Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Happiest Pinoy, Cebuana Lhuillier’s flagship advocacy celebrating Filipino resilience, optimism, and joy, has been named a Bronze Stevie® Winner for Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility at the 23rd Annual International Business Awards®. Known as the ‘International Stevies,’ the awards are among the world’s major business honors, drawing more than 3,400 nominations from organizations across 82 nations and territories. More than 210 professionals evaluated winners across 11 specialized judging panels.

For Jean Henri Lhuillier, President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier, the recognition underscores the role of optimism in creating meaningful social impact. ‘Happiest Pinoy was built on a simple belief: that optimism is not just a mindset, but a powerful force that can shape communities and inspire action. By celebrating the everyday ways Filipinos choose hope and happiness, we hope to spark a ripple effect, one that encourages more people to lift each other up and see the possibilities ahead.’

The 2025 search drew more than 500,000 entries nationwide, expanding its categories to celebrate the many faces of Filipino joy-from upbeat Gen Zs and inspiring seniors to persons with disabilities, OFWs, entrepreneurs, artists, Indigenous communities, LGBTQIA+ advocates, and everyday Ka-Cebuanas whose stories show that happiness can be found in every generation, community, and walk of life.

Happiest Pinoy also moved beyond a traditional competition through a nationwide roadshow that brought the advocacy directly to communities. Cebuana Lhuillier engaged student leaders, school heads, local tourism champions, media partners, local government representatives, and marginalized sectors, widening participation and creating opportunities for more Filipinos to share their stories. Entries were accepted online, through video, and at Cebuana Lhuillier branches, making the search accessible to Filipinos across the country.

A distinguished panel of judges from government, business, sports, media, and social development brought together diverse experiences and perspectives on overcoming challenges and making a difference in others’ lives. Together, they assessed the finalists not only for their resilience and optimism, but also for the impact, authenticity, and purpose behind their stories.

Zacarias Mansing Jr., a literacy and disability inclusion advocate, emerged as the overall winner from among 10 national category winners, taking home the ?500,000 grand prize. After an accident left him paralyzed, Mansing transformed his experience into a mission to advance literacy and disability inclusion, reaching more than 50,000 students across 300 remote public schools in Negros Oriental through his Books for Kids Project.

The advocacy has recently expanded into the digital space through #SimpleJoysPH, turning the celebration of happiness into an ongoing movement that can be experienced and shared year-round. Across online platforms, people celebrate the moments that make life meaningful like family milestones and personal wins to simple acts of kindness. Building on the spirit of Happiest Pinoy, #SimpleJoysPH takes the celebration beyond the annual competition, creating more ways to express and inspire everyday joy through meaningful stories, a songwriting contest, and a dance challenge.

The Bronze Stevie® recognizes Happiest Pinoy’s evolution from an annual search into a broader advocacy, one that continues to reach more Filipinos, amplify stories of strength and purpose, and celebrate the everyday optimism that makes the Filipino spirit shine.

A magnitude 6 earthquake rocked Davao Occidental at 9:22 Tuesday evening, the state volcanology office said.

The tremor was tectonic in origin and was traced 115 kilometers south of Balut Island in Sarangani, Davao Occidental, according to Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

It has a depth of 93 kilometers.

Intensity III was felt in Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, Malita, Davao Occidental; Kiamba, Sarangani: and Tupi, South Cotabato

Intensity II was recorded in Digos City, Maasim, Malapatan and Maitum in Sarangani province; Gen. Santos City and Tboli,South Cotabato.

Intensity I in Sarangani, Davao Occidental and Koronadal City.

No reported damage to properties as of posting.

The national government’s cash utilization improved at the start of the second half of the year as the Marcos administration sought to ramp up spending to support economic growth, latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.

According to the DBM’s latest Notices of Cash Allocation (NCA) report, the government’s utilization rate improved to 94.6 percent as of end-July, equivalent to P2.955 trillion used out of the P3.125 trillion released. The rate was better than the 94 percent recorded in the same period last year.

The amount of NCAs released in the first seven months was also nearly 5 percent higher than the P2.986 trillion recorded a year earlier.

NCAs refer to the authority issued by the DBM that allows agencies to withdraw funds from the Treasury to cover the cash requirements of their operations, programs and projects.

Line departments, which received the bulk of the releases, recorded a utilization rate of 92.2 percent, slightly higher than the 92 percent posted a year earlier. They used P1.988 trillion out of the P2.156 trillion released.

The Department of Education received the largest allocation among departments at P513.943 billion, of which P478.656 billion, or 93.1 percent, had been utilized.

The Department of Public Works and Highways followed with P320.131 billion in releases. It used P275.932 billion, translating to an 86.2-percent utilization rate and leaving P44.199 billion unused-the largest among departments.

Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense used 98.4 percent of its P238.590-billion allocation, with P234.878 billion disbursed.

Among agencies with lower utilization rates, the Office of the President posted a 69.4-percent rate (P7.41 billion of P10.68 billion), followed by the Presidential Communications Office at 72 percent (P1.5 billion of P2.1 billion), and the Civil Service Commission at 73.3 percent (P1.38 billion of P1.88 billion).

Outside the line departments, subsidies to state-run firms and allocations to local government units were almost fully utilized, with their combined utilization rate reaching 99.8 percent, better than the 99 percent recorded a year earlier.

Subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations reached a utilization rate of 98.9 percent (P132.12 billion of P133.64 billion), while allocations to LGUs were fully utilized at 100 percent (P835.14 billion of P835.47 billion).

Globe Business is addressing this challenge through AI WAN, an intelligent network management solution designed to help anticipate, identify and respond to potential network issues with less manual intervention. Once progressively deployed across Globe’s network infrastructure, AI WAN will continuously analyze network conditions and traffic behavior, allowing potential performance issues to be detected and addressed before they escalate into larger disruptions.

‘The G Summit is designed around the theme of Orchestrating Intelligence, demonstrating how next-generation technologies function together to drive the autonomous enterprise,’ said Glenn Estrella, Vice President at Globe Business, speaking on the sidelines of G Summit 2026. ‘AI WAN serves as a critical network-layer component of our transformation roadmap. By integrating proactive intelligence directly into our infrastructure, we are providing businesses with a stable, self-healing foundation.’

This capability was previewed inside the experience rooms at G Summit 2026, where business leaders witnessed the practical application of self-healing networks. During a live demonstration, a physical hardware port was deliberately disconnected to simulate a network disruption. AI WAN automatically recognized the anomaly, analyzed the event, and rerouted traffic immediately, maintaining complete connectivity with zero operational downtime. Because Globe owns and manages the underlying network backbone, the company is uniquely positioned to execute these complex troubleshooting and restoration workflows on the backend, ensuring a seamless user experience.

AI WAN is designed to predict, explain, visualize and help resolve network issues. It continuously monitors network health and learns an organization’s traffic patterns over time, allowing it to detect unusual behavior and potential performance issues before they develop into larger disruptions. This also helps identify the likely source of an issue faster, reducing the manual work required from IT teams.

The system responds based on the level of risk involved. Low-risk network anomalies can be addressed automatically, standard configuration changes can be prepared for implementation, while higher-risk modifications remain subject to human review. Globe Business keeps enterprise IT teams informed when their input or authorization is needed, maintaining human oversight over critical decisions.

AI WAN can also analyze capacity trends to anticipate future network demand and potential bandwidth constraints. This gives businesses better visibility into when and where additional capacity or infrastructure may be needed, helping them plan investments more efficiently.

‘Businesses should be able to depend on their network without having to constantly think about what is happening behind it,’ Estrella said. ‘When the network can anticipate issues and respond more effectively, IT teams can spend less time troubleshooting and more time supporting the growth of the business.’

AI WAN is slated for progressive deployment across Globe’s network as part of Globe Business’ broader effort to make enterprise connectivity more proactive, resilient and easier to manage.

To learn more about how Globe Business can support your organization’s intelligent transformation journey, visit www.globe.com.ph/business.

Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima has called for the suspension of ‘earth-balling’ or relocation of mangroves until the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) crafts a more comprehensive study on the matter.

At a recent House hearing on the DENR’s proposed 2027 budget, De Lima inquired about the status of the department’s Oct. 8, 2025 memorandum providing guidelines for processing requests to earth-ball mangroves pending the completion of a study.

She wondered why the memorandum was issued despite the lack of scientific studies or even consultations.

De Lima also observed that an ‘interim operational guidance’ has apparently turned into a ‘de facto policy’ allowing the earth-balling of mangroves for flagship infrastructure projects.

‘We understand that there is a technical working group (TWG) that was recently created regarding the earth-balling of mangroves. I am wondering why that memorandum was issued at all, even before consultations, or even before the creation of TWG, or a scientific study. What exactly is the survival rate?’ she said.

‘All of these things should have been confirmed or verified first before allowing the issuance of this memorandum,’ she further pointed out.

Commitment to evaluate

In response, Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the department deemed it appropriate at the time to issue the memorandum in pursuit of sustainable development.

He also claimed the DENR was in consultation with the Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau, Biodiversity Management Bureau and Forest Management Bureau, the agencies tasked to study the survival rate of mangroves.

‘We’re encouraged by the initial results that have been sent to us already, but for us to be able to really extensively complete the study, we are targeting December of this year,’ he said.

Hearing this, De Lima advised the DENR to be more direct about the study’s findings, especially if the mangroves’ survival rate is extremely low.

She urged the department to ‘first suspend the implementation, if not do away with the memorandum altogether.’

Cuna committed to evaluate the matter.

House measures

De Lima earlier filed House Resolution No. 1206 seeking to conduct an inquiry into the memorandum as this directly conflicts with the country’s commitments and undermines its standing as a steward of global mangrove conservation.

She also filed House Bill No. 8353 seeking to require the establishment of coastal greenbelt zones to prevent coastal erosion. These zones consist of mangroves and beach forests at least 100 meters wide.

The measure also specifically defines the country’s policy goals and objectives for the management of mangrove resources.

‘The lack of a national policy on mangroves poses a great challenge and has caused existing mangrove protection and rehabilitation efforts to remain ineffective and unsuccessful,’ De Lima said in filing the bill.

‘We must urgently implement a comprehensive mechanism to shield coastal communities, protect habitats, and set the stage for rebuilding our fisheries and achieving food security,’ she added.

De Lima had also sought to establish the ‘legal validity’ of the guidelines, citing laws mandating the protection of mangroves such as Republic Act No. 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, as amended by RA 10654, and RA 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act.

Heavy traffic was still reported in the northbound and southbound lanes of the Tulaoc (San Simon) and San Simon Interchange in Pampanga along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) on Tuesday morning due to rising water levels in the Pampanga River, according to the NLEx Corporation.

The update was based on the latest traffic advisory issued at 6:15 a.m.

Despite the heavy traffic, the NLEx Corporation said all types of vehicles could pass through Lane 1, while Class 2 and 3 vehicles could pass through Lane 2 of Tulaoc (San Simon).

Lane 1 of San Simon Interchange is passable by Class 2 and 3 vehicles, except forClass 1 vehicles.

Meanwhile, the corporation said that the Libtong, Sta. Rita Northbound Entry, and Pulilan Northbound Entry are temporarily closed to all vehicles while approximately two-kilometer traffic buildup is observed at the Sta. Rita Northbound Exit.

Light volume of traffic is seen over the southbound portions of Balintawak, Valenzuela, and Meycauayan.

In a separate advisory, the corporation advised that Class 1 motorists coming from Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway or Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway and traveling to Manila are advised to take Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEx) towards Maharlika Highway as an alternative route.

It also said that Class 1, 2, and 3 vehicles traveling northbound are being diverted to the Balagtas Exit and advised to proceed to Maharlika Road towards CLLEx as an alternative route due to the rising water levels of Pampanga River, which is affecting the San Simon area of NLEx.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio on Tuesday questioned why nearly half of the Office of the President’s (OP) proposed budget next year falls under secret funds, a query left unanswered after lawmakers opted to forego questioning.

The House Appropriations Committee voted 37-5 to swiftly end debate on the OP’s P10.1 billion proposed budget, cutting short discussions after the panel deferred questioning over its spending plan due to parliamentary courtesy.

But Tinio pressed his point, urging transparency be applied across all agencies.

‘Why is it that almost half of the budget of the Office of the President is confidential and intelligence funds?’ he told lawmakers in Filipino, as around P4.56 billion was earmarked for spending beyond traditional scrutiny.

Confidential and intelligence funds are to be spent on surveillance and intelligence information gathering activities, according to a 2015 joint circular between the Commission on Audit (COA) and several agencies.

Tinio said the OP should explain its allotments meant for secret expenses, amid claims that Vice President Sara Duterte misused secret funds that had formed a key plank of impeachment efforts against her.

‘If P612.5 million in confidential funds is under scrutiny… why is the Office of the President not explaining why its confidential and intelligence funds are that big?’, he said.

‘We need a fair application of the principle of transparency,’ he added.

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has the right to hold secret funds as the nation’s chief executive.

He also noted that COA had rendered an unmodified opinion on OP’s finances, which he described as ‘the highest opinion ever for all government agencies.’

‘The president is the chief executive officer. The president is the head of state, so his first job is to ensure law and order and that is where confidential funds are being used,’ he told reporters in mixed English and Filipino. ‘To the intelligence fund, he is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and that is important for national security,’ he added.

he Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Tuesday appealed for budget increases in some of their projects to respond to the possible impacts of El Niño in the country.

During the House committee on appropriations’ briefing on the budget proposal of the two agencies, committee chairperson Rep. Mikaela Suansing asked both agencies if they allotted contingency funds under the 2027 National Expenditure Program for possible effects of El Niño on farmers and fisherfolk.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that his agency needs budget increases for the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAF), noting that the distribution rate of PAF for this year stood at 57.67 percent and may be exhausted by next month due to the effects of southwest monsoon to the livelihoods of farmers and fisherfolk.

He added that the agency needs another P8.7 billion for the fertilizer assistance funds for farmers and additional P10 billion to P12 billion for fisherfolk under the programs of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Meanwhile, NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen asked the House lawmakers for an increase in the agency’s quick response fund (QRF). He shared that the NIA only has P300 million allotted for its QRF this year, which he said will not be enough.

Suansing then asked them to categorize the items allotted for El Niño response, noting that this is for them to give special consideration to their requests.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration earlier said that a moderate to strong El Niño is present in the Tropical Pacific. Citing climate models, it added that El Niño will persist until the first half of 2027 and may reach a very strong state until the end of 2026

The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) is seeking to ease requirements for listing sponsors as part of efforts to encourage more small, medium and emerging (SME) companies to tap the stock market.

In a consultation paper, the bourse outlined seven proposed changes covering sponsor accreditation, continuing sponsorship, ownership limits and fees.

Comments will be accepted until Sept. 7.

Among the key changes is the removal of the three-year firm-level track record requirement for certain sponsor applicants.

Under the proposal, an applicant may qualify either by having at least five years of experience in a leading role in initial public offerings or significant corporate finance transactions or by having at least two key officers with such experience.

The PSE said the change would open the program to firms that may lack the required corporate track record but employ sufficiently experienced personnel.

‘The main objective for the removal of the professional indemnity insurance requirement is to reduce the upfront costs for potential sponsors,’ the PSE said.

Big fee reduction

Sponsors, however, remain responsible with the listing applicant for false, inaccurate or misleading information submitted to the exchange.

The PSE also proposed cutting the initial admission fee to P50,000 from the current P3.5 million. In exchange, sponsors will pay a fixed P250,000 endorsement fee for every applicant they endorse for listing.

The local bourse also wants to remove the existing safe harbor exception to increase sponsor accountability, strengthen market integrity and protect investors.

Perpetual accreditation

Another proposal is to make sponsor accreditation perpetual, subject to annual review and continuing compliance with qualification and reportorial requirements. Accreditation currently lasts three years.

The PSE noted that sponsor accreditation in Bursa Malaysia, Singapore Exchange, London Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges and Japan Exchange Group is perpetual in nature and just subject to annual review and fees.

Meanwhile, the PSE wants to remove the requirement for sponsors to provide continuing sponsorship services for three years after a company’s listing, an obligation that potential sponsors described as ‘too onerous.’

The exchange is likewise proposing to remove the current 5-percent limit on a sponsor’s ownership in the sponsored company after listing.

The 20-percent threshold at the time of filing the listing application will remain.

Failure to sponsor or endorse at least one company within five years of initial accreditation could also become a ground for regulatory action, subject to an exception when the sponsor can show it had evaluated prospective applicants but found them unsuitable after due diligence.

Gilas Pilipinas shifts from the euphoria of completing a home sweep in the fourth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers to making sure it can defend its gold medal in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Coach Tim Cone is making a quick turnaround as he is now set to handle a completely different lineup-and even a completely different system-for the continental showcase set Sept. 10 to 20.

‘From what I’ve seen from that team, they’re a lot of fun to watch,’ Cone said. ‘I think the fans and the countrymen are gonna have a lot of fun watching that team.’

An all-PBA squad will comprise the team for the Asiad, with a spot reserved for Justin Brownlee should he decide to return after skipping the window.

NLEx’s Robert Bolick and Rain or Shine’s Adrian Nocum are among the notable candidates to make the Asiad roster, with their games seemingly fitting the team’s playing style.

On the other hand, three players from the window pool will move into the Asiad buildup: Converge twin towers Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana and Barangay Ginebra’s RJ Abarrientos.

Abarrientos didn’t make the cut for the window, Baltazar saw limited action against Jordan, while Arana was placed in the final 12 against Iran after Carl Tamayo went down with a sprained ankle.

Cone said Arana had already trained with the Asian Games squad, while Baltazar and Abarrientos will have to get up to speed when they join Tuesday’s practice.

Assistants Richard del Rosario, Josh Reyes and Jong Uichico were tasked to oversee the Asiad preparations while Cone was busy with the Qualifiers, and Cone has allowed that squad to go in a different direction.

‘It’s a different system, they’re not playing my system,’ Cone said. ‘They’re playing a different system, and more of an up-tempo, push the ball because they’re a little bit smaller. Obviously they’re smaller because they don’t have Kai [Sotto] and AJ [Edu] and June Mar [Fajardo] playing.

‘So they’re smaller, so they’re gonna use their speed and quickness to get up and down the floor. So it’ll be really interesting to watch and see how they play against Jordan or Iran, and kinda compare them to the window team.’