Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The testimonies of the 18 self-proclaimed former Marines detailing a multibillion-peso cash delivery scheme are only a ‘window’ into a much broader network, with 14 additional witnesses prepared to implicate a wider circle of personalities, lawyer Levito Baligod said on Monday.

He also said that what the public has seen so far is merely a starting point and not the full case.

‘What we showed was just a window. We have not even opened the door yet for people to see everything these men remembered and experienced,’ Baligod told reporters at the Department of Justice after attending a preliminary investigation on the cyberlibel case filed by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

‘When I was interviewing them, believe it or not, there was so much information coming in and so many videos that they entrusted to me,’ he added.

Baligod pushed back against efforts to discredit the 18 individuals ahead of a formal institutional investigation.

He also revealed that a second group of 14 witnesses possesses additional information related to the controversy.

‘I have submitted 14 names at the Senate to subpoena in the next hearing,’ Baligod said, clarifying that the list was submitted to the Cayetano bloc’s committee.

‘I submitted 14 names to the Senate for subpoena so they can be scrutinized during the next hearing. They can ask incisive questions to determine what these 14 individuals know,’ he added.

When asked whether the 14 witnesses would merely corroborate previous testimony or provide new information, Baligod said in Filipino: ‘There is a lot of new information and many new personalities.’

Instead of preparing joint affidavits for the new witnesses, Baligod said he is considering presenting them directly to legislative investigators for live questioning.

‘I am thinking of not preparing affidavits for them anymore. I will present them to the Senate and let the senators grill each and every one of the 14. They can ask whatever questions they want to find out what these witnesses know,’ he said in Filipino.

for the Philippines with Indonesian retail giant PT Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk (MAP), paving the way for the reopening of its stores and online channels later this year.

The development came after Tantoco family-led specialty retailer SSI Group announced that it would shut down all M and S stores in the Philippines by May.

Under the new partnership, M and S will offer its fashion, home and beauty, and food products in the country, with its first store set to open at Glorietta before yearend.

The move expands MAP’s longstanding relationship with M and S, having managed the brand’s franchise operations in Indonesia and Vietnam for more than two decades.

M and S said the agreement forms part of its strategy to grow through franchise partnerships in key international markets while working with a smaller group of strategic operators.

The British retailer has been present in the Philippines since 1984 and earlier this year announced plans to transition to a new franchise partner as it pursues growth opportunities in Southeast Asia.

‘We know there is strong demand for the M and S brand in the Philippines, and we’re excited to reopen our stores and online channels later this year,’ said Mark Lemming, managing director of M and S International.

MAP Fashion CEO Sameer Prasad said the Philippines represents an attractive growth market and that Manila would serve as the starting point for the brand’s next phase of expansion in the country.

‘Destructive’ intensity was felt in General Santos City after an offshore Magnitude 7.0 earthquake off Sarangani early Monday morning, according to state seismologists.

Intensity VII was felt in the said city after the earthquake which occurred at 7:37 a.m. with a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Intensity VI or ‘very strong’ intensity was felt in the towns of Palimbang, and Senator Ninoy Aquino in Sultan Kudarat.

Here are the felt intensities in other areas:

Intensity V (strong): Davao City, Kidapawan City, and Carmen, Cotabato; towns of Bagumbayan, Kalamansig, and President Quirino in Sultan Kudarat; and towns of Sibuco and Siocon in Zamboanga Del Norte.

Intensity IV (moderately strong) – Mati City, Davao Oriental; Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay; Caraga province, towns of Manay and Tarragona, Davao Oriental

Intensity III (weak): Butuan City; Mainit, Surigao Del Norte; Dapitan City, Zamboanga Del Norte; towns of Kumalarang, Vincenzo Sagun, Zamboanga Del Sur

Intensity II (slightly felt): Dipolog City, Labason, Liloy, President Manuel A. Roxas, and Salug in Zamboanga Del Norte; Alicia, towns of Ipil, Mabuhay, Olutanga, and Siay in Zamboanga Sibugay; Molave, Zamboanga Del Sur; Abuyog and Dulag in Leyte; and San Francisco, Southern Leyte

On the other hand, instrumental intensities were felt in these areas:

Intensity VII (destructive): Koronadal City; Santa Maria, Davao Occidental

Intensity V (strong): Davao City

Intensity III (weak): Abuyog, Leyte

Intensity II (slightly felt): San Francisco, Southern Leyte; Dulag, Leyte

Felt intensity is the ground shaking actually felt and reported by the people through the Phivolcs Earthquake Intensity Scale while instrumental intensity was indicated by the ground shaking intensity measured by the intensity meters in and around the epicentral area.

Earlier, Phivolcs issued a tsunami warning in nine provinces.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered an immediate response from all concerned government agencies following the destructive magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Maasim, Sarangani, on Monday morning.

In a statement, Marcos also directed the suspension of classes at all levels in affected areas across Mindanao until further notice.

The president said, ‘I have directed all relevant government agencies to act immediately.’

‘The Office of Civil Defense and the NDRRMC [National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council] are now coordinating disaster response and monitoring across all affected areas,’ he also said.

Marcos said he had tasked the Department of Social Welfare and Development with pre-positioning relief goods and ensuring that evacuation centers were ready and fully operational.

The Department of Public Works and Highways is also on standby to assess damage to roads and critical infrastructure and to clear routes needed for rescue and relief operations.

‘To our kababayans in the affected provinces, please heed the tsunami warning. Move to higher ground now. Do not wait. Your life is more important than anything left behind,’ Marcos said.

‘The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind. I am in constant communication with our regional offices and local chief executives on the ground,’ he added.

The earthquake was initially reported at magnitude 7.0 but was later upgraded to 7.8 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

It struck at 7:37 a.m., with its epicenter located approximately 125 kilometers northeast of Sarangani.

The decision of the 18 bodyguards of former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co to skip the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on Monday places a dent on their allegations, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said.

Ridon, in a statement, said that the bodyguards, if they were speaking the truth, would have no problem showing up to different fora to explain the allegations they made against several House of Representatives lawmakers.

‘The decision of the ’18 Maleta Boys’-the group of former bodyguards who launched a sensationalized smear campaign last week-to skip today’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing speaks for itself,’ Ridon said.

‘If their allegations were true, they should have had no difficulty appearing before an official congressional proceeding, testifying under oath, and subjecting themselves to questioning by senators. Instead, they chose not to appear,’ he added.

The 18 bodyguards, initially described as former officers of the Philippine Marine Corps, appeared before the blue ribbon committee hearing last Thursday, which was led by former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano’s group.

But acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian’s bloc maintained that this hearing had no bearing since the new Majority declared all positions vacant a day prior, and installed new officials to several committees.

Earlier, the committee under Senator Erwin Tulfo, a member of Gatchalian’s bloc, held another hearing.

However, the 18 bodyguards did not show up and chose to stay inside the office of Sen. Robinhood Padilla.

According to Ridon, he challenged the individuals to appear before the committee last Saturday – a simple challenge, which he said should depend on the advice of a single senator.

However, despite this challenge supposedly being simple, Ridon said the 18 bodyguards still refused to attend.

‘Their decision should not depend on the advice, instruction, or preference of any one senator. It should depend on what their supposed whistleblower story was all about: truth-telling, accountability, and a willingness to stand by serious allegations under oath,’ he said. ‘The contrast could not be clearer.’

‘They were willing to make sensational allegations in an informal forum, but were unwilling to repeat those same allegations under oath before the duly constituted Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Their refusal to do so seriously undermines the credibility of the claims they previously made,’ he added.

With the refusal from the 18 bodyguards to attend, Ridon said that the House prosecution panel is still focused on its duty regarding Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.

‘The House prosecution panel remains focused on its constitutional duties and on the forthcoming impeachment trial. No distraction, no fabricated allegation, and no manufactured sideshow will deter us from presenting the evidence and the truth before the Senate impeachment court,’ he noted.

Discussions about the claims of the 18 bodyguards surfaced again as Cayetano’s group pushed through with the blue ribbon committee hearing last Thursday.

During the hearing, the 18 former officers testified and reiterated several of their allegations, which were contained in an affidavit released last February 25, 2026.

The former officers claimed that they used to work for Co, who was head of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations during the 19th Congress. According to the 18 individuals, they were tasked by Co to deliver suitcases allegedly filled with cash to different individuals, including several House members.

However, observers were quick to point out alleged inconsistencies and changes from the 18 individuals’ testimony last Thursday, and their original affidavit last February. Manila Rep. Joel Chua said that the venue in which the 18 bodyguards supposedly handed the money to him had changed.

Palawan Rep. Jose Alvarez, meanwhile, questioned his sudden inclusion in the list of those who received suitcases.

Alvarez rushed to the Senate on Thursday to confront the 18 individuals, saying that he did not receive any suitcase with cash. When asked what might have been the reason why he was suddenly included in the list, Alvarez said it might be because of his refusal to endorse an impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

According to Alvarez, a certain Margarette who claimed to represent former lawmaker Mike Defensor – a supporter of the 18 Marines – texted him and sent a copy of the complaint against Marcos.

When asked if he will endorse the complaint, Alvarez said he flatly denied the request.

Other lawmakers have denied the allegations, too: according to Deputy Speaker Janette Garin, some sectors have been using the Senate as a political theater weeks before the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Aside from Garin, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V also noted that the blue ribbon committee hearing was merely staged to discredit the House before Duterte’s impeachment trial even starts.

During the hearing earlier, both the Office of the Ombudsman and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said they have no problem checking on claims made by the 18 bodyguards, but both agencies stressed the need for individual affidavits, as not every action was done collectively.

Ombudsman Central Records Division officer-in-charge Karen Batu said that lawyer-evaluators from the Office of the Ombudsman required the 18 bodyguards’ legal counsel, lawyer Levito Baligod, to submit individual affidavits stating their personal knowledge of the incidents alleged.

As of now, Batu said that the 18 bodyguards’ camp has not yet sent these documents.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said that while they were able to interview the 18 bodyguards, only five signed the testimony as Baligod stopped the 13, because he wanted to review the documents.

Matibag said that Baligod later wanted to rip the documents.

Prosecutor-General Richard Anthony Fadullon on the other hand said it would not be a problem if the entire group has personal knowledge of everything that was alleged in the document, or if there would be clarifications that for a certain portion, only select individuals knew what transpired.

Classes in several coastal barangays of Pagadian City were suspended on Monday following the issuance of Tsunami Information No. 1 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

The advisory was issued after a magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake struck near Sarangani at 7:37 a.m.

Phivolcs warned coastal communities in Sarangani, Davao Occidental, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Sultan Kudarat, and South Cotabato to immediately evacuate to higher ground or move farther inland as a precaution against possible tsunami threats.

In Pagadian City, Acting Mayor Lance Samuel Co ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in both public and private schools across 12 coastal barangays: Poloyagan, Bomba, Lumbia, San Pedro, Napolan, Dumagoc, Kawit, Tawagan Sur, White Beach, Santiago, Sta. Lucia and Muricay.

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) urged residents to remain alert, observe precautionary measures, and closely monitor official advisories from the city government, Phivolcs, and other concerned agencies.

Authorities said classes will only resume once Phivolcs, through the CDRRMO, declares that the tsunami threat has been lifted and conditions are safe.

Meanwhile, Philippine Information Agency Region 9 Acting Regional Director Jocelyn Alvarez said that classes and government work were also suspended in Basilan province and Zamboanga City. Boat operations in both areas were likewise halted as a precaution.

Two people died in South Cotabato due to the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck parts of Mindanao on Monday morning.

Rolly Doanne Aquino, head of the South Cotabato Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the deaths were recorded in Barangay Kablon, Tupi town.

One victim was hit by falling debris, while the other suffered cardiac arrest following the 7:37 a.m. tremor, he told reporters.

The Rural Health Unit of Tupi confirmed the fatalities, he added.

No further details about the victims were immediately available.

Electricity and internet services remained disrupted as of 11 a.m. in parts of South Cotabato.

Operations at General Santos International Airport have been temporarily suspended following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck off Maasim, Sarangani, on Monday morning, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

A Notice to Airmen, which is a safety advisory given to pilots and flight operators to alert them of sudden or temporary hazards or route changes in airspace, is in effect from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.

‘Assessments of air navigation facilities, equipment, and operational capabilities are underway to ensure the continued safety and integrity of airport operations,’ CAAP said in a statement.

The agency also advised passengers to coordinate with their respective airlines for updates on their flights.

The earthquake was initially reported at magnitude 7.0 but was later upgraded to 7.8 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

It struck at 7:37 a.m., with its epicenter located approximately 125 kilometers northeast of Sarangani.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a separate statement, said he has ordered an immediate response from all concerned government agencies following the destructive quake.

Classes at all levels in affected areas across Mindanao were also suspended until further notice.

Reports of casualties following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck off Maasim, Sarangani, on Monday morning are still being monitored and validated, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

As of posting time, there are no official reports of casualties, the agency said in a Viber message to reporters.

Meanwhile, the OCD said there were reports of significant damage to various infrastructure facilities, while electricity and communication services were also disrupted in several areas.

The regions most affected by the powerful earthquake were Regions 9, 11, and 12, as well as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

‘Public is advised to refrain from reentering their homes or other infrastructures, especially with signs of damage and high-rise buildings, and threat of aftershocks,’ the OCD said.

The Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices were also directed to supervise their areas of responsibility.

The OCD further said that rescue units of the uniformed services are on standby for deployment at any time, and that the Operations Center, National Inter-Agency Coordinating Cell, Response Clusters, and Agencies are on red alert status.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the tectonic earthquake occurred at 7:37 a.m. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 32 kilometers south and 4 degrees west of Maasim, Sarangani.

I will not graduate on time-not because I failed my subjects, but because I failed to listen to my younger self.

As graduation season nears, photos of my friends wearing togas are starting to appear on my social media feed. The day that most of my batchmates in the university are waiting for is the day that I have also been preparing for-not because I will march with them, but to keep myself from doubt and to be reminded of my achievements despite not having that degree yet.

I entered college in 2022, which means I am expected to graduate this year. I found my freshman self at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), studying fisheries and ocean sciences. Never in my life have I imagined myself doing fieldwork near the beach and dissecting fish in the laboratory. Honestly, I knew nothing about fisheries before college.

UP was a dream, but I did not pass the admission screening-UPCA without T (test) during our time. That did not stop me. I appealed for reconsideration multiple times, but with a catch: I had to appeal for a science-related degree program because I was granted a DOST-SEI (Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute) scholarship. At the time, my family was struggling financially, and my parents were worried about how they could support my studies. So I needed the scholarship to continue my education. Fortunately, UPV opened an opportunity for me.

Staying in Visayas was my first time being miles away from my family. But my freshman year was a blast. I met new friends who shared the same struggles. I was introduced to a warm community that welcomed me completely. Ultimately, I found a home away from home.

But I felt that something was not right. I was not happy with my studies-the very reason why I flew to Iloilo. I had barely passed and even failed most of my major exams. I had difficulties catching up with our laboratory classes. I was not performing well in my academics. Impostor syndrome dominated my confidence.

I have always wanted to excel in my craft. I knew I could do better-but not in this field.

I was a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) student in senior high school, but I really wanted to pursue a different path even before. I want to be a journalist. But where can I find scholarship opportunities for the social sciences field?

After a year of choosing practicality over passion, I made a decision that completely changed my college journey. I transferred to UP Los Baños (UPLB) to pursue a degree in development communication.

It was not an easy decision. I literally started from scratch-new campus, new people, new life. I also needed to accept the fact that most of the academic units I had taken from my previous degree program were not credited, delaying me from my original date of graduation. Adding to this was the financial burden my family had to carry for the next few years of my stay in college because my scholarship was terminated.

Transferring meant delays, and I knew it since day one. There were moments when I questioned myself: Was I wasting time? Was passion enough to justify the cost?

But I did not regret that decision.

As I pursue my passion at UPLB, I found something I had been missing all along-clarity and fulfillment. Now, the lessons that I am studying resonate with me. I find myself more engaged in classes and more motivated to improve. I excel in my outputs, even topping exams. Finally, no more self-doubt.

I have come to realize that growth does not always follow a straight path. Sometimes, it requires detours that look like delays from the outside but are necessary redirections from within.

Nevertheless, I wish that students would not need to pursue practicality over passion anymore in the future. I hope that more opportunities will be given to the social sciences field so they can choose what they really want without hesitation.

As I see my batchmates preparing for their graduation, I cannot deny that a part of me feels left behind. But I also know that if I stayed with them, I might have worn that ‘Sablay’ sooner, yet with unending what-ifs waiting to be answered.

I want to tell myself and my fellow delayed ‘iskolar ng bayan’: Hindi pagsablay ang hindi pa pag-Sablay! Not walking the commencement stage this year does not mean we are less valuable. Not receiving our diplomas on time does not mean we failed.

Being delayed does not erase the courage it took me to choose a different path, nor does it diminish the growth I experienced along the way. I may not graduate on time, but I am exactly where I need and want to be.

And when the time comes for me to wear my own Sablay, I know it will carry not just the weight of a degree, but the story of choosing purpose over pressure, and becoming, finally, the person my younger self always hoped I would be.