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The BPO Industry Employees’ Network (BIEN)-Cebu has filed a complaint before the Department of Labor and Employment-Regional Office 7 (DOLE-7) against 10 BPO companies in Cebu City, citing alleged violations of labor rights and occupational safety and health standards after the recent magnitude 6.9 earthquake.

BIEN-Cebu-an independent group that promotes the rights and welfare of BPO workers-said it received multiple reports of companies adopting a ‘business-as-usual’ approach immediately after the September 30 quake.

According to the group, violations included forcing agents to return to take calls, offering double pay to resume work, threatening termination, and coercing workers to sign a memo prohibiting them from speaking about the incident on social media.

Additional complaints alleged that a pregnant employee was left unattended while evacuating from a high-rise building, and that exit doors were deliberately blocked, preventing swift evacuation.

With these reports, BIEN-Cebu strongly condemned what it described as ‘unacceptable’ labor practices.

‘Workers must have the right to ensure the safety of themselves and their families, especially during disasters. No employee should be forced to return onsite without proper safety clearance and building inspections,’ the group said.

‘Companies must not impose liability, sanctions, or administrative penalties on workers who refuse to work due to unsafe conditions,’ it added.

BIEN-Cebu also urged DOLE-7 to hold ‘reckless’ and ‘negligent’ employers accountable and uphold Republic Act 11058 or the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Act of 2018.

In an interview, BIEN-Cebu spokesperson Kyle Enero confirmed that formal complaints had been filed Thursday morning against 10 BPO firms.

He said the group’s primary goal was to directly engage DOLE-7 regional director Atty. Roy Buenafe for immediate action on the ground complaints.

According to him, they identified at least 10 BPO firms with ‘potential violations of labor rights’ and occupational safety and health standards.

‘Kung diin in an emergency situation, instead nga ang mga employees, papaulion, parecoveron, gipugos og pabalik sa ilang mga offices under the premise nga ang mga private companies kuno ang mag decide as what have been instructed by the DOLE,’ said Enero.

After the quake, Enero said reports surfaced that at least 30 BPO companies forced their employees back to work. The 10 companies identified allegedly committed extreme cases, such as requiring agents to take calls during the tremor and barricading exits to prevent evacuation.

‘Pipila pud ani man gud, hisgotanan pud og giunsa pag uphold ang welfare sa employees amidst the disaster, i-prioritize unta ilang welfare over profit,’ he added.

Enero said these actions clearly violated OSH standards, though he withheld the names of the 10 companies pending talks with DOLE-7 to protect employees from possible sanctions.

This followed reports that some workers were threatened with penalties, allegedly backed by a signed document.

‘It wasn’t specified unsa nga sanctions but gipa sign sila og document nga di sila paistoryahon publicly sa social media kabahin sa nahitabo sa company,’ Enero said.

He further described the companies as a mix of ‘big players’ and smaller firms, with some reportedly based in IT Park. BIEN-Cebu is set to meet with Buenafe on Monday.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña also weighed in, saying the issue is ‘unacceptable’ if proven true.

‘I need to be sure of this, but if this is true, we will do more than just file a complaint at DOLE. I will personally contact every known local and overseas client that company has to tell them what kind of company they hired,’ Osmeña wrote on his social media page.

Seventeen people were injured when their jeepney fell off a cliff in this town on Wednesday afternoon.

Initial investigation showed the vehicle was traveling in Barangay Pinagsakayan when it figured in the accident at around 2 p.m.

Probers said the jeepney’s brakes malfunctioned as the driver was negotiating a winding portion of the road.

All injured victims including the driver were taken to different hospitals for treatment.

Motorists and residents can now pass through Osmeña Highway safely following the completion of a roadway lighting project initiated by the Manila city government in partnership with San Miguel Corp.

Mayor Isko Moreno thanked SMC chairman Ramon Ang for funding the project amounting to P20.8 million as part of the company’s social responsibility program.

The 1,162 high-powered LED tunnel lights along Osmeña Highway were switched on yesterday.

The lighting system, featuring 2,400-lumen LED fixtures, was installed beneath the Skyway Stage 3 covering 32 barangays in Districts 5 and 6.

‘People can now travel in the area more safely, without fear of accidents and street crimes such as snatching,’ Moreno said.

He asked the barangay officials to help maintain the street lights and make sure these would not be stolen.

Manila Osmeña Highway Motorists and residents can now pass through Osmeña Highway safely following the completion of a roadway lighting project initiated by the Manila city government in partnership with San Miguel Corp.

Mayor Isko Moreno thanked SMC chairman Ramon Ang for funding the project amounting to P20.8 million as part of the company’s social responsibility program.

The 1,162 high-powered LED tunnel lights along Osmeña Highway were switched on yesterday.

The lighting system, featuring 2,400-lumen LED fixtures, was installed beneath the Skyway Stage 3 covering 32 barangays in Districts 5 and 6.

‘People can now travel in the area more safely, without fear of accidents and street crimes such as snatching,’ Moreno said.

He asked the barangay officials to help maintain the street lights and make sure these would not be stolen.

The first batch of the 141-athlete Team Philippines will fly to Manama on Oct. 17, five days ahead of the opening ceremony of the second Asian Youth Games (AYG), according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino.

The mission, Tolentino said, is to match or surpass the two gold medals Pauline Lopez (taekwondo) and Mia Legaspi (golf) won in the last edition in Nanjing, China, in 2013.

‘We have strong chances at the gold medals in the combat sports, but we’re not discounting production in other fronts,’ said Tolentino, adding that the AYG is the second largest multi-sport competition in the continent after the Asian Games.

The Filipino athletes are competing in 19 of the 26 sports programmed by host Bahrain for the AYG, which started in 2009 in Singapore but were shelved twice in 2017 and 2021 because of the pandemic.

Jiu-jitsu has the most number of athletes with 17, followed by taekwondo with 16 and wrestling with 13 in the AYG where Bahrain included its domestic sport of camel racing as well as beach wrestling. The Philippines is also competing in volleyball (12), teqball (6), golf (6), triathlon (2), MMA (5), muay (12), athletics (8), boxing (6), cycling (6), weightlifting (6), table tennis (6), badminton (8), beach wrestling (3), aquatics (3), kurash (4) and pencak silat (2).

The hosts have announced that 4,250 athletes are competing and will be joined by 900 team and technical officials.

Numerous flash deals and travel freebies will be up for grabs at this year’s Klook Travel Fest taking place this month.

The three-day event by the travel services and experiences platform will be from October 10 to 12 in Pasay’s Mall of Asia Main Atrium.

Klook Philippines’ associate director for marketing Ulla Roqueza shared during a media conference for the event that many of the promos in store are patterned after the results of Klook’s Travel Pulse surveys from earlier this year.

Last year’s Travel Fest was centered on hotel bookings as the company saw a demand for such deals, but this year, the theme is going back to destinations.

Though survey results show that do-it-yourself tours and theme parks remain popular, there is a growing interest for emerging destinations. This trend influenced the multitude of deals for destinations, such as Vietnam and Taiwan, as there are for the traditional favorites Hong Kong and Singapore.

Vietnam deals include Buy 1 Get 1 Attraction Tickets to Sun World Vietnam, a theme park with a cable car ride and water park, among others.

The launch of the Disney Adventure Cruise Line and the many nature locations in the Mandai Wildlife Reserve highlight promos for Singapore, while old deals for Hong Kong Disney Land and Ocean Park Hong Kong are again available.

The platform is also keeping an eye on long-haul destinations, prompting deals and promos for Australia and Europe, on top of other event-exclusive promos.

During the media conference, Roqueza also shared that the travel platform has around a half a million experiences available for users and listed some 2025 highlights like campaigns for Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, and even a collaboration with Marie Kondo.

Other highlights are a partnership with the Department of Tourism for the digitization of tourism efforts, a push for hotel bookings, and the Klook Kreator Program.

Ayala-led ACEN Corp. has extended a P900-million loan to its subsidiary, which is developing a 553-megawatt (MW) onshore wind farm across Laguna and Quezon.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, ACEN said it executed a short-term loan agreement with its wholly owned unit, Giga Ace 6 Inc. (GA6), the company behind the P70-billion Quezon North Wind Power Project.

GA6 is developing the wind facility in phases, with Phase 1 targeted for completion by the fourth quarter of 2026 and Phase 2 expected to follow by the end of 2027 or early 2028.

Quezon North Wind, straddling Mauban and Real in Quezon and Paete and Kalayaan in Laguna, is expected to generate about 1,730 gigawatt-hours of clean power annually upon completion.

Earlier this year, the ACEN Group signed a P34.41-billion senior green term loan facility with Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank Inc. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. to partially finance the wind project.

ACEN and ACEN Global Development Group acted as sponsors, share security grantors and guarantors, while GA6 served as the borrower, mortgagor and grantor.

Apart from Quezon North Wind, ACEN, through subsidiary Gigawind4 Inc., also plans to develop the 247-MW Banahaw Wind Power Project in Tayabas, Quezon.

With a project area of 4,536 hectares, the wind facility consists of 38 wind turbine generators with a standard rated power of 6.5 MW each.

Currently, ACEN’s portfolio in the Philippines includes close to 1,000 MW of wind capacity, spanning operational and under-construction projects.

As the Ayala Group’s listed energy platform, the company is one of the country’s leading power producers, accounting for 5.2 percent of the market or around 1.48 million kilowatts in capacity.

A Quezon City court has issued warrants for the arrest of four people, including the alleged masterminds, in the murder of an official of the House of Representatives on June 15.

In a decision dated Sept. 24, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 91 ordered the arrest of Alexis Jesus Cuchapin Jr., Ma. Theresa Requerme, Ignicris Pios and Judy Rivera in connection with the killing of Mauricio Pulhin.

Police have identified Cuchapin and Requerme as the ones who allegedly masterminded Pulhin’s murder.

Pios worked as Cuchapin’s driver. Rivera reportedly drove one of the motorcycles used as getaway vehicles by the suspects.

Pulhin was the chief of technical staff of the House committee on ways and means before he was killed.

He was celebrating the birthday of his seven-year-old daughter at Don Jose Antonio Heights Subdivision in Barangay Commonwealth when he was shot dead.

Quezon City Police District director Col. Randy Glenn Silvio said yesterday the issuance of the warrants underscored the strength of the QCPD’s airtight investigation.

Silvio said manhunt operations are underway for the suspects’ arrest.

Anyone with information about the suspects’ whereabouts may report to the nearest police station or call E911, Quezon City Helpline 122 or 0917-8403925.

Police have arrested two other suspects in Pulhin’s murder.

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is pouring in P10.3 billion to develop its largest mixed-use development in Mindanao called Ascenda.

Ascenda is a 204-hectare master planned and nature-inspired project located in Davao’s Toril District, which will be developed in partnership with Mindanao-based Anflocor.

It will serve as ALI’s 54th estate in its portfolio and is expected to help fuel Davao City’s growth further.

‘Davao is truly a city on the rise, with its economic growth outpacing the national average. Major infrastructure projects – the Samal-Davao Bridge, the Coastal Road and the Davao Bypass Road – are unlocking new connectivity and opportunities,’ ALI president and CEO Meann Dy said.

‘Ascenda is well positioned to benefit from Davao’s momentum, providing Davaoeños new space to grow and an environment attuned to their modern, upgraded lifestyles,’ she said.

Dy said that Davao has been in Ayala’s radar since the 1970s, with ALI being the first major property developer to invest in Davao City with the launch of Insular Village in 1976.

ALI followed it up with the development of Abreeza in 2007 and then Azuela Cove in 2017.

‘Now the time has come for us to go full blast here in Davao with our largest estate development ever in the Vismin region,’ Dy said.

ALI said that Ascenda marks a series of firsts for the company in the region, being the first Ayala horizontal estate in Mindanao.

It will also offer the only Ayala Land Premier residential village, Virendo, in Davao.

Further, the estate is seen as the first major development that will benefit from the new Davao by-pass road, complementing the newly completed Coastal Road and Maharlika Highway system.

By bringing its best mixed-use components in Ascenda, ALI said the estate is poised to become one of Davao City’s prime destinations and top value drivers by creating a new vibrant residential enclave, town center and commercial district.

Ascenda’s master plan includes two main components – a 65-hectare Town Center as its commercial and cultural anchor and a 139-hectare residential district featuring its top premiere residential brands.

The Town Center will feature the Eco Park designed by internationally acclaimed design firm Henning Larsen.

ALI said that Ascenda’s version of Bishan Park would provide a space for community bonding and recreation as well as serve as a platform for preserving Toril’s ecosystem.

Other Town Center components, meanwhile, include prime commercial lots, greenways and shopping streets with unique lifestyle concepts where residents and guests can access local and global retail brands and various restaurants, cafés and shops. The town center will also host a community church.

‘We refer to Ascenda as ‘Davao’s Nature-Inspired Southern Gateway’ because it draws from Ayala Land’s experience in masterplanning large-scale suburban estates that place nature at the top of their value proposition,’ Dy said.

Dy expects Ascenda’s value as a residential enclave and commercial hub to greatly appreciate in the coming years, much like Ayala Alabang and Nuvali in Luzon.

‘Beyond its premier residential offerings, Ascenda also features prime commercial lots that present exceptional opportunities for investors,’ she said.

The world-class field assembled for International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus has been further strengthened with the addition of two-time Major champion and former World No.1, Dustin Johnson.

Johnson will join fellow Major winners Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel, and Louis Oosthuizen for the eagerly awaited tournament which takes place at Sta. Elena Golf Club from Oct. 23-26.

The American, known for an unbeaten Ryder Cup record in five appearances and a spectacular 5-0 at Whistling Straits in 2021, last appeared on The International Series at the 2024 PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, and his comeback is set to electrify the fairways in the Philippines.

With an illustrious career to his name, Johnson’s achievements include winning the 2016 US Open at Oakmont Country Club with a four-under-par 276, and a sensational victory at the 2020 Masters Tournament, where he set a tournament record of 20-under-par. He first rose to World No. 1 in February 2017, holding the position for 64 consecutive weeks – the fifth-longest reign in history. He later reclaimed the top spot in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, spending more than 130 weeks in total as the world’s best golfer.

International Series Philippines presented by BingoPlus is the sixth of the nine elevated events on this season’s Asian Tour schedule, offering players from around the globe a direct pathway into LIV Golf through the season-long Rankings race.

The first-ever parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has been rescheduled to March next year, according to the Commission on Elections.

The Comelec said the postponement was due to a ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) declaring laws pertinent to the redistricting of the BARMM as unconstitutional.

‘There will be a Bangsamoro parliamentary elections, the first in history, to be conducted on March 31,’ Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced at a press conference yesterday.

Meanwhile, Malacañang said it respects the SC ruling that voided the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act 77, which mandates the redistricting of the BARMM, and the BAA 58, which provided for the creation of parliamentary districts.

‘The Office of the President recognizes that this ruling is a pivotal step in ensuring that the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections will be conducted on the firmest constitutional and legal foundations,’ Malacañang said in a statement released on Wednesday night.

The government vowed to support all constitutionally mandated institutions to ensure that the democratic aspirations of the Bangsamoro people are realized within the framework of the Constitution and the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

After declaring the BAA 77 and BAA 58 unconstitutional, the high tribunal ordered the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to pass a new law distributing the parliamentary districts by Oct. 30, and the Comelec to conduct the BARMM elections not later than March next year.

Garcia said the Comelec does not intend to appeal the SC decision and will comply with the order.

While the redistricting is left to the discretion of the BTA, Garcia said the poll body is ready to help and cooperate for the passage of a new law.

He said the Comelec has five months to prepare for the BARMM parliamentary election.

Garcia said the poll body is planning to hold the filing of certificates of candidacy in January and the ballot printing in February.

While waiting for the passage of a new law, Garcia said, the Comelec would take back all election materials including ballots that have already been deployed to the BARMM.

He said at least P1 billion including the P500 million for the printing of ballots had gone to waste due to the suspension of the Bangsamoro elections. ­