Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Former Department of Education Chief of Staff Michael Poa is sworn in as a witness in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

The prosecution has called Poa to testify on Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, which concerns the alleged misuse of confidential funds. He is expected to testify about the DepEd’s use of confidential funds while Duterte served as education secretary from 2022 to 2024

Service work, including BPO, is knowledge work. It spans call center agents, accountants, doctors, lawyers, bankers and engineers. Like manufacturing, it ranges from low-value execution to highly specialized design, engineering and coordination.

Lower value work

Today, the Philippines remains concentrated in relatively lower-value knowledge work. Much of the highest-value knowledge work stays in the West, where companies research, design and coordinate complex products. Lower-value execution is outsourced to countries like the Philippines.

This encouraged the local service economy to specialize in work that clients had already decided was not worth deeply investing in. These functions were often cost centers, removed from strategic decision-making and given weak incentives for automation. The industry was neither equipped nor motivated to transform them.

The same problem exists within Philippine companies. Because labor is relatively inexpensive, companies often rely on growing headcount instead of standardized processes and software. Manual work accumulates until it becomes operational debt. By the time systems begin breaking under scale, the problem is expensive and difficult to untangle.

So what will enable the Philippine BPO industry to move up the value chain?

The answer is institutional knowledge.

What AI cannot replace

High-value knowledge work emerges when companies develop a deep understanding of a problem, together with the processes, culture and organization needed to solve it repeatedly. That knowledge is built through execution, coordination and iteration.

Our outsourced industries struggle to develop it because few local companies have created environments where it can accumulate. Repetitive manual work persists, while management often substitutes inexpensive headcount for process discipline, automation and enterprise investment.

AI, particularly large language models, is both a threat and a possible antidote to this incentive structure.

As repetitive execution becomes automated, demand and margins for low-value work will fall. At the same time, coding agents are making software faster and cheaper to build. Local companies can increasingly adapt battle-tested, often open source software already widely used in more mature markets.

This can create a healthier cycle. Companies will be pushed toward software, standardization and automation. Work that was once tedious and error-prone will become routine because the solution has been implemented, documented, and improved. These systems will generate institutional knowledge that compounds over time, raising labor productivity and justifying further investment.

This is why focusing only on English proficiency, AI literacy, or critical thinking is insufficient. It treats workers as better raw inputs that can be plugged into higher-value companies.

But LLMs are rapidly commoditizing many of these capabilities.

The hardest problems in implementing AI are context, coordination and accountability. These are precisely the capabilities the Philippine service industry can develop. These come from deep experience in specific industries, not generic classroom training. The correct answer is often knowable only through the high-resolution context of real work.

Moving up the value chain will be difficult, risky and slow. But building institutional knowledge through automation, standardization and repeated execution is the most realistic path forward.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) should remain committed to taming inflation and must resist calls to prematurely end its interest rate-hiking cycle for the sake of the struggling economy, New York-based think tank GlobalSource Partners said.

It added that markets are looking for ‘stronger forward guidance’ from policymakers.

In a commentary, Diwa Guinigundo, analyst at GlobalSource, said the peso’s slide to the 62-per-dollar level despite the central bank’s recent quarter-point rate hike could indicate that ‘the market did not seem fully convinced that the BSP had signaled an unambiguous commitment to staying on top of inflation.’

Guinigundo, a former central bank deputy governor, said the real interest rates-or the actual cost of financing after factoring in inflation-remain negative despite the BSP’s tightening actions that have lifted its key rate to 5 percent, as inflation remained above 6 percent as of July. This, he said, raises the question of whether the BSP has done enough to fight inflation.

‘The issue is not simply whether the BSP should raise, hold or eventually cut its policy rate,’ Guinigundo said. ‘The more fundamental question is whether monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive in real terms to bring inflation back to target and keep expectations firmly anchored.’

Since the start of the BSP’s anti-inflation campaign in April, policymakers have raised the policy rate guiding bank lending costs by a total of 75 basis points. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said that last week’s rate hike was a ‘preemptive’ response to emerging risks from a severe El Niño episode and possible wage hikes.

Policymakers now expect inflation to average 6.1 percent this year-down from the prior estimate of 6.4 percent but still above the BSP’s 3-percent target-while raising the 2027 outlook to 5.4 percent from 4.5 percent before.

On the growth side, the BSP said the economic fundamentals ‘appear to be intact’ over the medium term, adding that a recovery in government spending could help stimulate activity in the second half of the year. The economy expanded just 2.6 percent in the first half amid the war-driven oil shock.

Looking ahead, Guinigundo said the October policy meeting would be an important test for the BSP, adding that the central bank should resist the temptation to declare the tightening cycle effectively finished simply because growth is weak. Other authorities-not the BSP-must deal with the structural and supply-side impediments to growth, he stressed.

‘This is not an argument for indiscriminate tightening or for ignoring growth. It is an argument for recognizing the hierarchy of responsibilities,’ he said. ‘Asking monetary policy to compensate for weaknesses elsewhere risks creating the worst of both worlds: weak growth and persistent inflation.

The bodies of two of the four missing occupants of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) that plunged into the Tarlac River following the partial collapse of Agana Bridge on Aug. 29 were recovered on Tuesday in separate areas of Pangasinan.

The remains of James Patrick Taborlupa were snagged in the net of a fishing vessel off Lingayen around 10 a.m. Hours later, the body of Shanen Tuhao was found in Bayambang, according to the Tarlac City government.

The lone survivor, 20-year-old Nataniel Dizon, said he had to save himself after the vehicle was swept away

Burnham Lake reopened to the public on Tuesday, coinciding with Baguio City’s 117th Charter Day celebration and bringing back boat rides at one of the city’s most iconic tourist attractions.

The man-made lake had been closed since October 2025 for a P480-million rehabilitation and improvement project.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Mark Lapid, Rep. Mauricio Domogan, Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan, and other city officials led the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The reopening came after the lake was enclosed by galvanized steel barriers as Tieza undertook extensive repairs and a makeover of the century-old attraction.

The rehabilitation formed part of the national government’s broader program to modernize Burnham Park and other tourism destinations in Baguio.

The 33-hectare park, including its nearly 4-hectare lake, was part of the original 1903 Burnham Plan prepared by American architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham. The park was designed as one of the city’s major open spaces and remains among Baguio’s most visited public attractions.

Baguio was established as a mountain resort city under the American colonial government and was formally granted a city charter on Sept. 1, 1909.

The rehabilitation of Burnham Park had been programmed as early as 2013 as part of a national tourism redevelopment initiative covering Baguio and Boracay. While the Boracay rehabilitation was completed in 2018, the Baguio project was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A P500-million allocation originally intended for the city was instead used for pandemic response measures.

Improvements

The work included the construction of a wooden boardwalk around the roughly 10-meter-deep lake, concrete benches that also serve as reinforced embankments, and improvements to the view deck. About 14 new boats had also been brought to the lake grounds.

The lake normally holds about 34,000 cubic meters of water.

Returning concessionaires were previously asked to provide new boats instead of the swan-shaped boats that had long been associated with the attraction.

The Department of Tourism recorded 117,137 visitors arriving in Baguio from Dec. 15 to Dec. 31, 2025.

The city government, however, clarified that the reopening of Burnham Lake does not mean all areas of Burnham Park have reopened. Some facilities remain subject to safety assessments.

Tieza is also validating city plans for the next phase of the Burnham Park rehabilitation, which will cover Children’s Park, Skating Rink and Rose Garden, where a bust of Burnham stands

Transboundary haze from the forest fires in Kalimantan, Indonesia, may persist in parts of the Philippines until Thursday as the prevailing southwest monsoon or ‘habagat’ causes smoke to reach several regions in Luzon and the Visayas, environment and health officials said on Tuesday.

Several cities in Metro Manila also recorded ‘very unhealthy’ to ‘acutely unhealthy’ air quality levels on Tuesday morning, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).

The Department of Health (DOH) advised the public to try staying indoors or wear an N95 mask when outdoors due to poor air quality attributed to haze. Those without an N95 mask may also use a wet handkerchief or cloth to cover their mouths and noses, or use two surgical or ordinary masks.

The DOH said haze can cause difficulty in breathing, coughing, chest pain, watering of the eyes, itchiness in the nose, and could worsen respiratory diseases, such as asthma.

‘Extra caution is essential for children, the elderly, and those with respiratory and heart illnesses,’ the DOH said.

Those without an N95 mask may also use a wet handkerchief or cloth, or two surgical or normal masks worn to form double layers.

‘Beyond our control’

According to Jundy del Socorro, chief of the Environmental Quality Management Division of DENR-EMB, haze may continue to affect parts of the country until Thursday.

‘At this point, the haze situation is largely beyond our control because it depends on several factors outside the Philippines, including the intensity of the forest fires in Kalimantan, prevailing wind patterns, and rainfall across the region,’ Del Socorro said.

Rainfall, he said, can help lower pollution levels by removing smoke particles and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from the atmosphere.

PM2.5 refers to fine particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or smaller that can be inhaled deep into the lungs. Elevated levels can pose greater risks to people sensitive to air pollution.

‘Between Sept. 4 and Sept. 6, air quality could gradually improve if rainfall remains widespread and wind patterns begin to shift,’ said Del Socorro.

‘Beyond Sept. 6, conditions will depend primarily on whether the fires in Kalimantan continue to generate smoke, whether new hot spots emerge, and whether winds continue to carry smoke toward the Philippines,’ he added.

‘Acutely unhealthy’ areas

Data from the DENR-EMB as of 4 p.m. Tuesday showed the following areas in Metro Manila with ‘acutely unhealthy’ levels of air quality: Parañaque (air quality index of 265), Las Piñas (245), Quezon City (237, Ateneo area), Malabon (227), Taguig (226), Manila (225), Valenzuela (221), Marikina (217), Muntinlupa (216), San Juan (214), and Mandaluyong (208).

Under the EMB scale, ‘acutely unhealthy’ with an air quality index ranging from 201-300 is the second highest category, next to ’emergency’ with an air quality index of 301-500.

Areas under the ‘very unhealthy’ category include Makati (188), Navotas (180), Quezon City (171, Commonwealth), and Pateros (167).

In a separate Facebook post, the DENR-EMB said among the regions affected by the haze included Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan).

Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator for administration, reminded motorists to use headlights or fog lights when traveling at night or in areas with poor visibility.

Visayas situation

In Bohol, residents in Tagbilaran City and nearby towns reported hazy, smoke-filled skies, with some saying the condition had been observed since Monday.

Mel Micayabas, 34, of Dauis town, said Panglao Island appeared to be covered in smoke when viewed from a distance.

From Tagbilaran, neighboring Cebu Island, which is usually visible across the Bohol Strait, was barely seen through the thick haze. The mountains of Maribojoc were likewise obscured.

Air quality in Metro Cebu reached the ‘very unhealthy’ level on Tuesday morning, according to the DENR-EMB in Central Visayas.

Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado urged residents to wear masks when going outdoors and avoid unnecessary exposure to the haze.

In Western Visayas, residents of Tubungan town in Iloilo also reported hazy conditions on Monday, with some saying the air smelled strongly of smoke and caused discomfort as they breathe.

Despite the haze, Iloilo City’s air quality remained within the ‘Good to Fair’ range from Aug. 28 to 31, according to the latest monitoring results.

Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense counsel Michael Poa was declared by the Senate impeachment court as a hostile witness at the resumption of the trial on Wednesday.

Poa was called by the prosecution panel to testify on the P112.5 million in Department of Education (DepEd) confidential funds when Duterte was its secretary.

‘The chair will proceed to declare Atty. Poa as a hostile witness, therefore giving Atty. [Benjamin] Tolosa the right to ask leading questions,’ presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero said.

Hostile witnesses are individuals presumed to favor the opposite party – in Poa’s case, the respondent, who is the vice president.

When Duterte was the secretary of DepEd from 2022 to 2024, Poa served as the agency’s chief of staff, an officer-in-charge of DepEd’s finance unit, and later Duterte’s spokesperson.

After Duterte’s stint at DepEd, Poa represented Duterte when she faced the first set of impeachment complaints against her in 2025.

At present, he is one of Duterte’s defense lawyers

Ordinary people have a habit of keeping things ‘just in case.’ Old appliances gather dust in storage rooms. Worn-out gadgets fill drawers. Empty bottles, boxes and even defective car batteries occupy precious space in garages and backyards.

While some items are indeed beyond use, many still possess financial, practical and even social value.

In personal finance, one of the most overlooked principles is that used does not mean useless.

The concept applies not only to household items but also to how we think about money, assets and financial freedom. Learning to maximize the value of used items can help reduce expenses, generate income, support charitable causes and ultimately improve financial well-being.

Consider the humble car battery. Most vehicle owners simply replace a dead battery and move on. Yet many battery suppliers offer trade-in values for old lead acid batteries because lead and other components can be recycled, up to 98 percent of them. The trade-in value may not be huge, but it reduces the cost of purchasing a replacement. A battery that appears worthless can still save a few hundred pesos.

The same principle applies to old mobile phones, laptops, tablets and other gadgets. Many retailers and manufacturers offer trade-in programs that provide discounts on new purchases.

Online marketplaces are also filled with buyers looking for secondhand electronics, even those that require minor repairs. Believe it or not, an old iconic car stereo system can be worth more than the car in which it was originally installed.

Furniture provides another example. A dining table may no longer match a home’s interior design, but it could still be perfectly useful to another family. Children’s books, toys, bicycles and school supplies often outlive their original owners’ needs while remaining valuable to others.

A household that sells unused appliances, old gadgets, excess furniture and recyclable materials could generate several thousand pesos. That amount may be enough to start an emergency fund, pay down debt, or make an investment. And the benefits go beyond cash.

Buying used items can also be a smart financial strategy. Many people assume that ‘brand new’ automatically means ‘better.’ Yet certain items depreciate rapidly despite remaining fully functional. Cars are perhaps the most obvious example. A vehicle loses a significant portion of its value the moment it leaves the dealer’s premises. Purchasing a well-maintained used car can allow a family to enjoy the same utility while spending considerably less.

The same logic applies to office furniture, exercise equipment, books and even certain household appliances. By choosing quality used items when appropriate, consumers can reduce spending without sacrificing their quality of life.

This mindset encourages a shift from ownership to utility. The real question is not whether an item is new or used. The question is whether it still performs the function you need.

There is also a charitable dimension to the value of used items. Many households possess items that no longer serve them but could greatly benefit others. Clothing that no longer fits, extra kitchenware, books that have already been read, or furniture that is no longer needed can find new life through donations.

When families donate usable items to charitable organizations, schools, churches, shelters or disaster-relief programs, they extend the economic value of those goods. What may be clutter in one home can become a necessity in another.

Beyond helping others, charitable giving can also have a positive effect on personal financial behavior. It encourages intentional consumption. People become more mindful of what they buy when they recognize that items have a lifecycle beyond their own use.

Financial freedom occurs when your resources consistently support your desired lifestyle.

Those resources include not only money in the bank but also the assets you already own. Every unused item represents locked value. Some can be converted into cash. Others can reduce future expenses. Still, others can create social value through charitable giving.

Many Filipinos work hard to earn additional income while overlooking assets already sitting inside their homes. Before searching for new ways to make money, it may be worthwhile to look around. The old phone in the drawer, the unused exercise bike, the stack of books, the excess furniture or even the dead car battery may still hold value. And mind you, you do not need to have a garage to do a garage sale.

Financial wisdom is not only about earning more. It is also about making the most of what you already have. And sometimes, the journey toward financial freedom begins with realizing that used doesn’t mean useless. INQ

The Office of the Vice Mayor at the Manila City Hall caught fire on Wednesday morning, according to the Manila Disaster City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (DRRMD).

In a report by Manila DRRMD shared by the Manila City government to media, the fire occurred at the second flood where the Office of the Vice Mayor is located.

The fire reached first alarm at 5:57 a.m. and was immediately declared under control at 6:15 a.m.

The blaze was extinguished at 6:21 a.m.

The Manila City government shared that work was not suspended in the city hall as per the directive of Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso.

Elena Rybakina said it was so far, so good with her left heel injury after she eased into the second round of the US Open with a straight-sets victory over US teen Thea Frodin.

The second-ranked Kazakh has her sights not only on a third Grand Slam but also the world number one ranking – which she could claim just by reaching the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Her 6-3, 6-2 victory over the powerful but erratic Frodin was a polished performance, and an encouraging one after the injury that flared up to force her out of her Cincinnati Open quarterfinal.

Make that 8 straight Grand Slam hardcourt wins for Elena Rybakina! pic.twitter.com/uYxLeyDk7S

‘I’m happy with the match. Especially when you don’t know your opponent, it always can be dangerous, but overall I’m happy with the first match and how it went,’ she said.

‘It’s a great result after 10 days from that kind of injury.’

Rybakina had been reassured in Cincinnati when the physio told her she hadn’t torn her Achilles tendon.

But she was unable to walk without pain for several days and is still cautiously managing her training, rest and treatment.

‘When I went to serve, I realized I cannot push from the leg. So it was impossible to continue,’ she said.

‘From that, we started my recovery. We didn’t know if I’m going to be able to play here or not.

‘We were taking day by day. I was not playing for the full week, so seven days no tennis and basically not too much gym I could do movement-wise.

‘Right now, I feel Ok,’ she said after the match. ‘Of course we’ll see again day by day how I wake up tomorrow since it’s the first match and kind of a lot of movement.’