Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

Catholic priest Fr. Warren Puno and 34 fellow environmentalists launched a week-long protest march from Atimonan, Quezon, to Manila on Monday to denounce environmental destruction and injustices faced by marginalized communities.

Dubbed ‘Lakbay Panaghoy II – Kalikasan, Kapayapaan, Katarungan’ (Journey of Lament II – Environment, Peace, Justice), the 154-kilometer protest hike started after the 5 a.m. Holy Mass at the Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Atimonan. The march will continue until after Oct. 12.

‘This is more than just a protest. It is a journey of faith, prayer, sacrifice, and conviction,’ Puno, 48, head of the Ministry of Ecology of the Diocese of Lucena, said in an online interview with the Inquirer on Sunday night.

Puno said the protest was staged ‘because many cries remain unheard – the cries of nature, which continues to be destroyed; of farmers fighting for their land; of fisher folk whose livelihoods are at risk; and of the poor, who are the first to suffer from the climate crisis.’

‘As a Church, we cannot remain silent in the face of such suffering. It is part of our prophetic mission to be the voice of the voiceless and amplify the voices of those who have long been ignored. We cannot preach love for God while neglecting His creation and our fellow human beings,’ he said.

Puno, convenor of Quezon for Environment (QUEEN), has been leading opposition to the proposed 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Atimonan along the coast of Lamon Bay.

‘Our more than decade-long struggle against the proposed coal-fired power plant in Atimonan reminds us why a just transition to clean energy must be given serious attention,’ said Puno, parish priest of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish in Barangay Poon in Atimonan.

Atimonan One Energy (A1E), a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), which is the power generation arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), is the developer of the proposed Atimonan project.

The project has been in development for years, but construction of the proposed power plant has yet to begin.

Puno said communities in Quezon, which he described as the country’s ‘coal capital,’ have consistently opposed the Atimonan project.

Quezon is already home to coal-fired power facilities in Mauban and Pagbilao, in addition to the proposed Atimonan plant.

In November last year, Puno and fellow environmental advocates staged the first ‘Lakad Panaghoy,’ a three-day, 31-kilometer protest march from Mauban to Tayabas City.

‘We are not against development. We are fighting for development that does not destroy nature or sacrifice people’s lives and livelihoods,’ Puno said.

The initial group of marchers consists of 20 senior citizens and 14 others, mostly young people. Some will leave the march at designated points and be replaced by environmentalists and concerned citizens from municipalities along the route.

Puno said the group would engage communities along the route and bring their concerns to government agencies in Manila.

‘We are not walking because we have lost hope. We are walking because we believe there is still something we can do. We will engage in dialogue with affected communities along our route and bring their voices to Manila as we meet with government agencies,’ he said.

‘Every step is a prayer. Every kilometer is a sacrifice. And every community we pass through reminds us that what we are fighting for is not only for the present but also for generations to come,’ he added.

The first leg of the protest hike will cover 31.2 kilometers from Atimonan to neighboring Pagbilao. Each leg will start and end at a church where the marchers will rest and spend the night.

The ‘Lakbay Panaghoy’ will pass through Lucena City, Sariaya and Tiaong in Quezon; and San Pablo City, Calauan, Bay, Los Baños, Calamba City, Cabuyao, Biñan and San Pedro in Laguna before reaching Parañaque City in Metro Manila.

The march will end at the national offices of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Agrarian Reform and Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Quezon City, where the protesters plan to submit community protest letters and seek dialogue with government officials.

‘May this lament not only be heard but also become the beginning of meaningful action. For there can be no genuine peace without justice, and no just future if we continue to destroy our one and only home,’ Puno said.

The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution that seeks the Senate’s concurrence on extending session up to Oct. 12, so that the chamber can approve the proposed 2027 national budget on third and final reading.

During the session on Monday, Deputy Majority Leader and Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnan Panaligan moved that House Resolution (HR) No. 1501 be considered, prompting Deputy Speaker Ferjenel Biron to direct the deputy secretary general to read the said measure.

HR No. 1501’s title read as a ‘resolution requesting the Honorable Senate of the Philippines for consent to extend the plenary session of the House of Representatives to October 12, 2026, for the purpose of considering the General Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2027 on third and final reading.’

The resolution was then adopted via viva voce or voice voting.

House Concurrent Resolution No. 17 which laid down Congress’ schedule stated that the last session day will be on Oct. 9, as the legislative branch will adjourn from Oct. 10 to Nov. 8.

If the Senate allows it, this will not be the first time that the House extended its session to accommodate the passage of the annual budget.

In August 2025, when the House was tackling the then-proposed 2026 national budget, the chamber adopted a resolution that amends the original schedule of the 20th Congress’ first regular session, pushing the adjournment to Oct. 11, 2025.

Longer session days are necessary for the passage of a bill, since three days have to pass first before a bill approved on second reading is considered for third reading.

If the House approves the proposed P7.2 trillion budget for 2027, as contained in House Bill No. 10858 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on Wednesday, the earliest working day they can tackle the measure for third reading is on Oct. 12.

Last Sept. 25, the House wrapped up its plenary-level debates on the government agencies’ proposed budget, effectively ending the period of sponsorship and debates.

This period is among the several steps that a bill would go through before it is considered for second reading approval. After this, there will be a period of amendments, where committee amendments and institutional amendments will be heard.

Part of the amendments that will be raised during the plenary sessions include the changes proposed by the Budget Amendments Review Sub-committee (BARSc) – a sub-panel of the House committee on appropriations tasked to thresh out amendments in the GAB.

It appears that former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has been vindicated again, as a government official has confirmed the food company owned by lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, got funds over P319 million from China.

At Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, counsel for the prosecution Mae Divinagracia asked Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura about the total amount of inward financial transactions involving Carpio’s CALE88 Foods Corp., or money that came from mainland China and Hong Kong to the said company.

In response, Buenaventura said it is P319,326,770.41 – an amount that is close to the figure provided by Trillanes during a press briefing last Friday.

‘Let’s go to Table 5 of your summary, based on your summary, Table 5, and the CTRs (covered transactions report) and STRs (suspicious transactions report) of CALE88, how much was the entire value of remittances from China that CALE88 received?’ Divinagracia asked.

‘The entire value, your Honor, the aggregate amount placed under aggregate Letter c, aggregate PHP with subtotal a, what was indicated in our tabular summary is P319,326,770.41, your Honor. Based on the records, our tabular summary records,’ Buenaventura said.

”The title of Table 5 your Honors is the CTRs pertaining to inward remittances to CALE88 Foods Corporation from (a) China and (b) other countries, (Item 5) your Honor,’ he added.

Aside from this the table also showed that there are a total of 143 CTRs and three STRs on CALE88; 141 of the 143 CTRs were financial transactions from China and two from Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, all three STRs involved transactions from China.

Buenaventura, during the hearing of the House of Representatives’ committee on justice on the two impeachment complaints against Duterte, explained that covered transactions referred to bank transactions over P500,000, which banks report to AMLC.

Suspicious transactions, meanwhile, refer to those whose amounts are not determined, but were reported by banks because there is something questionable in terms of how funds were sourced.

There are other CTRs recorded by AMLC outside of China, including 13 from Ukraine, six each from Russia and Kazakhstan, four from Lithuania, two each from Tajikistan and South Africa, and one each from the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

All in all, there are 178 CTRs and three STRs, representing a total amount of P368.8 million worth of transactions.

Regarding the suspicious transactions from China, Buenaventura said that these were flagged because ‘there is no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose, or economic justification.’

Trillanes signified his desire to testify before the Senate Impeachment Court, but eventually withdrew to supposedly relieve the prosecution panel of pressure. Instead, the former senator presented his would have been testimony during a press conference in San Juan last Friday.

One of the items that Trillanes discussed was the alleged P319 million that went into CALE88 – despite having a paid-up capital of P125,000 from 2021 to 2025, having low electricity costs, and no rank-and-file employees.

Trillanes said that the P319 million was sent by Chinese firms in tranches, from 2023 to 2025.

Meanwhile, the Tapang at Malasakit Foundation, which Duterte listed herself as an incorporator in her 2022 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, reportedly received a P150 million donation from the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines in 2019.

This is not the first time that numbers presented by Trillanes matched documents and reports from AMLC.

Last April 22, when the House committee on justice discussed the impeachment complaints against Duterte, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima randomly picked 18 financial transactions listed in Trillanes’ annexes and asked AMLC to check if this was part of their investigation.

The Romblon provincial government is studying the distribution of drought-tolerant crops to farmers as it prepares to cushion farmers from a ‘Super El Niño.’

The Provincial Agriculture Office would hold technical meetings in each municipality to discuss preparations and provide farmers with information on the possible effects of El Niño, according to the Philippine Information Agency in Mimaropa (Mindoro Occidental and Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.)

Among the measures is the distribution of mung bean (monggo) and corn seeds from the Department of Agriculture (DA) for planting after farmers harvest their rice.

Provincial Agriculturist Relly Diokno said the crops require less water and could serve as alternative crops during periods of water shortage.

‘After mag-harvest ng palay, hindi na nila kailangang araruhin dahil iba na muna ang itatanim nila kasi hindi ito kailangan ng maraming tubig. At least pag dumating man ‘yung ‘Super El Niño,’ meron pa ring gulay kahit papaano (After harvesting rice, they won’t need to plow the land anymore because they will temporarily plant a different crop that does not require much water. At least, if ‘Super El Niño’ does come, there will still be some vegetables available),’ Diokno said.

The provincial agriculture office will also conduct information campaigns to guide farmers in preparing for possible drought conditions.

Farmers are being encouraged to prepare water storage facilities to ensure that they have a supply available once the effects of El Niño are felt.

Aside from the seeds provided by the DA, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) is also expected to allocate funds for measures addressing the potential impact of the climate phenomenon on farmers.

The preparations come amid the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa) outlook for hotter temperatures and below-normal rainfall in large parts of the country due to El Niño.

In a statement on Sept. 23, Pagasa said the effects of the phenomenon were expected to be most pronounced from October to December 2026, although the severity and extent of its impacts could vary by location.

Provincial officials said the technical meetings, seed distribution, water conservation measures and information campaign would be undertaken to help farmers adjust their agricultural activities should prolonged dry conditions develop.

City health officials here have sounded the alarm over a clustering of Hepatitis A cases allegedly linked to local barangay water systems, with six patients currently reported hospitalized.Cipriano Pat, City Health Disease Surveillance Officer who conducted an on-the-ground investigation, told the Inquirer on Friday that male patients aged 17 to 24 have been hospitalized, with five confined at a private hospital and one at a government facility.Pat noted that five of the positive Hepatitis A cases are neighbors in Barangay Lurugan.

Hepatitis A is a liver inflammation caused by the Hepatitis A virus.

Preliminary investigations by the City Health Office and the Epidemiology, Disease Surveillance, and Research Division headed by Myra Dianne Valero point to local barangay water systems as the likely source of infection, while ruling out street food or commercial food exposures.The Environmental Sanitation Division has deployed teams to conduct water sampling across affected puroks (hamlets) to test community water safety, with laboratory results being awaited.

Pat disputed speculations that the situation constitutes a Hepatitis A outbreak.

A total of nine individuals have sought medical attention or hospitalization due to symptoms like yellowish eyes and skin across Barangay Lurugan, Barangay Poblacion, and Barangay Kahaponan.Valero confirmed that no fatalities have been reported among the patients.Health officials are coordinating with regional sanitation and educational departments to monitor the situation as they urged for community vigilance.

Big-serving Alexander Zverev trounced home hopeful Shang Juncheng 6-0, 6-3 at the China Open on Saturday to set up a quarterfinal clash with Novak Djokovic.

The German top seed needed just 55 minutes to brush aside the Chinese wildcard, ranked 250th, firing nine aces along the way.

‘Happy with the win,’ the world’s second-ranked player said, adding that his 21-year-old opponent had been ‘dangerous’ and had ‘nothing to lose.’

‘Looking forward to the next couple of weeks,’ Zverev said ahead of his tie with Djokovic – who has never lost a match in Beijing – on Sunday.

Zverev’s cruise into the next round comes as he trains his sights on the number-one spot currently held by Jannik Sinner.

The Italian won in Beijing last year but is not there this time around. He said on Saturday that he would not play at next week’s Shanghai Masters either.

‘I think it’s no secret that it’s a goal, for sure,’ Zverev told reporters when asked about the battle for No. 1.

‘I know what I’m playing for. I know I’m very, very motivated to play at the moment. But again, I have a tough challenge tomorrow, and that’s my focus,’ he said.

Cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms will affect parts of the Visayas and Mindanao on Sunday, October 4, due to the trough, or extension, of Typhoon Choi-wan outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said affected areas include Western Visayas, the Negros Island Region, Central Visayas, Southern Leyte, and Mindanao.

Moderate to at times heavy rains throughout the day may trigger flash floods and landslides, the bureau warned.

VisMin temperatures

Temperatures across the Visayas and Mindanao will range from 24 to 33 degrees Celsius, according to Pagasa’s daily forecast.

Cebu: 25 to 31 degrees Celsius

Iloilo: 25 to 32 degrees Celsius

Tacloban: 26 to 32 degrees Celsius

Cagayan de Oro: 25 to 31 degrees Celsius

Zamboanga: 25 to 33 degrees Celsius

Davao: 24 to 32 degrees Celsius

Typhoon Choi-wan

As of 3 a.m. Sunday, Pagasa located Typhoon Choi-wan 2,595 kilometers east of extreme Northern Luzon.

It was moving north-northeastward at 15 kilometers per hour.

The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 155 kph near the center and gusts of up to 190 kph.

Pagasa said the typhoon is not expected to enter PAR as it continues moving toward Japan.

Localized thunderstorms

Meanwhile, the rest of the country will experience generally fair weather, apart from isolated rains or thunderstorms caused by localized thunderstorms.

Light to moderate winds and slight to moderate seas will prevail across the country on Sunday.

Dennis Trillo lashed out at Gelli de Belen after she shared her two cents on the controversy involving his wife, Jennylyn Mercado, and her former partner, Patrick Garcia.

During her guest appearance on the Oct. 2 episode of the talk show ‘Chika Cart,’ de Belen was asked for her reaction after she was shown photos and clips of how the issue became a big topic of conversation this week.

‘Hindi kailangang maging ganito kalaki kasi the reason why this was brought up was because nasasaktan ‘yung anak ni Patrick,’ de Belen said.

The seasoned actress appealed that children shouldn’t be dragged into a controversy that only involves the parents.

‘Sana wag nating kalimutan na may mga batang pinag-uusapan at ‘yun naman sila talaga ang pinaka-importante dahil yung mga magulang, nakakatanda, nakapag-move on na sila sa mga buhay nila. So sana let’s show the young ones what is right, what should be done, and not show them all this bad stuff,’ she added.

De Belen’s remarks were later featured in a social media art card posted on Saturday, Oct. 3, which drew a now-deleted comment from Trillo, who emphasized that he and Mercado also have children who were getting involved in the issue.

‘@gellidebelen nananahimik kami… lahat yan ay natural na reaksyon ng matinong TAO! Pasalamat kayo, dinaan ko nalang sa ganyan. Oo kawawa talaga mga bata, may mga anak din kami! Sisihin mo ‘yung nagsimula ng gulo!’ Trillo wrote, tagging de Belen’s Instagram page.

In another social media art card, de Belen was asked whether Garcia’s tell-all interview was necessary after all these years.

‘I cannot say for a fact na I would think that it was necessary or not kasi hindi ko naman alam ang pinagdadaanan ni Patrick. Hindi ko naman alam ang pinagdadaanan ng anak niya,’ she said.

‘If that were me, probably deal with it differently, or maybe, still agree to an interview, pero be more, I don’t know, I cannot. ‘Di ko alam ang gagawin ko eh, kasi wala ako sa posisyon niya, mahirap,’ she added.

De Belen also acknowledged Garcia’s role as a father and said it would be difficult to judge his decision to speak publicly in defense of his child.

‘Ama siya eh, hindi mo makukwestiyon kung ano ang pagmamahal ng magulang. So kung ano man ang ginawa man niya sa pangalan ng pagtatanggol sa kanyang anak, mahirap din namang i-judge,’ she said.

The controversy stemmed from Garcia’s recent interview with Ogie Diaz, in which he disputed claims that he abandoned Mercado in 2008 while she was pregnant with their son Jazz.

Garcia claimed that Mercado did not want him involved in the pregnancy. He also revealed that he has not seen Jazz since 2017 and has not provided financial support for him since then.

Garcia said that he did the interview for the sake of his daughter, Michelle, who is currently being bashed because of his past. Michelle is currently undergoing a K-pop Professional Training Program at SM Universe Singapore.

Meanwhile, following Trillo’s viral comment, ‘Chika Cart’ issued a statement on social media, saying it did not intend to disrespect anyone involved.

Valenzuela City will temporarily suspend the return of its no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) on Monday, Oct. 5, citing ongoing road construction and changing traffic conditions, Mayor Wes Gatchalian said Saturday.

Gatchalian said the city recognized the purpose of NCAP but that conditions were not yet suitable for its reimplementation.

‘Sunod-sunod ang road construction sa ating mga major roads, at araw-araw ay nagbabago ang daloy ng trapiko. Ayaw nating dagdagan ang pasanin ng ating mga motorista sa panahong hindi pa normal ang kondisyon ng ating mga kalsada,’ he said in a Facebook post.

‘Unahin muna natin ang maayos at ligtas na daloy ng trapiko para sa ating mga Valenzuelano,’ he added.The suspension will remain in effect until further notice, Gatchalian said.

Six Metro Manila cities, including Valenzuela, had announced that NCAP would resume on Oct. 5.

The other cities are Quezon City, Manila, San Juan, Parañaque and Muntinlupa.

Under NCAP, CCTV and digital camera footage are used to identify traffic violators. The concerned local government units issue citation tickets and send them to vehicle owners.

The Supreme Court in July dismissed consolidated petitions challenging NCAP ordinances in the six cities, saying the issues had become moot following the adoption of the Metro Manila Traffic Code of 2023. It also lifted its 2022 temporary restraining order against the local governments’ NCAP systems.

The court clarified, however, that the dismissal did not rule on the validity of the challenged ordinances and that future challenges could be filed if the revised NCAP system gives rise to an actual controversy.

Long before Messenger and Viber became everyday tools of communication, there were handwritten letters, notes scribbled on scraps of paper and messages passed from one person to another.

By today’s standards, those methods may seem slow and primitive. But in the early 1990s, they proved powerful enough to bring people together and rally an entire town against an international consortium planning to build an estimated P11-billion cement plant complex in this northwestern coastal town of Pangasinan.

‘Days before the rallies were held, we wrote letters to a contact person in every coastal and upland barangay, informing them about the rally and how many people were expected to attend. On the day of the rally, the people were there,’ recalled Margaret Celeste, who headed the Movement of Bolinao Concerned Citizens Inc. (MBCCI), which led the opposition to the cement plant project.

‘They came on their own, even if we did not give them fare money,’ she said in a recent interview.

Celeste said the group had no financial backing from any organization. Members often paid out of their own pockets for snacks, transportation and information materials.

‘The streamers were made of sacks and other cheap materials,’ she shared.

Yet those humble materials carried a message that would eventually reach far beyond Bolinao.

While the MBCCI and other groups organized communities in the barangays, the Philippine Daily Inquirer brought the issue to national attention through a three-part series published on Nov. 27, 28 and 30, 1994.

The articles were titled ‘Bolinao Folk Up in Arms Against Planned Multinational Cement Plant,’ ‘Health Risks Posed by the Proposed Bolinao Cement Plant Cited,’ and ‘Cement Plant and Marine Research.’

‘After the series of articles came out, different national media outlets-television, radio and newspapers-came to the town to cover what was happening,’ Celeste recounted.

She added: ‘They came for the cement plant issue, but it gave us the opportunity to show them the natural resources of the town-the waterfalls, caves and beaches-which were still in their pristine state and which we feared would be destroyed by the cement plant.’

‘I think what they saw convinced them of the need to protect Bolinao from industrialization,’ Celeste noted.

Victory

Thirty years later, residents continue to remember the struggle that brought together farmers, fisherfolk, environmental advocates and other townspeople in a prolonged campaign against the project.

The town eventually prevailed when the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, then headed by Secretary Victor Ramos, denied the project’s environmental compliance certificate on Aug. 8, 1996, effectively ending plans for the proposed cement plant.

On Sept. 5, members of the Bolinao Environmental Advocacy Movement (BEAM) and the Bolinao Green Warriors gathered to commemorate that environmental victory and reflect on the journey that followed.

‘We gathered to celebrate a historic environmental triumph and the journey toward a sustainable tourism legacy,’ said Ronaldi Torres, a member of the Bolinao Tourism Council.

The gathering, dubbed ‘Thanksgiving Day,’ carried the theme ‘From Environmental Victory to Tourism Legacy.’

It began with a Thanksgiving Mass, followed by a fellowship dinner where members of the Green Warriors shared stories of the struggle-their experiences, sacrifices and memories from the years when Bolinao’s future appeared uncertain.

For Celeste, the changes that followed the victory are now visible across the town.

‘We have gone a long way, with the town jumping from a fourth-class to a first-class municipality, mostly fueled by the tourism industry that boomed after the threat of the cement plant was gone,’ she said.

But even before the cement plant controversy, Celeste said Bolinao residents had begun to understand the importance of protecting their environment, particularly its rich coastal and marine resources.

A group of fisherfolk had established the Kaisahan ng mga Samahan ng Mamamayan sa Bolinao, a people’s organization focused on community-based coastal resource management, sustainable livelihood initiatives and partnerships in local governance.

The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, which maintains a marine laboratory in the town, also helped the municipal government develop its coastal resource management plan and assisted fisherfolk in producing sea cucumbers and other marine products.

Environmental advocacy groups, such as Tanggol Kalikasan and the Haribon Foundation, were likewise active in the town, helping communities deepen their understanding of environmental protection and conservation.

‘It was the upland residents, where the quarry sites were supposed to be located, that we had to work double time to reach and inform about the effects of quarrying the 10,000 hectares in five barangays for limestone, the main ingredient in cement,’ Celeste said.

The proposed project would have affected homes and farms in upland communities. As residents learned that they could be displaced from their land, more joined the growing movement against the project.

Today, Celeste said, there is much for Bolinao to be thankful for.

The tourism industry that flourished in the years following the environmental victory has created opportunities not only for resort and hotel owners but also for farmers selling their produce, tricycle drivers transporting visitors, vendors and many others whose livelihoods are now linked, directly or indirectly, to the town’s natural attractions.

For many of those who fought the proposed cement plant, the memories remain vivid-the handwritten letters, the makeshift streamers sewn from old sacks, the rallies that drew people from coastal and upland communities, and the uncertainty over what Bolinao might become.

Three decades later, those memories have become part of the town’s story.

In a social media post, Torres said the stories shared during the gathering ‘reminded us that Bolinao’s tourism legacy was built upon the courage of people who chose to protect its natural heritage.’