Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Roselle Marisol Andaya, Chief Executive Officer of MR.DIY Philippines, earned top recognition as Grand Winner for Woman Leader of the Year during the 2025 Asia CEO Awards at the Manila Marriott Hotel.

This marks the leading home improvement retailer’s first participation in the renowned recognition program for the country’s most exceptional business leaders and organizations. The recognition celebrates Ms. Andaya’s visionary leadership, transformative impact, and advocacy for inclusion in the retail sector.

As the first female country CEO in the MR.DIY Group’s history, she has guided the company through remarkable growth-expanding to over 800 stores nationwide while ensuring that MR.DIY remains a people-first organization grounded in purpose, innovation, and compassion.

Under her leadership, MR.DIY implemented several groundbreaking initiatives in Philippine retail, including:

Gender-neutral hiring in warehouse operations, breaking traditional gender norms;

The Store Internship for Special Learners, providing retail training for individuals on the autism spectrum; and

The transition to 100% renewable energy in its distribution centers, cutting emissions by 34% annually.

‘These achievements are built on the strength of our people,’ said Roselle Marisol Andaya, CEO of MR.DIY Philippines. ‘This recognition is a reflection of our shared mission to make everyday living simple, joyful, and complete. Leadership, to me, is about lifting others and creating spaces where everyone can thrive.’

In addition to Ms. Andaya’s individual recognition, MR.DIY Philippines was also recognized with the Circle of Excellence Awards for Woman Leader of the Year and Diversity Company of the Year, underscoring the company’s continued dedication to empowering women leaders and promoting inclusivity in the workplace. At the forefront of this recognition is MR.DIY’s Store Internship for Neurodiverse Learners, launched in partnership with Candent Learning Haus and later expanded with Marvelous Minds Tutorial Center. The program provides workplace exposure and training for individuals on the autism spectrum while preparing MR.DIY employees to foster empathy and inclusion within their teams.

‘We see inclusion not as a destination but as a continuous commitment to responsible growth-one that ensures every individual, regardless of ability or background, has the chance to learn, contribute, and belong,’ shared Atty. Suzie Cu, Head of Legal, Compliance, and Sustainability, MR.DIY Philippines.

Each awardee was chosen from among hundreds of nominations for their outstanding contributions to national progress, innovation, and corporate leadership.

Roxaco-Asia Hospitality Corporation (RAHC) is all set to spread spooky fun and sweet surprises as all its managed properties-Go Hotels Timog, Go Hotels North Edsa, Go Hotels Airport Road, and Go Hotels Ermita-celebrate Halloween with festive setups and special treats for guests.

This year’s celebration features Halloween ‘Spook Night’ themes across all hotels, complete with creative decorations, eerie yet fun photo corners, and engaging activities for guests to enjoy. On October 31, all arriving guests availing RAHC’s direct promo offers will receive exclusive freebies courtesy of Super Candy Corporation, adding sweetness to their stay and making the celebration even more memorable.

To kick off the festivities, guests checking in on October 30 can enjoy free face painting sessions-perfect for those preparing for nearby Halloween parties or simply wanting to join in the spooky excitement. Guests can choose from fun, cute, or creepy designs to complete their Halloween look.

Roselle Reyes, Director of Sales and Marketing of Roxaco-Asia Hospitality Corporation, shared her excitement for the celebration:

‘We always look forward to creating memorable experiences for our guests, and Halloween is a great opportunity to add creativity and fun to their stay. Through our partnership with Super Candy Corporation and our direct booking perks, we want to make our guests feel special and appreciated while enjoying the festive atmosphere at our Go Hotels.’

With its signature warmth and creativity, RAHC ensures that this year’s Halloween will be filled with treats, laughter, and delightful scares, giving every guest a truly spooktacular stay at any of its Go Hotels properties.

For reservations and inquiries, please call 0954-367-7605 | 0917-828-5939

For marketing partnerships and tie-ups, please contact 0954 332 2753

A total of 204 new hires, suspected of being ‘midnight appointees’ in the Office of the Ombudsman, will be asked to reapply before the anti-graft body, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said.

Remulla said this in a press briefing on Monday, adding that he also ordered the review to the office’s admission and hiring process.

A midnight appointment refers to an appointment to a political office that was made in the eleventh hour of the term of office of the person vested with the power to issue such an appointment

‘Unfortunately last July there were 204 new hires in the Office sa Ombudsman and I will ask this 204 people to reapply because they are still under their six month probationary period. I will ask them to reapply lest they become or be treated as midnight appointees,’ he disclosed.

‘That’s in good faith. I hope they’re all in good faith also they can reapply and some of them to probably hand in courtesy resignations just to show good faith. You don’t want to be arriving in a place, then all the empty seats you expected, for your companions, were suddenly filled up,’ Remulla added.

The former Justice secretary likewise revealed thay are now ‘getting the rundown’ and they are now asking the Civil Service Commision (CSC) to assist his office in evaluating this cases.

‘Because the CSC has been very forthcoming. They have communicated to us their willingness to help with this issue of midnight appointees,’ he said.

The ultimate fusion of music, sports, and purpose is just 1 week away! The country’s leading digital entertainment platform, BingoPlus, is turning up the volume for The International Series Music Festival presented by BingoPlus – a one-night celebration of sports entertainment and Filipino charity happening on October 25 at the Aseana City Concert Grounds in Parañaque.

Carrying the inspiring theme ‘Swing for Filipino Sports Dream,’ the festival brings together global and local icons for an unforgettable night. EDM superstar Alan Walker leads the lineup, joined by Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas, and OPM legends Bamboo, Parokya ni Edgar, Urbandub, Sandwich, and Lily. Keeping the energy high are DJs Arthur Tan, Hoest, and DJ Kiara, along with powerhouse performances from world champion dance crews A-Team and UPeepz. Hosting the event are Anjo Pertierra and Shaira Diaz, bringing the right mix of fun and flair.

Beyond the beats and lights, festival-goers can look forward to games, interactive booths, and tons of exciting prizes. But what truly sets this event apart is its heart: BingoPlus will be donating ?5 million, plus ?200 for every ticket redeemed on-site, to support Filipino sports development and charity efforts. And because BingoPlus knows how to make the night even more thrilling, all guests will get special gifts and the chance to win cash prizes worth ?5 million.

How to get your tickets?

To secure regular tickets, check out promotions on BingoPlus’ official social media pages for various online activities to get free regular tickets, which includes posts, likes, comments, and sharing mechanics. You can get free VIP and SVIP tickets by topping the BingoPlus EDM leaderboard in the app or at website www.bingoplus.com. All ticket holders are guaranteed with meal vouchers, gift packs, exclusive access, and gift packs with worth varying from P500.00 to 1,500.00.

Gates will open at 11:00 AM, with main stage performances starting at 8:00 PM.

To know more about ticketing and promo, visit BingoPlus App or website at www.bingoplus.com.

These exciting festivities are part of a week-long celebration of world-class golf, entertainment, and fun at the International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus. Get your tickets now at SM Tickets.

The term ‘public servant’ carries a certain moral expectation that those who enter government office do so out of a genuine desire to serve the country, not to profit from it. Yet, time and again, we are confronted with the truth that for many, public service has become a stage for self-interest. Earlier this month, a Lexus car with a protocol plate no. 10 using blinkers and sirens to weave through traffic was filmed in a road altercation with another motorist. Apart from slapping the multicab driver who allegedly blocked their path, one of the car’s passengers was heard bragging that they were transporting a VIP. The supposed VIP turned out to be a Department of Transportation (DOTr) undersecretary-someone who had no right to use a plate reserved only for appellate court judges, and ironically, someone who should understand traffic rules better than anyone else.

Since the rise of the ‘nepo baby’ conversation online, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (Republic Act No. 6713) has been quoted repeatedly to remind government officials of the moral standards expected of them. The law requires public officials to lead modest lives, put public interest above personal gain, use government resources responsibly, and avoid conflicts of interest.

As the recent road rage incident made painfully clear, however, many government officials still subscribe to a feudal mindset of equating their position not with service, but as rulers who are exempt from the rules they enforce. The unrestrained use of special plates, priority lanes, and other special privileges reflects how many have come to expect ‘VIP treatment’ as part of the job.

Dr. Edward Messner, a psychiatrist and former public official, once studied how people in government tend to gradually develop a sense of entitlement, even if they may have started with good intentions. He observed that elected officials are constantly pressured by many, and often competing groups: friends, family, political allies, donors, including people who threaten or bribe them to forward their agenda. These conflicting demands can be extremely stressful and slowly lead to a sense of depletion.

Over time, some officials begin to feel as though everyone is unfairly taking something from them. They start to develop a subconscious belief that they deserve something in return for all the ‘sacrifices’ their role entails, which, if left unaddressed, crystallizes into a sense of entitlement. Constantly exposed to acts of greed and flagrant opportunism, they may also start lowering their own moral standards and start rationalizing that small, unethical acts are simply part of the system. Eventually, this reasoning also becomes the root of corruption, wherein a desire to get what they’re owed becomes a license to take what is not theirs.

In response to the incident, Acting DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez has revoked the use of protocol license plates by DOTr officials to prevent further abuse. While this was a swift and necessary move, it only addresses the symptom. The bigger challenge is to embed accountability into the department’s culture and mindset, rather than an episodic response. A helpful antidote to entitlement is empathy, and this is where Lopez’s earlier directive requiring senior DOTr officials to commute to work at least once a week deserves renewed attention. The mandate was meant to promote perspective-taking and help officials develop transportation policies that are grounded in the daily struggles of commuters. If institutionalized, this practice could become one of the most effective forms of ethical training in government and perhaps help restore a commitment to service that has been dulled by constant access to privileged treatment.

Viewed from Messner’s lens, it is also important to acknowledge how VIP culture among government leaders thrives, because the rest of society also fuels and enables the system. In the road rage incident, the DOTr undersecretary’s security aide allegedly said that they could have shot the multicab driver for obstructing their VIP’s car. This gives us insight into how those who gain access and prestige through their association with public officials are more than happy to excuse abuse and injustice to protect their own proximity to power and its benefits. Even people who are normally critical of entitled behavior often become more flexible and accommodating when given an opportunity to associate with someone holding an important office.

The damage of VIP culture extends beyond isolated acts of misconduct. It systematically diverts public funds, infrastructure, and services for the comfort and convenience of the powerful. Public servants are supposed to be held to a higher standard of humility and responsibility. But so long as we are complicit in enabling the VIP treatment they are getting, we are also collectively affirming a power structure where entitlement supersedes service.

Fair weather is forecast over the majority of the country on Tuesday, while rain may prevail in extreme Northern Luzon, said the state weather bureau.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the easterlies will continue to bring rain and cloudy skies over extreme Northern Luzon.

‘Here in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, partly cloudy to cloudy skies will remain, meaning there is a low chance of rain,’ Pagasa weather specialist John Manalo said.

Fairer weather is also forecast over the Visayas and Mindanao, but rain showers may still be possible due to isolated thunderstorms.

Temperature range in key cities/areas on Tuesday

Metro Manila: 25 to 31 degrees Celsius

Baguio City: 18 to 23 degrees Celsius

Laoag City: 25 to 30 degrees Celsius

Tuguegarao: 25 to 31 degrees Celsius

Legazpi City: 24 to 31 degrees Celsius

Puerto Princesa City: 24 to 31 degrees Celsius

Tagaytay: 22 to 28 degrees Celsius

Kalayaan Islands: 24 to 31 degrees Celsius

Iloilo City: 25 to 31 degrees Celsius

Cebu: 26 to 32 degrees Celsius

Tacloban City: 25 to 31 degrees Celsius

Cagayan De Oro City: 24 to 31 degrees Celsius

Zamboanga City: 24 to 34 degrees Celsius

Davao City: 26 to 34 degrees Celsius

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Monday appointed Engr. Lara Marisse Esquibil as officer-in-charge for operations, overseeing Convergence Projects and Technical Services.

Before her appointment, the 36-year-old Esquibil served as officer-in-charge of the DPWH Bureau of Design starting July 2025.

Esquibil joined the DPWH in 2013 as part of the first batch of the Cadet Engineering Program.

Dizon said Esquibil has earned ‘a lot of great words’ from people in the agency, including former DPWH Secretary Rogelio ‘Babes’ Singson.

‘She has my full trust and confidence,’ Dizon said when he presented Esquibil during the agency’s flag-raising ceremony.

Dizon told reporters that Esquibil was initially hesitant to accept the post due to the controversy surrounding the agency. However, he described her as someone who ‘loves the country very deeply.’

‘I had a very long conversation with Director Lara. She was afraid not only because of the responsibilities of the job but also because of the intrigue,’ Dizon said. ‘I told her, ‘As long as you do what is right, do what is proper, keep your integrity, you will be okay. We will always be behind you.”

The public works secretary is also confident that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign off on Esquibil’s appointment, saying the president ‘wants good people.’

The appointment came after DPWH undersecretary Arrey Perez resigned from his post on October 17, one month after he was given the job.

Perez stepped down after he was linked to contractors involved in the alleged flood control project anomalies. /mcm

‘Dreamboi,’ an entry to the CineSilip Film Festival, is in danger of not being shown to the public after receiving an X rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

The film’s rating was revealed by its writer-director Rodina Singh, who goes by the pronouns she/her, on X on Thursday, Oct. 16.

‘X-RATED SI DREAMBOI NEXT WEEK NA PREMIERE NAMIN PAANO YUN? Ang sakit (‘Dreamboi’ received the X rating. Its premiere will happen next week. How can we get through this? It hurts),’ she wrote. In a lengthy post on Friday, Oct. 17, the filmmaker appealed to the MTRCB to allow ‘Dreamboi’ to live ‘inside the cinema,’ adding that she’s grateful to the government agency for seeing it as a ‘mature [and] artistically driven’ film.

‘I only hope and pray that the MTRCB allows us to live, too, inside the cinema. I truly appreciate their kind words describing Dreamboi as a ‘mature, artistically driven exploration of sexuality, identity, and desire.’ It means a lot to be seen that way. I only ask that they reconsider their decision and allow us to share this story with an audience, even in a limited screening,’ she said.

Singh reiterated that the film ‘is not pornography,’ and instead talks about the ‘pain and beauty of longing.’ She also stressed that it’s meant to show the realities of trans desire, and how ‘longing shapes the lives of trans women.

”Dreamboi’ is not pornography; it is a story about being seen, about the pain and beauty of longing when the world tells you you’re not allowed to want. Because every time a story like this is silenced, another trans woman disappears,’ she said.

”Dreamboi’ is a film about trans desire-about how fantasy, shame, and longing shape the lives of trans women. It follows Diwa, who turns to audio porn to feel something again, until a secret habit of eavesdropping on a stranger having sex in a basement toilet spirals into obsession. When she discovers the man is also her favorite anonymous audio porn actor, fantasy collides with reality,’ she continued.

Singh said the CineSilip entry was made with a ‘?2 million [budget], a dream, and a community of friends and colleagues who gave their time’ to bring it to life, in hopes of allowing the trans community to ‘live with pleasure.’

‘To those who have been waiting, who believed in Dreamboi from the very start-thank you. We ask for your support now more than ever as we face this challenge. Tonight’s Dreamboi Live performance will serve as a fundraising event to help us pay our remaining post-production dues and to cover the costs of our re-appeal to the MTRCB,’ she said.

‘We will re-submit, re-appeal, and if necessary, create a new cut – because this film deserves to be seen. I only had ?2 million, a dream, and a community of friends and colleagues who gave their time, talent, and hearts to bring Dreamboi to life. We made this film with courage, not excess – with love, not luxury,’ she further explained.

Singh hoped that the public would stand with them in ensuring that the film would be shown to a wider audience.

‘We believe that visibility is not obscenity, that desire is not a sin, and that stories like ours belong in the cinema. We hope you stand with us, help us keep Dreamboi alive, and together, may we all see the light of day,’ she said.

According to the filmmaker, the MTRCB said the ‘prolonged sexually explicit’ scenes make ‘Dreamboi inappropriate’ for public viewing.

‘While it offers important representation and commentary, its prolonged sexually explicit scenes make it inappropriate for public viewing,’ the government agency said, per Singh.

Inquirer Entertainment has reached out to MTRCB for comment, but has yet to respond, as of this writing.

The Singh-helmed film stars Tony Labrusca and EJ Jallorina. It is part of the first-ever CineSilip Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 22 to 28.

Malacañang on Monday said that the abolition of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is not being considered at this time, noting that many officials in the department continue to perform their duties properly.

Palace press officer Claire Castro made the statement in response to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian’s suggestion to dissolve the agency and create a new one amid the serious corruption issues that have plagued the agency.

‘First of all, in the department, not all administrators or government employees in the DPWH can be said to have made mistakes. There are still public servants and public officials who fulfill their duties,’ Castro said in Filipino.

She also said, ‘At present, there are no plans to abolish it because what should be removed are those who are doing wrong. It’s easy to identify who they are, and with the help of Secretary Vince, those who need to be removed from the agency will be removed.’

Gatchalian floated the idea of abolishing the DPWH during a forum last Thursday, saying that if something can no longer be fixed, then it might be better to build a new one.

‘If you’re going to ask me. 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 said during a Kapihan sa Senado forum.

On Sept. 21, tens of thousands of people staged protests in various parts of Metro Manila-coinciding with the anniversary of the declaration of martial law under then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in Sept. 1972.

The demonstrations focused on condemning the irregularities in flood-control projects and called for accountability for the personalities involved in the developing controversies.

Tropical Storm Ramil is set to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Monday morning, the weather bureau said.

As of 3 a.m., Ramil was moving northwest at 25 kilometers per hour (kph), about 350 kilometers west of Sinait, Ilocos Sur, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported.

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 65 kph, with gusts of up to 80 kph.

Even as it moves away from the country, the storm continues to pose wind threats in parts of Luzon.

Pagasa has issued Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 in the following areas:

Ilocos Norte

Ilocos Sur

La Union

northern and western portions of Pangasinan

Abra

western portion of Benguet

Pagasa said Ramil’s trough will also bring scattered rains to the following areas:

Metro Manila

Ilocos Region

Cordillera Administrative Region

Cagayan Valley

Central Luzon

Cavite

Laguna

Batangas

Rizal

Occidental Mindoro

Oriental Mindoro

Palawan

Meanwhile, the rest of Luzon is forecast to experience isolated rain showers or thunderstorms caused by easterlies, or winds from the Pacific Ocean, Pagasa added. /mcm