Category: Philippines Daily Inquirer

The Philippines slipped two places to 52nd in the 2026 Global Innovation Index (GII), as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) called for increased government and private-sector investment in research and development (RandD) to strengthen the country’s innovation capacity.

The country ranked 69th in innovation inputs, down from last year, while it placed 40th in innovation outputs. The Philippines ranked 50th overall in 2025 and 53rd in 2024.

Despite the decline, the Philippines placed third among 36 lower-middle-income economies and scored above the group’s average across all innovation pillars. It remained below the regional average across the same pillars.

DOST said the Philippines has remained within a statistically consistent range of 50th to 53rd place from 2020 to 2026.

The decline in its innovation-input ranking reflects areas such as gross RandD spending, the number of science and engineering graduates, and the number of researchers.

RELATED STORY: Batang Ligtas Act tightens rules for online platforms

DOST calls for stronger RandD capacity

DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. said the country needs to expand its RandD capacity, particularly by encouraging greater private-sector investment in locally developed technologies.

‘Filipinos do much with what they have,’ Solidum said in a press release. ‘But being innovative despite constraints is not the same as having the scale of RandD capability needed to compete globally.’

DOST said it will strengthen programs supporting local industries, encourage private-sector firms to invest in RandD, and help turn scientific research into ventures that can scale.

Solidum said sectors including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and climate technologies require closer coordination among government agencies, universities, industry and investors.

‘What we need is not simply more initiatives, but greater coherence among them,’ Solidum said.

He said the country’s research infrastructure should ultimately be measured by whether ideas can move from discovery to validation, industrial adoption and eventually the global market, rather than by the number of laboratories built or projects funded.

Solidum also urged government, academia and industry to adopt shared definitions of ‘technology transfer’ and ‘commercialization.’

He said differences in how institutions use the terms can make it harder to establish targets, maintain consistent reporting and communicate with international partners and investors.

Connectivity and technology adoption show gains

Despite the weaker innovation-input ranking, the GII’s Global Innovation Tracker showed that the Philippines improved in nine indicators over the short term, covering science and innovation investment, technology adoption and socioeconomic impact.

The improvements included scientific publications and RandD spending, as well as the adoption of connectivity, robots and electric vehicles. Labor productivity and life expectancy also improved.

Electric vehicle adoption recorded the largest increase, rising 629.2% from 2024 to 2025, with long-term annual growth of 161.5% between 2017 and 2025.

Venture capital, however, declined, highlighting a remaining gap in the country’s innovation ecosystem.

Solidum said stronger RandD investment could improve the competitiveness of local industries, encourage private-sector investment and create opportunities for locally developed technologies.

The GII is published annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization and ranks economies based on their innovation capacity and performance.

At a TikTok Table Talk with the social media app’s local executives, I got the perfect chance to ask about brainrot content on the platform, and whether it’s getting in the way of children’s creativity in their most formative years. I described in detail how repetitive it was, like a looped version of children’s shows but with more sardonic humor and none of the lessons.

It was a family talk, and the first thing they asked was how old. I said six.

‘See, that’s the point. They’re not even allowed to be there at six. How are their parents allowing them?’

TikTok’s own rules say you have to be at least 13 to have an account, and the platform bans any account it finds belongs to someone younger.

And it’s on an iPad, mind you.

The talk of family security on social media platforms has been debatable for a while. Short-form video gets blamed for a culture of short attention spans, and the security around it is as open as a GTA V map that kids are left to roam.

Congress is having the same argument right now. In September, a House panel proposed and ratified a full social media ban for children below 13, with scrolling short videos and joining chat groups off-limits for teens 13 to 17. The Senate’s version, Senate Bill No. 2424, sets the minimum age at 16.

But TikTok isn’t the problem, and it’s been doing more on safety than people tend to give it credit for.

And they came to the table with receipts.

AI on your feed

Most of the briefing was about AI, which makes sense if you’ve seen what passes for brainrot lately. If your kid knows who Tung Tung Tung Sahur is, they’ve already watched plenty of AI.

There’s now an AI Literacy Hub inside the app, in Filipino, that teaches you how to spot AI-generated content. It’s worth showing to the people who’d get the most out of it, like the kids at home or the relatives forwarding fake videos in the family group chat. All it takes is typing ‘AI’ into the search bar.

There’s also the spam problem where AI makes it cheap to churn out videos that bury actual creators. TikTok says it removed more than 86 million fake accounts globally in the first three months of 2026, and it’s testing better ways to catch accounts that exist only to post AI spam, especially around politics and current events, financial advice, and medical content.

Eighty-six million in three months is a huge number, and it means a lot of the cleanup happens before most of us ever see anything. The watch list makes sense too, since politics and health are where fake content does the most damage. Given that my question was about kids, I’d love to see content made for them on that list someday.

How to filter AI in TikTok’s settings

More than 3 billion videos on the platform now carry an AI-generated label. Those labels come from Content Credentials, invisible watermarks, and creators tagging their own posts.

The one I think parents will like most is a new AI-Generated Content setting under Manage Topics. It lets you turn down how much AI content shows up in your feed. The videos stay on the app. You just see fewer of them. You’ll find it under Settings and privacy ? Content Preferences ? Manage Topics ? AI-Generated Content.

This is the one I’d tell other parents about, since it’s a few taps deep and easy to miss. It also gets better as more videos get labeled, which is where those 3 billion labels come in.

The numbers

From January to March 2026, TikTok took down more than 3.5 million videos in the Philippines for breaking its Community Guidelines. That’s roughly 39,000 a day. It says 99.5% were removed proactively and 94% within 24 hours.

The 99.5% is the number that stuck with me, because it means almost none of this depended on someone reporting it first. It also cleared something up about my own question. Brainrot doesn’t break any rules, so it was never going to show up in a removal report. That part comes down to what we let kids watch, which is where TikTok’s family tools come in.

Requests from the government are a much smaller pile. From July to December 2025, Philippine authorities sent 111 removal requests covering 11,635 pieces of content. TikTok acted on 6,723 for breaking its guidelines and 263 for breaking local law, a 60% removal rate, and left the other 4,649 up. Of the 25 accounts flagged, it took action on five, all under local law.

Not every request ends in a takedown, and that’s by design. TikTok checks each one against its Community Guidelines, its Terms of Service and local law, which is the kind of review you’d want before anything gets pulled. Lawmakers want platforms on firmer local footing too. Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, who led the group that drafted the House version, wants every platform to register a Philippine presence. If that passes, the next transparency report should be an interesting read.

Law enforcement asked for user information 15 times in the same period. TikTok disclosed nothing on the three legal requests. It shared some data on 45.5% of the 11 emergency requests, which it only grants when it believes there’s an imminent risk of death or serious injury.

For families

The family part of the briefing was the #ThinkTwice Family Guide, which TikTok launched in the Philippines in August 2026 with Child Rights Coalition-Asia, Child Rights Network and Plan International Pilipinas. It has conversation starters and safety tips, plus a rundown of TikTok’s own tools. The printed copy we got opens by telling you to grab a pen and your family to get started. Search ‘Think Twice’ in the app to reach the #ThinkTwice Digital Check-In Hub, where you can download the whole thing.

The guide is meant to work alongside the 50 safety and privacy features TikTok presets for teen accounts, and Family Pairing, which links a parent’s account to their teen’s.

The 50 presets are on by default and a teen doesn’t have to go looking for them. For everything else, it helps to know where to look: search ‘Think Twice’ for the guide, search ‘AI’ for the hub, and set up Family Pairing from the parent’s side.

Every one of those tools is built for a teenager with an account of their own, which is exactly why the age limit matters. A six-year-old on a parent’s iPad is watching on an adult account, with none of those protections switched on.

In schools

TikTok also recently wrapped up the Mindanao leg of TikTok Galing in Cagayan de Oro, run with the Department of Education and the UP College of Journalism. Media and digital literacy experts and advocates Dr. Rachel Khan, Professor Yvonne Chua, Kara David, and Janvic Mateo took part. So far, more than 300 DepEd teachers across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao have gone through the training, and TikTok plans to bring in more partners in 2027.

Three hundred teachers is a solid start, especially since each one goes back to a full classroom. With more partners coming in 2027, I’m hoping it reaches a lot more schools.

It has also held youth consultations with Plan International and Child Rights Coalition Asia, asking teens how they use these platforms, what they get out of them, what risks they run into and, what they think online safety should look like. Creators like Teacher Lyka have joined some of those conversations.

Two congressional panels were asked to check whether the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and local government units (LGUs) are ready to reimplement the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP), after the lifting of the temporary restraining order (TRO) against it.

In a statement on Monday, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez said he has filed House Resolution (HR) No. 1490, asking that the House of Representatives’ committee on transportation and the committee on Metro Manila Development to check the government agencies’ readiness regarding NCAP, among other things.

NCAP, as the name suggests, is a system where traffic violations are monitored and recorded using closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras. The implementation of the program was suspended last August 2022 after petitioners went to the Supreme Court (SC) to raise concerns over data privacy issues, but the High Tribunal partially lifted the TRO in May 2025, and then fully in June 2026.

‘Notwithstanding the judicial resolution, there remains an urgent need to check the automated traffic enforcement systems across various jurisdictions to ensure uniformity, fairness, and strict compliance with constitutional standards, particularly the right to due process and the protection of privacy,’ Gutierrez said in HR No. 1490.

‘It is the duty of Congress to exercise its oversight function to ensure that policies implemented by executive and local government agencies are aligned with national laws and that they serve the best interest of the public without infringing upon their fundamental rights,’ he added.

Gutierrez listed five items that the two committees must check:

evaluate the effectiveness of the NCAP in achieving its objectives of traffic management and road safety

examine the mechanisms for due process and the accessibility of appeal procedures for motorists issued citations under the policy

assess the systems in place to ensure the data privacy and security of the information collected through the technology

determine the legal authority and applicable rules governing the allocation and intended use of NCAP fines and penalty revenues, including whether those revenues are used for traffic management, road safety, transportation, or other authorized public purposes

determine the necessity for a national legislative framework to standardize automated traffic enforcement, ensuring consistency across different LGUs and adherence to constitutional safeguards.

Gutierrez said he filed the resolution to ensure that there will be a fair implementation of the system, and motorists are protected from possible issues brought by discrepancies and system errors.

‘Dapat malinaw at pare-parehas ang implementasyon-iisa ang standard. Hindi dapat iba ang patakaran, iba ang multa, at iba ang paraan ng pag-apela dahil lang tumawid ka ng lungsod,’ he said.

(There should be a clear and similar implementation-there should be one standard. We cannot have different rules, penalties, and modes of appeal just because you crossed a city.)

‘Handa ba talaga tayo? Patas ba ang polisiya? Protektado ba ang mga motorista?’ he asked. ‘Kung may multa, dapat patas, lalo na sa mga riders na araw-araw nasa daan para magtrabaho.’

(Are we really ready? Is the policy fair? Are motorists protected? If there are fees, it should be fair, especially for riders who work daily on our streets.)

Aside from fairness, Gutierrez said that personal data and footage must be stored properly, and the government must ensure that the footage will show how the violation was committed.

‘Dapat mahuli ng camera ang malinaw na violation. Hindi ‘yung automatic na mapaparusahan dahil kulang ang signage, sira ang kalsada, o wala kang magagawa sa sitwasyon,’ Gutierrez said.

(The camera should clearly capture a violation, and they should not be penalized immediately because there is no signage, if the streets are damaged, or if they are left with no choices after a particular situation.)

‘Madalas ang riders ang unang nakakaramdam kapag hindi pantay ang implementasyon. Babantayan natin ‘yan,’ he added.

(Oftentimes, riders are the first to feel if implementation is not fair. We will monitor that.)

This is not the first time that Gutierrez filed a resolution seeking a probe on NCAP. After the partial lifting of the TRO, the lawmaker filed HR No. 2293 before the 19th Congress, asking the committee on transportation to check whether the MMDA is ready to implement the NCAP.

Gutierrez said the reasoning behind NCAP is commendable, but there are different issues left unaddressed, like unclear traffic rules and signages, and the slow delivery of notice of violations.

Aside from Gutierrez, other senators have also raised concerns about the return of the NCAP, like Senator Francis Escudero and former Senator Grace Poe, who both urged MMDA to ensure that concerns with the NCAP are addressed first.

According to Escudero, the evidence presented to back up a traffic citation must be clear, and traffic rules and signages must be visible enough for motorists.

With the lifting of the restraining order last May 2025, the NCAP system will resume over areas it covered before, like the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, C-5 Road, Katipunan Avenue, Marcos Highway, Roxas Boulevard, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon Avenue, West Avenue, E. Rodriguez Avenue, and Buendia Avenue, starting Monday.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) Civil Security Group said Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa has yet to surrender 91 firearms registered under his name after his gun licenses and registrations were revoked.

‘From 117, they have turned in 26, so we still have 91. We are continuing our coordination with his legal officer,’ PNP CSG Director Maj. Gen. Aden Lagradante said in a press briefing on Monday.

The PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (PNP-FEO) has revoked dela Rosa’s firearms licenses and registrations, with the order dated May 26 and signed by FEO chief Brig. Gen. Jose Manalad Jr.

The PNP-FEO previously said that dela Rosa held a Type 5 License to Own and Possess Firearms, which was originally valid until March 10, 2034, with 117 assorted firearms registered in his name.

‘Under our rules, they should be surrendered, but the latest information is that the remaining firearms are still being accounted for,’ Lagradante said.

Lagradante added that dela Rosa’s camp had sought reconsideration of the revocation through a letter to the PNP-FEO.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the senator over his alleged involvement in the drug war under former President Rodrigo Duterte, both during Duterte’s time as Davao City mayor and later as president.

The tribunal, which has Duterte in its custody in The Hague, Netherlands, has named dela Rosa as a ‘co-perpetrator.’

Local supporters of the anti-political dynasty law through a People’s Initiative (PI) have called on people in Northern Mindanao to sign the online campaign.

Representatives from the Church, academe, civil society, youth and student organizations, and professionals launched the Dapat Isa Lang (D1L) Movement at Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan) here last week.

D1L has launched a nationwide campaign to pass an anti-political dynasty law through PI, which bypasses Congress, the body that makes and enacts laws, and is mostly dominated by the same families the movement seeks to remove from holding perpetual public office.

The initiative aims to enact a genuine anti-political dynasty law-a constitutional mandate that lawmakers have largely ignored for nearly 40 years.

‘We will be offering a genuine anti-political dynasty law through this people’s initiative because we need to bypass Congress, as this law is not attractive to them,’ Nestor Banuag Jr., director of Xavier University’s Social Involvement and Advocacy Program, told the Inquirer.

7.5 million signatures

The proposed D1L measure seeks to limit political families to one national and one local elected post, ban relatives up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity from holding simultaneous offices, prohibit position-switching, and enforce a one-term cooling-off period. It also empowers voters and the Commission on Elections to file disqualification or quo warranto cases against violators.

To enact the law via a People’s Initiative, the movement needs to gather signatures from at least 10% of total registered voters nationwide, or at least 7.5 million, including 3% from every legislative district.

Organizers set up an online platform (https://d1l.org/) where registered voters can sign the petition until Jan. 31, 2027.

John Phillip Talaba, a former Xavier University Central Student Government president and a member of the D1L core team here, said the campaign requires participation beyond the movement’s organizers.

He called for volunteers to help meet the target, particularly in communities where the campaign has yet to establish a network.

‘The longer we drag this out, the more time opposition forces have to consolidate power against us,’ Talaba told the Inquirer. ‘This effort is heavily driven by the youth, because we truly want to take back control over our lives.’

A moral and ethical concern

The country’s Catholic bishops strongly supported the movement, stressing that the concentration of power is a moral and ethical issue that harms the common good.

‘Public office must never become a family inheritance; it is a public trust entrusted by the people to serve all,’ the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) stated. ‘When public authority is treated as private privilege, the common good suffers.’

Clarence Raul Florendo, Social Action Center lay coordinator of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, said Archbishop Jose Cabantan has enjoined all parishes under the archdiocese to support the initiative.

‘There is always the lure of corruption because they know the next administration will not hold them accountable because of the relations,’ Florendo told the Inquirer.

Organizers here are working to secure support from the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines for the anti-dynasty law’s passage through PI.

Anatomy of dynasties

The prevalence of political dynasties has been widely blamed for trapping the country in a cycle of poverty and patronage.

Political economist Ronald Mendoza, former dean of the Ateneo School of Government, classified Philippine dynasties as ‘thin’ (sequential succession) and ‘fat’ (simultaneous occupation of multiple posts).

According to his research, 83% of the country’s senators and about 80% of House district representatives belong to political families, while locally, 87% of provincial governors and 75% of city mayors are part of dynasties.

He also noted that 90% of Filipinos live in an area controlled by a political dynasty, with ‘fat’ dynasties severely prevalent in the country’s poorest provinces.

The Iligan City Traffic and Parking Management Office (ICTPMO) has advised drivers of vehicles coming from Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental provinces who have no business in the city proper to use the C3 Road, particularly those driving light vehicles and medium-sized trucks.

The advisory aims to ease traffic congestion caused by the ongoing repair of the Tambacan Bridge by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The DPWH has installed billboards and road signs at entry points near the National Steel Corporation in Barangay Suarez, the national highway in Barangay Buruun, Tambo Terminal and Barangay Del Carmen to guide motorists to the C3 Road.

A checkpoint has also been established in Barangay Buruun in coordination with the Philippine National Police and traffic enforcers.

Large trailer trucks are prohibited from using the C3 Road because of safety concerns, particularly on the steep sections of the route.

The traffic light near The Pantry Restaurant in Barangay Tipanoy along the C3 Road has been temporarily turned off during peak hours, with traffic enforcers manually directing vehicles to prevent heavy traffic.

The ICTPMO urged motorists and the public to cooperate with authorities and observe traffic rules to help ensure the smooth flow of vehicles during the bridge repair.

Agusan del Sur is mobilizing calamity funds and preparing longer-term measures as a severe El Niño has damaged more than a third of the province’s agricultural crops and cut water levels in critical watersheds by nearly a third.

The provincial government, municipal officials and civil society groups met Oct. 1 for a two-day El Niño Response Planning Workshop at the Provincial Learning Center in Patin-ay to draw up measures for agriculture, water supply, public health and power stability.

The effort comes after the province was placed under a state of calamity through Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution No. 585-26, based on assessments by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC).

Prolonged dry spells have damaged or compromised 36.4% of the province’s agricultural commodities, while water reserves in critical watersheds have fallen by an average of 31.4%, according to disaster management assessments.

Nearly all municipalities are now grappling with shortages of potable water.

Securing food and water

With reduced river runoff threatening farm production, provincial agricultural officials are looking at alternative sources of irrigation.

Corazon Escasinas, an agriculturist II at the Provincial Agriculture Office, said the province was monitoring irrigated farms and considering solar-powered water pumps and water impounding projects.

‘One of our response actions for the strong El Niño is to coordinate and monitor irrigated agricultural areas and propose solar-powered water pumps and water impounding projects,’ Escasinas said.

Health officials also warned of a possible rise in waterborne and vector-borne diseases as prolonged shortages force families to use unsafe water sources or store water at home.

Funds, plans through 2027

Provincial planners are considering the use of the local Quick Response Fund (QRF) and additional municipal allocations to finance immediate relief and infrastructure needs.

Contingency plans are also being drawn up through 2027 in case climate anomalies persist and further deplete groundwater reserves.

Rex Linao, executive director of the Foundation for the Development of Agusanons Inc. (FDAI), said nongovernment organizations and community groups would be crucial in identifying communities at risk.

‘We need to capacitate stakeholders and CSOs so they can contribute to addressing the issues and effects of El Niño. This will help us become more proactive,’ Linao said.

‘We already have an action and response plan that can address the issues by sector at the municipal level, and we can also identify where the funding can come from,’ he added.

Several Mindanao towns differed on whether to suspend or hold classes for World Teachers’ Day on Monday.

In Talakag, Bukidnon, Mayor Renato Sulatan stood firm in his decision to suspend classes in the municipality for World Teachers’ Day on Monday, making it the only municipality in the province to do so.On his personal social media page, the mayor stated that the break gives students, teachers, and school personnel time to rest, recharge, and celebrate.

Sumo-oy clarified that while a DepEd memorandum maintains regular classes at all levels, local chief executives ‘hold the executive prerogative to declare suspensions.’ He added that the lost school day in Talakag will be replenished during a make-up class scheduled in December at the end of the term block.

But in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo did not suspend classes for World Teachers’ Day.

Paredes-Bravo also cited RA 10743, noting that Section 1 explicitly classifies the observance as a ‘special working holiday’.

‘This is a national law that cannot be cancelled or overridden by an Executive Order,’ Paredes-Bravo stated in Cebuano. ‘The local government, through the mayor, cannot declare a holiday-whether working or non-working-for the celebration.’

The mayor also cited Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Opinion No. 127, Series of 2022, which affirms that the legal power to declare holidays-working or non-working-is exclusively vested in the President of the Philippines and the Congress of the Philippines. The opinion notes that neither the Local Government Code of 1991 nor other statutes grant local governments the power to declare holidays.

Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur Mayor Frederick Mellana also underscored the same principle, reminding the public that ‘only Congress and the Office of the President can declare holidays.’

The Department of Education (DepEd) is preparing to vaccinate about 4.6 million learners under its school-based immunization program for School Year 2026-2027, covering measles-rubella, tetanus-diphtheria, and human papillomavirus (HPV).

According to Jhpiego Philippines, a global health nonprofit affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, the Bakuna Eskwela program aims to vaccinate about 3.6 million Grade 1 and Grade 7 learners against measles-rubella and tetanus-diphtheria, and nearly 1 million Grade 4 girls against HPV.

DepEd’s Bureau of Learner Support Services-School Health Division (BLSS-SHD) recently held a two-day hybrid planning workshop in Quezon City with physicians, nurses and dentists from selected regional and school division offices ahead of the campaign.

The planned rollout covers Grade 1 learners aged 6 to 7 and Grade 7 boys and girls aged 12 to 13 for measles-rubella and tetanus-diphtheria vaccination, as well as Grade 4 girls aged 9 to 10 for HPV vaccination.

DepEd has been implementing school-based immunization with the Department of Health (DOH) since 2017 to protect school-age children and adolescents against vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, rubella, tetanus, and diphtheria.

HPV vaccination is intended to protect preadolescent girls from HPV infection and reduce their future risk of cervical cancer.

Vaccination gaps

During the workshop, health personnel reviewed measles-rubella, tetanus-diphtheria and HPV vaccination coverage and school participation across provincial, component city, highly urbanized city and independent component city schools division offices.

Jhpiego Philippines said the workshop participants also examined behavioral and social factors affecting routine and HPV vaccination and worked on short-, medium- and long-term plans to address operational and logistical bottlenecks, administrative barriers, misinformation, access to immunization services, hard-to-reach and underserved areas, and parental support and confidence in vaccines.

Participants also discussed lessons from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded HPV Vaccination Acceleration Program Partners Initiative (HAPPI) and findings from behavioral and social drivers surveys and interviews on HPV vaccination supported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Enhancing Global Health Security project and implemented by Jhpiego Philippines.

Dr. Lilibeth Gonzales, officer-in-charge-chief and supervising health program officer of the DepEd School Health Division, said the workshop was intended to turn the data into concrete measures at the regional, division and school levels.

‘The success of school-based immunization depends on how well we translate data and plans into coordinated action at the regional, division and school levels. This workshop allows us to identify gaps early, strengthen coordination with our health partners and develop practical strategies to ensure that more learners can access the vaccines they need,’ Gonzales said.

Meanwhile, Jhpiego Philippines Country Program Manager Dr. Ingrid Magnata said vaccination efforts also require stronger systems and coordination among education, health and communities.

‘Protecting children and adolescents through vaccination requires more than delivering vaccines. It requires strong systems, informed communities and coordinated action across sectors. By bringing together data, behavioral insights and the experience of education and health teams, we can develop approaches that are more responsive to the realities faced by learners, parents and schools,’ Magnata said.

Dr. Anthony Calibo, immunization technical adviser of Jhpiego Philippines, also said combining vaccination data with behavioral and operational information could help identify practical responses to gaps.

‘The value of this planning process is in helping teams move from simply knowing their coverage numbers to understanding what those numbers mean and what can be done about them,’ Calibo said.

‘By combining vaccination data with behavioral insights and operational experience, regions and divisions can identify practical solutions to improve access, participation and vaccine confidence,’ he added.

The workshop ended with participating DepEd regional and schools division offices reaffirming their commitment to strengthen schools as healthy settings and platforms for preventive health services, consistent with the principles of the Universal Health Care Law. The 2026 preparations build on the continuing DepEd-DOH effort to improve school-based vaccination and reach eligible learners with essential vaccines. Current DepEd guidance covers measles-rubella and tetanus-diphtheria vaccination for Grade 1 and Grade 7 students and HPV vaccination for Grade 4 female students.

House prosecutors will drop the bribery charge against Vice President Sara Duterte, ending weeks of deliberations as they seek to shorten her impeachment trial and focus on evidence they believe is sufficient to secure her conviction on other allegations.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua said on Sunday the team would formally inform the Senate impeachment court on Monday of its decision to abandon Article 3 of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Duterte of bribing Department of Education (DepEd) officials to circumvent procurement rules during her tenure as education secretary.

‘We believe that the evidence presented is already sufficient,’ Chua said, denying that the decision stemmed from weaknesses in the bribery case.

In a statement later in the day, lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said: ‘Our responsibility remains clear: to follow the evidence and bring a focused, well-supported case to its conclusion. That responsibility guides every decision we make.’

The trial, which began on July 6, enters its 14th week as prosecutors race to complete their presentation amid delays and the Senate’s legislative obligations.

The prosecution expressed confidence in its remaining allegations: Duterte’s alleged threats against President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez; misuse of millions of pesos in confidential funds; and unexplained wealth.

‘As far as the prosecution panel is concerned, the prosecution has already established the facts needed for conviction,’ Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, a prosecution spokesperson, told the Inquirer.

Cash envelopes

The decision followed weeks of discussions that began in September, after prosecutors completed presenting evidence on the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and DepEd.

The bribery charge relied on testimony from former DepEd officials who said they received cash envelopes through Duterte’s subordinates.

Former DepEd procurement chief Gloria Jumamil-Mercado testified during a 2024 House inquiry that she received monthly envelopes containing P50,000 for nine months. Former bidding committee chair Resty Osias recalled receiving P12,000 to P15,000 from April to September 2023.

Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, who headed the team assigned to present the charge, said the witnesses were prepared to testify that the money came from people under Duterte’s supervision and that they had been told it came from the Vice President.

‘These are people who actually received money. They [would have] testified that it came from the person being charged in this particular case,’ Flores told the Inquirer. ‘What was the reason they were given cash?’

Flores said the charge was among the easiest to prove, but prosecutors agreed to streamline the trial because of ‘unforeseen events and delays.’

Former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, a prosecution adviser, said he initially opposed dropping the charge, especially because surveys indicated that many Filipinos considered bribery the most serious allegation against Duterte.

‘Although now, I realize that to abbreviate the proceedings, there’s logic to dropping it,’ he said, adding that the remaining case was ‘strong enough already’ to secure a conviction.

Prosecutors aim to finish presenting their evidence by mid-October, according to panel spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr.

‘Shortchanging Filipinos’

Malacañang warned that dropping the bribery charge could deprive the public of a fuller accounting of the allegations against Duterte.

‘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?’ Palace press officer Claire Castro said.

Castro said the Palace respected the prosecution’s discretion but questioned why it would abandon a charge included in the articles of impeachment.

‘But they included it in the articles of impeachment, which means they have sufficient evidence to discuss this bribery issue in the impeachment court,’ she said.

Ultimately, Castro added, ‘It is up to the prosecution to decide’ whether dropping the charge was the right strategy.

Tactical advantage

The move raises questions about whether abandoning a serious allegation could affect public confidence in the case. Prosecutors insist they want to focus on the remaining charges rather than prolong proceedings with additional witnesses.

University of Makati public administration professor Ederson Tapia said streamlining the case could offer a tactical advantage if prosecutors were confident in the evidence presented. However, they would need to explain why the bribery allegation was included in the first place if they no longer intended to pursue it.

‘The people may ask why a serious allegation was included in the first place if it will ultimately not be pursued,’ he said.

‘At some point, more witnesses and more allegations do not necessarily make a case stronger,’ Tapia added, saying a tighter presentation could clarify the issues for the Senate and the public.

Financial records

The coming week is expected to be crucial to the prosecution’s remaining case, particularly the allegation that Duterte accumulated wealth not adequately reflected in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) official was expected to testify on Monday, followed by representatives from banks, insurance companies and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

‘These witnesses or personalities are very important in providing clarity to the unexplained wealth allegation,’ Gatchalian said in a radio interview on Sunday.

He said the witnesses could authenticate financial documents held by their institutions and explain their contents based on direct knowledge.

The AMLC witness’ appearance was postponed after the defense sought more time to address concerns involving the Anti-Money Laundering Act and financial confidentiality.