Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Questions over its confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) amounting to billions of pesos continue to hound the Office of the President (OP), after a lawmaker noted that it fully spent the funds last year but left more than a fifth of its regular budget unobligated or unused.

ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio raised the matter during plenary deliberations on the OP’s proposed P27-billion budget in 2026, where he cited the OP’s Statement of Appropriations, Allotments, Obligations, Disbursements, and Balances, saying it fully obligated its CIF for every quarter of 2024.

That year, the OP received P4.5 billion for its CIF, which meant it received P1.1 billion in cash per quarter.

In contrast, the OP was able to obligate only 78 percent of its regular funding in the same year, Tinio said.

Ballooning amount

‘Why is it that when it comes to your CIF, not a single centavo is left? But when we’re talking about the regular budget-which is subject to the normal reporting and accounting procedures of the Commission on Audit (COA)-you’re a bit slow, at 78 percent (obligation rate)?’ he asked.

The OP’s sponsoring lawmaker, Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia, explained that the OP spent its CIF on the activities of its presidential situation room, the national AML/CFT (anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism) coordinating committee, the national cybersecurity interagency committee, the People’s Center on Transnational Crime, and the Anti-Terrorism Council project management center.

The OP’s CIF, which now totals P4.56 billion annually or roughly a third of the Palace’s budget, has steadily grown over the years.

Confidential expenses pertain to surveillance activities in civilian government agencies, while intelligence expenses are those related to information-gathering activities of uniformed and military personnel directly related to national security.

Since 2015, the OP traditionally requested only up to P250 million each for confidential and intelligence purposes until former President Rodrigo Duterte raised them tenfold to P2.5 billion from 2017 to 2019.

By 2020, these doubled to P4.5 billion-an amount sustained under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Safeguards

Tinio recalled how some Marcos allies earlier questioned the use of CIF by Vice President Sara Duterte, who had requested unprecedented amounts in 2023 and 2024 for both the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education which she used to head, an agency that traditionally does not require CIF.

But ‘when the new president came in, instead of reverting to the old practice and [proving] that the Duterte administration’s use of CIF was an aberration, the Marcos Jr. administration continued it,’ Tinio noted.

Its growing reliance on such funds, he added, was creating a ‘huge loophole’ since such expenditures are exempt from the procurement law and governed only by a special Department of Budget and Management-COA circular.

Garcia confirmed the figures but said the increase for the OP in 2023-Marcos’ first full year-was introduced in the Senate and not requested by Malacañang.

He also stressed that the funds were subject to liquidation and reporting to the Speaker, the Senate President and the COA.

Lindsey Vander Weide is ready to run it back with Petro Gazz, eager to reunite with former Oregon teammate and reigning PVL MVP Brooke Van Sickle.

Vander Weide, who won Best Import and Finals MVP when the Angels claimed the 2022 Reinforced Conference crown, said she jumped at the chance to return when Petro Gazz came calling ahead of the import-laden tournament, which kicks off Tuesday at Ynares Center Montalban. ‘I kind of always wanted to come back right after I left, but I wasn’t sure if the cards were ever going to play out, and they contacted me this season. I’m in a part where I’m not playing right now, so I’m super excited to be back, and I knew I had to do it with Petro Gazz,’ said Vander Weide.

Vander Weide, who spent the past three years in Puerto Rico and in American pro leagues, is determined to bring back the Reinforced glory to Petro Gazz after a quarterfinal exit last year.

‘That’s the goal. That felt amazing to do last time. I’m really hoping we can do it again. Like you said, we still have a lot of firepower, plus Brooke, huge addition, so hopefully we can get that done,’ she said. The 27-year-old American outside spiker can’t wait to share the court with Van Sickle, whom she played with from 2016 to 2019 in the US NCAA Division 1.

‘We did a lot of big things in college. You guys know Brooke is a huge arm. I’m a big arm so I know that duo is going to be really good, just like it was back then. And like you said, a lot of my old teammates are here too, so that’s really exciting,’ said Vander Weide.

For Van Sickle, it’s a full-circle moment to once again play alongside Vander Weide, who first introduced her to the PVL.

‘It’s really just a full circle moment, having her here, having my parents here,’ said Van Sickle.

The Philippines is looking to host its first-ever Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 tournament, with discussions underway for the event to be held early next year.

The plan was raised in a meeting between Navotas Mayor and Philippine Tennis Association secretary-general John Rey Tiangco and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Patrick Gregorio on September 29. If plans materialize, the event could be held from January 26 to February 1, 2026.

Also being discussed is the possible public opening of the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts, a move that officials said would expand access to the sport.

‘This partnership with the PSC paves the way for a new chapter in Philippine tennis,’ Tiangco said. ‘We are pursuing the hosting of the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open and the ITF J30, exploring the opening of Rizal Memorial to the public, and continuing plans for the Philippine Tennis Center in New Clark City.’ Gregorio added that staging a WTA event would give Filipino athletes a chance to test themselves against top players while helping inspire the next generation.

The timing comes as Filipino tennis star Alex Eala continues to climb the world rankings, with organizers hoping to create opportunities for her and other local players to compete on home soil.

The Philippines is already confirmed to host the International Tennis Federation (ITF) J30 event from late November to December 7, 2025, featuring rising juniors aged 13 to 18 from Asia and beyond.

Officials said the proposed WTA event would mark a breakthrough moment for Philippine tennis, combining grassroots development, international hosting, and sports tourism.

The US private sector lost jobs in September, data from payroll firm ADP showed Wednesday, despite analysts’ expectations of employment growth and as concerns linger over the health of the labor market.

Private sector employment shed 32,000 jobs last month, said ADP, with the biggest losses seen in sectors like leisure and hospitality and professional services, as well as in financial activities.

Hiring in trade, transportation and utilities, as well as construction and manufacturing also contracted, data showed.

But analysts were swift to warn that ADP’s figures often diverge from official numbers. Hiring caution

They said this report could receive more scrutiny than usual as a US government shutdown – if it persists – might delay the publication of government employment numbers expected on Friday. For now, ADP’s overall reduction came as it conducted an annual preliminary adjustment of figures based on 2024 results of the quarterly census of employment and wages.

This resulted in a loss of 43,000 jobs in September compared with pre-benchmarked data, ADP added.

‘Despite the strong economic growth we saw in the second quarter, this month’s release further validates what we’ve been seeing in the labor market, that US employers have been cautious with hiring,’ said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson in a statement.

‘Far from definitive’

Pantheon Macroeconomics’ senior US economist Oliver Allen maintains that Wednesday’s report is ‘far from definitive.’

He said in a note that other ‘more reliable surveys generally point to growth in private payrolls slowing only a bit further in September, and remaining positive.’

But Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, said markets would likely focus on how the headline number was below expectations.

A Briefing.com consensus forecast of analysts, for example, had expected private sector hiring growth of 40,000.

‘Regardless of whether ADP is a good advance estimate of the official payroll estimate, or not, markets will perceive this as a weaker-than-expected report,’ Weinberg said.

This could fuel expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

Payroll data

Weinberg believes that market perceptions could also quickly change if the Bureau of Labor Statistics did end up reporting official payroll numbers on Friday that are significantly different.

On Wednesday, ADP said that salaries were up 4.5 percent year-on-year, a rate that was ‘little changed.’

Pay gains for those who changed jobs cooled to 6.6 percent in September from 7.1 percent in August, ADP added.

US policymakers have been wary of weakening in the key jobs market, with the central bank cutting interest rates for the first time in 2025 last month over employment concerns.

Creamline will continue to miss Jia De Guzman when it resumes its campaign in the upcoming PVL Reinforced Conference.

Owing to a management decision, De Guzman will once again sit out another conference for the Cool Smashers as she continues her full-time commitment to Alas Pilipinas, which is eyeing to end a 20-year medal drought in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.

‘Of course, it’s impossible not to feel the loss. Jia is different. She’s battle-tested and a big factor in games. We’ll always feel that it’s a missed opportunity not having her. But maybe it’s just not the right time yet. Hopefully, by next year,’ Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses told the reporters in Filipino.

Meneses, though, remains confident with his team roster with four-time Best Setter Kyle Negrito, who has stepped up her game since the eight-time winner De Guzman took her act to Japan last year, as well as Rhea Dimaculangan-Villarete and Mafe Galanza. ‘Kyle has really improved a lot from previous conferences. So the rotation is stable, there’s really no problem there,’ said Meneses. ‘We have two backups Rhea and Mafe. And they’re always ready.’

Creamline, which finished bronze in the PVL on Tour and Invitational, is raring to defend its throne in the Reinforced with American import Coco Schwan, Alyssa Valdez, Michele Gumabao, Pangs Panaga, Jema Galanza, and rookie Sheena Toring.

‘Our number one goal is to finish the conference healthy. That’s really the top priority. But of course, our mindset is also on defending our title. Hopefully, Courtney will be a big help to us,’ Meneses said.

MANILA, Philippines-Representative Brian Poe has affirmed the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s commitment to connect all Department of Education target schools by December.

‘The commitment of DICT is that by the end of this year, they will be able to connect all the target sites of DepEd,’ Poe said during the Sept. 29 budget hearing for the 2026 General Appropriations Bill, where he sponsored DICT’s budget.

He reiterated a pledge made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation Address to close the digital divide in education.

For the government, ‘connected’ means meeting strict and measurable performance criteria. For schools served by low Earth orbit satellites, the minimum download speed is 5 megabytes per second and the upload speed is 1 to 2 megabytes per second.

DICT is monitoring compliance and engaging with service providers to ensure performance.

‘If our colleague has any instances where there are any sites that are too slow or not keeping up with the standards of DICT, I believe the agency is open to flagging these service providers because it is our goal at the end of the day to provide the best services possible to the Filipino people,’ Poe said.

Outdated networks are also being retired.

‘DICT has communicated to me that they are doing away with old technologies such as 2G and 3G, so that by next year, only new technology like LTE and 5G will be allowed by our service providers,’ he said.

The effort is backed by historic funding. The 2025 national budget includes the largest Wi-Fi appropriation in Philippine history – P5 billion in automatic annual funding, plus an additional P2.5 billion infused last year as a presidential priority.

Of that, P1.5 billion is specifically allocated to fulfill the December connectivity target. An additional P1.5 billion is also proposed in the 2026 budget to connect the remaining 12,139 DepEd schools.

Sustainability remains a concern, but Poe expressed optimism. ‘Ngayon, hopefully when this budget passes, mabibigyan po sila din ng maintenance and operating funds to be able to maintain the connections that they will build in our schools,’ he said.

He emphasized the weight of the promise. ‘The reason why I am so firm in this commitment is this was a SONA commitment of the president, and it is a priority of the DICT and a commitment we made to the Filipino people. So I believe that when they tell me three times in a row that they will connect all the schools by December, gagawin po talaga nila.’

Abono party-list is now officially a member of the House of Representatives in the 20th Congress after Rep. Robert Raymond Estrella took his oath of office on Thursday, following a Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclamation.

During the plenary session on Thursday, Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos moved to allow Estrella to take his oath before House Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III, pursuant to Comelec’s proclamation.

‘We are in receipt of the proclamation issued by the Commission on Elections declaring Abono party-list as winner under the party-list system in the national and local elections on the 12th of May 2025, and to entitle its nominee, Robert Raymond M. Estrella, to sit as its representative in the House of Representatives of the Congress of the Philippines,’ Marcos said.

‘Pursuant to the aforementioned proclamation, I move to allow Robert Raymond M. Estrella, representative of Abono party-list, to take oath in open session,’ he added.

Deputy Speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan, who was presiding over the session, approved the motion after no objections were heard.

Three party-list seats are open for distribution after the Comelec en banc upheld a decision canceling the registration of Duterte Youth party-list.

‘The clerk of this Commission just issued today a certificate of finality and entry of judgment on the decision of the en banc [regarding the cancellation of Duterte Youth’s registration],’ Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said on Tuesday in an online interview with reporters.

According to him, the poll body en banc will hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the effects of the issuance of the certificate, particularly which party list groups will benefit from the three House seats originally allotted to Duterte Youth.

Garcia said the Comelec came out with the certificate of finality after the Supreme Court did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) within 30 days after the en banc upheld the cancellation of the party list group’s registration on August 29.

Duterte Youth won three seats in the 2025 midterm elections, ranking second with 2.338 million votes. However, the group was disqualified by Comelec based on the following grounds:

Untruthful statements in its petition, particularly on the eligibility of its nominees

No bona fide intention to represent the sector for which the petition has been filed and thus, preventing a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate

It has advocated for violence or unlawful means to achieve its goal

It was established that it is an adjunct or an entity funded or assisted by the National Youth Commission

With one seat being given to Abono party-list, two more seats will be made available for other groups. According to Garcia, Comelec will proclaim on Thursday the three representatives who will replace the Duterte Youth.

Each year, the Philippines generates 14.6 million tons of municipal solid waste, based on data from the 2025 World Bank What a Waste Global Database.

With close to 15 million tons of municipal solid waste, the Philippines landed 27th out of 50 countries in the database, which covers almost all countries and 330 major cities.

RELATED STORY: Risks loom as worsening garbage mess pushes deep PH dive into waste-to-energy

Dr. Rogelio Alicor Panao, INQUIRER Metrics data scientist and associate professor at the University of the Philippines, said in his analysis that ‘this places the country ahead of wealthier economies such as Australia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands in terms of waste produced.’

He pointed out that in the Philippines, ‘the link between garbage and flooding is often underscored, with clogged waterways worsening inundations during heavy rains.’

This, especially since the Philippines is once again on the top of the World Risk Index, the yardstick for being highly exposed to extreme weather effects, like flooding.

The World Risk Report 2025, published last week, discussed the disaster risk for 193 countries worldwide, covering all member states of the United Nations and over 99 percent of the population.

As pointed out by Panao, ‘globally, the problem [of waste generation] is even more pronounced, with China on the lead at 398.08 million tons, followed by the United States (265.22 million) and India (189.75 million).

Large middle-income nations such as Brazil (79.06 million) and Indonesia (65.20 million) also add substantially to the world’s total, alongside industrialized countries like Germany (50.63 million) and Japan (42.72 million).

For Panao, ‘these figures reveal a universal challenge: growing volumes of waste are straining both rich and developing nations alike.’

RELATED STORY: Chaos, confusion cloud final stretch of global plastics treaty talks

However, in the case of the Philippines, ‘the crisis is compounded-solid waste remains a driver of flooding even as longstanding issues of corruption and inefficiency in flood control projects continue to hinder effective solutions.’

Last July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned corruption in the government’s multi-billion flood control projects, lamenting how these could have helped mitigate flooding, especially during the onslaught of typhoons and monsoon rains.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said it will remain on full alert in Cebu even as search and rescue operations ended in the wake of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the province.

‘The search and retrieval operations were stopped last night because their search for the injured ended. All the missing individuals have been accounted for,’ PNP public information chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Thursday.

‘That’s why our concentration is now just relief and rehab operations. That’s why the PNP is still on full alert,’ he added.

This came after the Office of Civil Defense also stated that some rescue teams have been informed they may demobilize and continue assisting with relief operations.

The PNP also stated that it has yet to receive reports of violence and looting in the aftermath of the earthquake and that the Central Visayas police have increased their deployment from 1,356 officers to 2,250 officers to bolster relief and rehabilitation efforts.

At least 72 individuals were reported dead and 294 were reported injured, according to the latest National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) situational report on Thursday morning.

However, the NDRRMC noted that these casualties have yet to be validated.

The Iloilo City council on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution urging the erection of a statue honoring the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago in one of the city’s major plazas.

The resolution, authored by Councilor Rex Sarabia and unanimously co-sponsored by all 11 members of the council, urges Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu to recognize the ‘Iron Lady of Asia’ and honor the distinction brought to the country by the late former senator, who was born and raised in the city’s La Paz district.

‘The late senator Miriam Santiago, fondly remembered as the ‘Iron Lady of Asia,’ a proud daughter of Iloilo City, born and raised in La Paz, whose brilliance, courage, and integrity brought honor and distinction not only to her hometown but to the entire country,’ the resolution stated.

Santiago, a three-term senator and two-time presidential aspirant, passed away on September 29, 2016, two years after being diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer.

It specifically mentions Defensor-Santiago’s experience as a trial court judge, immigration commissioner, senator, and judge of the International Criminal Court.

‘[Defensor-Santiago’s] unwavering dedication to good governance, rule of law education, and public accountability continues to inspire generations of Filipinos, particularly the youth, who affectionately remember her sharp wit, wisdom, and unparalleled intellect,’ the resolution stated.

‘As an Ilongga, her life and legacy are a source of pride and inspiration for Iloilo City, especially for the people of La Paz district, where she spent her formative years, where her values of academic excellence, public service, and moral courage were deeply rooted,’ it added.

During his sponsorship speech at the city’s regular session on Wednesday, Sarabia said that it was timely to honor the senator, given the recent corruption controversies on flood control projects.

‘I think we need to draw inspiration from our very own Ilongga to fight for what is right, to fight against corruption,’ Sarabia said.

Defensor-Santiago had her early start in Iloilo, graduating as valedictorian from La Paz Elementary School and Iloilo National High School, both in La Paz.

She graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines in Iloilo (now UP Visayas) with a degree in political science and earned a law degree at the UP College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City.