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It’s nostalgia time for us Boomers when ‘Bongga Ka Day: The Annie Batungbakal Musical’ goes on stage next month (starts Sept. 18) at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. The music of that era – the Manila Sound – has been revived and is playing on the air and in our minds.

It’s the sound of the 70s – we were under martial law, foreign travel was restricted, schooling was disrupted, some of our friends and professors were in jail or had gone underground, media was shuttered and the Ang Bagong Lipunan (May bagong silang/May bago nang buhay/Bagong bansa/Bagong galaw/Sa bagong lipunan…) anthem played over and over.

Brothers Dennis and Rene Garcia were then touring abroad with a band and, missing home, wrote a love song to their city: Hinahanap-hanap kita Manila/Ang ingay mong kay sarap sa tenga/Mga jeepney mong nagliliparan/Mga babae mong nagagandahan/Take me back in your arms Manila/ And promise me you’ll never let go…

It tugged at our heartstrings – and it was fun! That was the Hotdog formula, and oh did it work!

There were other songs: Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko (when the Miss U pageant was held in Manila in 1974), Para sa Akin and, of course, Bongga Ka Day and Annie Batungbakal.

The quintessential Annie Batungbakal is unarguably Nora Aunor, and in terms of character and voice quality, the National Artist is, so many years later, a tough act to follow. Atasha Muhlach takes on the role this time. She is pedigreed – daughter of Aga Muhlach (an original Bagets) and Charlene Gonzales – and yes, she did audition, contrary to social media claims that she was handed the role because of her name. But is she too tisay and burgis (is that term still used?) to get into the character of a dispatsadora na taga Frisco (I heard she had to have lessons to get rid of her accent, since she studied in the UK)? She’s doing everything she can to do justice to the role – and the songs. ‘I’m really grateful, blessed, to sing these songs,’ she said at the recent tribute concert. ‘Talaga napakasarap balik-balikan ang iconic Manila Sound.’

I have to admit that the other members of this cast are unfamiliar to me, but I’m sure – I hope – they’re having a lot of fun doing the musical, giving it a Gen Z spin (I can’t say what that means really; you’ll have to watch it to find out). On the other hand, the cast of the iconic 1979 movie directed by Mario J. Delos Reyes featured a powerhouse lineup. Aside from Nora Aunor, there was Christopher de Leon, Nida Blanca, Chichay, Rudy Fernandez, Rio Locsin, Victor Wood… But I guess these GenZers will probably be as unfamiliar with those names as I am with theirs!

Director Chris Millado though is of the Hotdog/Manila Sound era. ‘The songs of Hotdog were the soundtrack of my college years,’ he said in a previous interview. ‘Bongga Ka Day’ is somewhat of a departure from his other theater works – i.e. ‘serious’ – which include the plays ‘Balete’ and ‘Anak Datu’ as well as the hugely successful steampunk musical ‘Mabini Mandirigma’ (about Apolinario Mabini), ‘Aurelio Sedisyoso’ (about Aurelio Tolentino) – all with National Performing Arts Company for Theater Tanghalang Pilipino – and the revival of Tolentino’s 1903 seditious play, ‘Kahapon Ngayon at Bukas.’ His first musical was 2008’s ‘EJ: And Pinagdaanang Buhay ni Evelio Javier at Edgar Jopson,’ featuring the music of The Dawn.

While ‘Bongga Ka Day’ is nostalgic fun, with music, choreography and costumes from the disco era of the 70s, Chris sees Annie Batungbakal as the representation of ‘that kind of tension between performing before adoring eyes and the pressure of keeping up a façade.’

He adds: ‘This is not just about flashy-ness and sparkly things,’ he said in another interview, but seeking to redefine what it means to be bongga – the real bongga which ‘comes from inside.’

The cast of GenZers were not born when the Manila Sound pervaded the airwaves. It was not just a sound; it was a state of mind, an attitude, a way of looking at life. The Garcia brothers and Hotdog (the band name says it all) took real life in this city of our frustrations, added a good dose of fun and gave us songs that our generation totally identified with. ‘Tuwing kita nakikita/Ako’y natutunaw/Parang ice cream na bilad/Sa ilalim ng araw… Di na makatulog/Di pa makakain/Taghiyawat sa ilong/ Pati na sa pisngi/Sa kakaisip sa yo/Taghiyawat dumadami…’ (how can you not smile at this song, Pers Lab, one of my favorites).

Half a century later, a new generation is discovering the magic of the Manila Sound, via this musical produced by Viva Entertainment, Newport World Resorts and The Philippine STAR and, hopefully, making it their own and proving that if there’s anything that can bridge the generational divide – even the one in the impeachment court – it’s music.

Seventeen so-called senator-judges showed up at the resumption yesterday, Tuesday, Aug. 24, of the trial of twice impeached Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte.

Being tried now by the Senate Impeachment Court is Charge No. 1 – Sara’s misappropriation of taxpayers’ money worth P612.5 million. More than half a billion people’s money disappeared. Much of the money was received on behalf of thousands of recipients by a security guard, a chief security guard, who is not even authorized at all to get the money in the first place – a certain Colonel Lachica. His main qualification is that VP Sara trusted him to get the money. Also, his imagination in inventing thousands of magical names (over 4,900), atrocious names, outrageous names, is limitless.

The missing money went to fictitious or non-existent recipients, including one (per yesterday’s hearing) named after a vagina – Xuniso P. Belat received P100,000. ‘Belat’ is Visayan for vagina.

‘Animals’ also got monies – Antonio Pagong (turtle) P100,000, and Timon Andrew Pusa (cat) P100,000; a person named after rage, Shane ‘Ngitngit,’ P150,000; a disabled person, Don Piang (Visayan for pilay), got P250,000.

At least the way Sara wasted our people’s hard earned money, she applied diversity and inclusion and engaged inhabitants of the animal and plant kingdoms (tree planting is allowed as a confidential activity); body parts (vagina and legs or lack of them) and a range of emotions (ngitngit).

Imagine if VP Sara were our president, you could fly into a rage, rain cats and dogs, summon your basic instinct and – defenestrate her. Pronto.

Could people stand so much bulls**t from a public official? She certainly has betrayed the public trust as our vice president. Because of her scams and unconscionable behavior as a public official.

Will the Senate impeachment court convict Sara Duterte? That is not a certainty despite damning evidence of guilt.

Are there enough or 16 of the 24 votes to declare her guilty and ousted from public office forever?

Among those absent: Bato dela Rosa, Jinggoy Estrada, Rodante Marcoleta, Loren Legarda, Alan Peter Cayetano and Bong Go.

Bato is in hiding. He was the author of the Oplan Double Barrel to kill from 6,200 to 30,000 innocent civilians during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.

Estrada and Marcoleta are jailed for alleged plunder, a non-bailable offense. Loren Legarda is on an extended medical leave, after the ombudsman announced she is being investigated for ghost electricity worth P12 billion of solar power.

Alan Cayetano has been scarce after the ombudsman investigated the multibillion-peso flood control scam in Taguig.

Bong Go is also a suspect before the ICC as the alleged pay master for the extrajudicial killings enforced by president Duterte and General Bato.

Retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban now says determining two-thirds is not based on the entire membership of a court hearing a case.

He writes in his recent Inquirer column:

‘The (Supreme) Court does not always compute its majority from its full complement of 15 members. The Internal Rules of the Court provide that an en banc case requires a quorum of at least eight members, and a decision on a case is attained with the ‘concurrence of the majority of the Members of the Court who actually took part in the deliberations’ and voted thereon. Consequently, the computation of the mathematical denominator shifts depending on ACTIVE participation.

‘Moreover, the Court stressed that ‘[m]ore than the vote, Court deliberation is the core of the decision-making process, and one voice less is not only a vote less but a contributed opinion, an observation or a cautionary word less for the Court.’ It added that a court without a chief justice is not a whole Supreme Court with only 14 members who could not effectively act and vote on critical matters that ‘may gravely affect the nation.”

The rule thus – based on the two-thirds on the number of judges or justices hearing the case. If a judge is forever absent or mostly absent during most of the hearings, the judge obviously cannot exercise his legendary probity to decide the case.

Former FEU law dean Mel Sta. Maria says the Constitution is in fact clear: it is two-thirds of sitting judges in an impeachment court. Sitting is physical; only those present.

Mel cites Section 3 (6) Article Xl of the 1987 Constitution: ‘The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When SITTING FOR THAT PURPOSE, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of ALL MEMBERS OF THE SENATE.’

All members of the Senate means only those senators who took their oath and sitting as judges in the impeachment court.

Mel explains:

This oath or affirmation is the pre-requisite ‘while sitting for that purpose,’ meaning while participating as judges in the impeachment court. ‘Sitting’ easily connotes presence.

‘The law is therefore clear. A senator cannot be transformed into a judge without taking his oath or affirmation. These two are the sustaining elements during the duration of the proceedings that shall allow them to be judges. Without the oath or affirmation, they are senators as legislators but not judges in the impeachment court.’

When the fourth sentence of Section 3 (6) states: ‘….concurrence of two-thirds of ALL MEMBERS OF THE SENATE,’ it did not directly say ‘senators,’ it only said ‘all members of the Senate.’

This clearly avoids confusion on who can decide – only ‘all members of the Senate’ who are sitting judges – in harmony with the second sentence of the provision stating ‘while sitting for that purpose.’

By the way, my lawyer daughter who wrote the column on the odyssey of an abandoned housewife, Penelope, is Ivy Lopez, Ateneo law.

With parts of Luzon still submerged by floods due to heavy rains, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P1 billion to the University of the Philippines System to enhance Project NOAH’s artificial intelligence-powered flood forecasting and disaster prevention.

The funding will support Project NOAH or the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards in enhancing predictive flood modeling and real-time hazard assessments, to help the government respond before disasters strike, the DBM said in a statement.

‘This P1-billion investment in Project NOAH is an investment in prevention. We are putting science, AI and real-time hazard information to work so government can act earlier, communities can prepare better and more Filipino lives and livelihoods can be protected,’ acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon said.

Of the released amount, P935 million will go to research services, while P65 million will fund general management and supervision of the program.?This will be sourced from the university’s built-in appropriation under the 2026 national budget.

The DBM said the funding will finance the procurement and deployment of critical ICT, digital, technical and scientific equipment, engagement of highly specialized technical personnel as well as the establishment of operational support systems.

Implemented by the UP Resilience Institute, the program uses AI-enhanced modeling, LiDAR mapping, data analytics and other digital technologies to generate real-time hazard assessments, predictive flood scenarios and science-based information.

De Leon said the investment was aimed at shifting disaster management toward prevention and protection of public resources instead of post-calamity incurring greater losses.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is rolling out technical assistance that will help qualified rural banks migrate from legacy information technology (IT) systems to cloud-based core banking platforms, strengthening their resilience and competitiveness amid rapid digitalization.

In a memorandum, the central bank issued guidelines for the Rural Bank Strengthening Program (RBSP) Digitalization Technical Assistance, which will provide eligible rural banks with support for the implementation and multi-year subscription to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) core banking system.

The initiative forms part of the broader RBSP technical assistance program approved by the Monetary Board in January 2024, covering digitalization, financial advisory and capacity-building support for qualified rural banks.

The technical assistance would include support for ‘the acquisition and subscription to a SaaS CBS for a limited period to enable enhancements in the operational efficiency, operational resilience, business continuity, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance capabilities of rural banks,’ the BSP said.

The program is also intended to help improve the long-term viability and competitiveness of rural banks as digital services become more deeply embedded in the financial system.

Qualified lenders will receive support covering system configuration, data migration, system integration, testing, user training and commissioning, as well as cloud infrastructure, technical support, system updates and maintenance services.

The program provides for an implementation period of up to six months, starting from the issuance of a deployment notice to the service provider. This will cover the deployment of the core banking system until it successfully goes live.

After implementation, recipient banks will be entitled to a fixed 36-month subscription period covering continued access to the platform, cloud infrastructure, security and compliance services, technical support, maintenance and system updates.

However, not all rural banks will automatically qualify for the assistance. Applicants must have submitted an application or letter of intent for certain RBSP tracks during the program’s availability period from Sept. 21, 2022 to Sept. 21, 2025.

These include merger or consolidation, acquisition or third-party investment, upgrade of banking license and the capital build-up program.

Banks must also be compliant with minimum capital requirements under BSP Circular 1151 based on their latest available financial reporting data and must not have an existing subscription to a cloud-based or SaaS core banking system at the time they apply.

The BSP will additionally assess an applicant’s overall risk profile, latest supervisory assessment, outsourcing risk management framework, IT readiness and operational capacity to ensure that the bank can prudently implement and sustain the new system.

Before applying, rural banks will also be required to conduct a self-assessment covering their readiness to adopt the technology, including personnel, processes, connectivity, IT infrastructure and their ability to sustain use of the system after the technical assistance period.

Since the adoption of a SaaS core banking platform constitutes a material IT outsourcing arrangement, applications will also be evaluated under existing BSP regulations on outsourcing, technology and related risk management.

The central bank will determine whether an application is complete within five banking days from receipt. Once complete, the BSP will have 25 banking days to evaluate the request.

Banks approved for the program will then enter into a technical assistance agreement with the BSP.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino remained optimistic of his earlier prediction at eclipsing the Filipinos’ four-gold medal haul in the last Asian Games with some known athletes like boxer Eumir Marcial not seeing action in next month’s edition in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan.

‘We still have other sources of gold that we can get from,’ said Tolentino. ‘We just lost the potential to win more medals but we remained on target.’

Marcial, of course, had already backpedaled after choosing to fight on Sept. 19 in the United States.

Weljon Mindoro, according to Tolentino, will take Marcial’s spot.

Also a little bit worrisome is Gilas Pilipinas, which could not tap its players from the Japan league and Justin Brownlee.

‘He has two weeks to show up, we’ll never know,’ said Tolentino of Brownlee.

Tolentino said men’s basketball will start early – Sept. 10 – and will end on Sept. 20 while football will unfurl on Sept. 14.

He said the results of Gilas could dictate how the Philippine campaign would end since it is the defending champion.

‘We’ll see if we meet or surpass the record,’ he said.

Also out of of the list is triathlete Kira Ellis, who suffered injuries from a freak vehicular accident while bike training a few days back, as well as 2018 Asiad skateboarding gold winner Margie Didal and Olympian gymnast Aleah Finnegan.

More names – apparently fictitious – appearing on acknowledgment receipts for disbursed confidential funds of Vice President Sara Duterte were bared yesterday at the continuation of her impeachment trial.

Among the new aliases of alleged informants mentioned at the hearing were Xuniso P. Belat, Antonio Pagong, Timon Andrew Pusa and Shane Ngitngit.

Also appearing on acknowledgement receipts were the names Clarisse Hontiveros, Diane Maple Lapid and John Lapid.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson reminded former Office of the Vice President special disbursing officer Gina Acosta that all items charged to the confidential funds should be backed with documentary evidence like receipts and sales invoices, not just acknowledgement receipts bearing fictitious names of supposed informants or beneficiaries.

‘To my knowledge, purchase of supplies used even for confidential activities should have official receipts and sales invoices signed by real people – not aliases,’ Lacson said.

Earlier, Acosta admitted during cross-examination that P500 million in Duterte’s confidential funds were released to her chief security officer Col. Raymund Dante Lachica.

Asked by Sen. Bam Aquino if she had ever asked Lachica about the use of comical aliases, Acosta said the security officer cited the confidential nature of activities being funded.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo reminded Acosta that Joint Memorandum Circular 2015-01 prohibits the use of confidential funds for the purchase of furniture.

Tulfo said such purchase ‘bypasses standard public procurement transparency rules without serving direct classified surveillance function.’

Acosta said she did not object to the use of confidential funds for the purchase of medicines and for a tree planting activity because she trusted Lachica’s being an ‘expert’ in implementing confidential activities.

Template

Together with Lacson, Sen. Vicente Sotto III expressed frustration at Acosta’s ‘template testimony’ in justifying her action to release P500-million confidential funds to Lachica. ‘I don’t want that template anymore,’ Sotto said.

House of Representatives prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua said Acosta may have been ‘coached’ before taking the witness stand, judging from her ‘template’ answers.

‘When the prosecution asks the questions, she seems to have difficulty understanding English or Filipino, but when the defense lawyers ask the questions, her comprehension is very fast,’ Chua said.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo, for his part, questioned Acosta’s ‘blind loyalty’ to the Vice President for heeding her request to disburse the money to Lachica even though she was the accountable disbursing officer.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is lining up its next phase of reforms after what it considers as a successful first year in office of SEC chairperson Francis Lim, who focused on cutting regulatory costs and streamlining processes.

‘For me, personally, we’re happy that we’ve done things. There’s a lot of positive comments about what we’ve done. Of course, as usual there’s also some resistance. I think that’s part of the job,’ Lim said in a media briefing yesterday.

Lim summed up his first year as SEC chairperson as ‘both exciting and stressful.’

‘Stressful, because we really wanted to speed up the transformation of our market. But we’re glad. And just for the record, I’d like to acknowledge our commissioners, without whom we would not be able to do what we have to do,’ he said.

The commission is now moving to the next phase of its reform agenda, with measures aimed at making it easier to start businesses, raise capital and improve liquidity in the Philippine market.

Lim said the SEC is now pursuing broader structural reforms, including the proposed One Business Start Date, separate regulatory frameworks for debt and equity offerings, and market-making rules for listed securities.

The proposed One Business Start Date will allow companies to begin commercial operations upon securing their SEC registration or other primary regulatory license while completing other government permits in parallel.

It seeks to shorten the period between company registration and the actual start of business operations.

So far, the SEC has already expanded its digital services and imposed internal processing timelines, including a ‘deemed approved’ policy for applications that go beyond prescribed periods.

At present, the SEC is also working with the World Bank to overhaul the public offering framework by separating regulatory requirements for debt and equity securities.

The review seeks to make disclosure requirements more proportionate to the type and risks of securities being offered, making capital raising more accessible to companies.

Further, the commission is working with the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on a market making framework for publicly listed securities to improve trading activity and liquidity.

The rules on margin trading is likewise being reviewed by the commission as another mechanism for improving market liquidity.

Lim said the SEC is also looking at possible refinements to the Personal Equity and Retirement Account framework to make the program more attractive to both employers and employees and encourage greater participation in the capital market.

He said a deeper capital market requires not only more issuers and more investment products, but Filipinos who understand how to save, invest and participate in the market responsibly.

The SEC has submitted a proposed Financial Literacy Bill that seeks to make financial literacy a core subject in secondary education.

‘We have made progress in reducing regulatory friction, but there are still structural barriers that prevent businesses from starting faster and companies from tapping the capital market more efficiently,’ Lim said.

‘Our next task is to address these barriers and build a market that is easier to access, more liquid and more competitive,’ he said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) Mandaue City Division has strengthened coordination with local authorities and school officials as it prepares public and private schools for the conduct of simultaneous safety drills for active attack incidents.

The coordination meeting was held Monday, August 24, and brought together representatives from the Mandaue City government, public and private school principals, and uniformed personnel from the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), and City Social Welfare and Development Services Office (CSWSO).

The activity aims to ensure that schools and responding agencies are coordinated in their actions during an active attack situation and that personnel understand their respective roles during the drills.

The meeting comes after the DepEd Central Office ordered schools to ensure close collaboration with local counterparts and the availability of psychological first aid and psychosocial support under school contingency plans.

‘All Regional Directors are directed to immediately coordinate with their respective Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and other relevant counterparts,’ the agency said.

The DepEd Central Office also ordered schools Monday to refrain from conducting hyper-realistic simulations in light of the upcoming nationwide simultaneous active attack school safety drills.

The agency issued the instruction after deferring its scheduled safety drills from August 25, 2026 to September amid the suspension of face-to-face classes in several areas due to inclement weather.

In an advisory, DepEd said schools must refrain from drills that may distress participating learners.

Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Bianito Dagatan said that for Mandaue City, since the activity has been moved to the first week of September, with the specific date yet to be announced, coordination and planning among concerned stakeholders will continue.

‘Starting this afternoon, in our agreement, the school principals will coordinate with the different PNP units and other agencies,’ Dagatan said.

The superintendent said school principals, uniformed personnel, as well as the city’s social services and mental health services personnel can hold a table discussion for contingency planning.

‘Ang ilang plano based gyud sa mga situation sa ila mismong eskwelahan,’ he said.

Dagatan acknowledged that each school has its own circumstances, adding that contingency plans should be tailored to each school.

‘Di man pwede nga we will adapt the plan of one school and applicable na siya sa other school, lahi-lahi man sila og scenario and situation,’ Dagatan said.

The meeting also included an open forum where school heads raised their concerns about the conduct of the activity. Dagatan said apprehensions among schools were normal.

Marivic Bathan, president of the Mandaue private school administrators, raised the need to consider the possible consequences of actions during the drill.

‘Ako lang gi-share, even Dr. Dagatan really emphasized how important it is to consider the perspective of our kids,’ Bathan said.

She said that adults should be the ones to prepare the most for the drill.

‘Kinsa man ang adults? Ang administrator, all the teaching and non-teaching personnel of the school. Ang learners, kinahanglan careful kaayo ta especially for the lasting impact of any possible trauma coming from just a practice,’ she said.

Bathan said there are different approaches needed for kindergarten, elementary, and high school students when dealing with the scenario.

Dagatan said he hoped the schools could map out their contingency plans during the discussions.

Meanwhile, Dagatan highlighted the importance of parents’ support.

He said they are looking forward to discussing the roles of parents during the upcoming Parents-Teachers Association assembly on September 9, 2026.

Dagatan added that there will be several aspects to consider, particularly what is suitable for each school, with prevention as the main goal.

‘Dili pwede nga usa lang ka angle atong tan-awon, daghan aron mahatagan og attention,’ he said, noting that prevention can be addressed physically, mentally, and emotionally.

For the city government, Atty. Riczen Gingoyon, Mayor Thadeo Jovito Ouano’s executive secretary, said the city is open to suggestions and wants the conduct of the drill to be inclusive.

Gingoyon said schools know their students and school environments better. He added that the MCPO and DepEd are introducing the drill for the safety of the students.

‘If they have a suggestion, Mayor Ouano, he is for inclusive governance, mangayo sad ta og inputs pod,’ he said.

Gingoyon said the city government is open to suggestions and inputs from private and public schools, as well as parents and professionals.

‘We will take that into consideration and after that we will adjust and manage how the drill will be done. At first they might be few nga usbon, but along the way tinabangay lang ta hangtod we get the right formula,’ he said.

From a point of uncertainty, the Philippines’ Team Nemesis is eyeing glory in this year’s Pokemon World Championships.

Visa issues hounded the squad days from the worlds, but now everything is all set for the team, which will represent the Philippines for Pokemon Unite at the world championships set this weekend in San Francisco.

The team will be competing in Group F in the group stage, along with powerhouse Fennel of Japan, LuneX Gaming of the United States and Fames of Brazil.

Team Nemesis coach Albert Camp, in an exchange with Philstar.com, said they are optimistic with their chances heading to the competition.

‘We are in the bracket with the best team in Japan. But since there will be two teams per group that will qualify for the second day, I’m confident we’ll be one of them,’ he told Philstar.com.

And while they are bracing for a tough competition, an edge they have entering the competition will be experience.

‘We faced these teams before and I can say they have the same experience with us,’ he said.

‘But since we have more experience battling the best teams like Dignitas, Fennel, Reject, Xipto, T1 and Deep Cross Gaming. I am confident we can maneuver the game play,’ he added.

The squad is made up of Lawrence Gatmaitan, Ducke Leoncio, Robert Mempin, Michael Vaughn Ocio and Kim Rey Salazar.

About three weeks before the worlds, issues surrounding the team’s visas placed a giant question mark on whether or not they will be able to compete in the world championships.

But on Monday, August 24, good news arrived as their visas were approved.

Now, they are just waiting for the issuance of their visas.

The group stage of the tournament will be held on August 28, and the playoffs will be on August 29 at the Moscone Center.

The grand final will be on August 30, which will be played at the Chase Center.

There’s no letting up for the Philippine junior fencing team

After making their presence felt in a regional tournament recently, the young Filipino fencers are now setting their sights on both the World and Asian championships for junior and cadet levels scheduled next year.

Eight fencers from different fencing clubs earned individual medals in their respective categories in the just concluded 2026 Southeast Asian Fencing Federation (SEAFF) Championship held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Oscar Del Castillo, 16, led the charge for the youth team as he bagged the men’s epee gold medal in the 17-under cadet and settled with a silver medal in the 21-under junior – the same age bracket where 15-year-old Willa Galvez took a hard-earned bronze medal in the women’s individual foil.

Also with a silver in cadet was Hagia del Castillo in women’s foil, while with bronzes include Yuna Canlas and Victoria Ebdane in women’s foil; Papina Torre in women’s epee, Jethro Chan in men’s foil; and Don Reyzel Geronimo in men’s epee.

Their respective finishes in the SEAFF earned the fencers corresponding ranking points, which will be added up to other international events they joined such as the Asian Cadet Cup, and the local competition Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) Junior and Cadet, which will have its third and final leg this weekend at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

‘It’s not just the medals, but equally important is the points we’ll get from the SEAFF because points we earned will be added to our overall ranking points,’ del Castillo said at the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PFA) Forum on Tuesday at the media room of the Philippine Sports Commission.

According to the 16-year-old Ebdane, a Grade 11 student at Home School Global, competing in the SEAFF is necessary, saying: ‘It’s important as an athlete to compete in as many international competitions as we can, especially in a competition that allows me to have the exposure. Playing against players from other countries (are) things that will push me to be better (as a fencer) both locally and internationally.’

Galvez said that following the SEAFF, they are all looking forward to the final leg of the Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) Junior and Cadet ranking set August 29 and 30.

‘It’s going to be an exciting third leg because it’s the final leg, and the points every fencer will get is very crucial,’ Galvez, 15, a Grade 10 student at the University of the East said in the Forum backed by San Miguel Corporation, PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, and the country’s 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.

In the past, the top four fencers from cadet and junior categories have represented the Philippines in the World Championship and the Asian Championship. The Asian cadet and junior will be in Wuxi, China in March, while next year’s world meet will be held April 9-17 in Tallinn, Estonia.

As for the SEAFF meet, Torre said it has bonded them even more even though they come from different weapons – foil, epee and saber.

‘Bringing the team together to bond, every time we get together, we cheer for each other which is good,’ said Torre, a Grade 10 student at Waldorf School.