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Sen. Mark Villar refuted allegations of ‘prohibited interest’ in a cousin’s link to flood control projects while he was secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

‘I have no direct or indirect ownership or controlling interest in any company participating in DPWH projects. The official public record confirms that none of my relatives acquired any contracts during my tenure as Secretary,’ Villar said.

The senator made the remark in response to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s statement saying its flood control investigation now covered the Villar clan following a Bilyonaryo news report claiming cousin Carlo Aguilar’s I and E Construction bagged P18.5 billion worth of projects during Villar’s tenure in public works.

Remulla called it a ‘prohibited interest’ that Villar’s cousin won contracts for flood control and other infrastructure projects while Villar was DPWH secretary.

But Villar said he instituted reforms in the department to curb corruption, such as geotagging projects, digitizing data, and used drone technology to do on-site inspections of projects.

Villar welcomed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s move to subpoena him on its investigation on the flood control corruption scandal.

Meanwhile, Villar, has been summoned by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.

The ICI is inviting Villar to its office in Taguig next Tuesday, Oct. 7, to shed light on the ‘planning, budgeting, execution, supervision and monitoring of flood control and other infrastructure projects’ during his time, according to the subpoena issued on Thursday.

Villar served as DPWH chief from 2016 to 2021 before resigning to run for the Senate the following year.

Along with his senator-sister Camille and mother Cynthia, he is now dragged into the investigation conducted by the Department of Justice over P18.5 billion in infrastructure contractors in Las Piñas bagged by his first cousin.

Besides the senator, the ICI has sent out an invitation to former speaker Martin Romualdez and will summon resigned representative Zaldy Co – central figures in the investigation over anomalous flood works for helming the budget process in the House in the 19th Congress.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend; the friend of my enemy is my enemy.’ – Ancient proverb

As expected, everything related to the DPWH ghost projects and corruption has turned into a free-for-all. As I wrote before, some individuals are not going to go quietly to prison or let themselves be thrown under the bus.

So now we can observe several people in Congress, the Senate, the executive body and DPWH making appearances and statements for or against each other and ‘the suspects and suspected’ in the DPWH fund and ghost projects scam.

In the public’s eye, they are all guilty directly, complicit or by omission but we have no details or evidence to back us up. For that it is worth paying attention to what all the ‘players’ are saying, connect the dots and you’ll discover the connection and confirm what used to be rumors or social media banter.

You will also learn that those who claim to be or appear to be are not so. Party-list groups received P150 million a year from DPWH even though they have no physical jurisdiction or constituency, said a DPWH official.

Those on the right played along or tolerated the political chess moves of Malacañang to remove VP Sara and, as a result, money poured into congressional districts.

Those in the Left who aligned with Martin to oust Sara are now behaving as anti-Marcos, perhaps to remind PBBM that if Martin goes, Bongbong goes. Some are openly implicating President Bongbong Marcos in the passing of the flawed 2025 budget.

Those who attacked Martin and Zaldy defended PBBM. Those who attacked PBBM were clearly aligned in the past with Martin and Zaldy during the ‘Impeach Sara’ campaign and the notorious distribution of ayuda tagged as ‘7-7-7-million’ to join the speaker’s caravan.

By and large, the general statements had a semblance of truth bordering on confession or admission of complicity, omission or alliance. More interesting is that the Left and the Right are ‘not clean and bright.’

After watching all the investigations concerning DPWH ghost projects, scams and suspected corruption in the legislative and executive branches of government, I was reminded of an old joke, as well as the movie of the late great Robert Redford.

Many authors and politicians have used the joke but historically speaking, the joke was apparently popular in saloons and bars from the gold rush to the roaring 20s onwards. The story goes:

‘During a lavish gathering of very rich individuals, a millionaire approached an attractive woman and asked: ‘Madame, if you were offered a million pounds, would you consider spending the weekend with me at my country estate and have sex?’

‘The woman was shocked and mortified by such a proposition but soon collected herself and replied that a million pounds was a substantial amount of money and that she might consider a tryst with the rich man.

‘After that, the rich man asked, ‘But what if I you were offered 500,000 pounds instead of a million, would you still consider the proposal?’ After some thought, the woman hesitated and replied, ‘Half a million pounds is still a fortune and perhaps worth considering.’

‘Intrigued, the rich man dared to go lower and asked the lady, ‘But what if the offer was only a thousand pounds for a weekend, would you still entertain my offer?’

‘The woman’s face turned red and fumed: ‘How dare you! What do you think I am, a prostitute?!!! The man replied: ‘Madam, we already settled that, we are merely deciding on the price.”

I hesitated to use that story but as I listened to the ongoing investigations regarding the DPWH ghost projects and ‘alleged’ corruption inside the legislative and executive branches of government, I believe the public has already settled or decided who the ‘prostitutes’ are.

The only thing people are squabbling about is who is the most guilty and how much did they get as the project proponent, contractor, sub-contractor and DPWH engineer.

Someone suggested that the investigators should not waste their time asking ‘the suspects and the suspected’ who is higher on the food chain of corruption. Or asking each respondent who else is involved and how much did they receive.

Instead, the investigators should just ask ‘WHO DID NOT RECEIVE MONEY?’ Or who had no dealings or association with the corruptors and the corrupted?

Those questions are less incriminating or damning for the doomed. Pressuring the respondents to name names and point out the guilty is certainly scary for contractors and DPWH personnel because it’s like signing your own death sentence.

They don’t want a target on their back, endanger their family or risk retaliation and therefore getting the truth out of them is like pulling teeth from a lion or a bear.

It is unfair to the remnant of innocent legislators and DPWH employees to be dragged and marked with suspicion without any opportunity to prove their innocence.

With everybody hunting down ‘the suspects and the suspected,’ chances are the innocents will languish under a cloud of suspicion and judgment for a very long time.

By providing a list of members of Congress, the Senate, past and present and asking ‘who did not receive any stolen money,’ the investigators can immediately shorten the list of persons of interest.

The trial of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s graft cases on the alleged misuse of his discretionary public funds or pork barrel will proceed as the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan junked his plea to dismiss the cases for lack of merit.

In a 22-page resolution, Sandiganbayan’s Special Fifth Division said there was no cogent reason to reverse its earlier resolution that denied Estrada’s demurrer to evidence, which would effectively dismiss his remaining graft charges involving the alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) amounting to over P200 million.

The funds were allegedly diverted to fake livelihood projects that were endorsed to non-government organizations allegedly owned by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, who has had numerous convictions over the misuse of the pork barrel funds.

The anti-graft court rejected Estrada’s argument that there should not be any prosecution for graft since there was already a prosecution against him for plunder from the ‘same set of facts and the same set of transactions.’

The court said there was nothing in the Rules of Court or the laws that there was a directive to dismiss a separate case for graft on account of the charge ‘being a predicate act in a prior case for plunder.’

It also maintained that the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case to support a guilty verdict.

‘The only reason to sustain such an argument would be if the same places the accused in double jeopardy, which is not the case herein, as shall be discussed by the court later,’ the resolution read.

The Sandiganbayan also disagreed with Estrada’s argument that the prosecution failed to prove that there was an intent to commit wrongdoing on his part, saying he never knew of the supposed scheme to misuse his PDAF.

The court cited the testimony of Ruby Tuason, who testified she met with Estrada and told him of the scheme of Janet Napoles and that she personally delivered amounts to him at the Senate and at his house.

It also cited the testimony of Benhur Luy, who said he had endorsement letters signed by Estrada through a member of his staff.

‘Estrada’s insistence on the innocuousness of his endorsements is belied by its repetition and deviation from the established procedure,’ the court said.

‘Estrada’s endorsement letters directly implicate him for the crimes charged and there is no basis for his argument that his letters were merely recommendatory,’ it added.

The Sandiganbayan set the presentation of defense evidence on Oct. 2.

The resolution, dated Oct. 1, was signed by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses, the division chair; and Associate Justices Maryann Corpus-Mañalac and Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega.

Creamline will open its title defense without the one player it had hoped would play – Jia de Guzman – as PLDT eyes a third straight title in the forthcoming Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference.

‘Management has decided Jia is sitting this one out,’ said Creamline team captain Alyssa Valdez during yesterday’s PVL presser at the Discovery Suites.

No reason was given but De Guzman is apparently focusing on training for the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December with Alas Pilipinas where she is the team captain.

De Guzman, who last saw action for the Cool Smashers two years ago, is expected to return to her mother club in next year’s All-Filipino Conference.

Meanwhile, the High Speed Hitters, who have won two titles in a row in the PVL on Tour and Invitational, are hoping the stars would align anew for a shot at a third crown.

Helping the High Speed Hitters in chase of glory is Russian import Anastasia Bavykina.

‘She’s a good fit,’ said PLDT manager Bajjie del Rosario of their reinforcement.

The Reinforced Conference kicks off Tuesday at the Ynares Center in Montalban with ZUS Coffee and Akari pitted in the 4 p.m. curtain-raiser followed by the 6:30 p.m. showdown between Capital1 and Choco Mucho.

Interestingly, Petro Gazz, has appointed husband and wife Gary and Lisa Van Sickle as coach and assistant, respectively.

Party-list groups Gabriela and Akbayan want business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies based in Cebu sanctioned for allegedly compelling employees to return to work during the earthquake.

The action of Cebu BPO firms violated the Occupational Safety and Health Law and disregarded the lives of workers, according to Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago.

Gabriela is the principal author of Republic Act 11058 or the Occupational Safety and Health Law.

Elago said the right to refuse unsafe work is enshrined in the law and forcing workers to return to work amid aftershocks and without safety clearance is a form of exploitation.

Reports received by the BPO Industry Employees Network-Cebu revealed that BPO managers and team leaders reportedly failed to follow safety protocols, endangered employees by resuming operations without clearance from authorities, and threatened workers who insisted on their right to go home after the calamity.

The law provides that workers have the right to refuse unsafe work without fear of retaliation from management if their lives or health are at risk. Employers are mandated to suspend operations until competent authorities have declared workplaces safe.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña also urged the Department of Labor and Employment to investigate reports of alleged safety violations committed by BPO firms in Cebu.

Some BPO workers took to social media to complain about alleged labor violations such as having emergency exits blocked during the disaster.

They said some of them were forced to return to work immediately after the temblor subsided. Others were reportedly warned that they would be marked AWOL or absent without official leave if they refused to comply with the order.

Cendaña said companies should not sacrifice the safety of their employees for the sake of profit.

‘They were too insensitive if they forced their employees to return to work after a massive earthquake,’ he said.

I need a break from writing about the most abominable corruption stories these past weeks. It has been depressing.

Instead, let me write about when Filipinos rose to the challenge of an international energy crisis and developed an indigenous energy source from scratch.

It was the mid-70s after the Arabs drastically reduced the amount of oil they sell to Western oil companies to protest Western support of Israel. The oil companies pro-rated the cut in supply among their customers in what they call ‘the equal misery formula.’

Bad for us. Our energy supply was almost totally dependent on Esso, Shell, Caltex and Getty. Only a bit of hydro was local.

We had to start a search for local energy sources in a hurry. The newly organized Ministry of Energy gathered geologists and other scientists from UP and other institutions with a mission to reduce our dependence on imported energy.

There was the predictable search for oil in Palawan and coal from Mindanao. Then there was Dr. Arturo Alcaraz who was toying around with a new energy source, harnessing heat from the earth. On April 12, 1967, an electric bulb was lit up by geothermal energy for the first time in Tiwi, Albay.

Geothermal energy sounded exotic but it wasn’t new. Union Oil of California was using geothermal energy in Sonoma County to produce electricity that was fed to the grid. We heard of their operation and contacted them.

When Fred Hartley, the chairman of Unocal heard about our interest to develop our geothermal resources, the autobiography of the late Energy Minister Ronnie Velasco quoted him saying: ‘Oh, I would like to talk to them. Those guys have fantastic geothermal potential, but they are not doing anything about it. They’re just sitting on it.’

The timing of the meeting couldn’t have been more propitious, Velasco recalled. With the oil supply shock as background, a deal was agreed to let Union Oil check out our geothermal resources. This complemented our independent efforts at PNOC to do the same.

Velasco wrote in his book that the contract between Unocal and Napocor on geothermal development was lopsided in favor of Unocal. That’s because they had the technology we needed in extracting the steam. Unocal worked on the Tiwi and Makiling Banahaw fields.

Eventually, the New Zealand government awarded a NZ$15 million geothermal technical assistance to help advance PNOC’s Tongonan, Leyte development. A NZ company, KRTA, which had extensive experience in geothermal energy, was named to help us.

By this time PNOC had organized an energy development subsidiary, PNOC EDC. With KRTA, we explored and developed the Leyte Tongonan field and the Palimpinon field in Negros Oriental. It was determined that both fields had enough resources to support commercial scale power plants.

For three decades (1980s-2010s), the Philippines was the second largest geothermal power producer worldwide, after the US.

In November 2007, PNOC EDC was privatized in a public bidding won by First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group. EDC moved from the first three MW pilot plant in Tongonan to 1,150 MW by the time EDC was privatized.

As of April 2025, the total installed capacity for geothermal power plants stood at 1,987 megawatts. First Gen’s Energy Development Corp. (EDC) owns and operates 13 integrated geothermal power stations in Leyte, Bicol, Southern Negros and North Cotabato, with an installed capacity of 1,189.34 MW.

The potential geothermal capacity in the Philippines is estimated to be around 4,064 MW. With installed geothermal generating capacity at 1,987 MW, there could be around 2,000 MW more of geothermal potential that may be available for electricity production.

We have probably explored and developed as much of the easy-to-get resource we know we have. As of March 2025, the Philippines only has 122.22 MW of newly committed geothermal power projects.

We went from almost nothing to become the world’s second largest producer because the government prioritized investments in it. There was a special impost on gasoline and diesel retail prices that went into a Special Fund that financed our geothermal exploration and development.

Geothermal development is heavy on the front-end expense because wells must be drilled, the steam piped and the power plants built nearby.

Drilling costs are the single biggest expense in exploration. Drilling a single well can cost around $6 million to $8 million.

Not all wells drilled show the quality and quantity of steam that can be used in a commercial power plant. That risk may not be a problem with a government-owned entity like PNOC but the private sector needs incentives to do more.

The risk in geothermal development is mostly during the exploration stage. That’s why the government is looking at a de-risking mechanism to encourage private developers to invest in geothermal energy.

The DOE is estimating an initial $100 million (out of a total loan of $250 million) for the first tranche of the Geothermal Resource De-Risking Facility from the Asian Development Bank aimed at reducing investment risks in geothermal energy.

Once this financing package is put in place, this move may help spark investor interest for geothermal energy.

While the Philippines has already tapped about half of its geothermal potential, Indonesia still has around 90 percent untapped geothermal resources.

Because we have the technology and trained staff, First Gen established its Indonesian subsidiary, PT FirstGen Geothermal Indonesia, to bring its expertise from decades of geothermal experience to Indonesia.

Given the increasing importance of clean energy, developing more of our geothermal potential is needed. It is also the kind of baseload power source that will help make the RE transition smoother.

Geothermal 2.0 will do our country proud the way the first foray in geothermal did. It will show the world that Filipinos are really a lot better than the international picture of corrupt public officials is currently suggesting.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could worsen the digital divide in the Philippines unless the government acts fast to strengthen data systems, expand digital connectivity and implement safeguards, experts warned.

Philippine Institute for Development Studies president Philip Arnold Tuaño described AI as both a powerful tool and a looming threat.

‘AI is now an enabler of connections, a driver of knowledge creation and a catalyst for adaptation in nearly every field,’ Tuaño said.

He added that without better infrastructure, skills and governance, its benefits will remain concentrated in the hands of a few.

For his part, Christopher Lamont of Tokyo International University said that the government must view AI as a governance challenge, not merely a technical one.

‘The real test of AI is not just whether it spurs growth, but whether it safeguards citizens,’ Lamont said.

World Bank senior digital development specialist Naoto Kanehira noted that fragmented and unreliable datasets hinder the country’s capacity to utilize AI effectively.

‘Data is often inaccurate, incomplete, not sharable or even not machine-readable,’ he said, adding that without reliable data, AI cannot deliver smarter, faster public services.

‘Yet, even if data systems are in place, millions of Filipinos still cannot benefit because they remain offline or lack the skills to navigate digital tools,’ Kanehira said.

Information and communications technology policy analyst Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos emphasized that without urgent investments in broadband and digital literacy, AI will empower those already connected while excluding those still left behind.

The University of the Philippines-Mindanao and its student council are pushing for higher funding for the UP system as they expressed alarm over budgetary cuts in the education sector, particularly in UP-Mindanao.

In a joint statement, UP-Mindanao and the student council noted that for the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), only P25.82 billion was approved for the UP system.

The figure was way below the P46.85 billion proposed by the UP Board of Regents, they said.

‘This P21 billion deficit serves as a major threat to the development of the university and compromises basic student services as well as the welfare of constituents across UP campuses,’ UP-Mindanao and the student council said.

The budget allotted for UP-Mindanao is among the lowest in the UP system, they said, noting a long-standing struggle for adequate resources since the university was established.

For the 2025 budget in infrastructure development, the university was allocated a mere P25.9 million, a sharp drop from P140 million allotted last year.

Based on the 2026 NEP released by the Department of Budget and Management, only P16.18 million was approved for UP-Mindanao.

The state university and the student council said the drastic reduction in the proposed budget would hinder institutional development.

UP-Mindanao said the budget cuts have resulted in inadequate student services, insufficient campus amenities, and lack of personnel, classrooms and organization areas as well as constrained research capabilities.

‘While the university and the system’s Board of Regents remain committed to the ‘Road to 5,000 Students’ project and expanding access to quality education for more Mindanao youth, the sharp decline in funding poses a significant barrier to achieving such goals,’ the state university said. ‘The misprioritization of funding is a clear manifestation of the state’s neglect of the education sector.’

Sen. Chiz Escudero’s troubles continue to mount after being slapped with an ethics complaint over a P30-million campaign donation from government contractor Lawrence Lubiano in 2022.

Marvin Aceron, a private lawyer, filed the case before the Senate Committee on Ethics, which is chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito. In Aceron’s 21-page complaint, he said that Lubiano’s firm, Centerways Construction and Development Inc., had more contracts after Escudero’s win in the 2022 elections.

Aceron said that there were 112 contracts worth P16.67 billion under Sorsogon’s 1st and 2nd Districts from 2021 to 2025. Prior to Lubiano’s donation, the firm only had 12 contracts worth P720 million.

Lubiano’s contracts following his donation to Escudero amounted to around P15.9 billion.

‘The sheer number, aggregate value, and geographic concentration of these projects, coinciding with the P30-million donation, underscore the appearance of impropriety and raise serious doubts about the independence of public procurement from political influence,’ Aceron wrote in the complaint.

Lubiano also has a majority stake in Metroways Health Care and Medical System Inc., which is another firm that won government contracts in Bicol, Aceron said.

The complaint has six grounds:

Conduct unbecoming a member of the Senate (disorderly behavior)

Conflict of interest / improper influence

Election Law public policy and prohibited sources (Omnibus Election Code)

Integrity of public procurement

Financial opacity, serial restatements, and the alter ego doctrine

The full complaint can be read here.

Martin again?

Escudero has slammed the complaint filed against him, again blaming former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

‘This is just part of the harassment from his minions. This isn’t about ethics. This is political retribution. This complaint is still part of their script and a desperate smokescreen. I will expose it for the politically motivated sham that it is,’ Escudero said in a statement to the media, without directly addressing the contents of the complaint.

The former leaders of Congress have already traded verbal barbs. Escudero has accused Romualdez of corruption, while Romualdez said that the former Senate president is following a Diehard Duterte Supporter script.

Both lawmakers have been implicated in the flood control corruption mess, where billions of pesos are suspected to have been lost in kickback schemes.

The country’s exports of electronic products may hit $110 billion by 2030 amid growing demand from new technologies and products, according to the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI).

‘It’s possible (to reach $110 billion). There are a lot of external factors,’ SEIPI president Dan Lachica told reporters yesterday.

Of the $110 billion electronics exports projected by 2030, he said that semiconductors would account for $70 billion, while other electronic products would cover $40 billion.

These are also the 2030 targets set under the roadmap for the country’s semiconductor and electronics industry announced by the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs earlier this year.

While the SEIPI’s official projection is a flat growth for the industry for this year, Lachica said electronics exports could post modest growth, citing encouraging developments.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the country’s electronics exports from January to August rose by seven percent to $29.48 billion from $27.45 billion in the same period last year.

‘If we are on track to continue with our pattern that we’re seeing, the year-to-date numbers, we may even reach if not exceed the 2023 numbers,’ Lachica said.

Last year, electronics exports declined by six percent to $42.74 billion from $45.65 billion in 2023.

Lachica said the growth in electronics exports would be driven by demand for electronics components from new technologies like artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0, as well as from vehicles and devices.

‘The overall demand in the world is increasing,’ Lachica said.

He said risks to the outlook include natural disasters, geopolitical uncertainties, as well as the United States’ plan to impose tariffs on its semiconductor imports.

Earlier, US president Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs of up to 300 percent on semiconductor imports, with exemptions for companies that commit to invest in manufacturing in the US.

At present, semiconductor exports are not covered by the 19-percent tariff imposed by the US on Philippine goods.

Despite risks, Lachica said SEIPI members are being advised to operate and produce based on existing demand.

He also said two firms engaged in electronics and semiconductor manufacturing in the country are planning to expand operations.

In line with efforts to promote the country’s semiconductor and electronics industry, the SEIPI is set to hold the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Convention and Exhibition 2025 from Oct. 28 to 30 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay.