Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Senate has sought to modernize budget transparency and accountability through the use of ‘blockchain technology,’ in a bid to make the national budget publicly available, ensuring accessibility, ease of understanding, and openness to citizen engagement.

During Thursday’s hearing of the Committee on Science and Technology, Aquino said the proposed Senate Bill No. 1330, or the Philippine National Budget Blockchain Act, will strengthen collaboration across the executive and legislative branches of the government, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders who play a vital role in sustaining and deepening democracy.

‘By no means this is the only solution, but many of us here believe that this can be one of the major solutions to our problems. Putting the budget on the blockchain is a way to ensure that every peso of the people’s money is monitored,’ Aquino stressed.

‘The bill is a possible solution so that every Filipino knows how the country’s money is being spent. Blockchain was also made a priority because it is transparent, honest, and secure,’ he added.

According to Aquino’s proposed measure, blockchain technology provides a powerful tool for this transformation, and its design guarantees accountability.

‘Through blockchain, all budget transactions become transparent, immutable, auditable and accessible to citizens in real time,’ said Aquino.

While the national budget is one of the most important instruments of governance, Aquino said documents related to it have remained closed, highly technical and difficult to understand, making oversight almost impossible even for those who want to scrutinize them.

‘This ensures that every peso can be tracked by the public. No more ‘fly-by-night’ contractors. No more hidden projects unknown to local governments,’ he said, adding that prices of materials can be easily compared across contracts.

‘To put our national budget on the blockchain answers many concerns and issues with our current system, where there are insertions and ghost projects. The public can see how people’s money is spent,’ he said.

Some local government units in Luzon declared class suspensions on Thursday due to the inclement weather brought by Tropical Storm Paolo.

Listed below are the areas that have announced class suspensions:

ILOCOS REGION

La Union

All municipalities: all levels (public and private)

Pangasinan

All municipalities: all levels (public and private)

CAGAYAN VALLEY

Cagayan

Aparri: all levels (public and private)

Baggao: all levels (public and private)

Tuguegarao: all levels (public and private)

Peñablanca: all levels (public and private)

Sto. Niño: all levels (public and private)

Isabela

All municipalities: all levels (public and private); government work

Nueva Vizcaya

Bambang: all levels (public and private)

CENTRAL LUZON

Nueva Ecija

Cabanatuan: all levels (public and private)

Santa Rosa: all levels (public and private)

Muñoz: all levels (public and private)

Peñaranda: until high school level; shift to Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)

Aurora

All municipalities: all levels (public and private)

BICOL REGION

Masbate: all levels (public and private)

CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

Benguet: until senior high school; all face-to-face classes (public and private)

Meanwhile, the following municipalities in Cebu have also suspended classes due to the effects of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake and its aftershocks:

San Fernando: all levels (public and private)

Talisay: all face-to-face classes (public and private); shift to ADM

Lapu-Lapu City: all face-to-face classes (public and private)

Cebu City: until high school level (public only)

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson continued to make cryptic posts on X, this time about a ‘crazy cat’ meowing on the ground floor and ‘an annoying dog that keeps barking on the upper floor.’

‘Help! Is there a veterinary clinic with an animal psychiatric ward?’ read his X post on Thursday.

‘We have a crazy cat that keeps meowing on the ground floor and an annoying dog that keeps barking on the upper floor,’ Lacson added.

Incidentally, the senator’s remark came just a day after Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s privilege speech on the Senate floor about Lacson’s earlier disclosure that almost all senators in the 19th Congress inserted at least P100 billion in the 2025 national budget.

Lacson has already explained to his colleagues in a caucus that his mention of ‘almost all senators’ in his media interviews was not meant to put them or the whole Senate on the spot.

‘The overarching reason for my disclosure or revelation was to point out that we must accept the fact that we are all in crisis owing to the recent anomalies involving the substandard and even ghost flood control projects unearthed in the course of the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings and other similar investigations,’ he said then.

Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III has also clarified that individual or institutional amendments or insertions made during Senate deliberations are part of the regular budget process.

But Marcoleta, in the privilege speech on Monday, noted how Sotto seemed to draw a ‘moral line that insertions were wrong’ when he refused an alleged insertion offer to him in the 2026 budget by the Department of Public Works and Highways Usec. Maria Catalina Cabral.

‘Does this mean that the Senate President never had budget insertions during all the time he served as senator of the Republic and as Senate President for almost five years?’ Marcoleta asked.

Before answering the question, Sotto said he wished Marcoleta had delivered his speech when Lacson was still in the session hall.

‘But nevertheless, to answer his question of whether from my 1992 to the present, have I not had any insertions, I guarantee you I have never made any insertion in the budget. Because insertions are not tolerated and I will never do that.’ the Senate chief said.

Sotto explained that insertions are those that were made during the bicameral conference committee, and not those that were made on second reading on the Senate floor.

‘An insertion is different from an amendment. [An] amendment is legally done during second reading and approved on third reading,’ he pointed out, speaking partly in Filipino.

To ensure transparency in the current and next budget proposals, all amendments of senators would have to be made on the Senate floor.

‘They will own what they amend whatever it is and we will not accept any amendment in the bicameral conference committee,’ Sotto said.

A private lawyer has filed an ethics complaint against former Senate President Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero over a P30 million campaign donation from Lawrence Lubiano, who owns 99.331 percent of the controversial Centerways Construction.

Lawyer Marvin Aceron filed the complaint before the Senate panel on ethics on Thursday, noting that the Senate is a constitutional guardian of public trust and thus, it cannot be weakened by ‘tolerance of conduct that corrodes confidence in its members.’

In the 21-page complaint, Aceron listed five grounds for the complaint: First, he said Escudero’s conduct is unbecoming for a member of the upper chamber, simply listing it as ‘disorderly behavior.’

‘Accepting and benefiting from a P30 million donation from a government contractor that later amassed concentrated public contract in respondent’s political bailiwick constitutes conduct unbecoming and brings the Senate into disrepute, regardless of criminal liability,’ the complaint states.

He likewise noted conflict of interest and improper influence in his complaint. Citing Republic Act No. 6713, Aceron argued that public officials are prohibited from having financial or material interests that may be affected by their office and from soliciting or accepting favors that may influence official functions.

Another ground, according to the lawyer, is Escudero’s supposed violation of the Omnibus Election Code.

‘The Omnibus Election Code bars juridical persons holding government contracts from making campaign contributions. When a contractor’s controlling stockholder furnishes extraordinary personal donations and the corporate books are missing or noncompliant, the line between corporate and personal is blurred,’ said Aceron.

Meanwhile, Aceron also noted the integrity of public procurement and corporate compliance. He said that if Centerways submitted inaccurate, misleading, or fraudulent [documents] for eligibility yet bid and won, procurement integrity is compromised.

‘Respondent’s acceptance of a massive donation from the firm’s owner during the same period erodes public trust in the fairness of awards and casts doubt in official impartiality,’ said Aceron.

Lastly, Aceron argued that Lubiano’s claims that the donation came from personal funds ‘cannot stand.’

With these, Aceron said that the case presents the Senate panel on ethics with a straightforward question: Should a senator be permitted to accept P30 million from the 99.331 percent owner of a government contractor?

Aceron said the answer ‘must be no.’

Noting all of these, Aceron prayed that the panel issue subpoena duces tecum compelling the production of the following:

All versions of Centerways’ audited financial statements filed with SEC (2019-2025) including filing dates, any amendments and all notes and schedules

Complete audit working papers and engagement letters from external auditors

All related party transaction documentation between Centerways and Lubiano

Bank records showing transfers between Centerways and Lubiano during December 2021 to May 2022

All bid documents submitted by Centerways to the DPWH and other procuring entities

BIR returns showing dividend declarations by Centerways and dividend income reported by Lubiano

PCAB license records and supporting financial capacity documentation

Aceron likewise requested that the panel compel testimony from Lubiano and explain under oath the following, among others:

The P35 million reduction in 2022 beginning retained earnings

The source of the P30 million political donation

The nature and terms of the P70 million stockholder advances

Aceron said upon finding ethical violations, the panel must recommend sanctions under the Constitution and Senate rules, including censure, reprimand, suspension of not exceeding 60 days, or expulsion with the constitutionally required vote as circumstances warrant.

He likewise noted the need for the Senate to transmit relevant findings to the appropriate prosecutorial agencies should evidence of criminal violations emerge during the investigation.

Newly-elected panel on ethics chairperson Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, told the Inquirer that there is a need to discuss the complaint with other members of the committee.

‘Anyway, [the] Independent Commission for Infrastructure is already actively pursuing the cases,’ said Ejercito.

Escudero previously confirmed that Centerways Construction donated P30 million to his 2022 election campaign, but he said he did not help the firm secure big-ticket flood-control projects with the government.

His clarification came after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. revealed that P100 billion-about 20 percent of the government’s P545-billion flood mitigation budget from July 2022 to May 2025-was awarded to just 15 contractors, including Centerways Construction.

But in a separate statement also issued Thursday, Escudero said the filing of a complaint against him no longer came as a surprise.

‘Ito ang kabayaran sa pagbanggit ko sa pangalan ni Martin Romualdez at sa pagbubunyag sa katotohanan. This is just part of the harassment from his minions,’ said Escudero.

(This is the price I have to pay for mentioning the name of Martin Romualdez and for revealing the truth. This is just a part of the harassment from his minions.)

‘This isn’t about ethics. This is political retribution,’ Escudero emphasized.

The former Senate chief said the complaint is still ‘part of their script and a desperate smokescreen’

‘I will expose it for the politically motivated sham that it is,’ he said.

Escudero ended his statement with the hashtag that reads: ‘Selective Justice’ and ‘Labanan ang script ni Martin.’

Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila, has instructed churches in the entire archdiocese to mandate the praying of Oratio Imperata, or an obligatory prayer for the ‘cleansing and healing of our nation’ amid the corruption in the country.

In a pastoral letter on Thursday, Advincula once again described corruption as a ‘profound moral and spiritual crisis’ and not merely a political or economic problem. However, he also acknowledged the ‘growing awareness’ against corruption, where many people courageously stand up and take their fight to the streets.

He previously emphasized that organized rallies denouncing corruption are not just ‘pockets of political resistance’ but a reflection of the people’s moral conviction and their right to suppress the evil.

‘Dear brothers and sisters, let us stand united in prayer and action so that truth, integrity, and justice may prevail over dishonesty, corruption, and self-interest,’ Advincula said.

With this, he mandates the praying of Oratio Imperata for Integrity, Truth, and Justice in all parishes in the archdiocese.

Advincula said that this prayer will replace the Prayer for the Faithful during the celebration of Holy Mass, which is considered a ‘rare practice reserved only for the gravest of circumstances-as a clear expression of the urgency and seriousness of our situation.’

Aside from this, he ordered the ringing of all bells in churches every 8 p.m. ‘as a prophetic cry of indignation and outrage against the evil of corruption, as well as a resounding call to contrition and conversion.’

He noted that the instructions must be performed starting Saturday, October 4, which also coincides with the Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Several congressional hearings have been launched to investigate the anomalies in flood control projects in the country. These revealed allegations of lawmakers and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways getting kickbacks and congressional insertions in the national budget, among others.

Magnolia made another roster addition before the start of the PBA’s 50th season by signing former Phoenix forward Raffy Verano on Thursday.

The Hotshots announced the move on social media with a photo showing Verano being joined by team manager Alvin Patrimonio while inking on the dotted line. He had been joining Magnolia’s practices since the start of the week and even scored seven points in the 91-84 tune-up victory over Blackwater two days prior at Gameville Ball Park in Mandaluyong City.

‘It’s a blessing, for sure,’ Verano told Inquirer after that tune-up game. ‘Everyone’s dream here in the Philippines is to be on a winning team. So I’m grateful and fortunate to land here.’

Verano joins Magnolia after he was released by Phoenix, which selected the Ateneo product in the second round of the Season 48 Draft two years ago.

Minutes have been inconsistent during the scrappy 6-foot-4 forward’s two seasons with the Fuel Masters.

His addition comes amid a busy offseason for Magnolia, which will now be handled by rookie coach LA Tenorio.

Also new to the squad are Javi Gomez de Liano and Paolo Taha while also signing rookie Gab Gomez.

The hour of reckoning has come for Royina Garma. This week, a Mandaluyong court issued warrants of arrest against the former police colonel and trusted Duterte aide, as well as retired police officer Edilberto Leonardo, and three others on charges of murder and frustrated murder.

The five are accused of being behind the 2020 assassination of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Board Secretary Wesley Barayuga. Garma was Barayuga’s boss as general manager of the PCSO from 2019 to 2022, appointed to that position by former President Rodrigo Duterte after her early retirement from the police force with the rank of police colonel.

From those once lofty posts, she is now facing interminable days in jail, because the charges against her are nonbailable. Once Garma is brought back to the country from Malaysia where she had flown reportedly to meet with representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC), she would go straight to a cramped prison cell. There, she’d have more than enough time to contemplate, and perhaps rue, how her past life choices led to the current state of existence she’s enduring now.

In her heyday, Garma most likely thought the happy days would last forever. She had seemingly hit the jackpot, after all-or what counted for it in a country still ruled by powerful political warlords and kingpins: proximity to power.

Most trusted

As a long-time top cop in Davao City (and later in Cebu City), Garma became one of then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s most trusted foot soldiers, such that, according to the affidavits filed at the ICC by self-confessed former Davao Death Squad (DDS) hitmen Edgar Matobato and Arturo Lascañas, Garma was among those with direct knowledge of and participation in the killing sprees carried out by the DDS in the name of Duterte’s ‘war on drugs.’

Per Lascañas, Garma-and Leonardo, now his co-accused in the Barayuga case-allegedly took direct orders from Duterte. In 2016, three Chinese drug lords detained at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm were summarily killed. The suspects were two prisoners who, in 2024, submitted affidavits to the House quad committee looking into extrajudicial killings that it was a cop named Arthur Narsolis who gave the order to kill the Chinese detainees.

Narsolis was not only a subordinate of Garma at that time; he was also her boyfriend. A jail officer would also tell the House that Garma had warned him against ‘interfering’ in the operation to kill the three Chinese. More damningly, Garma allegedly told him it was part of Duterte’s drug war.

Lucrative post

In Cebu City where she became police chief beginning 2018, Garma’s name struck fear and loathing in impoverished communities targeted by the brutal antinarcotics campaign of her boss. A victim’s mother testified at the House how, at the wake of her son who was gunned down by cops in an alleged drug raid, Garma arrogantly barged in, angry that such a wake was being held for a drug suspect and demanding why ‘there is only one dead, when there are many of them’ killed during the operation.

Garma had a full 10 years left to her career as a cop, but apparently, she was promised much bigger things, because she opted to retire early. Just days after chucking her uniform, she was installed as PCSO chief by Duterte. The state gambling regulator turned out to be a lucrative post not only for Garma, but also for her family. She hired seven family members to various PCSO positions and set up a party list led by relatives and associates that, according to House lawmakers, profited from its connection to Garma as PCSO chief.

But it was also here, at the peak of her power and influence propped up by the iron hand of a strongman, that Garma’s sense of impunity appeared to have made a fatal overreach. In July 2020, Barayuga was killed in a shocking vigilante-style shooting in Mandaluyong.

Bare minimum

Nothing came of the investigation into his killing until, four years later, yet another cop would disclose to the House that Garma and Leonardo had allegedly masterminded the assassination, to prevent Barayuga from delving into irregularities in the PCSO.

Confronted with the barrage of incriminating information against her, the once swaggering, untouchable Garma was reduced to a sputtering mess before lawmakers, at one point begging not to be detained for contempt because she supposedly needed to take care of a sick daughter at home-the one she had previously placed in the PCSO’s payroll as a ‘confidential agent.’

Now that the moment of reckoning has come for Garma, she must make amends and pay back for her actions on two nonnegotiable fronts: one, by serving time in prison if she is found guilty of Barayuga’s murder; and two, by testifying at the ICC, fully, and without dissembling, about the extent of the mass killings done by the DDS under Duterte’s command.

Kim Chiu personally shopped for construction materials to donate to the victims of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Cebu Province on Sept. 30.

Chiu, who grew up in Cebu, was spotted buying construction materials on Thursday for the residents affected by the earthquake in its epicenter in Bogo City and nearby municipality San Remigio.

In the photos seen on television variety show ASAP’s official social media pages, the actress was photographed being directly involved in the purchase of the materials and talking to the necessary individuals.

‘In the midst of her taping in Cebu, Kim Chiu took time to personally buy materials for those affected by the recent earthquake in Bogo City and San Remigio. Queen move, indeed!’ read the caption.

Sheil Andes, one of the crew members of Chiu’s upcoming series ‘The Alibi,’ also took to X to share that the actress plans to fill two 10-wheeler trucks with materials for the reconstruction of the disrupted homes.

Chiu is currently in Cebu for the filming of ‘The Alibi,’ opposite her on-screen partner, Paulo Avelino. Aside from Chiu, Zsa Zsa Padilla, who is also part of the series, has donated ready-to-eat food packs to victims of the earthquake.

According to the latest situational report released by authorities on Oct. 2, the death toll from the earthquake has now risen to 72.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the calamity has affected 170,959 individuals, or 47,221 families.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), meanwhile, has recorded 2,613 aftershocks as of 7 a.m. this morning.

Anyse ‘Marlee’ Smith is ready to step up for fan favorite Choco Mucho in the PVL Reinforced Conference starting Tuesday at Ynares Center Montalban.

From having a dazzling stint with Thai club Nakhon Ratchasima in the AVC Champions League hosted by the Philippines last May, Smith looks forward to taking her talent with the Flying Titans.

‘I’m just here to do my job, show my support, be a good team player, and be a leader. I want to win,’ said the American opposite hitter.

‘You will see a very compassionate, very committed Marlee this time around. I feel like I did a big one, the first time, but I want to leave with an even bigger impact this time.’

Smith, who played for North Texas University, also relished the welcoming team of coach Dante Alinsunurin and their fan base. ‘The transition has been fairly easy because my teammates are very welcoming. I felt very supported since I got here. I actually really, really love my team,’ she said. ‘I love the supporters here. I feel like the fans definitely give us a run for our money. They’re there to support us. They’re there when we’re down, and they’re there when we need them. So I just want to say we appreciate all of you.’

Smith will be leading the Flying Titans, who last reached the PVL final in the 2024 All-Filipino Conference and reached the semifinal in the previous one.

Maddie Madayag and Kat Tolentino are returning to boost the Flying Titans, who will still miss Sisi Rondina due to her commitment to Alas Pilipinas.

Meanwhile, Akari, the runner-up of last year’s Reinforced, will field Annie Mitchem as its import.

The 31-year-old American outside hitter is bringing her experience from Jakarta Livin Mandiri in Indonesia, Italy, Turkey, and Brazil following her collegiate career at the University of Hawaii.

Capital1 parades Ukrainian Oleksandra Bytsenko, a 29-year-old outside spiker.

Agricultural damage due to the southwest monsoon, or habagat, and tropical cyclones Mirasol, Nando, and Opong has increased to P2.51 billion as of Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported.

The latest tally is 28.67 percent higher than the P1.95 billion recorded by the DA on Monday.

In its latest advisory, the DA stated that adverse weather conditions affected the livelihoods of 85,671 farmers in the following regions: Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Soccsksargen.

Losses were recorded in rice, corn, high-value crops, cassava, livestock and poultry, agricultural infrastructures, irrigation facilities, and machinery and equipment. Rice incurred the most substantial losses, accounting for 60.15 percent or P1.51 billion, of the total. High-value crops and corn followed at P705.12 million and P278.14 million, respectively. – Jordeene Lagare