Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

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.’

Sen. Loren Legarda admitted she was wrong to join the group led by now Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano when he snatched the Senate presidency after a leadership coup on May 11, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

‘The last time we talked, she admitted that she made a mistake. I told her to forget about it, and that it’s over,’ Lacson said in an interview with radio dwIZ over the weekend.

Legarda also lamented that Senate Pro Tempore Vicente Sotto III was not answering her messages when she tried to reach out to him.

Cayetano took over the Senate presidency on May 11 after his faction, composed mostly of Duterte allies, ousted Sotto after it attained a slim majority when Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, now a fugitive from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, suddenly reappeared to support him after six months of hiding.

In an en banc resolution dated Aug. 26 but only released to the public recently, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the legality of the Senate session on June 3 that installed Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and acting Senate President, and resulted in the ouster of then-Senate President Cayetano.

According to the Supreme Court, the petition filed by lawyers Valeriano Loon and Zigfred Diaz failed to sufficiently establish that the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion in holding the session.

The group of Cayetano, including Legarda, had also filed a petition before the high court to challenge the legitimacy of the Senate leadership of Gatchalian. But Cayetano’s media officer said the recent Supreme Court ruling did not cover the petition filed by the minority bloc.

Saddened

When Legarda joined the Cayetano bloc, Lacson admitted that her decision saddened him and caught him by surprise.

Lacson previously said that while they accepted ‘political reality,’ he felt sad that Legarda, one of the original members of the Sotto-led minority, and later majority, opted to join the Cayetano group without informing them first.

‘My sentiment, and I think my colleagues share this, it is sad that Sen. Legarda…did not inform us of her decision,’ he said in an earlier statement. ‘I am not taking anything away from her decision to join Sen. Cayetano, but we just hoped she would at least have told us, instead of surprising us.’

Lacson said he was able to discuss with some senators Legarda’s possible rejoining the majority.

‘We talked about it, not all of us, but a small group of us in the majority, she is welcome… she is welcome to come back,’ he said.

‘It’s her decision… but you know, there’s a British saying ‘[It ain’t over] ’till the fat lady sings’. Until it doesn’t happen, she’s not in the majority. … if this is news, this is a developing story,’ said Lacson.

Legarda’s spokesperson Tony La Viña earlier said he is not ruling out the possibility of the senator joining the majority bloc, saying shifting alliances is a regular character of the Senate’s fluid politics.

Legarda has been on a medical leave since Aug. 3. She is reportedly in France seeking treatment for a ‘serious’ lung-related illness, as other senators had also claimed. Legarda, however, has not publicly disclosed the details of her condition.

Preliminary investigation

The senator reportedly left the country on Aug. 2, only a few days after the Office of the Ombudsman announced that she and her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, would be subject to a preliminary investigation over P10 billion ‘ghost’ solar power projects.

Lacson advised Legarda to return home if her health permits.

‘I understand her condition. But if she can, if her health permits, I would encourage her to come home. First, the investigation against them is very preliminary. But that’s only my advice. It’s her decision actually. After all, at the end of the day, that’s her personal decision,’ he said.

Legarda’s absence also figured in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a 13-1 vote, the impeachment court earlier decided that the constitutional provision setting the conviction threshold at two-thirds of the senator-judges would apply only to those actually participating in the trial. The ruling effectively reduced the required number from 16 votes to 14 votes, if based on the 20 senator-judges currently in attendance.

There was a point during the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan when sports fans began railing against athletes who missed their opportunities to score medals for the Philippines.

The noise became loud enough that it prompted a reaction from national boxer Nesthy Petecio, who reasoned that there was no reason to bash non-medal athletes, who are even more disappointed by the result.

It also spurred several more opinions from other athletes, who used their social media clout to defend their fellow sports heroes.

The generated noise is proof of something positive: Filipinos have come to expect more from themselves in international arenas.

There was a time, it should be noted, that we were generous with participation praise in big events such as the Asian Games, World Championships, and the Olympics.

Not anymore.

We are, without doubt, in the golden age of Philippine sports-an era where we have not only ended our Olympic dry run but, in a span of three years, won three gold medals in two editions of the celebrated Summer Games.

Olympic triumph

We have a Filipinas football team that qualified to the World Cup-twice. The program has a World Cup win chalked up, too. EJ Obiena is the best pole vaulter in all of Asia, and the greatest track and field star the country has ever had, rising at one point to No. 2 in the world.

Carlos Yulo, owner of two of those Olympic golds, deserves a monument. So does Hidilyn Diaz, who opened the door to Philippine Olympic triumph.

And then there’s Alex Eala, the country’s fast-rising tennis GOAT who is arguably the most popular women’s tennis player in the world right now.

It is the heroics of these athletes that give us the ability to sneer at defeats in events that we feel we shouldn’t have lost.

But all that bristling can be distracting, too.

And in the Asian Games, where we long to protect and extend this period of unprecedented success in international sports, we must not only pick up lessons from those defeats.

We should not only search from the rubble of what we deem as results we could have done better in.

To extend this golden run, we should also look at the spaces where we expected victories-and got them.

We are already past building blueprints out of our shortcomings; we can now begin building off replicable success.

What can we learn from the gold medals in pole vault in gymnastics? That building teams around athletes to cater to their physical, mental, and emotional needs produces great results.

That we should find ways to fund scientific training no matter where we are based-Obiena trained abroad, Yulo has started camping out in the country.

Noise from defeats

What do we pick up from our gold in taekwondo? That maybe targeted funding is not the answer to our meager financial resources.

With the Los Angeles Olympics practically just around the corner, the Asian Games has to be dissected in terms of wins and losses and the stewards of the country’s national program must not react in a knee-jerk manner to diagnose and then address what went wrong.

There are defeats, after all, that bear no need for additional scrutiny because they can be remedied at the level of the athlete. There is, for example, no need to overthink Eala’s bronze medal. Being the No. 1 seed in the tournament was never a guarantee for gold.

Even in the Olympics, where the biggest tennis stars gun for their nation’s glory, only one of the last eight singles winners was the event’s top seed.

In Eala’s case, all it takes is to have an opponent playing on fire in the worst moment and you miss out on the target.

And the noise from defeats such as these can distract preparations for future events.

Spotlight on victories

The best way to build is to shine the spotlight on victories that the country collected in the Asiad. What worked? Of the processes that led to gold, or whatever unexpected success we encountered in Japan, what can be scaled to the grassroots so we can build a bigger pool of world conquerors?

What paths to victory are realistically replicable?

Our current run of success coincides with good news from the resources side. A recent court victory awarded the Philippine Sports Commission with billions in terms of sports funding.

A family in Barangay Loakan Proper here rescued a young eagle found in the garden of their rented home on Saturday, Oct. 3 and turned it over to authorities for assessment and rehabilitation.

Leticia Amoguis said her husband, Ed, found the bird around 10 a.m. in their garden in Purok Bubon, according to the Bauio City Public Information Office.

Recognizing the bird as a protected wildlife species, the family reported the sighting through Baguio 911 and, on advice, contacted Baguio City Police Station 4.

Police personnel took custody of the bird and turned it over to the appropriate authorities for care.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong commended the family, Baguio 911 and the police for their prompt response and efforts to protect the wildlife.

Authorities reminded the public not to handle, keep or attempt to care for wild animals on their own. Injured, stranded or displaced wild animals should be reported to the proper authorities for appropriate assessment and assistance.

A loaded caliber .45 pistol was found inside the motorcycle of a 17-year-old female student during a security inspection at Notre Dame of Matalam in North Cotabato on Thursday, police said.

Brig. Gen. Alan Manibog, Police Regional Office-12 director, said a school security guard found the firearm inside a black sling bag in the motorcycle’s compartment box. The motorcycle was driven by the Grade 12 student, identified by the alias ‘Ljem,’ in Barangay Poblacion, Matalam.

The firearm, a Model 1911 U.S. Army caliber .45 pistol, had a magazine containing eight rounds. Police personnel secured it and brought the student to the Matalam Municipal Police Station for assessment and intervention.

Police said the firearm allegedly belonged to the student’s father, who reportedly forgot to remove it from the motorcycle before his daughter drove it to school. Authorities are determining whether the firearm is licensed and whether the father is a licensed gun owner.

Lt. Col. Marvin Hugos, Matalam police chief, said the firearm and ammunition were secured for documentation, verification and disposition. Police said the investigation was being conducted cautiously to avoid causing further trauma to the student.

Providing young basketball players with a more professional environment to compete, develop their skills and gain exposure will be the focus of a grassroots showcase set for Sunday in Quezon City (QC).

The HTG Sports Showcase Game will bring together youth programs from across Metro Manila in four age divisions at the MRB QC District 2 Gymnasium, with organizers hoping the event can help raise playing and operational standards at the grassroots level.

Games will be played in the 12-under, 13-under, 14-under and 15-under divisions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with San Beda, Diligent Basketball, R3R and Jubilee Christian Academy among the participating programs.

Beyond providing competition, the showcase is designed to give young players an environment that more closely resembles higher-level basketball, with experienced officiating, game broadcasts and media coverage.

‘The core purpose of the Showcase Game is to demonstrate HTG Sports’ commitment to raising operational and production standards in local youth sports,’ founder Miggy Al-Alawy said.

‘The event provides a platform where young players can compete, develop and showcase their skills under professional conditions, while acknowledging everyone involved in the ecosystem-from coaches and referees to event staff and families.’

The local government and African swine fever (ASF) task force of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, have intensified the crackdown on the unauthorized entry of live pigs amid efforts to protect local hog raisers from the effects of the disease.

Authorities intercepted a group of pig transporters in Barangay Burgos on Saturday, Oct. 3, for allegedly violating Executive Order No. 63-B, which regulates the movement of live pigs into Sablayan and Occidental Mindoro, the municipal government said.

The local government said the regulation serves as a biosecurity measure to protect Sablayan’s hog population, estimated at more than 6,006 heads, from ASF and other animal diseases.

‘The indiscriminate entry of pigs without proper authorization directly puts at risk the livelihood of our local hog raisers and the food security of our community,’ the municipal government said.

It warned pig transporters and operators that unauthorized entry could result in penalties and legal action.

The municipality urged residents, hog raisers and transporters to cooperate with authorities in enforcing biosecurity measures and preventing the spread of ASF.

ASF is a highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs but does not infect humans. Outbreaks can cause losses to hog raisers and disrupt pork supplies.

Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon responded on Sunday to the Palace’s concern that withdrawing an impeachment article might ‘shortchange’ the public, saying that evidence has already been presented with the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.

In a statement, Ridon said he respects Palace press officer Claire Castro’s remark, as he noted that evidence of alleged wrongdoing against Vice President Sara Duterte has been laid out already to the Senate, which has televised the proceedings since July.

‘We respect the view of the President’s spokesperson on this matter,’ he said in Filipino.

‘However, the previous and current impeachment articles have already been brought before the Senate Impeachment Court, and the decision now rests with the Court based on the evidence presented in the trial,’ he added.

Ridon’s remark comes after Manila Rep. Joel Chua revealed early Sunday that the prosecution team will drop the bribery charge against Duterte, a development Castro said could deprive Filipinos of the chance to know the ‘whole truth.’

‘If they withdraw the bribery allegation against the vice president, wouldn’t that shortchange or disadvantage Filipinos who want to know the whole truth about this?’ Castro said in a message to reporters.

The decision to abandon the bribery count against Duterte comes as her trial enters its 14th week.

In September, prosecutors said they were studying whether to pursue the allegation that the vice president bribed officials to persuade Department of Education (DepEd) officials to bypass procurement rules in her stint as education secretary.

The prosecution team had already presented two impeachment articles: that Duterte allegedly threatened President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the First Lady and a former House speaker; and that she misused P612.5 million in confidential funds.

The allegations that Duterte amassed unexplained wealth and misstated her asset disclosures are now being heard in the trial.