Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) offered a total compensation of P820.5-M billion for residents and property owners in Quezon City to acquire right-of-way for the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).

According to the DOTr, the MMSP alignment covers 500 meters and affects 33 properties within the gated community where the compensation was offered.

The DOTr said that a total of 32 compensation offers have been to property owners.

Of the P820.5-M, 20 homeowners in the gated community have accepted the compensation totaling P461 million, while ‘negotiations with the remaining property owners are ongoing.’

As of writing, the MMSP right-of-way acquisition status stands at 75 percent, the DOTr reported.

However, the DOTr aims to have full acquisition by March 2026, and it also plans to begin drilling works along the MMSP alignment within the gated community starting January 2026.

Following this development, DOTr Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez expressed his gratitude to the property owners in the Quezon City gated community for their support to the MMSP.

The construction of the MMSP suffered a two-year delay due to right-of-way issues.

With the increase in progress resolving such issues, the DOTr said the MMSP should be operational by 2031.

Once completed, the P488.5-billion project shall be the first underground subway station in the Philippines spanning approximately 35 kilometers, with 17 stations.

The DOTr said the MMSP is expected to service over 500,000 passengers every day from Valenzuela, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, Parañaque, and Pasay. /cb

Senator Jinggoy Estrada took a jab at the House of Representatives on Tuesday for its failure to pass a bill that would have strengthened and expanded the mandate of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Online streaming platforms would have been included in the MTRCB’s regulatory powers if Senate Bill No. 2805 was enacted into law.

The measure was approved by the Senate on third and final reading during the 19th Congress but its counterpart measure remained pending at the committee level in the House of Representatives.

‘So this isn’t finished yet? Nothing in the House? They’re so lazy,’ Estrada said in Filipino as he presided over the Senate subcommittee on finance’s deliberations on the proposed P221.297 million budget of the MTRCB for 2026.

The senator though noted that many industry stakeholders were also against the bill, saying it ‘impinges on a struggling film industry,’ ‘strangles creativity’ and adversely impacts ‘freedom of expression and artistic integrity.’

‘It is in this context that we shall look into your budget, together with the direction that the agency is taking with your proposed table of expenditures and programs for next year,’ Estrada said.

For 2026, MTRCB is proposing P221.297 million budget.

Of the budget proposal, Estrada noted that P165.698 million was allotted for MRTCB’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) and Capital Outlay which will be sourced from the board’s own revenues, and provided for under the Special Provisions.

Estrada, meanwhile, informed the MTRCB that he has filed Senate Bill No. 878 that would establish the Retained Income Fund and replace its existing sinking fund.

Under the bill filed last August, MTRCB would be allowed to retain 50 percent of its revenues to be used for its MOOE excluding payment of salaries and allowances. /cb

Mayor Abundio ‘JP’ Punsalan Jr. of San Simon town in Pampanga is set to be arraigned before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division this Wednesday, two months after his Aug. 5 entrapment for alleged extortion of a Filipino-Chinese businessman.

The Division’s Presiding Judge Geraldine Faith Econg also set the pre-trial of Punsalan on the same date, a copy of her Sept. 9 order showed.

The arraignment and pre-trial followed after the mayor surrendered and posted cash bonds of P90,000 for a case of violations of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and for Article 293 of the Revised Penal Code (robbery by means of extortion), the order showed.

The San Simon-based Real Steel Corporation filed the complaint that accused the mayor of demanding P80 million in exchange for not overturning Municipal Ordinance No. 24-0025 that granted tax incentives to the company.

The demand was allegedly accompanied by threats that Real Steel’s incentives would be revoked if payment was not made.

The National Bureau of Investigation entrapped Punsalan last Aug. 5 at a restaurant in Clark Freeport just as he was taking a bag containing cash amounting to more or less P30 million.

Real Steel’s lawyer Philip Advent said conviction under these charges ‘carries penalties of imprisonment, dismissal from service, and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.’

Punsalan returned to work last September 3 after the Regional Trial Court Branch 206 in Muntinlupa granted his petition for habeas corpus on the ground of ‘unlawful detention’ in the NBI custodial center at the New Bilibid Prison.

Also released were Ed Ryan Dimla, as well as his security personnel, Domingo Ramones, and Rodolfo Dagdag Jr., Philip Ronnie Jimenez Sr., Rufino Cruz, and Erwin Calma.

Also pending in the Office of the Ombudsman is Real Steel’s urgent motion to suspend Punsalan in an administrative case for grave misconduct and serious dishonesty.

Real Steel also filed an administrative case against the mayor before the provincial board of Pampanga./coa

American actor Josh Hartnett was briefly hospitalized after he and his driver were involved in a two-vehicle collision in St. John’s in Canada.

According to multiple foreign outlets, Hartnett, who was in St. John’s for the filming of an untitled Netflix series, was on his way home from the set when the accident happened last Sept. 25. The sports utility vehicle Hartnett was in reportedly collided with a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) patrol car.

The actor and his driver, as well as the officer riding the patrol car, were then taken to the hospital after sustaining minor injuries.

‘RNC collision analysts are seeking any witnesses or video footage (CCTV, dash-camera, cell phone) from the area in the lead up to, or immediately following the collision,’ the RNC said.

Hartnett’s rep Susan Patricola told Deadline that the actor has been discharged and has already returned to work. She added that the incident did not affect the show production.

Hartnett is best known for starring in the films ‘The Virgin Suicides’ (1999), ‘Black Hawk Down’ (2001), ‘Sin City’ (2005) and ’30 Days of Night’ (2007). His recent movie stints include ‘Oppenheimer’ (2023), ‘Trap’ (2024) and ‘Fight or Flight.’ /ra

Two four-ball (best ball) matches from each division make up Day 1 of the ICTSI Elite Junior Finals, and fielding and team chemistry will be keys as the North battles South in a Ryder Cup-type of event that puts a fitting end to the JPGT season at windswept The Country Club in Laguna.

Stalwarts from the boys’ 7-10 division tee off from No. 1, while the girls’ open play at the 10th of the ultra-exclusive layout that remains to be one of the toughest tests of golf in the country.

There are only four members per team from each age-bracket, but captains will have to find the right blend of who to pair with whom as the first to 24.5 points wins the tournament.

After the first four groups, the boys’ and girls’ 11-14 and then the centerpiece 15-18 divisions tee off. Day 2 will be an alternate shot before the highly anticipated singles are held on Friday.

This event is a far departure from the usual junior championships that have been held, as only 48 of the best and brightest of the season will be teeing it up.

Bannering Team North are boys’ 15-18 standouts Patrick Tambalque and Zachary Villaroman; boys’ 11-14 contenders Zianbeau Edoc and Ryuji Suzuki; and 7-10 aces Zoji Edoc and Zach Guico. The South squad will lean on the likes of Alexis Nailga and Luciano Copok (15-18); Ralph Batican and Ken Guillermo (11-14); and Ethan Lago and Kvan Alburo (7-10).

There will be 48 total points up for grabs, and in the event of a 24-24 tie at the end of the Friday session, the champion will be determined by a blind draw from which age-group a sudden-death playoff will come from, with the squads then naming one player each.

The Finals serves as a formidable training ground for future stars of Philippine golf. Created by ICTSI in 2023, the JPGT is designed to build the complete golfer through a mix of stroke play, match play, and skills-based events.

There is also the newly launched ICTSI Intercollegiate Tour that aims to further strengthen the development pathway of the student-athlete by giving them a structured bridge to the professional game.

With two high-stakes matches scheduled in each of the three age categories (7-10, 11-14 and 15-18), the stage is set for an intense, drama-filled opener that could dictate the tone for the rest of this unprecedented Ryder Cup-style showdown.