Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed hope that Filipinos will realize that the government is ‘sincere’ in its efforts to make the country better.

In the season finale of the ‘Unshaken With Gary V’ podcast, which aired Monday, Marcos had a two-hour candid conversation with Filipino music icon Gary Valenciano about his childhood, the period when the Marcos family was exiled to Hawaii, and his eventual election as president.

Toward the end of the podcast, Valenciano asked Marcos what words of encouragement he would like to give the public.

‘Well, I just hope that people realize that, and people know, and that people feel that what we are doing is right, that what we’re doing is for the better, and to understand that at least I, the people around me, we are sincere in trying to make this country better,’ he responded.

‘We are not working to make ourselves, to make pasikat, to show off. We’re working… What we do is because we think it’s the best thing for Filipinos and for the Philippines,’ the president added.

Marcos said he wants Filipinos to believe that, as head of the nation, he is doing what he perceives ‘in his heart of hearts’ is best for the country.

Meanwhile, the president said he feels ‘blessed’ to have been given the ‘greatest privilege’ of being able to help those in need.

‘I get to help millions of people. And come on, how lucky can you get, right? To be able to help many people. That for me is still, talagang I cannot believe that I have that capability. I’m able to do that,’ he said.

‘And I still, there are many times I still say, I can’t believe that I got this lucky. I can’t believe that people trust me this much. I cannot believe that I can do the things that I can do as President to make life better for other people,’ Marcos said.

Objectivity

Valenciano also asked Marcos about his personal life, including what he hopes his children will inherit from him.

‘What I hope they inherit from me is the ability to be objective. I’ve always followed the advice – don’t make any decisions if you’re too sad, too happy, too anything. It’s just whatever, never trust your first instincts,’ he responded.

‘Maybe the one thing that they shouldn’t get from me is being too much like that, being too cold and calculating. That’s maybe, that’s why Liza and I balance each other quite well because I tend towards that, and she tends towards being more listening to her emotions more. I distrust emotions sometimes and maybe that’s not such a great thing, but I’ve grown up that way,’ Marcos responded.

What he needed to unlearn

Meanwhile, the president also shared that one thing he needed to unlearn was the notion that he is not the center of everything.

‘The world does not revolve around you. That was that for me. Because when you’re a kid, especially a president’s child, the world revolves around you. Everybody around you is trying to please you. Everybody around you is worried, is making sipsip or being nice or whatever, you know,’ he said.

‘Maybe they’re just sincere and they just like you. But you learn, for me, that’s what maturity is, is to understand that the world does not revolve around you. You know, if you do well in the world, you know, there’s an element of luck in there, you’re blessed,’ he added.

Before becoming a teacher, Rodel Peñaranda knew what it meant to go to school with barely enough money for the week-and sometimes with nothing but coffee in his stomach.

Now 48 and 15 years into his teaching career, Peñaranda uses his own experience to encourage students at Calingcaguing National High School in Barugo, Leyte, to persevere, telling them that poverty may shape where they begin but does not have to define where they end.

The fourth of nine siblings, Peñaranda grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet. His father was a farm laborer and his mother a homemaker.

After finishing high school in 1995, he went to Manila to work, taking jobs as a construction worker and bottle washer at a burger establishment.

In 1996, he was elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK or youth council) chair, which later gave him access to a tuition scholarship at the Palompon Institute of Technology. He enrolled in marine transportation but managed to complete only one semester because his family could no longer support his schooling.

His SK honorarium often went to his mother for food. He recalls having only P150 to P200 a week for his own expenses, sometimes relying on boarding-house companions for meals and attending Reserve Officers’ Training Corps or ROTC with only coffee in his stomach.

In 2000, he got another chance to study, enrolling in a Bachelor of Science in Education major in Aquaculture at Eastern Visayas State University’s Carigara campus. He continued under a scholarship and later won a barangay council seat, which helped him finish his degree in 2004.

Graduation did not immediately lead to a teaching job.

Odd jobs

Peñaranda worked as a construction worker and later as a security guard in Tacloban City. During night shifts, he studied for the Licensure Examination for Teachers using a borrowed reviewer.

When the 2007 results were released, he initially thought he had failed after not seeing his name on the list at an internet café.

He went home and worked in a rice field, only to receive messages from friends congratulating him. He rushed back to the internet café and checked again.

His name was there. He had passed.

While waiting for a teaching opportunity, Peñaranda worked for two years at the Oroquieta Community Cooperative and Credit Institution, eventually becoming a loan head.

In 2011, a teaching position opened at Calingcaguing National High School, the same school where he had studied. Former teachers recommended him.

He accepted the job and began teaching TLE (technology and livelihood education) computer basics after undergoing training at AMA College.

Today, he teaches Grades 9 and 10 and serves as the school and district ICT (Information and Communications Technology) coordinator for Barugo 2, assisting teachers and school heads with technology-related concerns.

Teaching was not his original career plan, but Peñaranda said he believes it was God’s calling.

‘In God’s guidance, I have no regrets,’ he told the Inquirer. ‘I am happy not only to teach my learners, but also to assist teachers and school heads through ICT.’

Weapon against poverty

His own struggles have also shaped the way he treats his students. When he sees a child who needs food, he gives what he can. When he sees students walking to and from school, he gives them a ride whenever possible.

More than anything, he wants his students to finish school.

He often tells them that education is one of the best weapons against poverty-a lesson he learned through experience.

‘It’s not your fault that you were born poor or that you are struggling,’ he tells his students. ‘But it would be your fault if you remained struggling until you grow old and die.’

For Peñaranda, the message is not about blaming those who are poor, but encouraging young people to work toward changing their circumstances.

He credits his mother, siblings, wife, and children for supporting him through the difficult years. His father, however, did not live long enough to see what his children eventually achieved.

Peñaranda said his family is not rich, but they are no longer living through the hardship they once knew.

The boy who once struggled to find enough money to stay in school is now a teacher telling struggling children that education can open a different future for them.

A woman died from a fall from a building along Kisad Road behind Burnham Park on Sunday, prompting an investigation by the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO).

An initial report said the incident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. Police Station 5 later conducted a follow-up investigation and was able to identify the deceased woman, but details have not been made public.

BCPO has yet to establish the circumstances surrounding the fall, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Investigators reviewed the building’s security camera footage and obtained statements from witnesses and a family member, while forensic examiners processed the area.

The family of the victim declined an autopsy and signed the necessary waiver, police said.

The celebration of National Teachers’ Month, which started on Sept. 5, culminated on Monday, National Teachers’ Day, in festivities at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara.

The National Teachers’ Day event, which was also attended by several national and local government officials, gathered some 10,000 educators from Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, according to a statement issued by the Department of Education (DepEd).

The festivities, which also highlighted the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the Indigenous Peoples Education (IPEd) Program, capped a month-long series of activities nationwide, which were supported by private partner organizations and government agencies

Key celebrations were held in Cagayan de Oro City for Mindanao educators and in Tacloban City for those in the Visayas, under the theme ‘Teacher, Ikaw Naman!’ – focusing on supporting teachers’ welfare, celebrating their achievements, and honoring their dedication.

In his address, Marcos expressed his deep gratitude to Filipino teachers for their vital role in shaping the nation’s youth and encouraged them to keep seeing opportunities for professional growth and skill development.

Fast-tracking of bonus

He also announced that he has ordered the fast-tracking of the release of the fiscal year 2024 performance-based bonus (PBB) for qualified DepEd personnel, affirming the government’s continued recognition of their valuable contributions to basic education.

‘And we will not stop there. We will continue to find ways to improve the support, benefits, and opportunities for our teachers,’ Marcos said in Filipino.

‘You are our children’s companions as they are growing up. You’re the ones teaching their lessons. But you’re also the ones teaching them discipline, caring, and confidence in their own abilities. With your guidance, we are preparing a generation ready to dream, ready to serve, and ready to lead our country,’ he added.

For his part, Angara emphasized that teacher welfare remained central to the Marcos administration’s agenda, attributing the country’s gains in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 to the dedication and hard work of Filipino teachers.

‘We thank President Bongbong Marcos for all his initiatives and support for the benefit of our teachers. So in today’s celebration, we say, ‘Teacher, it’s your turn!’ The success of our students, which includes our historic performance in PISA 2025, would not have been possible without the sacrifice, dedication, and competence of our teachers,’ he said.

A highlight of Wednesday’s program was the Recognition of Exemplary Teachers in Indigenous Peoples Education, honoring 16 educators who have served from eight years to as long as 30 years in remote IP communities. Beyond classroom instruction, the awardees have partnered with community elders and culture bearers to produce indigenized learning resources tailored to ancestral domains.

IP Education Month

The tribute formally launched the Department of Education’s (DepEd) 2026 IP Education Month, marking a decade of milestones in expanding basic education in IP communities.

In a show of support for teacher welfare, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo ‘Wick’ Veloso turned over a P1 million ceremonial check to DepEd. Educators were entertained by performances from top celebrities, including Piolo Pascual, Aegis, Ariel Rivera, Pops Fernandez, Jona, Michael Pangilinan, Donny Pangilinan, Raymond Lauchengco, and Alex Calleja.

Corporate partners – including China Bank Savings, Metrobank, Banco De Oro, EastWest Bank, Nestlé, Jollibee, Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, McDonald’s, and PLDT-Smart Foundation – sponsored major raffle prizes, including brand-new vehicles.

The event provided a platform for DepEd to highlight major welfare and administrative reforms aimed at easing teacher workloads and enhancing benefits. To reduce administrative strain, DepEd slashed mandatory school forms from the previous 174 to just five regular forms.

Benefits were also expanded, including doubling the annual non-taxable teaching allowance to P10,000, establishing an annual medical subsidy of up to P7,000, and introducing five days of paid annual wellness leave. The P1,000 World Teachers’ Day Incentive Benefit will be released to public school teachers starting Oct. 5.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has opened up about the ‘biggest earthquake’ in his life: his family’s exile to Hawaii in 1986.

In a candid interview during the season finale of the ‘Unshaken With Gary V’ podcast, uploaded on Monday, Marcos recounted one of the most significant events in Philippine history.

During the podcast, Filipino music icon Gary Valenciano asked Marcos to walk him through a moment or season in his life when everything was shaken.

Marcos, without hesitation, said it was when his family fled the Philippines for Hawaii on February 25, 1986, after the People Power Revolution forced his father, former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., from power.

‘Everything completely changed. One day, you’re the son of the president, and you’re sitting in a palace and the next two days later, you’re in Hawaii. You don’t know what on earth has just happened. You’re not allowed to go back home, you cannot even get a job, you cannot even talk to people that you feel you have a need to talk to, because they isolated us,’ he said.

‘And so it is, put it this way: the reason it’s the biggest, shall we say, part, the biggest shaken moment of my life is that none of what we did after ’86, when we got to Hawaii, our lives did not resemble our previous life in any way whatsoever,’ he added.

Then 28-year-old Marcos said that in Hawaii, he felt as if he had to relearn how to live.

‘I must have been about 28 years old in ’86, and suddenly that whole life has just disappeared. And now this is your life. And I said, no, I’m not sure I like this one as much as I like the old one. Well, sorry, but that’s it. And that’s why, for me, it was the biggest earthquake in my life,’ he said.

‘You have to go through that whole process, which is something that you do as a child, teenager, as you’re growing up. Now you have to do it all over again as an adult,’ he added.

Asked what anchored him after everything he went through, the president said it was his faith, which he said reminded him of what was right and wrong.

‘That’s a big guide. The other thing is, I suppose, remembering what it is that you, in fact, want to achieve. Because you go through that, your whole life is totally changed and upended, and you don’t know what success is anymore, and it becomes smaller and smaller. You just live through the day,’ he said.

‘I had to do normal things. I had to clean the house. I had to wash the dishes. I had to go to the post office. I had to go grocery shopping. I had to put gas in the car. So, those little things bring you back to normalcy,’ he added.

According to Marcos, these experiences made him tougher because he had already gone through a difficult period in his life.

They also made him more sympathetic, as he came to understand that everyone reaches a point in their lives when they are shaken by circumstances, he said.

Marcos said the experience proved that he is not a coward but is ready to face whatever challenges may come his way in the future.

The Marcos family remained in exile in Hawaii before Marcos Sr. died on Sept. 28, 1989.

An old brass church bell was stolen from the grounds of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Loboc, Bohol province, prompting an investigation by police and Church officials.

In a Facebook post, Fr. Agerio Paña, parish priest of St. Peter the Apostle Parish and shrine rector of the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Extremadura, said they discovered the theft on Monday morning.

The damaged antique bell had been placed beside the parish convent in Loboc.

Based on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, two people were seen allegedly taking the bell shortly after noon on Sunday, Oct. 4. The suspects were also seen leaving the convent premises through its gate.

The Loboc police and church officials are continuing their investigation to identify those responsible and trace the whereabouts of the stolen bell.

The parish appealed to antique buyers, collectors, and junk shop operators not to purchase or accept the bell if it is offered to them.

The public was also urged to immediately report any attempt to sell the bell to Loboc police and Church officials.

Church officials expressed concern that the thieves might break up or crush the brass bell to make it more difficult to identify.

The parish also called on the public to remain vigilant and help protect old church artifacts that form part of Loboc’s history and cultural heritage.

In a place defined by high walls and restricted freedom, three teachers have found a way to do what they know best: teach.

The three educators, all persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Agusan del Sur Provincial Jail in Barangay Patin-ay, have transformed their confinement into a classroom.

Through the facility’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) and rehabilitation initiatives, they help fellow detainees acquire practical skills, earn basic education credentials, and prepare for life after release.

One teaches mathematics, another leads computer literacy courses, while the third facilitates rehabilitation and life-skills workshops.

Their current setting is starkly different from the traditional campuses where they once taught, but they say physical confinement has done nothing to blunt their calling.

Adeva May Jaramillo, department information officer of the Provincial Correctional and Security Management Office, featured them on the Provincial Government of Agusan del Sur website.uring mission

For one of the three teachers, the jail’s makeshift classrooms provide an outlet to put years of formal training and classroom experience back to work.

A licensed educator, he views teaching inside the facility as both a service and a mutual learning process.

‘As a detainee myself, sharing my skills, talents, and blessings from the Almighty is both a privilege and a pleasure,’ he told the Inquirer.

The teacher added: ‘Our day-to-day experiences are the biggest lessons for tomorrow. To me, teaching is about transferring knowledge and empowering others. Confinement hasn’t changed that passion.’

For him, incarceration does not mean giving up his professional identity. ‘It is both my passion and compassion that drive me to keep teaching those who live behind bars,’ he added.

One student at a time

Another teacher holds a degree in information technology, a professional teaching license, and a master’s degree in educational management. He uses his background to teach fellow detainees basic computer literacy and digital fundamentals.

He believes practical technical skills give detainees tangible tools to rebuild their lives once they reenter society.

‘My situation may have changed, but my purpose has not. Being a detainee does not erase the teacher in me,’ he said. ‘I may be behind bars, but I can still teach, inspire, and make a positive difference.’

For him, success is measured one person at a time. ‘If I can use my knowledge to help even one fellow PDL find hope and believe in a better future, then I know I am still fulfilling my duty as an educator.’

Gift and responsibility

The third teacher approaches teaching as a moral responsibility and a way to give back to peers who had little access to formal schooling before their imprisonment.

‘I was fortunate enough to finish my degree and gain teaching experience. The best thing I can do now is share that knowledge and be part of someone else’s growth,’ he explained.

While he acknowledges the heavy emotional and physical weight of life inside the provincial jail, he insists that purpose outweighs the hardship.

‘What really drives me to teach here is genuine concern for others-I see it as my responsibility,’ he said. ‘This ability to teach is a gift, and a gift only has value when you pass it on.’

Rebuilding within

The work of these three teachers underscores how peer-led education can bolster rehabilitation inside correctional facilities.

Through ALS, detainees who missed out on basic education can work toward high school equivalency credentials. Having qualified educators among the inmate population allows the program to maintain steady instruction despite the inherent resource constraints of provincial detention centers.

A poll watchdog has urged the House of Representatives to consider basing a proposed law against misinformation and disinformation on transparency rather than mere content regulation, as the latter supposedly has the tendency to result in censorship.

At the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms’ hearing on Monday on four bills seeking to ensure the fair use of the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence (AI) during elections, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) said it wanted to avoid a chilling effect, as defining misleading and false content would depend on the implementing agency and could touch on protected speech.

‘We would like to anchor enforcement in transparency rather than content regulation. Our comparative mapping of disinformation policy found through jurisdictions relying on content regulation broadly-worded definitions of false content […] have produced censorship and abuse rather than a better information environment,’ Lente Executive Director Ona Caritos said.

‘Several of the pending measures make the creation and dissemination of fake news a punishable act. Definition of that breath, coupled with criminal liability, risks chilling protected expression and being turned against critics rather than against organized operations,’ she added. ‘Lente urges caution on this, and cause for transparency approaches over content regulation.’

Instead, Caritos told the House panel that they prefer transparency measures like the disclosure of who was behind the use of technologies in the campaign material, who financed the campaign, and other information that would relay to the public who the personalities involved are.

‘The provisions most likely to work are the transparency provisions, mandatory disclosure of AI use, paid advertisement disclosure, identifying who paid for the material, the public database of funding and spreading disclosures proposed in one of the measures, and the right of reply,’ she explained.

‘Transparency initiatives are less draconian and effective in addressing the problem of disinformation by increasing the perception of accountability, insofar as suppliers of political content are concerned,’ she added.

After the presentation, committee chairperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong asked Caritos to expound how she intends this proposal to be carried out. In response, Caritos said they prefer disclosures of who are the parties behind the campaign, instead of an outright removal of the content.

‘Chair, it’s more on the disclosure on the part of the users and the platforms, so the responsibility or the obligation should be lodged on the part, primarily on the platforms, the different social media platforms on disclosure and transparency, and of course the users, for example if they use AI in the campaign, they should disclose that they use AI,’ Caritos said.

Adiong then reminded Caritos that the reason why the bill is being pushed is to remove false information on the internet during election season – whether these campaign materials are in favor or against a particular candidate.

‘Actually it’s not even the negative (campaigning), it’s entirely a different story because we intend to address fake news nga eh ‘di ba? So either way, positive or negative, basta hindi tama, hindi dapat ‘yan ilalabas ‘di ba?’ Adiong said.

(Actually it’s not even about negative (campaigning), it’s entirely a different story because we intend to address fake news, right? So either way, positive or negative, as long as it’s not correct, that should not come out, right?)

‘So the responsibility share should be primary lodged on the social media platforms, so they have that responsibility to disclose, to be transparent, and to act as soon as possible on post like what you mentioned chair, the negative campaigning or campaigning against for example the electoral process or negative information about the electoral process,’ Caritos responded.

Before Caritos’ presentation, four bills have been consolidated, including House Bill (HB) No. 3691 or the proposed Social Media, Artificial Intelligence and Internet Technology Regulation for Fair Elections Act from House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos.

Marcos’ proposal defines various terms related to the internet like AI, bots, deepfakes, and coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB), as well as who and what parties will be covered by the proposed measure.

HB No. 3691 would allow ‘election propaganda on the internet and the social media’ but will be ‘subject to the limitation on authorized expenses of candidates and parties, observation of truth in advertising, and to the supervision and regulation’ by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

‘Social media posts, regardless of format, whether original or re-posted from some source, which may either be incidental to the poster’s advocacies of social issues or which may have, for its primary purpose, the endorsement of a candidate only including paid advertisements in internet subject to the requirements set forth in Section 5 hereof and the Fair Elections Act shall also be allowed,’ Section 4 of the bill stated.

Also, the bill listed what activities will be considered prohibited:

Use of ‘false amplifiers’, such as fake accounts, bots, and astroturf groups filled with fake users to propagate disinformation and misinformation in endorsing or campaigning against a candidate, a political party/coalition, or party-list organizations

Coordinated inauthentic behavior and utilization of hyperactive users for the aforementioned purposes

Creation and dissemination of deepfakes, cheapfakes, and soft fakes for the aforementioned purposes

Use of fake and unregistered social media accounts during the election and campaign period for the same purposes

Creation and dissemination of fake news in furtherance of the aforementioned purposes

Use of content produced through AI technology but without compliance to the transparency and disclosure requirements under these guidelines

No one has been penalized for engaging in CIB, but the said activity has been observed several times in the Philippines. As early as M arch 2019, then Facebook Cybersecurity Policy head Nathaniel Gleicher said they removed 200 fake accounts operating under the network of communication strategist Nic Gabanuda Jr. for CIB.

Gabunada was the social media campaign of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

According to Gleicher, the taken-down accounts were made to appear as normal and legitimate accounts while boosting messages in favor of certain political candidates.

Then in September 2020, Gleicher announced that the social media platform had taken down two networks for CIB again, with one of the networks being traced to the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

On Day 33 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, the House prosecution is set to present Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura.

Buenaventura is expected to testify on suspicious transaction reports involving Duterte, her husband Manases Carpio, and their business interests. His testimony will be followed by representatives from banks and insurance firms subpoenaed to testify on financial records that could shed light on the allegations of unexplained wealth.

Investors looking for winners among the country’s biggest listed companies had a short list by the end of the third quarter.

Only six of the PSEi’s 30 constituents as of Sept. 30 finished above their Jan. 2 closing prices.

Leading the blue-chip race was Enrique Razon Jr.-led International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), which surged 60.40 percent to P891 from P555.50.

Its run included a historic milestone in July, when ICTSI became the first domestic listed company to close with a market capitalization exceeding P2 trillion.

The port operator ended July 14 with a market value of P2.01 trillion. This rose to P2.02 trillion the next day as its shares closed at a then-record P999 after touching P1,020 intraday.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures ranked second, climbing 34.75 percent to P38 from P28.20.

Ayala Corp. gained 5.57 percent to P500 from P473.60, while LT Group rose 3.39 percent to P15.26 from P14.76.

Puregold advanced 2.08 percent to P39.20 from P38.40. Monde Nissin completed the winners’ circle, inching up 0.85 percent to P5.90 from P5.85.

With four in every five blue chips ending in the red, ICTSI sailed far ahead of the pack.

But this is only the third-quarter scorecard. With one lap left in 2026, investors will see whether the six can stay afloat-or whether a late rally reshuffles the blue-chip race. – Emmanuel John B. Abris

A pop-up booth at the mall

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is bringing its latest Retail Treasury Bond offering (RTB) 32, to TriNoma on Oct. 2 as it marks the program’s silver anniversary and looks to get more Filipinos comfortable with investing.

Last year, the Treasury took a step in that direction when RTBs became available through GCash’s GBonds. This year, it is taking the experience offline and straight to the mall.

That’s the whole tenet of RTBs, after all: bringing bonds closer to the people.

The idea is to make government securities feel a little less intimidating and investing a little more accessible, with visitors able to play games, win freebies, get one-on-one advice from BTr experts and, for those ready to take the plunge, invest on the spot.

All of this is part of the BTr’s push to bring RTBs to a wider pool of small investors, who can put in as little as P5,000, as the government seeks to raise as much as P150 billion in new money from the latest offering.

There’s even a little anniversary math to RTB 32: the 25-year-old program is celebrating with a 2.5-year bond, paying 6.875 percent a year until investors get their money back in April 2029.

Twenty-five years in, the Treasury seems to be taking the message quite literally: if you want more people to buy bonds, sometimes you just have to bring the bonds to where the people are. – Nyah Genelle C. De Leon

Moment boss goes the distance

One of the women behind the operator of some of the Philippines’ most recognizable restaurant brands has just made a significant stride in running. And no, we don’t mean running the pass, as we mean it quite literally this time.

Eliza Antonino, cofounder and CEO of The Moment Group, recently pulled off a personal feat after completing the 42-kilometer Berlin Marathon, which became the latest addition to the World Marathon Majors under her belt.

And Antonino didn’t go to Berlin to cross the finish line.

According to The Moment Group, she emerged as the third-fastest Filipina in her age group and the 11th-fastest Filipina overall among those who tackled the Berlin course.

She brought a little bit of home along for the run, too. Antonino tackled the Berlin course in a jersey emblazoned with ‘Iba talaga ‘pag Pinoy!’ and the logo of Manam, one of Moment’s homegrown restaurant brands.

Antonino cofounded The Moment Group with Abba Napa and Jon Syjuco in 2012 and has since helped build the operating machinery behind the restaurant group’s expansion.

More than a decade later, Antonino is still racing toward new goals.