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The long and winding 50th season of the PBA tips off Sunday with the opening of the centerpiece Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

And there will be a lot of burning questions that will seek answers. Except maybe one. June Mar Fajardo is expected to take home a ninth MVP trophy, an incredible and unprecedented number considering that no one else has won more than four-and that the well-liked San Miguel Beer center didn’t set out on this path in the first place.

‘Who would have thought?’ Fajardo said in Filipino. ‘I was never a huge basketball fan [when I was younger], but here I am possibly winning another MVP.’

Everything else about the season will be answered as the games proceed. Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia, who will square off at 7:30 p.m. following the Leo Awards and the traditional opening ceremonies, will try to shed light on some of those mysteries that will hover over the golden season set to run until December 2026 with the usual three-conference format.

Ginebra’s Tim Cone and Magnolia rookie coach LA Tenorio are looking to end their respective teams’ title droughts, among the subplots going into the longest season that the league has ever had.

Winning a championship right away seems to be the least of Tenorio’s concerns.

‘The team is learning and I’m also learning,’ Tenorio told the Inquirer recently. ‘I still have a lot of things that I need to know and I think the comfortability [as a head coach] will come in if I know my players are ready and well-prepared. And that’s my job.’ The Gin Kings and Hotshots are two of the biggest threats to the Philippine Cup reign of their other sister team, San Miguel, who are hell-bent on extending their dominance in the PBA’s centerpiece event.

The Beermen and Fajardo will have a lot of help in CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz while rookie Chris Miller, who is 34, may show up as a potential steal the way he’s played in tune-up games.

The Beermen foiled the Grand Slam bid of TNT, which is eager to go back to its winning ways with a healthy roster and some new additions that included pesky guard Jio Jalalon, who joined the Tropang Giga as an unrestricted free agent on Saturday.

There’s plenty of talk that Converge may spoil the SMC-MVP party following the arrival of rookie Juan Gomez de Liaño, while its fellow independent team Rain or Shine may do so if it can get over the hump of four successive semifinal exits with free agent pickup Stanley Pringle.

Meralco aims for a repeat of its 2024 Philippine Cup title run, NLEX seems hungry to rebound from a near semis appearance, while Blackwater may sneak into the playoffs with the selection of rookie guard Dalph Panopio.

Titan Ultra, the new kids on the block, look to go through some growing pains even as a young Phoenix squad hopes to get some wins under rookie coach Willy Wilson.

Another rookie coach, Ronald Tubid, tries to defy low expectations of a ragtag Terrafirma team while it awaits the arrival of No. 1 overall pick Geo Chiu later in the conference, at the earliest.

Seven films from the Philippines have made it to the shortlist of the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) 2025, cementing the country’s strong presence at the biennial event.

Now in its seventh edition, the festival will run from Nov. 12 to 15 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. From more than 200 submissions – the highest in AIFFA history – only select entries made the cut, with the Philippines landing seven coveted slots.

The films representing the country are Sheron Dayoc’s ‘The Gospel of the Beast,’ Dominic Bekaert’s ‘An Errand,’ Louie Ignacio’s ‘Avenida,’ Petersen Vargas’ ‘Some Nights I Feel Like Walking,’ Zig Dulay’s ‘Green Bones’ and ‘Firefly: The Movie’ and Derick Cabrido’s ‘Mallari.’

Rain Yamson III, AIFFA’s liaison officer for the Philippines, announced the shortlist and called the achievement another testament to Filipino creativity. ‘Filipino filmmakers are limitless already. We’re now able to expand. Southeast Asia now appreciates our work,’ he said.

AIFFA festival director Livan Tajang, represented in Manila by Fadhilla ‘Dillah’ Abdulla, highlighted the Philippines’ unwavering support. ‘We look forward to the Philippines bringing a lot more movies in the coming years. The country has been very supportive through the years,’ Abdulla told reporters at a recent media gathering. She also noted that AIFFA has seen historic Filipino winners, including National Artist for Film Nora Aunor, actress Cherie Gil and filmmaker Joseph Israel Laban – all of whom have since passed away, but not before being honored by the festival. Since its founding in 2013, AIFFA has drawn around 300 industry professionals from across Asean and beyond. Alongside screenings and the Gala Night, the 2025 edition will feature workshops, masterclasses, exhibitions, and a new category: the Borneo Documentary Awards.

For Filipino artists, AIFFA has long been both a competition and a celebration. Actor Tommy Alejandrino (‘The Baseball Player’) fondly recalled the camaraderie: ‘We partied almost every night. But we were also very professional about it. We met a lot of filmmakers there. It was such a great experience.’

Filmmaker Christian Paolo Lat (‘Solace’) emphasized the festival’s opportunities for cultural exchange: ‘The most memorable was meeting (Korean celebrity) Rain because I’m a big fan of his. He was the special guest and I saw him during the awards night. I’ve always looked up to him as an actor and as a dancer. The trip was also made memorable by meeting filmmakers from other countries. Overall, it was an amazing experience.’

Roman Perez Jr., who previously screened ‘Kaluskos’ and ‘Sitio Diablo’ at AIFFA, praised the festival’s openness: ‘Bringing ‘Sitio Diablo’ there was tricky since Malaysia is an Islamic country, but they allowed the film to be screened even though there were a lot of love scenes, rape scenes, and drugs. It was shown uncut. I’m thankful to AIFFA because there were no barriers. The best part was, they know all about Vivamax in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia. They were looking for me, and they asked: ‘Who is the Vivamax director here?”

Past winner Max Eigenmann, who won best actress for ‘Kargo’ in 2023, also joined the announcement. Looking back, Eigenmann reflected on her connection to her aunt Cherie – herself an AIFFA Best Actress winner in 2017: ‘She’s always with me. I got a tattoo of her initials here – that’s CG.’

The festival will culminate in the Gala Night at the Colosseum, Pullman Hotel Kuching, where 12 AIFFA awards will be presented. With seven contenders in the running, the Philippines once again heads into the festival as one of its strongest forces. /ra

The magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Bogo City, Cebu, a few days ago reminds us of the fragility of human-made structures when tested by nature’s force. Age-old churches, modern malls-everything can collapse in seconds. We are taught, again and again, that while disasters may be natural in origin, their consequences are largely shaped by the society in which we live.

That same truth applies to our politics. The earthquake is an apt metaphor for the destructive reckoning triggered by the exposé of massive corruption in flood control projects. Reputations hastily built on tainted money and instant power crumble quickly. And the collapse rarely stops with the principal actors. It spreads, dragging with it institutions, public figures, and communities once thought unbreakable.

In the age of unvetted social media and AI-fabricated images, there is almost no limit to who or what can be tarnished. We saw this in Obando, Bulacan, where a parish council, fearful of being stigmatized, hurriedly returned a pickup truck donated by former district engineer Henry Alcantara once it became clear that the patron is at the center of the nation’s biggest plunder of public works funds. A truck is easy to give back. But what if it was an entire church built with funds from donors now facing corruption charges? How does one return a whole building?

The pursuit of legitimacy takes many forms. The other day I saw a digital card purporting to document the 25th-wedding-anniversary renewal of vows of former congressman Zaldy Co and his wife at the Vatican. The inclusion of a photo showing Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle with the couple seemed designed to smear the Cardinal and cast doubt on the Church’s moral authority by linking him to a lavish celebration. Guests were supposedly flown in from Manila and billeted at an expensive hotel, all paid for by the now disgraced Co. I found no report of this event in mainstream outlets or credible databases, so the post may well be fake. But, fake or real, such posts can target anyone of Tagle’s stature, especially since he is based in Rome and known to welcome kababayans seeking his blessing.

Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology helps us see why reputations founded primarily on money are so brittle. Unlike old wealth, which has had time to distance itself from its sometimes questionable origins, new fortunes rush to buy legitimacy. The usual route is predictable: run for office or bankroll campaigns; join elite clubs and gated enclaves; show up at high-profile weddings; send children to exclusive schools; bankroll cultural events. Over time, these investments in economic, social, and cultural capital may yield what Bourdieu calls ‘symbolic capital’-the good name, honor, and legitimacy conferred by society’s gatekeepers: the Church, the state, universities, and award-giving bodies.

But symbolic capital is perception-based. It evaporates once the public sees the money behind it is dirty. Respectability borrowed from bishops, award-giving foundations, or universities (that dispense honorary degrees in exchange for buildings or endowments) vanishes overnight when their complicity is exposed. That is why corruption scandals, especially in highly unequal societies like ours, are so destabilizing. They strip away the aura of legitimacy, laying bare the inequalities and collusions that sustain the entire rotten system.

The flood control scandal has not only sparked outrage at the plunder itself. It has unleashed a broader questioning of political power and wealth. On social media, images proliferate that mock and expose the pretensions of the powerful. What is striking is that this anger comes from all sides-not just the left. That makes its subversive power unprecedented.

This reckoning could unravel more than the corruption of government. It could expose the complicity of the banks that laundered the money, the media that muted criticism, the churches that blessed dubious donations, and the courts that looked the other way. A comprehensive crisis of institutional credibility is unfolding in front of us, even before we can clearly formulate the alternative.

Such a crisis can easily spiral into recriminations and mistrust. But it may also spawn an ethical counterculture durable enough to sustain a new social movement-one that demands an overhaul of our political and economic systems, and transforms the way we produce and distribute wealth, the way we educate the young, and the way we care for our communities and the natural environment.

Earthquakes leave behind ruins but they also open space for rebuilding. The question is whether this powerful quake in our political life will leave us trapped in the rubble of our discontent, or give us the courage and determination to build anew.

Beauty queens and the stars of the Premier Volleyball League were among the muses for the opening of the PBA’s 50th season on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ahtisa Manalo, who will represent the country in this year’s Miss Universe, served as muse of Magnolia during the traditional ‘palabas’ that drew some famous names from the entertainment industry. Last year’s Miss Universe bet Chelsea Manalo represented Meralco while actress Sue Ramirez was back for the same duty, this time for crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra.

Ramirez previously was the muse of TNT in the 2022 opener at the same venue.

PVL On Tour and Invitational champion PLDT had Mika Reyes, Jessy de Leon, Majoy Baron, Savi Davidson and Kianna Dy on hand for PBA, even as Chery Tiggo standout Pauline Gaston was the muse of Phoenix. Other participants were Miss Universe Philippines contestants Chelsea Fernandez for Blackwater and Eloisa Jaud for Terrafirma, reigning Miss International Philippines Myrna Esguerra and Mutya ng Kapampangan 2023 Salma Emam for Converge.

NLEX had beauty queen and actress Pearl Gonzales, Rain or Shine tapped content creator Pattie Paraiso and defending Philippine Cup titleholder San Miguel Beer was joined by Caroline Eyer.

Among the artists who entertained the crowd were Randy Santiago, Jett Pangan, Mitoy and Mike Hanopol while Jamie Lim and Almira Teng hosted the ceremonial rites.

Lim, daughter of the late great Samboy Lim, was San Miguel’s muse in last year’s opening ceremonies.

By virtue of Republic Act No. 11086, signed by then President Rodrigo Duterte, Sto. Tomas was converted into a component city of Batangas province. Strategically located on the boundary of Laguna and Batangas, Sto. Tomas has emerged as a thriving industrial hub with a land area of 10,032.38 hectares and a population of 226,772, based on the latest census. Nestled at the foot of the legendary and scenic Mt. Makiling, the city blends progress with natural beauty. Although recognized only recently as the fourth city of the province-after Lipa, Tanauan, and Batangas-Sto. Tomas is one of its oldest towns, established in 1666. Its name was given by the Dominican missionaries in honor of St. Thomas Aquinas. Sto. Tomas also contributed immensely to the pages of Philippine history, as it prides itself as the birthplace of the national hero General Miguel Malvar, the last Filipino general to surrender to the Americans.

Oct. 7, 1660

Residents of Pampanga province rose against Spanish colonizers in what became known as the Kapampangan Revolt of 1660, or the Maniago Revolt. The uprising was sparked by resentment toward the forced labor policy and the compulsory sale of native products paid under the ‘bandala,’ where payment came only in promissory notes. Leading the revolt was Francisco Maniago, a native of Mexico town, who boldly blocked the mouths of the rivers of Pampanga to cut off trade with Manila. The rebellion quickly gained momentum as Pangasinenses, Cagayanos, and Ilocanos joined the fight, and it inspired uprisings in Northern Luzon as well. The rebellion ended when the Spaniards accepted the demands of the people. The MassKara Festival held in Bacolod City is considered one of the most colorful festivals in the Philippines. It showcases dancers donning carnival-inspired costumes and masks on the streets and in a stadium on the final day. The festival was born in 1980 to ease the collective grief of Negrenses following a severe economic crisis caused by the collapse of the sugar industry and the sinking of the Bacolod-bound MV Don Juan that had left over a hundred dead and missing. The festival’s masks, representing the many ‘happy faces’ of Negrenses, have since evolved into a festivity that fosters optimism, resilience, and unity-while showcasing the artistry and creativity of Bacolodnons. This year’s festivities boast a wide array of cultural and sectoral activities, including street and dance competitions, sports tournaments, talent shows, a beauty pageant and more.

Sagingan Festival (Sept. 13 to Oct. 20)

The Sagingan Festival is a celebration held in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, honoring the town’s primary agricultural product-bananas. With some 30 varieties, bananas stand as the heart and soul of Tubod’s culture. The town’s progress and heritage were also deeply intertwined with this beloved fruit. More than just a tribute to the harvest, the Sagingan Festival showcases the strength, unity, and unwavering spirit of Tubod’s locals. This year’s month-long celebration bursts with color and energy through sports competitions, beauty pageants, concerts, and fireworks displays. It also features meaningful events such as a trade fair, job fair, mass, civic parade, kasalan ng bayan (mass wedding), and an environment day celebration. -NATHALIE GRACE ADALID, INQUIRER RESEARCH

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said he continues to support the leadership of Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

Asked whether the leadership of Sotto remains stable after former and incumbent lawmakers were implicated in an ongoing investigation of public works corruption, Lacson said: ‘I don’t know, that’s what’s in my colleagues’ minds.’

‘But if you will ask me, I’ve already experienced his being a Senate president for the longest time, in the past Congress. His system of management is good; he has good leadership. He always goes for consensus, he doesn’t dictate and and he doesn’t decide alone. So if you ask me, I’ll continue to support him,’ he said. ‘Now, if in the views of my colleagues, he is also lacking in leadership.that’s how it goes in the Senate, whoever has the majority, whoever has at least 13. whoever is sitting can be replaced by whoever has at least 13 (votes),’ Lacson added.

Lacson’s statement came following Sen. JV Ejercito’s recent remark that he, along with four other senators, planned to leave the majority bloc after several former and incumbent senators were dragged into the investigation of anomalous flood control projects by the Senate blue ribbon committee.

Sen. Sherwin ‘Win’ Gatchalian, however, said on Saturday that he believes Sotto’s leadership is ‘very stable.’

Tuesday Vargas expressed her dismay after she was accused of allegedly ignoring requests for photos during a Hong Kong trip, reiterating that the claim was ‘made up’ to make her look bad.

Vargas took to her Facebook page on Saturday, Oct. 4, to voice out her concerns about an unnamed netizen who accused her of being a ‘total b****’ on Reddit, after the actress-comedian allegedly ignored photo requests at Hong Kong Disneyland.

‘Bakit po may mga ganitong tao sa mundo? Lahat po ng nag ask nicely sa akin ay pinagbigyan ko po magpa picture. Nakaka lungkot po na may ganitong mapag gawa ng kwento (Why do these kinds of people exist? I entertain photo requests from people who ask me nicely. It makes me sad to see that people would make up such stories),’ she said, claiming that the netizen made up stories about her.

Vargas also clarified that if ever she passed up someone’s photo request, it might have been due to factors beyond her control. ‘Kung nalampasan ko po kayo, napaka daming tao at napaka init po noong araw na yon.’

‘Wala akong maalala na nang irap ako at nag taray sa kahit sinong MAAYOS akong nilapitan at nagpa picture,’ she continued. ‘Please lang po, huwag naman po tayong ganyan. Nakaka sakit po kayo ng damdamin.’

(If I passed you by, there were a lot of people, and it was very hot at the time. I don’t remember rolling my eyes at someone and becoming mean to them, no matter how many times people would approach me for photos. Please don’t be like this. It hurts my feelings.)

In separate posts, Vargas shared screenshots of comments from netizens defending her, saying the ordeal has been ‘overwhelming.’ She also hoped to find the person behind the false claims that were made against her.

‘Kung maayos na nag sabi, lumalapit nang naka ngiti at hindi demanding o entitled, bakit naman hindi pag bibigyan magpa picture? Sana alam ko kung sino ka na naninira sa akin para pwede tayong mag harap at nang masabi ko sa iyo na kahit kelan ay hindi ako madamot sa oras ko at sa mga taga hanga ko. Kung talagang matapang ka ay sana sinabi mo sa akin doon mismo ang saloobin mo at di ka naka tago sa Reddit,’ she said.

(If you say things nicely, approach me while smiling without being demanding or entitled, why should I not entertain your photo requests? I wish I knew who you were so I could tell you face to face that I don’t deprive people of my time. If you’re brave enough to make these claims, tell it to me face to face and don’t hide behind your Reddit profile.

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck off Bogo City in Cebu on Sunday morning, according to the state seismology bureau.

In its earthquake bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that the epicenter of the earthquake was located 14 kilometers east of Bogo City in Cebu.

The Phivolcs added that the earthquake was tectonic in origin and had a depth of 10 kilometers. It also said that Reported Intensity II was recorded in Daanbantayan, Cebu while Instrumental Intensity I was measured in Villaba, Leyte, Abuyog, and Carigara in Leyte. The agency also noted that the earthquake was an aftershock of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit the city last September 30. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Sunday reported 71 deaths from the strong quake.

Meanwhile, the agency said that no damage to property and aftershocks were expected from the magnitude 4.4 earthquake.

Despite public clamor to immediately jail all personalities involved in the flood control mess, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he does not want a rushed and haphazard investigation, as that may backfire on his administration’s anti-corruption campaign.

For the President, mere accusations and testimonies, even in congressional hearings, would not hold up in court in the absence of proof.

‘We know many of these people are not innocent. But if you’re going to bring them to court, you must have a very strong case,’ Marcos said in an interview with Philip Cu-Unjieng of the Manila Bulletin and his childhood friend as part of his BBM Podcast.

A teaser of the latest episode of the podcast was released by the Presidential Communications Office on Sunday.

‘Look, what would happen if we rushed the investigation? We would have incomplete and unclear evidence. But we still pursued the filing of cases. The result: We lost the cases. Can you imagine that right now?’ the President said.

‘I think that would be much, much, much worse,’ he added.

The President created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate all the anomalous government infrastructure works, most especially flood control projects, in the past 10 years. The results of its inquiry would be used to recommend the filing of charges against all those involved.

Almost a month after the fact-finding body’s three members were appointed, the ICI has conducted numerous closed-door hearings and summoned different government officials and contractors involved in the flood control mess.

However, it has only publicized one interim report, which urged the Office of the Ombudsman to recommend the filing of graft charges against 18 individuals, including resigned lawmaker Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co, over the substandard flood control project in Oriental Mindoro worth P289.5 million. The public, including lawmakers, also urged the ICI to open its hearings to the public for the sake of more transparency and accountability. The ICI, however, was hesitant to accept the proposal, stressing it wanted to ‘avoid trial by publicity and will not allow itself to be used for any political leverage or agenda by any individual or group.’ In a previous episode of his podcast, the President said he was committed to going after the ‘big fish’ behind the corruption-tainted flood control projects once the ICI investigation concludes.

For him, the rotten system could be fixed only by jailing the contractors and government officials involved in numerous irregularities surrounding publicly funded infrastructure projects over the years.

Adamson escaped Far Eastern University, 57-56, to earn its first win in the UAAP Season 88 women’s basketball tournament Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.

After losses to UP and Ateneo, the Lady Falcons leaned on Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 standouts Elaine Etang and Cheska Apag to give new coach Jed Colonia his maiden victory.

‘Lahat ng games namin boiled down to the dying seconds. It’s a great feeling,’ said Colonia. ‘We’ve been giving ourselves chances to win, and it’s the effort and heart in the last few possessions that decide the game.’

Adamson nearly lost a 14-point lead before Apag hit a free throw and Etang buried a clutch triple for a 57-51 edge. FEU answered with free throws and a three-pointer by Victoria Pasilang to cut it to one, but Apag’s steal sealed the win.

Apag finished with 18 points, six steals, five rebounds and two assists. Etang added 12 points, six boards and four assists.

Adamson improved to 1-2, tying FEU for fifth place. The Lady Falcons face defending champion National University next on October 8, still at MOA Arena.

Amyah Espanol and Pasilang had 15 points apiece for FEU, which plays UP on Oct. 12 at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.