Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The appraiser of the assets of Villar Land Holdings Corp. has been ordered to explain its trillion-peso valuation of the listed firm’s properties as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deepens its investigation.

The Office of the General Accountant at the SEC issued a show cause order against E-Value Phils Inc. on Sept. 29. It directed the latter to explain why it should not be penalized for its valuation of 366.34 hectares of land owned.

The properties were owned by Althorp Land Holdings Inc., Chalgrove Properties Inc. and Los Valores Corp.

Villar Land, formerly Golden MV Holdings Inc., bought the properties last year for P5.2 billion.

Valuation report

Based on E-Value’s initial valuation report, however, the value of these assets were at P1.34 trillion. This led to the controversial trillion-peso valuation of Villar Land.

‘The SEC will continue to investigate this matter thoroughly in the interest of upholding transparency and accountability in valuation practices and accuracy in financial reporting,’ the corporate watchdog said.

The company led by the powerful Villar family was recently ordered to pay P12 million in fines for failing to submit its audited financial statements on time. It has since appealed this order.

Villar Land’s auditor, Punongbayan and Araullo, had requested the engagement of another appraiser to validate the valuation done by E-Value. -INQ

An individual was apprehended on Tuesday for a malicious social media post against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that was reported to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Facebook user Michael Romero, with the username ‘Mike Romero,’ posted a photo of Marcos Jr. overlaid with a red arrow pointing to the president’s head with the caption, ‘Headshot.’

Romero posted the same photo with a different caption, and he explained under the comments that the ‘system’ removed his post, and he claimed that he made an error in his caption.

‘My post earlier was deleted by the system. Mistake in the caption,’ his comment read.

After gaining attention on the social media platform, the NBI Cybercrime Division identified Romero and conducted a surveillance to locate him.

Romero admitted ownership of the Facebook account after being confronted by authorities, which led to his arrest in his residence in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.

According to the NBI, his post was a violation of Inciting to Sedition of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

Following the arrest, the NBI warned against posting malicious content on social media. /apl

The House version of the 2026 national budget contains at least P230 billion in pork barrel and patronage-based projects despite the House committee on appropriations’ promises to avoid a repeat of the much-maligned 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

This was according to a coalition of civil society organizations and budget watchdogs, which called on Congress to reallocate the entire amount instead to social protection, health, agriculture, and sustainable transportation programs.

‘We refuse to let the GAA remain a playground for patronage and corruption. We call on Congress to hit reset on the budget, clean it up, and restore integrity to our budget process to truly respond to the needs of the nation,’ they said in an open letter published on Tuesday.

Among the signatories were the People’s Budget Coalition, PH Budget Watch, Roundtable for Inclusive Development, Move as One Coalition, FOI Youth Initiative, Project Gunita, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, and former Sen. Franklin Drilon.

Observer status

Most of these groups were granted observer status by the House for the 2026 budget process as part of the chamber’s reforms to make the proceedings more transparent.

In their letter, however, they said they had ‘lost trust in the integrity of the budget process’ after the House budget amendments review subcommittee (BARSc) voted to insert billions into programs that they said ‘perpetuate political patronage.’

This, they said, comes with the House’s failure to ‘remove or rationalize line items that are opaque and prone to abuse,’ such as confidential funds and unprogrammed appropriations.

Unprogrammed funds

The BARSc was constituted for the first time in the history of Congress under House appropriations chair and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing.

Before the House staged its marathon plenary deliberations on Sept. 23, the subcommittee moved to realign the P255 billion slashed from the Department of Public Works and Highways to, among others, the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients Program, and the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program.

These programs, along with the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita program that was defunded this year, have long been criticized for being a form of congressional pork barrel.

4Ps, education

The budget watchdogs argued that these programs must either be transformed into ‘transparent, rules-based programs-or scrap[ped] altogether.’

The funds, they added, must be reallocated instead toward the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the full restoration of the government subsidies due to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Specifically, they said, Congress must at least allocate the P50 billion they cut last year for qualified 4Ps beneficiaries.

The groups also corrected the House’s claims that the education budget-now at P1.224 trillion-already breached the benchmark of 4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), as the current allocation was equivalent to only 3.6 percent.

They also noted that the education sector saw an increase of only P35 billion, even though the Department of Education and related agencies asked for a total of P100 billion to cover, among others, shortages in classrooms, computers, and the provisions in the free college education law.

Beyond the P230 billion that they tagged as pork barrel, the groups also flagged the ‘bloated level’ of P250 billion in unprogrammed appropriations (UAs) in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

UAs are standby authorizations that can be tapped only when new revenue or loans materialize.

These, they said, must be ‘slashed and heavily rationalized to ensure these are not used for local pork projects or be used as a pretext to sweep cash from government corporations with existing fiduciary mandates.’

Source of abuse

On the part of the House minority, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima and Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña said they support Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s proposal to slash the UA completely from the 2026 national budget.

‘We’ve seen in 2023, 2024, and even 2025 that the UA has been a source of abuse,’ De Lima said, referring to testimonies that lawmakers have been inserting funding for public works projects in the NEP through the UA.

‘[The Senate position] is also our position and of the minority lawmakers. we’re hoping that, if we can’t remove it completely, then at least be very restrictive about it and limit it only to a few items and agencies,’ she added.

Cendaña, on the other hand, challenged the House leadership to also make the same commitment, emphasizing that if the projects under the unprogrammed funds were indeed important, ‘then they shouldn’t be unprogrammed in the first place.’

‘If the unprogrammed appropriations stay, then it might cast a shadow on our efforts to cleanse the stain of corruption from our national budget. We hope that Speaker Faustino Dy III will ensure its removal to show the House is committed to rebuilding public trust,’ he said.

Far Eastern University kept its V-League Men’s Collegiate Challenge title defense alive after sweeping La Salle, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18, in Finals Game 2 on Wednesday at Dasmariñas Arena here.

After getting swept by La Salle in Game 1, 25-18, 25-22, 25-23, on Monday, the Tamaraws came out firing to equalize the series with Lirick Mendoza standing out in FEU’s balanced attack with seven kills and four blocks to finish with 11 points.

Dryx Saavedra delivered 10 points. Mikko Espartero and Doula Ndongala had nine each, while Charles Absin added eight.

‘I think what really worked is that we understood each other on what we wanted to happen with our game plan,’ said FEU coach Eddieson Orcullo in Filipino.

‘We just focused on one thing from Game 1: service and receive. Because if you look at it, in Game 1 we couldn’t receive properly; they could. In games like this, whoever can handle the first ball will have the upper hand. This time, we were the ones who got the passes in, and that’s why the outcome was different.’

FEU and La Salle clash in a decider on Friday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The Tamaraws dethroned the Green Spikers in last year’s final, and the latter eyeing redemption and their second crown since 2023. ‘Now that we’re already here, we’re not going to stop. Game 3 is anybody’s game. La Salle will definitely prepare and make their adjustments. For us, we’ll just keep going. Tomorrow’s another day, another chance,’ said Orcullo.

Issa Ousseini was the lone double-digit scorer for La Salle with 10 points, as MVP Chris Hernandez was limited to just seven points. Eugene Gloria also scored seven.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ (IBP) conferment of the Golden Pillar of Law Award on former President Rodrigo Duterte was ‘unbelievable’ and a ‘disgrace,’ according to National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) chairperson Edre Olalia.

Olalia – who was recognized last year as the first-ever recipient of the IBP Human Rights Award for Luzon – issued his statement on Wednesday after the organization’s Davao chapter defended the award, saying the former president fully met the qualifications set by the national office ‘Unbelievable. What a disgrace. No one else could be so undeserving. And to mindlessly gloss over that this award was given automatically for mere length of years as a lawyer is to bestow it to even those who make a mockery of the lofty IBP ideals of no master but law, no goal but justice, and no guide but conscience,’ he said.

Olalia added that the recognition further insulted the ideals of the legal profession, as it ‘gratuitously lionized’ Duterte for his supposed ‘distinguished and dedicated service in the legal profession, upholding the ideals of justice, integrity, and the rule of law,’ and for his ‘unwavering commitment and invaluable contributions that stand as a pillar of inspiration to the legal community.’

‘What incomparable irony,’ he said. ‘Or perhaps the award was meant to immortalize his controversial record as a lawyer – with eloquent sarcasm.’

According to the IBP Davao, the award ‘does not serve as an endorsement of political acts or personal ideologies.’ ‘It is a recognition of professional longevity and standing under the IBP’s by-laws, applied without distinction, and grounded on verifiable compliance with the rules governing the legal profession,’ it explained in a statement issued earlier Wednesday.

The Davao chapter defended the award given to the former president after it drew flak from members of the legal community. Duterte is currently facing charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court over his brutal war on drugs.

IBP Davao, however, asserted that lawyers must be reminded of their duty to ‘rise above biases and to uphold this fundamental precept of our justice system, that judgment must rest on evidence and final conviction, not mere perception.’

‘Every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty,’ it said. /jpv

Sen. Pia Cayetano is considering the chairmanship of the Senate’s powerful Blue Ribbon committee, adding that she will use the time during session break to ‘pray’ and ‘think’ about her decision.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference on Wednesday, Cayetano said it’s not easy to say yes to such a position, but because her name was ‘mentioned’ among possible successors to Sen. Panfilo Lacson,who earlier resigned from his post as the panel chair, she said it’s her job to consider it.

‘Whether I like it or not, it’s my job to consider it if there’s a need to chair the blue ribbon,’ said Cayetano.

‘Having said that, that job is heavy. I already have two other committees so I will use this time during session break to pray about it and think about it if I can handle it because I know I can. I have no doubt that I can do it. I have no doubt that I can do a good job with all humility,’ she added.

According to her, she wants the best person to handle the job because it is a ‘defining moment for the Filipino people.’

In fact, Cayetano said she told Senate President Vicente Sotto III about her decision to contemplate and pray about the offer during session break. She said the Senate chief agreed that there’s a need to pray about it.

Meanwhile, Cayetano said there’s no rush in deciding who the next blue ribbon chairperson will be since there is a vice chairperson who can take charge when the head is unavailable or in this case, resigned.

‘The vice chairperson can take charge so there is no urgency to appoint a permanent or new chairperson,’ she said.

Later, she said she admitted that she does not want to give up any of her committee if ever she takes up the Blue Ribbon panel. At present, Cayetano chairs the following panels:

Committee on energy

Committee on sustainable development goals, innovation and futures thinking

Committee on ways and means

Sen. Erwin Tulfo was earlier designated as the action chairperson of the Blue Ribbon panel.

In a separate statement also issued Wednesday, he said he is thankful for Sotto and his colleagues’ trust.

‘I am hoping that at the soonest time possible, we will be able to find and appoint a permanent chairman for this important committee,’ he said.

‘I am aware that many of our fellow Filipinos are hoping that this committee will investigate all who took advantage of the people’s money, whoever in the government may be involved,’ he added. /apl

The Department of Agriculture-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center reported that Typhoon Paolo (international name Matmo) caused more than P162 million in agricultural damage across Cagayan Valley.

‘The DA Regional Field Office in Cagayan Valley reported damage and losses in rice, corn, high-value crops, and livestock and poultry amounting to P162.73 million, affecting 3,890 farmers,’ the agency’s Bulletin No. 4 said on Wednesday.

These losses cover a total production volume of 9,039 metric tons (MT) across 5,181 hectares of affected agricultural areas.

The high-value crops sector incurred the biggest damage, with 1,710 MT in production losses of vegetables and bananas amounting to P85.16 million.

Rice followed with 6,246 MT in production losses valued at P66.16 million, most of which were in reproductive and maturity stages.

The corn sector recorded 1,082 MT in losses worth P11.18 million, while livestock and poultry sustained P220,000 in losses for 72 heads of cattle.

Field validation is ongoing.

Aside from Paolo, the agency earlier reported PHP9.96 million in fisheries losses due to the magnitude 6.9 Cebu earthquake and P2.51 billion in damage from the combined effects of the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Mirasol, Nando, and Opong, affecting over 85,000 farmers and fishers.

The DA said available interventions include P766.42 million worth of agricultural inputs for rice, corn, and high-value crops; zero-interest loans of up to P25,000 per farmer payable in three years; and P237 million in insurance payouts through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC); mobilization of Kadiwa Centers to sell rice under the P20 per kilogram program; and issuance of rice stocks from the National Food Authority (NFA), among others. (PNA)/coa

consisting of Pablo, Josh, Stell, Ken and Justin – are set to visit Italy to perform at the 2025 iteration of the ‘Sama sa Roma’ event, scheduled on Oct. 12.

The event, announced on SB19’s social media platforms on Tuesday, Oct. 7, confirmed the group as the headline act. The event will be held at the Spazio Atlantico in Rome, Italy.

‘Europe, we’re coming for you! We’re heading to Rome this October 12 to headline SAMA SA ROMA 2025! First 1,700 to register get in for FREE. No registration, no entry. We’re excited to see you all soon. Stay tuned for more details, A’TIN,’ the post read. With the tagline ‘Celebrate the faith, embrace our culture, ignite hope,’ Sama sa Roma is an event that acts as a ‘global call for Filipinos to unite in living the Faith and loving the Filipino culture as part of the Jubilee Year celebration in Rome,’ as stated on its official website.

The announcement comes after the group confirmed that the Riyadh leg of their ‘Simula at Wakas’ world tour won’t push through due to ‘unforeseen circumstances.’

The P-pop powerhouse will nonetheless carry on with the Dubai and Doha legs, scheduled for Oct. 11 and 17, respectively.

In the same month, SB19 will mark their seventh debut anniversary with the ‘Fast Zone’ fashion show-concert at the Araneta Coliseum on Oct. 26.

The ‘DUNGKA!’ hitmakers are also set to grace the first iteration of the Filipino Music Awards at the Mall of Asia Arena on Oct. 21.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on Wednesday called for a comprehensive Senate inquiry into the condition and structural integrity of bridges nationwide.

His call came following the collapse of the 50-year-old Piggatan Bridge in Alcala, Cagayan – the second bridge collapse in the Cagayan Valley region in just eight months.

In February, the newly retrofitted Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela province collapsed, injuring six people while also leading to the fall of four cars into the Cagayan River.

Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) assessment revealed that the Sta. Maria-Cabagan bridge suffered from ‘under-design.’

Under-design refers to a situation where a structure, system or component is designed with insufficient capacity, strength or performance to meet expected loads, stresses, or operational requirements.

The Piggatan Bridge, a 74.7-meter steel structure built in 1974, collapsed on October 5, 2025, after reportedly being weighed down by three heavily loaded trucks carrying palay and corn.

The bridge, certified by the DPWH as being in ‘good overall condition’ just a year earlier, served as a vital link along the Maharlika Highway, connecting Alcala town to the rest of Cagayan province and Tuguegarao City.

The incident, which injured seven people, has paralyzed travel and trade in and out of Alcala, forcing trucks transporting agricultural goods to take longer and costlier routes.

Estrada’s Senate Resolution No. 153 urged the appropriate committee to conduct the inquiry, underscoring the need to review existing bridge designs and maintenance systems, and assess the economic and tourism impacts of such incidents.

He said the committee should recommend measures to safeguard public welfare and ensure the integrity of the country’s infrastructure.

‘Will we wait for another bridge to collapse before we take action? We must act swiftly to identify vulnerable structures, especially in agricultural regions,’ the senator said in a statement.

‘It’s not just the roads that get cut off during incidents involving bridge collapse. Transportation, safety, and livelihood of people are also affected,’ he noted.

Through the proposed inquiry, the Senate aims to identify aging and high-risk bridges that may require retrofitting or replacement, strengthen infrastructure audit systems, and reinforce government accountability in maintaining safe, reliable public structures.

Estrada urged the DPWH and other agencies to prioritize the retrofitting and replacement of aging bridges, and to ensure that new constructions meet modern standards capable of handling increased traffic and heavier loads.

He stressed that the recurrence of such incidents raises serious questions about the durability, inspection protocols, and design standards of public infrastructure. /apl

Property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. isn’t just dominating the real estate market, as its real power move is on its rooftops.

Last July, SM Prime switched on the country’s largest rooftop solar photovoltaic system on top of a commercial building at SM City Fairview.

With nearly 7,000 solar modules across 4.3 hectares, about 11 percent of the annual electricity consumption of this mall is now sourced from the sun.

With efforts to go green traced back to a decade ago, the Sy family-led group now boasts of solar panel systems across 48 malls and properties. This means that more than half of the group’s 88 shopping malls in the country are now harnessing the power of the sun.

All output combined, this allows SM to generate about 72 megawatt peak (MWp) of renewable energy-which is like operating a power generation facility as big as the Capa Wind Farm of ACEN Corp. in Ilocos Norte.

This initiative has also put the property giant in the 2025 edition of the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo)-Green Technology Book, a flagship publication of the United Nations Wipo that highlights energy technologies.

‘This milestone is a testament to the foresight of our executive committee chair, Mr. Hans T. Sy. He saw early on that clean energy would be essential to resilient communities, and this continues to guide SM Prime in building sustainable and future-ready developments,’ said SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim.

For the executive, slowing isn’t an option as SM has set a bolder goal-hit 100 MWp before 2025 ends.

SM Prime’s target just shows sustainability runs in the family, with parent SM Investments Corp. seeking wider presence in the renewable energy space: from geothermal and solar sources to wind. -Lisbet K. Esmael

Asiabest’s next step

Nearly eight years without operations and a failed entry into the gaming market did not dampen the mood of Asiabest Group International.

Instead, it seemed to fuel its resolve even further.

The company, now eyeing the rapidly growing infrastructure sector, just closed a P150-million deal to acquire shares in its sister company, Concrete Stone Corp. (CSC).

Asiabest disclosed on Tuesday it had bought a 1.85-percent stake in CSC for a ‘discounted price’ of P15 per share.

CSC, established in 2018, is described as ‘one of the largest suppliers’ of construction materials in the country. It’s a subsidiary of Industry Holding and Development Corp., a registered holding firm with interests in manufacturing and raw material processing, construction and logistics led by businessman Francis Lloyd Chua.

As a refresher, we can recall that Asiabest announced plans in January to transform into an infrastructure holding firm via the P510-million entry of PremiumLands Corp. (PLC), the real estate firm of Chua.

PLC bought the 66.67-percent stake of Tiger Resort Asia Ltd., the operator of Okada Manila, in Asiabest.

Time will tell if this is the best move for Asiabest, which is operating in the infrastructure sector that is currently in hot water. -MEG J. ADONIS INQ