but the team has already made immense progress in its effort and I think very soon we’ll be coming out with a – not just an across-the-board, but a region-by-region adjustment in the cost of materials throughout the country,’ said Dizon.

Later, when it was time for him to question the DPWH budget, Sen. Aquino said the across-the-board budget cut might be warranted if the Senate could not see changes in the agency in terms of addressing overpricing.

‘Because if there’s overpricing, we won’t be able to sign off in good conscience knowing that the design and cost of materials are overpriced. But since the budget isn’t due until December – and as you know, it usually reaches the third week of December – there’s still time,’ Aquino said in Filipino.

Aquino said he likewise told former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to resubmit their list of projects as well as their prices, particularly asking the ex-DPWH chief to fix overpriced projects because the Senate is ‘very open to accepting a resubmitted budget detailing all the projects’ it wants to do.

Now, Aquino made the same appeal to Dizon.

‘Let’s remove the fat. Let’s take out the overpriced items, let’s focus on the right projects, and let’s do the right thing. I know that’s not easy, but we have time. Now, if that can’t be done, I will support a 20 percent cut in the budget just to make sure that fat – the one used for parking, kickbacks, and all sorts of things – is gone,’ he said.

‘Let’s remove that. Let’s go for the real, actual prices of these projects, because that’s what the people truly deserve,’ he pointed out.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday launched Phase 4 of the Pasig River rehabilitation program, promising to turn another stretch of the historic waterway into a walkable, bike-friendly hub for leisure, commerce, and sustainable travel.

‘Every time we gather here by the Pasig River, we are reminded that progress does not always mean building something new. Sometimes, progress means bringing something beautiful back to life,’ Marcos said during the launch at the Lawton Pasig River Ferry station in Manila.

The new 530-meter segment stretches from behind the Manila Central Post Office to Arroceros Forest Park.

It features walkways, bike lanes, and commercial spaces, connecting seamlessly to earlier completed phases near Intramuros.

Marcos said the project aims to create ‘a continuous riverside path that will link people, culture, and opportunity.’

He also envisioned it as a leisure and lifestyle destination for all-from food lovers to fitness enthusiasts and even ‘romantics.’

‘For the romantic at heart, you can enjoy a sunset stroll, hand in hand with your significant other. And if you’re still single, you might just meet ‘the one’ here,’ Marcos said.

He noted that the earlier phases have already become viral tourist spots on social media.

The President said small and medium-sized businesses would be allowed to set up along the new commercial spaces.

To clear the site, the government relocated 63 informal settler families to Naic, Cavite.

Marcos likewise highlighted recent efforts to modernize river transport, citing the M/B Dalaray, a locally designed electric ferry launched on Oct. 6, which will be fully operational by November.

The government is also testing ClearBot, a solar-powered, artificial intelligence-enabled robotic vessel, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, to help clean up waterways.

More green spaces

Marcos also revealed that he and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno are eyeing more urban transformations.

These include the conversion of the Intramuros Golf Course into an open public park, the rehabilitation of Plaza Calderon in Binondo, and the planned upgrade of the Lawton Underpass to improve pedestrian access to the esplanade.

‘All these efforts are part of a larger vision to create a culturally rich urban environment where history, nature, and modern living come together seamlessly,’ he said.

He credited first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, whom he fondly called the administration’s ‘non-stop energizer bunny,’ for driving the initiative, which recently earned the 2025 Asian Townscape Award from the United Nations-Habitat. -PNA

For the first time in nine weeks, fuel retailers are reducing diesel prices at the pump by 70 centavos per liter, a welcome relief for motorists.

According to the advisories of Seaoil, PetroGazz and Cleanfuel on Monday, kerosene prices will likewise go down by 60 centavos a liter, effective Oct. 21.

Gasoline, on the other hand, will be more expensive by 10 centavos per liter.

Last week, oil companies imposed mixed fuel price adjustments, with only gasoline recording an increase.

Arrogance doesn’t arrive with a warning label. It creeps in on the back of success, silencing dissent, shrinking curiosity and replacing facts with certainty. The result is predictable: blind spots widen, teams go quiet, risk climbs and strategy drifts.

Your job as a CEO or owner is not to be right; it’s to see reality as clearly as possible and then make the best strategic decisions. That requires building mechanisms that surface truth fast, even when it stings.

Principle 1: Clarity beats certainty

Decisions improve when reality is seen as it is, not as we wish it to be. Leaders who confuse confidence with correctness filter out inconvenient data.

Humble leaders design for clarity: they ask better questions, run small tests and make reversible moves first. They treat beliefs as hypotheses, not facts. This mindset keeps optionality high and error costs low.

Principle 2: No one sees the whole board

To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Expertise narrows vision; success tightens the tunnel. Great leaders expand their field of view by surrounding themselves with independent thinkers who see what they can’t.

Outside advisors, dissenting voices and front-line operators provide angles you will never generate alone. If your calendar and culture don’t create these inputs by design, you’re flying with instruments off.

Principle 3: Humility is a performance multiplier

Humility is not the absence of will. It is willpower pointed at learning. It invites challenge, credits others and focuses recognition on results, not rank.

Teams do their best work when the boss listens first and speaks last. Psychological safety is not softness; it’s the operating system for speed, accountability and innovation.

Arrogance kills performance

One of our past clients, a next-gen hotshot who inherited the business and had grown up with five nannies and staff surrounding his every move, felt he was entitled to bully everyone and cut corners. Hubris and arrogance.

The price he had to pay? Missed opportunities, competitors seizing market share while he was busy portraying himself as a ‘master of all trades.’ Finally the patriarch, his father, got me and my team on board to course correct, professionalize and put the conglomerate on the path of profitability.

Arrogance taxes every part of the business. Then leaders double down on bad bets to defend ego, not outcomes. Micromanagement throttles execution; decisions queue behind the corner office. A-players exit when ideas outrank evidence. Boards get performance theater instead of performance truth. Capital is misallocated to pet projects because ‘the boss knows.’ The most dangerous moment in an enterprise is often right after a win; that’s when overconfidence peaks and vigilance drops.

Arrogance is the silent killer of performance because it hides in the stories success tells about itself. Humility is the system that keeps those stories from becoming strategy.

Build mechanisms that surface truth, invite dissent and reward adaptation. See reality clearly; decide cleanly; move quickly; learn relentlessly. That is how great companies stay great. Choose clarity over certainty. Every day. Now.

Here are warning signs that you’re slipping into the trap. If any of these ring true, press pause. You’re rewarding certainty over truth:

Meetings go quiet after you speak; no one challenges your view.

Bad news travels slowly-or not at all-until it’s a crisis.

‘We’ve always done it this way’ wins more than fresh evidence.

You defend a plan harder after contrary data appears.

Solution: Design for reality

Humble leaders move faster because they argue with data, not with people. They create short feedback loops, celebrate course correction and separate status from decision rights.

In practice, this looks like: premortems to stress-test plans; red-team reviews to attack assumptions; decision briefs that make trade-offs explicit; and after-action reviews that convert mistakes into systems. Humility compounds because learning compounds.

You cannot rely on personality to stay humble; you must design systems that keep you honest:

Information plumbing: Direct, unfiltered channels from customers and the front line. No sugarcoating.

Decision hygiene: Define who decides, based on what evidence, by when. Write the one-page decision memo before you debate.

Contrarian input: Assign a rotating ‘devil’s advocate’ for major bets. Shoot holes in every plan. Fund small experiments to test contrarian theses.

Metrics that bite: Track lead indicators, not vanity metrics. Agree in advance on kill-criteria for projects.

Board calibration: Recruit directors who challenge you and reward candor over comfort.

Authority grows when humility shows

When context shifts, ego kills: Markets pivot faster than egos. Artificial intelligence, regulation, supply chains, consumer behavior-any one can flip the game board.

Humility keeps organizations adaptable-you notice weak signals, pivot early and scale what works. Arrogance waits for perfect proof, then arrives late with maximal exposure.

Speak last: There is a reason why Richard Branson always speaks last in team meetings. The humble discipline is to set intent, then listen. Ask: ‘What would make this plan fail?’ ‘What data changed your mind?’ ‘What are we not seeing?’

Capture opposing views in writing. Only then decide-explicitly stating assumptions, risks and the trigger points that will force a course change. You protect the decision by protecting the learning.

Strength without swagger: Stakeholders don’t need theater; they need stewardship. The strongest signal a leader can send is intellectual honesty. Say ‘I don’t know’ when you don’t. Say ‘I was wrong’ when you were. Then fix it fast.

Personal operating system

for humility

Daily: Journal one assumption you changed and one decision you delayed to get a fact.

Weekly: Invite a contrarian brief from someone two levels down; reward the sharpest critique.

Monthly: Hold a ‘truth summit’ with external advisors; ask them to rate your blind spots.

Quarterly: Audit the portfolio for pet projects; exit or resize ruthlessly.

Annually: Reset the strategy using zero-based thinking: if we started today, would we still do this?

Five to thrive

1. Ask better questions: Start with ‘What am I missing?’ and ‘What would prove us wrong?’

2. Speak last: Let independent views surface before you weigh in.

3. Stress-test decisions: Premortems, red teams and small experiments before big bets.

4. Codify learning: Run after-action reviews; update playbooks; retire failed plays.

5. Separate ego from mission: Celebrate truth over rank; kill pet projects fast. INQ

The Philippines asserted its dominance as an international pageant powerhouse through another historic win, posting back-to-back victories in the Miss Grand International competition in Thailand on Saturday night.

Kapampangan broadcaster Emma Tiglao bested 76 other aspirants during the finale held at MGI Hall in Bangkok to inherit the pageant’s ‘golden crown’ from Christine Juliane ‘CJ’ Opiaza, the first Filipino woman to win the title.

No other country has posted two consecutive victories in the Miss Grand International pageant’s 13-year run.

Tiglao first entered the Top 22 and earned a guaranteed semifinal slot by topping the ‘Country’s Power of the Year’ online poll.

She focused on the country’s battle against corruption in both the Top 10 speech round and the final question-and-answer portion.

During the final round of competition, the Top 5 candidates were asked: ‘Scammers are an online threat-a form of warfare often tied to human trafficking that has global consequences. Countries such as South Korea and the USA have launched severe crackdowns. What penalties do you think could help dismantle these operations?’

She responded: ‘As someone who reports these kinds of stories, I really want to use the power of balance. [For] us people to be educated and aware, for us to not be scammed, and a help [from] the government to enhance their justice system for the scammers to be behind bars, to be accountable. Because one day, I hope that we will live in a peaceful world where no one should deceive just to survive.’

News anchor

Tiglao, 30, is a seasoned pageant queen, having competed in the Mutya ng Pilipinas, Miss World Philippines, and Binibining Pilipinas pageants before joining the Miss Grand Philippines search.

She represented the Philippines in the 2019 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Egypt, hoping to succeed Filipino queen Karen Gallman, but finished only in the Top 20.

Tiglao transitioned to broadcasting when she announced her supposed ‘retirement’ from pageantry in 2021, and served as a news anchor for Net25’s primetime newscast ‘Mata ng Agila.’ She now hosts the morning show, ‘Kada Umaga,’ in the same channel. -CONTRIBUTED

A small province receiving larger infrastructure allocations than others puzzled Sen. Loren Legarda.

At Monday’s hearing of the Senate finance subcommittee, Legarda inquired how the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) distributes the proposed 2026 budget for infrastructure projects among legislative districts.

‘Because there’s this one province – I don’t want to name it since I also know the congressman – it’s a very small province, yet it has a huge budget in the NEP [National Expenditure Program],’ she said speaking in Filipino.

‘I repeat, we are not judging anyone. We’re not imputing motives, but there is a province much smaller than Antique with more than double the budget in the NEP – and it even increased further in the GAB [General Appropriations Bill],’ the senator added.

The NEP is Malacañang’s budget proposal, while the GAB is the approved budget bill in the House of Representatives.

According to Legarda, her hometown province of Antique should have been given a P3.6 billion budget next year based on landmass and population alone, but it was only allotted P1.1 billion.

Valenzuela City, on the other hand, was previously given huge allocations, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate finance committee.

‘They did not even know where the budgets came from. It just appeared there. His brother, who was mayor, didn’t even know,’ Legarda said.

She later pressed the DPWH on how it computes the budgets for infrastructure projects.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, who was just appointed to head the agency last month, admitted they are still clueless about how funding for infrastructure projects was decided.

‘Up to now, we still don’t understand how the 2026 budget was allocated among the legislative districts,’ Dizon said.

There is supposed to be a ‘parametric formula’ that considers land area, population, and other factors, but a random check revealed it was not being followed, he said.

‘So clearly there is something wrong with that formula,’ the DPWH chief added.

Dizon nevertheless promised that for 2027, they would come up with a new formula, which he described as ‘simpler, more straightforward, and responsive to the needs of the community.’

Malacañang has downplayed calls to abolish the entire Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over the corruption issues hounding the billions in infrastructure projects it implemented.

Rather, the Marcos administration preferred the ongoing move of DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to weed out unscrupulous officials and personnel and promote its honest employees.

‘Not everyone leading or working at the DPWH can be said to have committed wrongdoing. There are still public servants and officials who fulfill their duties,’ Palace press officer Claire Castro told reporters in a briefing on Monday.

‘At this point, there are no plans to abolish the agency because what needs to be removed are those who have done corrupt practices,’ she added.

Castro noted that it would not be difficult for Dizon to identify who among the about 20,000 personnel of the DPWH across the country should be dismissed.

‘As Secretary Vince said, many will be dismissed, and because of this, it serves as a warning to those who will enter the agency: You must be upright, you must have integrity, and you must truly fulfill your duties in accordance with the law and in service to the people,’ she said.

Promote deserving casual workers

On Monday, Dizon said the DPWH would begin filling the nearly 2,000 vacant positions in the agency, some through the promotion of job order and contractual employees, many of whom have served for years on short-term contracts.

‘First and foremost, we should elevate those who are deserving, honest, and hardworking people already in the DPWH, including our job order employees,’ Dizon said.

Dizon’s self-imposed deadline of ‘a maximum of 60 days’ to carry out a deep cleansing of the DPWH’s workforce is almost due.

On his first day as DPWH chief on September 1, Dizon carried out the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to make a ‘clean sweep’ of the agency, whose officials and personnel are under scrutiny for being allegedly involved in corrupt practices in implementing hundreds of billions of flood control projects.

He ordered all officials of the agency, from the top ranks in the central office down to the district level, to submit their courtesy resignations. This covers all undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, division heads, regional directors, and district engineers across the country.

More than 250 officials of the DPWH were affected by this call, with 197 being heads of district engineering offices in different parts of the country.He had since brought with him five undersecretaries, including former Undersecretary Arrey Perez, who resigned on Friday after he was linked by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste to flood control contractors. Perez denied the allegation, while Leviste backtracked from his revelation.

Several DPWH officials had also been dismissed or had resigned from their posts since then, including former Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral, and dismissed Bulacan district engineers Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez.

After a cleansing of the officials, a ‘thorough review’ of all the almost 20,000 personnel of the agency would follow.

‘Despite the allegations of systemic corruption, I believe that there are still many good and capable employees in the DPWH. The directive of our President is to find them and place them in sensitive and important positions,’ Dizon had said.

Earlier this month, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian proposed to dismantle the DPWH and establish a new one, considering the gravity of the corruption that marred the agency.

‘If you were to ask me, let us just establish a new DPWH. Let us hire other people because I believe, and my philosophy in management, is that you’ll come to a point where you can no longer fix something, so there’s a need to create a new one,’ he said.

‘Because I think it will take years and years for Secretary Vince to clean up. We need to do many things – digitalization, of course, file cases to everyone involved, and we also need to check the others if they are doing what is right,’ he added.

Among the oldest agencies

The DPWH is one of the oldest agencies in the bureaucracy, with the agency citing that it emerged from its earliest form dating back in 1565.

It was in 1868 when the Bureau of Public Works and Highways (Obras Publicas) and Bureau of Communications and Transportation (Communicationes y Meteologia) were organized under a civil engineer designated as ‘director general.’

Following the Philippine independence in 1898, the revolutionary government under General Emilio Aguinaldo created four departments, including the Department of War and Public Works.

After decades of evolution, the current DPWH was established in 1987 by virtue of Executive Order No. 124 by then-President Corazon Aquino.

As the primary engineering and construction arm of the government, the DPWH is responsible for the planning, design, construction and maintenance of infrastructures such as roads and bridges, flood control systems, water resource development projects and other public works.

Public concern over corruption now ranks second among the top concerns of Filipinos, based on a survey conducted by Octa Research.

The survey results released on Monday showed that concern over corruption rose from 13 percent in July to 31 percent in September.

According to Octa, this is the highest level of concern recorded for corruption and the first time it has entered the top five national issues in its surveys.

‘The sharp rise in corruption concerns indicates a growing public demand for integrity and accountability in government, as Filipinos increasingly turn their attention from just economic concerns to issues of governance,’ said Octa.

On the other hand, controlling the rising prices of basic goods and services remained the top national concern for Filipinos, being cited by 48 percent of survey respondents.

At third is access to affordable food such as rice, vegetables, and meat at 31 percent, followed by improving wages or salaries of workers at 27 percent, and reducing poverty at 23 percent.

Meanwhile, Octa also noted that the results showed that concern for employment dropped significantly from 26 percent in July to 19 percent in September.

‘Once among the top five national concerns, employment has now receded in urgency, suggesting that fewer Filipinos view job creation as an immediate priority compared to earlier this year,’ said Octa.

‘This decline may reflect a perceived improvement in employment stability or a shifting public focus toward governance and anti-corruption issues following heightened political and media attention on government accountability,’ it added.

In terms of personal concerns, the majority or 63 percent of Filipinos said staying healthy, affording daily food, and maintaining good education was their top concern.

The survey was conducted from September 25 to 30, 2025, through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult male and female respondents.

It had a ±3 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level-with a 95 percent confidence level and ±6 percent margin of error for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

A plunder complaint has been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against former Narvacan, Ilocos Sur Mayor Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson, along with several local officials, over the alleged overpriced purchase of a nearly P150-million property in the municipality in 2019.

The complaint was lodged by Warriors Ti Narvacan, Inc.-an organization advocating good governance and public accountability-before the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday. The group was represented by Atty. Estelita Cordero.

Aside from Singson, 11 individuals, including a former member of the Sangguniang Bayan, a former municipal assessor, and a representative of Western Textile Mills Inc., were also named as respondents in the complaint.

Singson, who served as Narvacan mayor from 2019 to 2022, was identified by the group as the ‘main plunderer’ for allegedly initiating and negotiating the property’s purchase, while members of the Sangguniang Bayan, the municipal assessor, and the representative of Western Textile Mills Inc. were tagged as ‘co-conspirators.’

In its complaint, Warriors Ti Narvacan, Inc. alleged that Singson and the other respondents conspired to defraud the local government by approving an overpriced purchase of a 99,974-square-meter property from Western Textile Mills Inc. worth P149.96 million.

The group claimed that the property’s actual value was only around P49.98 million based on zonal valuation-making the nearly P100-million difference a violation of Republic Act No. 7080, or the Plunder Law.

Aside from filing the plunder complaint against the respondents, Warriors Ti Narvacan, Inc. sought the following:

Issuance of a subpoena duces tecum to compel the production of relevant documents

Preventive suspension of current mayor of Narvacan

A lifestyle check of the respondents, and restitution or payment of P99,974,000.00 representing the overprice

Administrative penalties and perpetual disqualification from public office

Additionally, the group likewise lodged a graft complaint against Singson and three other individuals over the alleged irregularities in the use of public funds, particularly those linked to tobacco excise tax allocations intended for the development of Narvacan.

In the graft complaint, the group alleged that Singson and the three other respondents ‘illegally occupied and privatized the foreshore area in Sulvec, Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, known as Santorini, by constructing resort structures without permits or environmental clearance.’

Singson, for his part, categorically denied what he called a ‘baseless and malicious’ complaint against him, describing it as ‘a desperate diversionary tactic and a renewed smear campaign orchestrated by political detractors.’

‘The complaint alleges that I profited P100 million from the sale of a 10-hectare property to the Municipality of Narvacan. The facts clearly show the opposite is true,’ the former mayor said in a video statement sent to the media on Monday afternoon.

Singson claimed that the market value of the property at the time was actually P8,000 per square meter, bringing the total value to P800 million since the 10-hectare parcel covers 100,000 square meters.

‘This transaction resulted in a personal loss of approximately P680 million on my part, demonstrating a substantial act of assistance, not an attempt to profit or plunder. My sole intent was to sincerely help our municipality,’ he said.

‘Furthermore, to underscore this intent, I arranged the entire transaction and opted not to immediately transfer the title to prevent any future issues like double-selling, treating it purely as aid,’ he added.