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A dashcam video captured the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge shaking strongly as a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Cebu province on Tuesday night, September 30.

The powerful tremor was felt across Cebu City and northern Cebu, toppling buildings and killing at least 19 people as of Wednesday morning. It prompted widespread rescue operations.

Playoff qualifiers San Juan and Rizal Province closed their elimination round campaign with victories over also-ran Marikina and Bacolod on Monday in the Manny Pacquiao MPBL 2025 Season at the Marikina Sports Center.

The San Juan Knights trounced the Marikina Shoemasters, 78-61, to improve to 26-3 and finish No. 3 in the North Division behind the Abra Weavers (27-1) and the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (27-2) in the round-robin elimination phase.

The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-CEVRO) has begun inspecting billion-peso flood control projects in Cebu’s 7th District amid growing questions over their scope and implementation.

On September 30, NBI agents visited Malabuyoc, particularly Barangays Mindanao, Montañeza, and Sorsogon, to check projects handled by QM Builders, Q Con (Quirante Construction Corp.), and Legacy Construction Corp.

DPWH engineer Jimmy Jacaban, who accompanied the agents, said at least six sections in Malabuyoc were already ‘good as done’ and had helped prevent severe flooding in low-lying areas.

Despite the controversy that triggered the ongoing investigation, local officials strongly defended the flood control initiatives.

Dumanjug Mayor Gungun Gica said the projects were long overdue for small towns in the district.

‘Ako as Mayor sa Dumanjug and part of the 7th District, I’m very proud nga natagad gayud ang mga problema sa distrito labi na sa among lungsod,’ he said.

He recalled the devastation of Typhoon Odette, which washed out national roads in Alegria and Malabuyoc, as well as earlier disasters such as Typhoon Sinyal in Ronda and Dumanjug, as proof of the need for flood mitigation.

‘Daghan ang nabuhat nga kaayohan sa flood control diri sa among distrito,’ he said, adding that lives have already been saved because of these projects.

Gica dismissed allegations of ghost projects. ‘Wala juy ghost project dinhi unya gitarong jud og trabaho,’ he said, noting that works in Dumanjug are either completed or ongoing.

Malabuyoc Mayor Erlinda ‘Edang’ Piedad also defended the P3.1 billion allocation for her town, the highest in Cebu.

‘Ang Malabuyoc dili mahitsura tungod sa Bagyong Odette,’ she said, recalling fatalities and houses swept away in 2020.

She stressed that the projects were implemented solely by the DPWH, not the local government.

‘Dili ang LGU ang implementing body ana. Si kinsa man sad kong mobabag or dili modawat sa mga proyekto ibubo sa Malabuyoc,’ she said, adding that drainage, seawalls, and flood control systems were badly needed.

‘Gamay tuod ang Malabuyoc nga population pero dako man sad mig sapa,’ she said.

DPWH mum on issue

While local officials were vocal, DPWH 7th District Engineer Edelberto Francisco declined to comment, citing what he described as a ‘gag order’ from Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon.

Reporters were instead given a ‘Media Registration Form’ requiring them to list questions or documents they wanted to access.

A DPWH personnel explained that under the new protocol, all media inquiries must first be endorsed by the district office to the regional office, which will then secure clearance from the central office.

Biggest allocation in Cebu

Government records show that Cebu’s 7th District cornered P12.06 billion worth of flood control works from 2022 to 2025-nearly half of the province’s total allocation.

Of 395 projects in Cebu, 162 were concentrated in the district. Malabuyoc received P3.1 billion for 38 projects, while Dumanjug got P2.18 billion for 29 projects.

The district covers Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Badian, Alegria, Malabuyoc, and Ginatilan.

Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday backed the claim of a former member of the Philippine Marines who testified that he personally delivered ‘basura’ or suitcases containing millions of pesos to the residence of then House speaker Martin Romualdez.

‘When I was asked this morning on whether I believe the reports of enormous suitcases of money being delivered to the house of Martin Romualdez, my answer was yes. Yes, because this fits the previous reports of him accepting bribes,’ Duterte said in a statement.

During his testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Master Sergeant Orly Regala Guteza, a former member of the Philippine Marines, claimed to have worked as security consultant to resigned Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co.

It was Sen. Rodante Marcoleta who introduced Guteza as a witness, and even appeared to coach him into sticking to his prepared sworn affidavit.

Guteza claimed he personally delivered 46 Rimowa luggage bags, each containing P48 million, to the posh residences of Co and Romualdez.

Guteza called the cash ‘basura’ or trash, a common law enforcement term for contraband, which in this case was the congressmen’s alleged illegal proceeds from flood control projects.

‘His name has surfaced time and again whenever questions of corruption are raised. Even in the Delaware Court proceedings involving the Okada Manila casino, evidence was presented that he was the ‘common friend’ used to intervene, with references to heavy luggage brought to him as part of a dubious bargain,’ Duterte added.

She noted the Delaware court’s ruling in 26 Capital Corp v Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. docketed as C.A. No. 2023-0128- JTL, which revealed that ‘Martin Romualdez was mentioned no less than 17 times – thrice on Page 37, thrice on Page 38, seven times on Page 39, twice on Page 40, once on Page 58 and once again on Page 63.’

‘In sum, the court refused to be swayed by the implausible claim that the heavy luggage delivered to Martin Romualdez only contained documents,’ she said.

According to Duterte, these are not mere coincidences, but rather ‘form a disturbing pattern.’

Duterte said she repeatedly questioned the judgment of President Marcos in choosing Romualdez as speaker of the House of Representatives, especially after the Delaware court ruling was issued.

‘Sadly, President Marcos continues to display this flawed judgment by merely changing the leadership in both houses of Congress, while keeping a stranglehold on the flood-control probe through the creation of what is supposed to be an Independent Commission on Infrastructure that is clearly under his control,’ she said.

Romualdez denied the allegation, calling the testimony a ‘complete fabrication’ and ‘a product of coaching.’

Meanwhile, following Co’s resignation from the House, his fellow Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, Jr. and Cebu 5th district Rep. Duke Frasco clashed on the issue of accountability.

Frasco cited that under Section 141 (h) of the House rules, ‘A member shall not acquire or receive any personal pecuniary interest in any specific business enterprise which will be directly and particularly favored or benefited by any law or resolution authored by the member that is approved or adopted by Congress during the member’s term.’

Yet as a shareholder of construction firms that secured contracts funded by the General Appropriations Act and as co-conspirator in the insertion of billions for projects that benefited himself and his cohorts, Frasco said that Co clearly breached this rule, among other existing laws.

In response, Garbin said that Frasco’s press release alleging ‘impunity’ on the part of Co and the Ako Bicol party-list rests on conjecture rather than fact.

Garbin said that Co should be given due process.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has appointed seasoned banker Alexander Patricio as independent director strengthening the Yuchengco-led lender’s governance and compliance framework.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, RCBC said its board approved Patricio’s election during its meeting on Sept. 29.

His appointment took effect at the close of business on the same day, subject to regulatory approvals from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and other agencies for his interlocking positions.

Patricio is filling the vacancy left by Vaughn Montes, who recently concluded his term as independent director. Aside from leading the risk oversight committee, he will also serve as a member of the anti-money laundering committee as well as the audit and compliance committee.

‘Patricio has over 41 years of banking experience,’ RCBC said, citing his extensive background in risk management and regulatory compliance.

According to RCBC, Patricio spent 13 years with Citibank and 18 years with ING Bank Philippines before joining the government sector as executive vice president and chief risk officer of the Development Bank of the Philippines from May 2013 to March 2017.

Publicly available professional records show that Patricio’s career spans senior leadership roles across local and international banks. He served as vice president in various positions at Citibank Philippines from 1976 to 1989, senior risk manager at Citibank Australia from 1989 to 1991 and senior credit officer at Citytrust Banking Corp. from 1991 to 1995.

He then became country risk manager at ING Bank Philippines from 1995 to 2013 before moving to DBP.

Beyond banking, Patricio has been an independent director of CTBC Bank Philippines since 2018 and of the Intellicare Group of Companies since the same year, roles that further deepened his expertise in corporate governance and oversight.

Filipinos abroad are encouraged to invest in the Philippine capital markets, with real estate investment trusts (REITs) seen as a compelling entry point for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) seeking stable and long-term investments.

Systembrand Group, a multidisciplinary agency that delivers integrated solutions across branding, design, communications and investor relations to clients across various industries globally, stated that among the REITs gaining traction are Ayala Land REIT (AREIT), RL Commercial REIT, Megaworld REIT, Citicore Energy REIT and Filinvest REIT.

It said the market capitalizations and dividend yields of these REITs indicate solid valuations to prospective OFW investors.

In particular, the group said that AREIT, the first REIT registered with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in 2006, is expected to sustain its strong financial trajectory under the new leadership of former Ayala Corp. chief finance officer Alberto de Larrazabal.

Its planned P21 billion asset infusion will expand its leasable area to 4.3 million square meters and boost its assets under management to P138 billion, with cash dividends up by 44 percent to P1.17 per share.

With their simplified investment process and mandated dividend payouts, REITs present a practical way for small-scale investors to participate in the growth of income-generating real estate assets, Juan Martin Buñag, Systembrand Group’s representative in Madrid, said.

Buñag, who is also managing director of Investor Relations Global (IRG), said that REITs allow retail investors, especially OFWs, to earn regular income through dividends while gaining exposure to a diversified portfolio of assets.

These range from residential condominiums and high-rise office buildings to hotels, malls, warehouses and export processing zones.

Investors become part owners of these properties without needing to purchase them outright, benefiting from the income they generate, Buñag said.

Buñag said that OFW participation in REITs aligns with the PSE’s broader push to democratize access to the stock market.

PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon earlier cited the need to attract overseas Filipinos to invest in domestic securities, saying that only a small percentage of them hold stock market accounts.

Systembrand Group is pushing to engage overseas markets and empower OFWs as long-term participants in the Philippine capital market through the group’s Europe-based initiative for engaging overseas markets called Conectando Filipinas.

Conectando Filipinas estimates that if just 14,000 of the 182,191 OFWs in Europe invested 20 percent, or $60, of their monthly $300 remittances, the resulting trade value could reach $840,000, or approximately P42 million, from new investors.

Such potential underscores the importance of sustained engagement, according to the Systembrand Group.

Buñag said that discussions, events and roadshows with overseas Filipinos would help increase global interest in Philippine capital markets and attract more foreign capital.

Tycoons Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala recently had a chance encounter with Vice President Sara Duterte in Davao.

A video of the Ayala Corp. chairman and the vice president exchanging pleasantries has since circulated on social media.

Duterte led the ribbon-cutting event for the opening of Matcha Tokyo’s first branch in Mindanao at the Azuela High Street, which is located at the 25-hectare Azuela Estate, a joint venture development of Ayala Land Inc. and the Alcantara Group.

Azuela High Street last Friday marked a milestone with a ceremonial opening and Christmas lighting, gathering valued merchants alongside key members of the Zobel, Alcantara and Floirendo families.

The event welcomed new shops that add to Davao’s lifestyle scene, which included Matcha Tokyo.

‘Azuela High Street represents our commitment to creating vibrant community destinations in Davao, where commerce, culture and everyday living come together. With every new shop and experience, we bring people closer to the vision of Azuela Cove as Davao’s premier seaside lifestyle estate,’ Ayala Land head for Central Luzon and Vismin estates Yeng Tupaz said.

‘For the Alcantara Group, Azuela is about building on our family’s legacy in Davao while looking ahead to the city’s bright future. This milestone is not just about new shops or festivities, but about creating spaces where families and communities thrive,’ Alsons Land president and CEO Edith Alcantara said.

Beyond its massive aquariums and immersive tunnels, the newly opened Singapore Oceanarium carries a deeper purpose: to amplify the often-drowned-out voice of the ocean.

Located on Sentosa Island, this marine destination – formerly known as the S.E.A. Aquarium – opened to the public on July 24, 2025.

It now spans 22 immersive zones, making it three times larger than its predecessor, and takes visitors through the ocean’s past, present and future.

Highlights include digitally magnified plankton and sea jellies representing the ocean’s ancient past, as well as sharks, manta rays, and other marine life showcasing its present.

The journey ends with an interactive pledge, inviting guests to take part in protecting the ocean and shaping its future.

Malrondu means Malabuyoc, Ronda, and Dumanjug. They belong to the blessed second congressional district of Cebu, which has been favored by the gods of rains and floods with a bountiful load of flood-control projects and budgetary allocations. This is also the district where San Pedro Calungsod was born.

The members of Congress, the Calderons, husband and wife, who led this district for the longest time, must have been very blessed too, for bringing home to this district billions of bacon for the favored people. For this is the district of San Pedro Calungsod, the only saint from the whole province of Cebu, who was from the town of Ginatilan. But the blessings of billions worth of flood control projects were not poured by heaven into the town of the saint. They were determined by the gods perhaps by holy geographic coordinates into unknown sites in Malrondu.

These favored towns could appropriately exclaim then: When the blessing rains, it really floods. Malabuyoc, got no less than ?3.3 billion with supposed 38 projects. Ronda, my dear town of gentle people, the beautiful Rondahanons, got a whopping gift from Mount Olympus, an unprecedented amount perhaps ten times its annual budget, or even much more. Ronda got ?2.6 billion for alleged 34 projects. Thirty-four is a bounty because Ronda has only 14 barangays and a population of about 21,000. I do not know where in Ronda these flood control projects are being worked at. But what a blessing from Our Lady of Sorrows.

Dumanjug, the historic land of my late father’s birth, the town that prides itself as the home of the governors, also got an impressive ?2.18 billion. This is the only time when Dumanjug, with 37 barangays, was beaten by Ronda with only 14. But ?2.18 billion is not bad for the home of QM Builders, which, by accident of destiny, is also the very lucky contractor that won in an honest-to-goodness bidding and procurement process. It was also circumstantial that Dumanjug is likewise the home of the Quirante Construction Corp., another lucky start-up. Now Dumanjug is not only home to governors but also to heaven-sent contractors.

It was just a mere coincidence also that the former congressman, who was vice chairman of Zaldy Co’s appropriation committee, was one of the wedding sponsors of QM Builders owner’s son. The question is: who benefitted from such a bountiful load of blessings? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. And it blows my mind. That is what our good friend, the new DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, should look into. Perhaps he should know that the regional director used to be assigned in this district. That director was also allegedly another wedding sponsor in the same wedding. Too many strange coincidences, indeed. The stars are all aligning in the seventh heaven.

It is now of common knowledge that the whole province of Cebu, next only to the number one flood capital of the Philippines, Bulacan, has been favored by the gods in Congress, specifically Zaldy Co’s appropriation committee whose vice chair happened to be the honorable former congressman representing the 7th District of Cebu. Our province, which has admittedly some true and authentic flood problems in Cebu City, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, and Talisay, and some other cities and towns (but not in Malrondu), got ?25.521 billion for flood control. But why was one-half of the entire budget for flood control diverted to Malrondu? ?12.06 billion out of ?25.521 billion.

And is it true that most of the Malrondu and other Cebu flood control projects fell into the lap of QM Builders, a single proprietorship based in Dumanjug? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. I saw a movie once entitled: “The Gods Must Be Crazy” But since I am from Malrondu, I can say that, with such a large bounty, the gods have made some people and their families very, very happy.

Who are these lucky guys? That is for the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to determine and say.

Home Credit Philippines proudly marked a new milestone ahead of its 12th anniversary: 12 million customers served with accessible financial solutions in August 2025.

Since entering the Philippine market in 2013, Home Credit has become a trusted leader in consumer finance-helping millions of Filipinos access essential goods and services through affordable installment plans, cash loans and digital solutions. This milestone reflects the company’s unwavering commitment to making its credit solutions more accessible, especially for everyday needs.

‘Reaching 12 million customers is more than just a number-it’s a reflection of the trust Filipinos have placed in us,’ said David Minol, CEO of Home Credit Philippines.

‘We’ve seen a significant increase in new customers compared to last year, driven by the growing demand for inclusive financing and the relevance and attractiveness of our oFers.

As of this writing, Home Credit has disbursed close to P500 billion in total sales across its different credit offerings. This reinforces its position as a leading player in the consumer finance industry and highlights the growing demand for inclusive and accessible financial solutions.

Now available in over 18,000 retail stores nationwide and a mobile app available on both Android and iOS, Home Credit oHers a seamless experience-from loan application to account management and payments. Its #ReadytoHelp sales force has grown to 9,000 strong, and its portfolio now includes motorcyles, expanding its reach into mobility financing.

Financing what matters

As it approaches its 12th year, Home Credit is focused on expanding its digital capabilities, launching customer-first products and deepening partnerships across industries. But beyond innovation, its mission remains clear: to finance what matters most to Filipinos-whether it’s a first phone, a new appliance for their home or business or a way to get to move around the metro.

Because for Home Credit, progress isn’t measured in pesos or percentages-it’s measured in the everyday wins of the people it serves.