Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The incident off Palawan on Sept. 18, 2026 is not new to us. The Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel struck Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Datu Magat Salamat while the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) was conducting a fuel-subsidy mission for Filipino fishermen approximately 54 nautical miles from Palawan.

The collision reportedly damaged starboard railings, supports, and deck fixtures of BRP Datu Magat Salamat.

China has for some time been ramming, sideswiping, causing collisions, and doing dangerous maneuvering against Philippine vessels inside our own exclusive economic zone and in the main traditional fishing grounds of our fishermen.

In June 2019, a Chinese fishing vessel struck and sank a Philippine fishing boat, then abandoned its 22 crewmembers at sea. In April 2024, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) reported the BFAR vessel BRP Bankaw was rammed three times by the CCG and Chinese maritime-militia vessels during a humanitarian mission. In December 2024, CCG vessel 3302 intentionally sideswiped a BFAR vessel after water-cannon attacks, and in October 2025, the Philippine Coast Guard reported CCG 21559 water-cannoned and rammed the BFAR vessel’s stern, causing minor damage. These are some of the illegal, coercive and aggressive activities of China in the WPS.

The incident is reprehensible, and what is more infuriating is that some people who are blaming and questioning the humanitarian mission of our own vessel are Filipinos. Are they really our own people or would they prefer to have the citizenship of a foreign country?

BFAR is the agency in charge of ensuring the safety of and supporting our fishermen and nobody should question it when it wants to sail in our own exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The question is not about BFAR’s vessel but about what the CCG vessel is doing in our EEZ.

It is disheartening that in the face of China’s hostile activities in our backyard, we still allow some people to make up stories that show our adversary in a good light instead of showing who is really provoking trouble in illegal and unjust ways.

These are challenging times when we should unite as Filipinos in defending our seas, our rights and our future just as our ancestors fought for our nation and freedom through many incursions and occupations of the past. Shame on this generation that seems unwilling and unable to protect what is ours. We should use our voice to tell the truth of these happenings: let us not give our adversaries, foreign or domestic, any chance to divide real patriotic Filipinos.

The widow of slain Kidapawan radio journalist Eduardo ‘Ed’ Dizon lauded a Quezon City court for the guilty verdict rendered on Tuesday against two men accused of murdering him in 2019.

‘Justice is served. I thank all friends of Ed Dizon, thank you for your prayers, and to DXND people,’ Madonna Dizon, wife of the murdered journalist, said.

Dizon had worked for the Church-run DXND Radio Bida in Kidapawan City.

On Tuesday, October 6, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 228 found the accused mastermind Dante Encarnacion Tabusares and gunman Junell Jane Andagkit Poten guilty of murder.

Both were sentenced to reclusion perpetua, or imprisonment of up to 40 years.

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFOMS) also welcomed the court decision.

Two consumer groups are urging customs brokers to reconsider the ongoing ‘port holiday’ at Manila’s ports, which they warn could further disrupt the flow of essential goods and add to costs ultimately shouldered by consumers.

In separate statements, CitizenWatch and Konsyumer At Mamamayan (KM) said Filipino consumers would ultimately bear the brunt of the protest, which is scheduled to run for a week starting Oct. 5.

The Practicing Customs Brokers and Port Truckers Alliance of the Philippines Inc. (PCBAPI) had called for the voluntary ‘rest day’ protest over what it said was foreign shipping lines’ failure to address a mounting backlog of empty containers.

While acknowledging the port stakeholders’ concerns, the consumer groups warned that stopping work would only further strain the movement of essential goods.

‘A ‘port holiday’ could create another burden for ordinary Filipinos who are already having a hard time. It will only disrupt the movement of food, medicine, fuel, and other essential goods,’ CitizenWatch co-convenor Christopher Belmonte said.

‘What is needed is action-not a stoppage of the flow of goods,’ he added.

PCBAPI chair Reynaldo Soliman earlier told the Inquirer that foreign shipping lines can take two weeks to a month to accept empty containers for return after imported goods have been unloaded.

The resulting pileup has worsened congestion at Manila’s ports, according to Soliman, who claimed that only around 10 percent of cargo movements were proceeding on schedule while the rest faced backlogs.

Soliman said the congestion was already contributing to higher costs that are eventually passed on to consumers.

Instead of halting work, KM convenor Louie Montemar called for urgent talks among the government, shipping lines, port operators, container depots and truckers.

‘Port operations should continue while the government, shipping lines, port operators, container depots and truckers hold urgent talks. These should lead to concrete reforms, clear accountability and firm deadlines,’ Montemar said.

Soliman estimated that about 3,000 customs brokers would participate in the voluntary protest.

But port stakeholders were divided over the planned stoppage. The Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organizations (ACTOO), which represents roughly 60 percent of port-based truckers, has said it would not participate.

A human rights advocate slammed the defense panel in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Tuesday, branding its warnings of criminal liability an ‘absurd, desperate move’ and an outright ‘assault on press freedom.’

Carlos Conde, former senior researcher at Human Rights Watch – Asia Division and former secretary general of the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP), pointed out that while it might be too early to detect a widespread chilling effect, he would not be surprised if the defense’s persistence has already made some members of the press cautious.

He expressed surprise that Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero allowed such warnings to be aired in the first place, pointing out that the tribunal had already ruled the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) documents were permissible in the hearing.

‘These documents are being trotted out openly in an impeachment court,’ Conde told the Inquirer. ‘I don’t think journalists should find it hard to justify reporting on these documents,’ he added.

The controversy erupted during a tense confrontation inside the impeachment court on Monday, where defense attorney Mark Vinluan aggressively grilled a witness over the penal provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), demanding answers regarding a potential ‘breach of information security and confidentiality.’

Pressing the legal risks on the witness stand, the defense highlighted that violations carry penalties of three to eight years’ imprisonment, along with perpetual disqualification from public office.

The confrontational tactic drew swift censure from Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo, who intervened to call out the defense teams’ ‘intimidation’ and ‘veiled threats.’

Rather than backing down, Conde urged newsrooms to use such an incident as an opportunity to ‘push the envelope’ and report on the documents fairly, while remaining mindful of the accused’s right to due process.

‘What the defense is doing is…a really desperate move to try to prevent the public in general from exposing these alleged transactions,’ Conde said.

‘It is up to the media now to really reject that by being persistent in reporting what the documents say,’ he added.

During the trial, the witness repeatedly said he could not respond to questions about AMLC records outside the court’s subpoena.

-Thus said Mohagher M. Iqbal, in his reaction to several social media posts about a political coalition among four political parties in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Iqbal used to be the Minister of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education during the transition period. To recall, he was ousted rather unceremoniously from this post after a new interim chief minister was installed and appointed by President Marcos.

An ideologue and key member of the Central Committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Iqbal also heads the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, which was organized after the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). The CAB is the main reason for the establishment of the BARMM, the new autonomous region that replaced the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. For almost two decades, Iqbal headed the MILF peace negotiating panel in the painstaking but landmark peace process between the MILF and the Philippine government. The CAB was signed in 2014, but the BARMM was only made fully operational starting early 2020, after a plebiscite ratified the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that became the legal framework for the region’s creation.

The said posts, allegedly from supporters of one political party, claimed that a huge coalition of three political parties and two members of the Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (NMIP) has been forged and that the members of the said coalition ‘… have already taken their oath, administered no less by the Supreme Court.’ In these posts, pictures of the leaders of the political parties are shown to have ‘forged the coalition,’ with pictures of leaders of the four political parties in one frame, as if the said coalition was already a done deal. It was made to appear that the different political parties that got Parliament seats in the Sept. 14 elections had decided together to be a ‘super’ majority in the forthcoming regular Parliament. The three political parties include the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) and the Serbisyong Inklusibo-Alyansang Progresibo, a political party associated with traditional politicians in Lanao del Sur.

In a statement released by the editorial desk of the Luwaran, the official information outlet of the MILF, Iqbal denied that the UBJP had already agreed to coalesce with three other political parties to form a ‘super’ majority party in the new Bangsamoro Parliament of 80 members.

In his characteristic sharp and terse remark, Iqbal reacted to the posts by summing up his denial saying, ‘nothing is over until it’s over…’ He reiterated his denial on his social media page.

The asymmetrically designed BARMM Parliament has 80 seats to be filled, but two of these have already been assigned prior to the first parliamentary elections. These are the seats reserved for NMIP in the BARMM from the Téduray and the Téduray-Lambangian groups, namely Jo Genna Jover and Leticio Datuwata.

After the controversial social media post was made public, the two issued a statement denying that they have joined any coalition, maintaining their independence, and that no political party ‘owns’ them. They strongly asserted that their mandate comes from their Indigenous Political Structure that nominated them for the two reserved seats, and not any political party.

Both BFP and UBJP figured in several preelection and election-related controversies, ranging from pre and postelection violent incidents that killed at least five and injured 43 people, mostly supporters of the UBJP, to ballot shading in the polls of different localities.

As the regional version of Mr. Marcos’ Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the BFP ran a well-oiled and aggressive political campaign, and convinced some UBJP stalwarts to join it, including the new interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua. Macacua used to be the commander of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed wing of the MILF, and was appointed governor of Maguindanao del Norte before he was appointed by Mr. Marcos as the new interim chief minister in March 2025.

All these have led to strained relationships between Macacua and the MILF, particularly with both the former interim Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim, aka Al Haj Murad and Iqbal.

Consequently, the peace process mechanisms that were integral in the signing of the CAB and even in the provisions of the BOL came to a halt, abetted by the moves of some regional interlocutors who connived with key national officials close to Mr. Marcos to sow divisions among the MILF and eventually within the UBJP.

Heard of gray predators? These are elderly people who are victims of crime, from petty theft to murder. They are targeted because age slows down their responses to sudden moves against them, usually theft.

The digital age has increased digital assaults on a massive scale, most alarmingly through the stealing of digital information. In many cases, lolo or lola willingly surrenders digital information (passwords) to relatives and people they think they can trust, which may as well be tantamount to opening one’s safe to allow their trusted ones total access to wealth: cash, credit cards, land titles, and more. Ironically, as we develop more sophisticated digital safeguards, we find that they have become easier to breach safety protocols, particularly the signatures.

In fact, the elderly are victimized more and more through simpler methods: sweet talk. All you need is a clever young relative looking over your shoulder as you are inputting a password on a form or device to allow modern-day versions of Alibaba’s thieves, and all it takes is one thief. Other elderly people just hand over their ATM cards and/or Government Service Insurance System and Social Security System cards, after a relative ‘kindly’ offers to handle the cumbersome withdrawals.

I wanted to concentrate today on gray predators of a different kind. Here, the predator(s) are themselves senior citizens.

The scariest ones are those who are actually authorized to handle digital information. They can be people working in your bank, government office, or collecting office. We’ve seen so much of this done through public works, but it seems it doesn’t even have to be done through official channels.

I still remember a rich barangay in Makati that overpriced its purchases of street lights. It was a major scandal that led to the officials’ ouster.

A recent ongoing case was uncovered when a security guard agency threatened to cut off their services to a barangay, saying they had not been paid by the neighborhood association. It turned out the collections had been made by residents, but one unscrupulous official in the association was pocketing the collections. I haven’t figured out how this was done but it seems there just wasn’t enough oversight going on-officials were all too busy and left the collections to the treasurer. In another case, at a major university office, collections were dutifully made, but receipts were questionable.

In the end, though, it seems old-fashioned sweet talk is probably still the most popular criminal modus when victimizing gray prey. Remember the predators approaching the elderly with some information they have about an elderly resident and claiming to know a relative, information obtained from talking with drivers and other household employees.

The thief says she’s short on money, or needs to help a sick relative. The amounts may be small but accumulate and can run into several thousands. In the stories told to me, it seems it’s in richer barangays where amounts are much higher, with the thief claiming the employer is unable to make the appeal personally because they were in an accident.

One amazing case had someone claiming she was trying to help an old man who needed money for a ‘palit-ulo’ case-the old man’s son had been arrested for drug trafficking, which carried very serious penalties. But the ‘kind’ people working in the penitentiary offered to get his son out if the price was right, in a ‘palit-ulo’ scheme, which literally means ‘swapping heads.’ There are poor enough petty criminals willing to serve out a prison sentence, or at least a part of it, if someone needs to have a convicted relative out of jail-exchange heads, as the expression goes. This includes elderly women needing money and figuring they can sacrifice their old age for the family.

Why the elderly? Although many of the elderly are often cash-strapped too, it’s the elderly who may have larger amounts of cash on hand, the proverbial ‘under the mattress’ emergency not-so-petty fund.

The compassion factor is easier to mobilize with the elderly. More people have become almost like family. After I finished my term as chancellor at the University of the Philippines, I was approached by the daughter of a barangay official. She appealed to my friendship with the barangay official, now retired. I never got paid back and I didn’t want to press the case since I knew the barangay official had financial problems too.

Just remember it’s almost impossible to retrieve financial loans. You could try a promissory note and keep your fingers crossed but a promissory note is only as good as an IOU note scribbled on pad paper.

My mother would lend money out in exchange for a land title as a guarantee. She always said she knew land titles don’t have any legal value but always thought they had some moral hold and that many would pay back the debt. But people seemed more honorable before and many would pay back the debt on time.

Heavy to intense rains may hit parts of Metro Manila and Luzon due to localized thunderstorms on Tuesday afternoon, according to the state weather bureau.

In a thunderstorm advisory issued at 1:55 p.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that heavy to intense rains with lightning and strongwinds may affect the following areas within the next two hours.

Metro Manila (Muntinlupa and Las Pinas)

Batangas (Tuy, Balayan, Calatagan, Tanauan, Malvar, Balete, Mataasnakahoy, Santo Tomas, San Jose, Batangas City, Taysan, Lobo, Ibaan, and Cuenca)

Bulacan (Dona Remedios Trinidad, San Miguel, and Hagonoy)

Cavite (Ternate, Maragondon, Magallanes, General Emilio Aguinaldo, Alfonso, Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta, Cavite City, Dasmarinas, Carmona, and Gen. Mariano Alvarez)

Laguna (Calauan, Bay, Los Banos, Nagcarlan, Rizal, Majayjay, Liliw, San Pedro, and Binan)

Nueva Ecija (General Tinio, Palayan, Bongabon, Rizal, General Mamerto Natividad, Llanera, Talavera, Cabanatuan, Santa Rosa, Penaranda, Gapan, San Leonardo, San Isidro, Jaen, San Antonio, Cabiao, and Zaragoza)

Pampanga (Angeles, Floridablanca, Lubao, Sasmuan, Arayat, Bacolor, San Fernando, Macabebe, Magalang, Masantol, Mexico, Minalin, Santa Ana, Santo Tomas, Mabalacat, Guagua, Porac, and Santa Rita)

Quezon (San Francisco, San Andres, San Narciso, Mulanay, Catanauan, General Luna, Macalelon, Pitogo, Unisan, Gumaca, Lopez, Buenavista, Guinayangan, Tagkawayan, Calauag, Quezon, Alabat, Plaridel, General Nakar, Tayabas, Lucena, and Lucban)

Rizal (Tanay, Cardona, Jala-Jala, and Pililla)

Tarlac (Capas, Bamban, Camiling, San Clemente, Santa Ignacia, Concepcion, Tarlac City, and La Paz)

Bataan

Meanwhile, intense to torrential rains with lightning and strong winds are currently affecting the following areas and may continue persist in the next two hours:

Metro Manila (Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Paranaque, Taguig, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Pateros, Marikina, and Manila)

Batangas (Nasugbu, San Juan, Rosario, Padre Garcia, Lipa, and Lian)

Bulacan (Angat, Balagtas, Baliuag, Bocaue, Bulakan, Bustos, Calumpit, Malolos, Meycauayan, San Jose del Monte, Guiguinto, Marilao, Norzagaray, Obando, Pandi, Paombong, Plaridel, Pulilan, San Ildefonso, San Rafael, and Santa Maria)

Laguna (San Pablo and Alaminos)

Nueva Ecija (Gabaldon and Laur)

Pampanga (Candaba, San Luis, San Simon, and Apalit)

Quezon (Tiaong, Dolores, San Antonio, Candelaria, and Sariaya)

Rizal (Antipolo, Rodriguez, San Mateo, Angono, Baras, Cainta, Morong, Taytay, Teresa, and Binangonan)

Tarlac (Mayantoc and San Jose)

Zambales

‘All are advised to take precautionary measures against the impacts associated with these hazards which include flash floods and landslides,’ Pagasa said.

The weather bureau earlier reported in its 5 a.m. weather advisory that Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon may be affected by localized thunderstorms on Tuesday.

Government employees are expected to receive their salaries, bonuses, and allowances faster after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) removed a separate request requirement for agencies seeking funds to cover personnel-related deficiencies.

In a statement on Monday, the DBM said Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon signed Circular Letter No. 2026-10, dated Sept. 30, allowing the agency to identify and facilitate the release of funds for covered Personnel Services (PS) deficiencies, using personnel and financial data already regularly submitted by government agencies.

‘Now, because of the President’s directive that benefits due to citizens and employees should not be delayed, [these benefits] should not be unnecessarily delayed,’ De Leon said.

The new system eliminates the need for agencies to go through another round of paperwork for covered deficiencies, allowing the DBM to act based on information already available in government records.

‘[Agencies] no longer need to request [the funds]. They only need to update what we call the master list of their plantilla positions,’ De Leon said.

‘Once we see that there is a deficiency, even without a request, we will download to them the funds needed to cover the deficiency,’ he added.

Step increment

For instance, the almost a million public school teachers often wait several months-from a short two months, to even six months or longer-to receive their updated salary adjustments due to a step increment on their salary grade every three years of their continuous service.

Under the circular, agencies are required to review their Personnel Services Itemization and Plantilla of Personnel and update their Plantilla of Personnel every last week of the month.

The updated records, together with required Financial Accountability Reports, will serve as the basis for the DBM’s assessment to determine their actual funding PS requirements and facilitate the corresponding fund releases.

The streamlined process covers deficiencies involving salaries, step increments, Personnel Economic Relief Allowance, uniform/clothing allowance, midyear bonus, year-end bonus and cash gift, medical allowance, Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI), representation and transportation allowances.

The reform also includes government counterpart contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Pag-Ibig Fund, Employees Compensation Insurance Premium, and Retirement and Life Insurance Premium.

Improved processing

The improved processing under the new circular will be tested as several mandated bonuses, such as cash gift, year-end bonus, and PEI, are due to be given to government workers in November and December.

According to the DBM, the measure is intended to reduce paperwork for agencies while allowing it to respond more quickly to funding requirements for government personnel.

The circular, however, does not cover all personnel-related funding deficiencies.

Requirements arising from hiring, promotion, reclassification, and other human resource actions undertaken after Sept. 30, 2026, when the circular takes effect, will still require a separate budget request for DBM review and evaluation.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will embark on a working visit to Singapore from Oct. 7 to 11 to expand economic engagement, deepen bilateral ties, and advance cooperation in sectors that can contribute to the country’s development.

Marcos has also been personally invited by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Analyn Ratonel said in a statement on Tuesday.

Wong will host Marcos to dinner during the Singapore Grand Prix, where the two leaders will also have a private engagement on the sidelines of the event.

‘The Singapore Grand Prix brings together government leaders, business executives, and investors from around the world. It would provide an opportunity for informal engagements to complement his meetings focused on attracting investment and strengthening the Philippines’ partnerships,’ Ratonel said.

There are no formal bilateral meetings scheduled between Marcos and other Singaporean leaders.

Ratonel, however, said the President may have opportunities to engage with leaders and senior officials, not only from Singapore but also from other countries, as well as business executives, during the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Singapore Grand Prix will be held from Oct. 9 to 11 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

In 2022, Marcos drew criticism after attending the event barely a week after a super typhoon wreaked havoc on parts of the Philippines.

The trip was also not publicly announced beforehand.

Asean chairship, PH gains

Marcos’ trip comes as the Philippines’ chairship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ends this year, with Singapore set to assume the chairship next year.

‘This working visit builds on the momentum of the President’s working visit to Singapore last July, when the President reaffirmed the strength of our bilateral relations with Singapore and engaged investors in digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, healthcare, and other priority sectors,’ Ratonel said.

‘This time, our economic engagement will have a broader global focus,’ she added.

Nuclear research, safety

One of Marcos’ main agenda is a visit to the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute, which will provide insights into the Southeast Asian nation’s work on nuclear research, safety, regulation, and emerging technologies, she said.

‘Nuclear energy may be a key topic, given the Philippines’ growing power needs and the expansion of energy-intensive industries such as artificial intelligence and data centers,’ said Ratonel.

‘The Philippines may learn from Singapore’s experience in nuclear research, safety, regulation, and capability-building as it considers its own long-term energy options,’ she added.

Forbes Global CEO Conference

Additionally, Marcos will participate in the Forbes Global CEO Conference, where he will sit down for a one-on-one dialogue with Forbes Media Chair and Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes.

He will also advance opportunities that the Philippines offers in digital technology and AI, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, healthcare, and other sectors that will drive the country’s continued transformation.

Nine towns in Pangasinan have revoked executive orders suspending classes on Monday, Oct. 5, which is both World Teachers’ Day and National Teachers’ Day.

The municipal governments of Sison, Lingayen, Labrador, San Fabian, Mangaldan, San Jacinto, Infanta, Pozorrubio and Mangatarem announced the reversals on social media, apologizing to teachers, parents and students and saying classes at all levels would resume.

The decisions came after consultations with the Department of Education (DepEd).

‘While World Teachers’ Day is recognized as a special working holiday under Republic Act No. 10743, its observance does not automatically result in the suspension of classes,’ the Mangaldan government said. ‘The scheduling and operation of classes remain subject to the policies, guidelines, and issuances of the Department of Education.’

Lingayen recalled Executive Order No. 101-2026, which had suspended classes on Monday, saying school activities would proceed ‘in order to align with and respect the authority and existing calendar of (DepEd).’

The municipal government apologized for the confusion caused by the earlier announcement.

Mangatarem also revoked Executive Order No. 210-2026 after reviewing the order and said classes would proceed in all public and private schools.

The town government said the reversal did not diminish its appreciation for teachers and that it remained one with the community in celebrating World Teachers’ Day.

San Fabian withdrew its class suspension ‘following further review of the applicable laws, rules, regulations, and existing policies and guidelines governing the suspension of classes and the operation of public schools.’

San Jacinto also said classes in all public schools would proceed, while the National Teachers’ Day celebration would continue in accordance with DepEd programs and guidelines.

Labrador Mayor Noel Uson, meanwhile, simply apologized for revoking his order, saying: ‘Sorry My Dear Teachers!’