Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Congress leaders identified 44 priority legislative measures they wanted to be passed in the next three years.

The President convened on Tuesday the first full meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) for the 20th Congress at Malacañang.

According to a news release from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the executive and legislative branches decided to make good governance and transparency to be among Common Legislative Agenda for the current Congress.

Among the key measures are the Progressive Budgeting Act, the Right to Information Act or the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and a comprehensive review of the Local Government Code.

‘These, together with the proposed tax amnesties, reforms on civil service accountability such as requiring bank secrecy waivers, and the Magna Carta for Barangays, are intended to modernize institutions, strengthen fiscal responsibility, and promote accountability,’ the PCO said.

Malacañang earlier called on lawmakers to pass the FOI bill amid the clamor for transparency and accountability in the flood-control projects.

‘In a nation like ours, where natural disasters are an ever-present threat, access to environmental data is not just a matter of governance-it is a matter of survival,’ PCO Secretary Dave Gomez said during the opening of the Global Conference of the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) on Tuesday.

‘Through technology, we must ensure that communities, especially the most vulnerable, have the information they need to stay safe, plan, and thrive,’ he added.

According to PCO, President Marcos emphasized that amendments to the Local Government Code and the Rice Tariffication Law should be prioritized and crafted comprehensively, ‘ensuring that governance efficiency and agricultural competitiveness remain central to the nation’s progress.’

A total of 44 measures were listed under the Ledac Common Legislative Agenda for the 20th Congress (2025 to 2028):

1. Amendments to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act 2. Amendments to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act 3. Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bill 4. Waste-to-Energy Bill 5. EPIRA Amendments: Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Strengthening Bill 6. National Land Use Act 7. Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics 8. Blue Economy Act 9. Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law 10. Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Act 11. Right to Information Act 12. Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act 13. Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Act 14. Amendments to the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act 15. National Center for Geriatric Health 16. Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Act 17. Amendments to the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act 18. Amendments to the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act 19. Amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act 20. Amendments to the Teachers Professionalization Act 21. Amendments to the Local Government Code (Comprehensive) 22. General Tax Amnesty 23. Extension of Estate Tax Amnesty 24. Amendments to the Fisheries Code 25. Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law or Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act, including AAES Act minor amendments (Comprehensive) 26. Amendments to the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law 27. Amendments to the Biofuels Act 28. Cybersecurity Act 29. Amendments to the National Building Code 30. Amendments to the Magna Carta for MSMEs 31. National Reintegration Bill 32. Reprogramming of Seal of Good Local Governance 33. Digital Payments Act 34. Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development 35. Classroom-Building Acceleration Program Act 36. Requiring Civil Servants to Waive Bank Secrecy 37. Law on Online Gambling 38. Disaster Risk Financing Insurance 39. Strengthening the Bases Conversion and Development Authority 40. Presidential Merit Scholarship Program 41. Disqualifying Relatives of Officials (4th degree) in Government Contracts 42. Fair Use of Social Media, AI and Internet Technology in Elections 43. Modernizing the Bureau of Immigration 44. Magna Carta for Barangays

Of these, 11 were carried over from the 19th Congress (2022 to 2025):

Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bill

Waste-to-Energy Bill

EPIRA Amendments: Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Strengthening Bill

National Land Use Act

Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics

Blue Economy Act

Amendments to the Bank Deposits Secrecy Law

Amendments to the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act

Amendments to the Fisheries Code

Masterplan for Infrastructure and National Development

Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance Act

From a total of 64 Ledac measures since the opening of the 19th Congress, 40 have been enacted into laws as of Sept. 25, 2025.

Created through Republic Act No. 7640, Ledac serves as a consultative body to the President.

During Ledac meetings, lawmakers and Cabinet members are expected to discuss priority policies and government programs that would improve the country’s socioeconomic conditions. Under the law, the Ledac is composed of the President as chair; the Vice President; the Senate President, and Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR); seven members of the Cabinet as determined by the President; three members of the HoR to be designated by the Speaker; a representative from the minority, as well as other government and nongovernment representatives as assigned by the President, including those from the local government units, youth, business, cooperatives, agriculture, or labor sectors.

Ledac should meet at least once every quarter, but special meetings can be convened as necessary.

Relief assistance in Western Visayas has reached more than P41.2 million as government agencies and local units mobilized to aid thousands of families displaced by Typhoon ‘Opong’ (international name: Bualoi) and the enhanced southwest monsoon that battered the region recently.

As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas (DSWD-6) reported that 51,834 families – or 42 percent of the 122,368 households affected – have received food packs and non-food items.

Iloilo topped the list, with P13.3 million in aid reaching 5,428 of 17,924 affected families. Aklan followed with P9.4 million for 11,860 of 28,043 families; Antique received more than P7 million for 9,197 of 38,364 affected families; and Guimaras, also with over P7 million, assisted 6,549 of 8,326 affected families. Capiz, meanwhile, received P4.1 million for 5,428 of 17,924 affected families.

The DSWD said its teams have also started psychosocial interventions, focusing on children and families shaken by the storm’s devastation.

Western Visayas bore the brunt of both Opong and the intensified monsoon rains, which triggered floods and landslides in several provinces.

As of press time, more than half a million individuals across the region have been affected. At least 1,281 people remain in 13 evacuation centers, while 297 families – or 1,297 individuals – are being assisted outside designated shelters./coa

Pure Energy Holdings Corp. (PEHC), backed by businessman Dexter Tiu, and Quadwater Corp. are set to secure a majority stake in listed Coal Asia Holdings for P220.9 million.

In a disclosure on Monday, Coal Asia said five of its stockholders signed a share purchase agreement with PEHC, Pure Water Corp. (Pure) and Quadwater. This is for the sale and purchase of 28.67 billion common shares of the company.

That translates to 71.68 percent of the group’s total issued and outstanding capital stock.

Breaking down, PEHC will get 12.48 percent with the acquisition of 4.99 billion shares.

Both Pure and Quadwater, meanwhile, will secure 29.60 percent each. The three firms are acquiring a total of about 23.68 billion shares in Coal Asia. They expect to close the deal before the year ends.

Coal Asia did not disclose details on the allocation of the proceeds from the transaction.

‘The transaction provides the buyers with the opportunity to acquire a significant interest in the company,’ said PEHC president Eric Peter Roxas. He is also one of the selling shareholders.

‘It also facilitates the reallocation of shareholdings among the parties in a manner that supports their respective investment objectives,’ Roxas added.

Common directors

Pure is a subsidiary of PEHC. The two companies and Coal Asia have interlocking directors, namely Tiu, Roxas, and Gertim Chuahiong.

Quadwater, on the other hand, is not affiliated with either PEHC or Pure. However, Pure and Quadwater have interests in Tubig Pilipinas Group Inc.

PEHC has a presence in the renewable energy space through Repower Energy Development Corp. (REDC). It has mini-hydropower projects clustered in Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Sur, Bukidnon and other provinces under development. These have a combined capacity of 124 megawatts.

PEHC also leads NexGen Energy Corp., a listed clean power producer, focused on the solar and wind business.

Earlier this year, the company said its four wind projects worth P300 billion secured a ‘green lane’ status, allowing the firm to avoid bureaucratic bottlenecks. INQ

The provincial government of Camarines Sur, in partnership with Google’s Gemini, has officially launched the Artificial Intelligence Academy on Monday, the first of its kind in the province.

Powered by Google’s Gemini as its main platform, the AI Academy has welcomed its first batch of over 300 participants from various sectors, including government employees, educators, and youth leaders.

They are now equipped with foundational knowledge in artificial intelligence, aimed at improving communication skills, teaching methods, and digital literacy.

Gov. Luis Raymund ‘LRay’ Villafuerte Jr. called the initiative a ‘big break’ for Camarines Sur and a step toward preparing the province for a tech-driven future.

‘It’s an honor to partner with one of the biggest technology companies in the world-Google Philippines. Through Google’s Gemini Academy, we are equipping every CamSur resident with new knowledge and skills in AI. Under my leadership, our province will be AI-ready and highly skilled from classrooms to communities,’ Villafuerte told the Inquirer.

He also shared that each municipality in the province will soon host its own training sessions. These sessions aim to make AI tools more accessible and practical by providing apps and software that simplify day-to-day tasks.

Gilbert Sadsad, director of the Department of Education in Bicol, expressed full support for the program, noting its positive potential across multiple sectors.

Of the 357 participants, the majority came from the provincial government, academe, information offices, and other multi-sectoral groups.

Rosean Presado, an instructor from a community college, said joining the training was a great opportunity.

‘Many of my questions about AI were answered. This experience will definitely have a positive impact not just on me, but also on my students,’ she said.

Myko Garcia, a local radio reporter in CamSur, shared the same sentiment.

‘I’m thankful to be part of the training. I’ve gained new knowledge that has helped improve my communication skills, especially in pronunciation and grammar,’ he said.

The AI Academy is seen as a pioneering initiative in the region, aiming to democratize access to artificial intelligence tools and training at the grassroots level./coa

Leading global smart devices provider HONOR Philippines has officially announced the availability of the new HONOR 400 in Smart Stores nationwide and via the Smart Online Shop, bundled with Smart Signature Plan Plus 1499.Following the successful launch of the HONOR 400 last June 17, the excitement and demand from the public showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, the AI-powered HONOR 400 sold out within just four days after its availability was announced. Today, HONOR proudly brings the much-anticipated HONOR 400 to Smart, one of the country’s leading telecommunications service providers.

‘We’re excited to make the HONOR 400 available through Smart’s Signature Plan Plus 1499. With unbeatable perks, free accessories, and ViLTE support for clearer connections, this offering gives Filipinos the best value to upgrade their mobile lifestyle,’ said Stephen Cheng, Vice President of HONOR Philippines.

The HONOR 400 offers a sleek design, AI-powered performance, and seamless 5G connectivity-now made more accessible with Smart’s best-in-value Signature Plan Plus. Smart customers can choose from its three dynamic colorways: Desert Gold, Tidal Blue, or Midnight Black. Every purchase of HONOR 400 with Smart Signature Plan Plus 1499 comes with a FREE JISULIFE Handheld Pro 1S, making it an even smarter deal. Freebies will be available until September 30, 2025, only.

Smart Signature Plan Plus 1499 Inclusions:

40 GB Data for 6 Months and/ 120 GB Data for 6 Months

Unlimited 5G Data for 12 months

Unlimited AllNet Calls and Texts

Unlimited Landline Calls (excluding special numbers)

Free Netflix Mobile Plan or ?149 off on existing plan

Access to Postpaid Perks

Extra 20 GB FREE data for 6 months

The HONOR 400 is available at a total device cost of ?19,700 only, with the added convenience of 0% downpayment when purchased using all major credit cards in the country.This makes owning the latest HONOR smartphone more accessible than ever, giving Filipinos flexible payment options while enjoying premium technology and exclusive Smart Signature Plan Plus perks.HONOR 400: Smarter Connections with Smart ViLTE

Now available with Smart, the HONOR 400 takes everyday communication to the next level with Smart’s Video-over-LTE (ViLTE) feature, exclusive for Smart Postpaid subscribers. With this, Smart users can enjoy:

High-definition video calls with sharper clarity and more reliable connections compared to traditional voice calls

Seamless and stable end-to-end connections, ensuring uninterrupted conversations

No need for third-party apps-simply enable Smart VoLTE and use HONOR’s default Phone app

To maximize this feature, ViLTE calls are supported only between two Smart users, with at least one being a Smart Postpaid subscriber. The device must also be updated to version 9.0.0.165.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson said on Monday that members of the House of Representatives also made their own amendments or insertions in the 2025 national budget, with the total exceeding by ‘much, much more’ those made by the Senate.

Lacson earlier bared that ‘almost all senators’ under the 19th Congress inserted at least P100 billion worth of items in last year’s General Appropriations Act (GAA), mostly in favor of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), for infrastructure projects, including flood control.

Citing information he accessed, the chief of the Senate blue ribbon committee said the list of the House members who made insertions in the DPWH’s favor in last year’s GAA was several pages long, with the names in alphabetical order. ‘It was like a roll call,’ Lacson said in an interview on radio dzBB.

When asked if the amount was larger than the insertions made by senators, Lacson replied: ‘Much, much more.’

He explained that the DPWH received such massive insertions because many lawmakers were likely in collusion with the department’s corrupt officials to get their share of huge kickbacks from projects-even if it meant giving the DPWH a bigger budget than the education sector, which was in violation of the 1987 Constitution.

Pattern of corruption

‘The system of corruption has been in place, with lawmakers dealing with the district engineer and former [Public Works] Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. That’s the pattern. You see the DPWH getting a bigger budget than the education sector because everyone involved got greedier and greedier, and stuffed the DPWH’s budget. That is unacceptable,’ he said.

Lacson added that while it is good that a huge part of the insertions were held and tagged ‘for later release,’ this may still affect the economy because properly vetted projects may not get the funding they need.

According to him, budget insertions by themselves are not illegal nor evil, as they are part of the mandate of lawmakers in shaping the national budget.

‘But this mandate has been abused by lawmakers,’ Lacson said.

‘Introducing insertions are not illegal. It is our mandate as lawmakers to review the National Expenditure Program and introduce amendments. The problem is that many lawmakers abused this mandate,’ he added. ‘I hope that in 2026, we will practice self-restraint. The people are angry, so we must reform the way we pass the budget.’

Lacson said the Senate must lead the way in ensuring transparency in budget deliberations, especially during the period of individual amendments in plenary.

Part of regular process

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, defended the individual or institutional amendments or insertions done during Senate deliberations on the national budget, saying these were part of the regular process.

‘It is unfortunate that the issue on ghost projects and failed flood control projects affect and generalized all amendments as illegal or improper,’ Sotto said in a statement on Monday.

He explained that some of the insertions made by lawmakers in the 2025 national budget were for additional classrooms, farm-to-market roads, and bridges that he said would benefit the public, especially those in far-flung provinces.

‘Some of [these] were never funded and were tagged ‘for later release’ (FLR),’ the Senate chief stressed.

Asked then if the insertions by the senators were not improper nor illegal and that only a few may be questionable, Sotto replied: ‘That’s right. Not all of them. They’re usually individual amendments.’

‘Rest assured that for the 2026 budget, the Senate will institute changes for greater transparency, people’s participation and accountability,’ he said.

Sen. JV Ejercito, who was part of the 19th Congress, also defended the amendments in the 2025 budget, saying that introducing changes after the budget hearings was part of the job of lawmakers ‘to support and further improve programs and projects.’ ‘Not all amendments are bad especially those which help agencies and departments,’ Ejercito said.

Pageant fandom went abuzz with reports that global music icon Ricky Martin has followed recently-proclaimed Mister International Kirk Bondad on Instagram. But the winner from the Philippines revealed that it was him who followed the star just recently.

Responding to INQUIRER Entertainment’s question about Martin, the German-Filipino model and content creator said the Puerto Rican superstar has been following him way before the fans took note.

‘I just started following him back. Actually I was at the airport and I realized I don’t follow him,’ Bondad said at his homecoming press conference at the Holiday Inn Express at the Newport Complex in Pasay City on Monday evening, Sept. 29.

‘I know he started following me a little bit over a year ago, and we chatted a little bit. So it’s only now that people happen to get notice of that. And honestly I’m very surprised about that,’ he said.

Internet sleuths uncovered Bondad’s social media credentials after he topped the 17th Mister International contest in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sept. 25, revealing Martin’s connection to the pageant king.

‘I checked him out, and he’s super into fitness, so who knows maybe one day we will hang out and workout, or something. It’s funny, definitely something that I did not expect to get viral after this competition,’ he shared.

INQUIRER Entertainment also asked Bondad about his chemistry with second runner-up Choi Seung Ho from Korea, something many pageant fans noticed, leading to many shipping them, branding them #KirkSeung.

‘Alphabetically speaking, we have been always near each other at the placing of rehearsals or whatever, because ‘P’ and ‘K’ are close to each other in alphabetical order. So it was just naturally inclined that we will spend more time together,’ Bondad explained.

He also shared that the Korean delegate was only one of the few delegates who frequented the gym like he did, so it came out naturally for the two of them to bond further during workouts.

Bondad’s Indonesian roommate Oliver Prasetyo also formed the 2025 Mister International ‘F4’ with the two of them plus Choi and Thailand’s Kanapol Treesongkiat. ‘At that time I didn’t know what it means. But it meant a lot, and it also got viral. So automatically we were also doing content. So we were just naturally, organically building chemistry more,’ he said.

The new king also said he is open to doing a BL (boys’ love) project with Choi, after the Korean actor responded positively to fans’ clamor for a collaboration between the two hunks.

But Bondad said he is also pushing for Choi to fly to the Philippines and work with him. ‘Because Bench is the official sponsor for Mister Korea International, so I want them to bring Seung Ho here and do some shooting with me, because I know there is a lot of demand, and we wanna please them,’ he said.

Bondad is the second delegate fielded by the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide organization to bring home an international title. Last year, Dom Corilla posted the Philippines’ first-ever Mister Global victory. /edv

Maynard Ngu, the billionaire behind Cherry Mobile now linked to the anomalous flood control projects, has resigned from his post as independent director at Altus Property Ventures Inc.

In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Altus said its board of directors had accepted Ngu’s resignation effective Monday, Sept. 29.

The company noted Ngu had resigned ‘due to personal reasons.’

His departure comes just days after former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo linked Ngu to the billion-peso flood control scandal.

According to Bernardo, he had allegedly funneled through Ngu P160 million of kickbacks supposedly meant for Sen. Francis Escudero.

Ngu, who is currently Malacañang’s special envoy to China for trade and investment, served as Altus’ independent director since 2019.

A Mandaluyong court has ordered the arrest of former police Col. Royina Garma and retired police officer Edilberto Leonardo on nonbailable charges of murder and frustrated murder in connection with the 2020 killing of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.

The warrant of arrest issued by the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court Branch 279 on Sept. 13 directed authorities to arrest Garma, Leonardo, as well as Jeremy Causapin, Santie Mendoza, and Nelson Mariano.

Barayuga, a former police brigadier general and a lawyer, was gunned down in broad daylight on July 30, 2020, by a motorcycle-riding gunman in Mandaluyong while on his way home. His driver survived the attack.

Alleged masterminds

Garma and Leonardo were tagged by Mendoza as the alleged masterminds behind the killing of Barayuga.

During House inquiries into extrajudicial killings and the bloody antinarcotics campaign of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Mendoza, a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, testified that between October 2019 and July 2020, Leonardo-then chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Davao-contacted him several times about a ‘special operation’ targeting Barayuga, allegedly for his involvement in illegal drugs.

Mendoza said he understood ‘special operation’ to mean an order to kill and claimed Leonardo told him the directive came from Garma.

He added that he felt coerced into joining the plot because Garma and Leonardo had the strong backing of Duterte and were his seniors at the Philippine National Police Academy.

Both Garma and Leonardo denied Mendoza’s allegations, insisting they had never met him prior to his testimony at the House hearing.

In October 2024, the National Bureau of Investigation ordered the revival of the cold case into Barayuga’s July 2020 ambush-slay.

Potential witness

Garma, who was appointed general manager of the PCSO by Duterte following her retirement from police service, had separately revealed in the House hearings that the Duterte administration implemented a ‘Davao template’ reward system for police officers tasked to carry out killings in its signature ‘war on drugs.’

She was also implicated in the killing of three convicted Chinese drug lords at the Davao prison in 2016, when she was still in the police force.

She applied for asylum in the United States, but the application was denied, and she was deported earlier this month from Los Angeles.

Shortly after her deportation, she traveled to Malaysia to meet with representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a potential witness in the crimes against humanity case against Duterte.

NBI chief Jaime Santiago told the Inquirer on Monday that Garma was still in Malaysia.

Department of Justice spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV said the government could now move to have her passport canceled, since ‘local processes have to take precedence.’ For his part, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he believed the arrest warrant against Garma would not affect her possible testimony before the ICC. -with a report from Inquirer Research INQ

Modern smartphones have become everyday companions that fuel both entertainment and passion. From capturing daily vlogs to conquering late-night gaming marathons, the realme 15 Pro 5G offers an all-in-one experience for creators and players alike. With its slim design and stylish finishes in Velvet Green and Flowing Silver, it strikes a balance between performance and aesthetics, serving as both a pocket-sized studio and a dependable gaming partner that keeps pace with every story shared and every rank climbed.

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