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Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island remained under Alert Level 2 on Tuesday, September 30, as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported heightened activity over the past 24 hours.

In its latest summary observation report, Phivolcs said that Kanlaon continues to log increased unrest, with 31 volcanic earthquakes recorded from only seven quakes in the previous monitoring period.

Sulfur dioxide emissions – a colorless gas from magma releasing dissolved gases – also rose to 1,141 tons per day from 1,027 tons. Plumes reached 150 meters from the summit before drifting southwest.

Ground deformation is still inflated, which means that the ground around the volcano is swelling or bulging outward.

Alert level 2 remains raised on Kanlaon. This signifies moderate unrest with evidence of magma involvement.

Phivolcs warned of potential hazards, including sudden steam-driven or phreatic eruptions and possible magmatic activity.

Authorities reiterated that entry into the four-kilometer permanent danger zone is strictly prohibited, and flying any aircraft near the volcano should not be allowed. /das

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) on Monday opened its new office building in Quezon City as part of its modernization plans. It features ‘touchless’ and facial recognition technology.

RLC business unit general manager Jericho Go told reporters GBF Center 2 at the Bridgetowne estate would be the first to use these new features.

‘We have a full destination control system,’ Go said.

According to him, the GBF 2 lobby features facial recognition-enabled turnstiles and ‘state-of-the-art filtration systems.’

An employee’s face is recognized at the entrance after registering their biometrics via the Go Work mobile application. Then, their assigned floor is identified and they are assigned a specific elevator in the lobby. This ensures efficient operations and electricity savings, Go explained.

The 30-story GBF 2 follows the 2023 launch of GBF Center 1, which has already leased out 60 percent of its available space.

‘Premiumization’

According to Go, they were looking to also upgrade the lobbies of their other office buildings as part of RLC’s ‘premiumization’ strategy.

Earlier this month, RLC announced it would develop a new office tower in Davao City to expand its footprint across the country’s second-largest island group. The nine-story building is slated for completion in the first half of 2027.

Once completed, this will add to the developer’s Mindanao portfolio. This consists of eight shopping malls, three GoHotels, one Grand Summit Hotel and two office buildings.

This expansion and upgrade of its office portfolio forms part of RLC’s plan to double its net income to P25 billion by 2030.

Apart from office buildings, this includes the expansion of RLC’s portfolio of upscale condominiums and introduction of luxury and ultra-luxury hotels.

RLC also recently launched The Jewel. It will have a mall, four office towers and a five-floor basement parking area.

The Jewel will have a projected gross leasable area of around 320,000 square meters. This would make it RLC’s biggest project in a single location. INQ

Just days after Typhoon Opong exited the country, a new low-pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) is now being monitored, the state weather agency said Tuesday.

As of 8 a.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that the LPA is 1,360 east of Southeastern Luzon. It has a medium potential of developing into a tropical depression within 24 hours.

Pagasa said earlier that the cloud clusters could develop into an LPA that might affect northern Luzon. Once it becomes an LPA, it has a possibility of turning into a tropical cyclone from Sept. 29 to early October.

Meanwhile, Pagasa warned that Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon are expected to experience cloudy skies with scattered showers and thunderstorms due to easterlies.

Easterlies refer to winds that blow from the eastward direction, carrying warm and moist air from the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines. /das/abc

Mayor Abundio ‘JP’ Punsalan Jr. of San Simon town in Pampanga is set to be arraigned before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s Seventh Division this Wednesday, two months after his Aug. 5 entrapment for alleged extortion of a Filipino-Chinese businessman.

The Division’s Presiding Judge Geraldine Faith Econg also set the pre-trial of Punsalan on the same date, a copy of her Sept. 9 order showed.

The arraignment and pre-trial followed after the mayor surrendered and posted cash bonds of P90,000 for a case of violations of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and for Article 293 of the Revised Penal Code (robbery by means of extortion), the order showed.

The San Simon-based Real Steel Corporation filed the complaint that accused the mayor of demanding P80 million in exchange for not overturning Municipal Ordinance No. 24-0025 that granted tax incentives to the company.

The demand was allegedly accompanied by threats that Real Steel’s incentives would be revoked if payment was not made.

The National Bureau of Investigation entrapped Punsalan last Aug. 5 at a restaurant in Clark Freeport just as he was taking a bag containing cash amounting to more or less P30 million.

Real Steel’s lawyer Philip Advent said conviction under these charges ‘carries penalties of imprisonment, dismissal from service, and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.’

Punsalan returned to work last September 3 after the Regional Trial Court Branch 206 in Muntinlupa granted his petition for habeas corpus on the ground of ‘unlawful detention’ in the NBI custodial center at the New Bilibid Prison.

Also released were Ed Ryan Dimla, as well as his security personnel, Domingo Ramones, and Rodolfo Dagdag Jr., Philip Ronnie Jimenez Sr., Rufino Cruz, and Erwin Calma.

Also pending in the Office of the Ombudsman is Real Steel’s urgent motion to suspend Punsalan in an administrative case for grave misconduct and serious dishonesty.

Real Steel also filed an administrative case against the mayor before the provincial board of Pampanga./coa

Companies linked to resigned Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co tried to deregister three choppers from the Philippines to put these units up for sale, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said on Tuesday.

Dizon said that he received this information from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).

Deregistration is an act of removing an item from an official registry.

‘Companies connected to Congressman Zaldy Co tried to deregister three choppers,’ Dizon told reporters in an interview.

‘What Caap told me is that the firms tried to deregister the units because they have plans to sell them, because you can’t sell them if you don’t deregister them first in the Philippines,’ he explained.

Dizon said that they managed to stop the deregistration, and the Caap already issued a standing order that all air assets linked to Co cannot be deregistered.

Last Wednesday, the public works and highways secretary revealed that Co has P4.7-billion worth of air assets registered under different companies.

He also said that he had already informed the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the Department of Justice, and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure about the assets.

His presentation showed that Misibis Aviation owns air assets with a combined estimated value of $74.6 million (equivalent to P4.2 billion at the current exchange rate).

These assets include two AgustaWestland AW1398 helicopters worth $16 million each, a Gulfstream 350 jet valued at $36 million, two Bell 407 helicopters pegged at $3 million each, and a Bell 206B3 helicopter estimated at $650,000 (P19 million).

Hi-Tone Construction Development Corp. holds aircraft valued at a total of $7.9 million (P456 million).

Its fleet consists of a Cessna 414A Chancellor worth $700,000, an Agusta A109E helicopter pegged at $6.9 million, and a PA 31-350 Chieftain aircraft estimated at $340,000.

Meanwhile, QM Builder lists a single air asset, a Bell 505 helicopter, worth around $2 million (P114 million).

Going after Co’s assets

When asked to react to the statement of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla that Co might not return to the country, Dizon said that the government will go after all his assets, whether he comes home or not.

‘Now that the ICI filed a report before the Ombudsman, we will ask for the freezing of all his assets, bank accounts, real properties, air assets, potential sea assets, land assets and vehicles,’ Dizon said in the same interview.

‘It’s not enough to hold someone accountable and send someone to jail. The [public] funds need to be returned and this is included in ensuring that the public funds will be retrieved,’ Dizon pointed out.

Co has resigned from his post as the representative of Ako Bicol Party-list amid allegations of his involvement in the anomalous flood control projects.

In his letter to House Speaker Faustino Dy III, Co cited ‘the real, direct, grave and imminent threat’ to him and to ‘the lives of my family members.’

The resigned lawmaker has been accused of receiving billions of pesos in kickbacks, based on the testimony of contractors and DPWH officials.

The allegations came from the testimonies of dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways-Bulacan Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez that an estimated P1 billion in cash, packed in suitcases, was delivered to Co’s penthouse.

The Department of Justice has requested the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a blue notice on Co.

The notice advises the member states of Interpol ‘to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.’ /apl

The Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) on Tuesday expressed alarm over what it described as a troubling use of media access as a form of censorship, following the temporary revocation of Spin.ph’s credentials by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF).

In a strongly worded statement, the PSA condemned the September 23, 2025 decision of PNVF president Ramon ‘Tats’ Suzara to pull Spin.ph’s accreditation. Though the credentials were later restored, the group said the act itself should not have taken place.

‘The very fact that the press is barred, however briefly and inconsequentially-and for no justifiable reason-is unacceptable,’ the PSA said.

The association, which counts the country’s leading sports journalists among its members, announced a new policy in response. Moving forward, any sports official or organization that withholds or forfeits access to PSA members without due process and prior notice will be declared persona non grata.

‘Censorship does not always arrive as a law or an organizational rule. Sometimes it comes as a locked gate, a revoked pass, or an admonished question,’ the PSA said, warning that such actions amount to prior restraint and strike at the heart of press freedom.

To prevent abuse of the new rule, the PSA said it will provide continuous guidance to its members on fair and impartial reporting and form a committee to facilitate dialogue between journalists and sports officials in disputes over accreditation.

The group also noted the broader implications of the PNVF’s move, saying that even after Spin.ph’s credentials were reinstated, a ‘chilling effect lingers’ as journalists may now fear repercussions for critical reporting.

Quoting the 1987 Constitution’s guarantee of press freedom, the PSA emphasized that ‘no sports official or organization’ can override that protection.

‘We don’t ask for favors; we ask for fairness. We don’t seek permission to speak; we seek protection for our speech,’ the group said.

The statement closed with a vow that the PSA will continue covering sports ‘with the same vigor and fairness, respect and responsibility, commitment and passion’ but will not stand idle when press freedom is threatened.

A Mandaluyong court has ordered the arrest of former police Col. Royina Garma and retired police officer Edilberto Leonardo on nonbailable charges of murder and frustrated murder in connection with the 2020 killing of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.

The warrant of arrest issued by the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court Branch 279 on Sept. 13 directed authorities to arrest Garma, Leonardo, as well as Jeremy Causapin, Santie Mendoza, and Nelson Mariano.

Barayuga, a former police brigadier general and a lawyer, was gunned down in broad daylight on July 30, 2020, by a motorcycle-riding gunman in Mandaluyong while on his way home. His driver survived the attack.

Alleged masterminds

Garma and Leonardo were tagged by Mendoza as the alleged masterminds behind the killing of Barayuga.

During House inquiries into extrajudicial killings and the bloody antinarcotics campaign of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Mendoza, a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, testified that between October 2019 and July 2020, Leonardo-then chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Davao-contacted him several times about a ‘special operation’ targeting Barayuga, allegedly for his involvement in illegal drugs.

Mendoza said he understood ‘special operation’ to mean an order to kill and claimed Leonardo told him the directive came from Garma.

He added that he felt coerced into joining the plot because Garma and Leonardo had the strong backing of Duterte and were his seniors at the Philippine National Police Academy.

Both Garma and Leonardo denied Mendoza’s allegations, insisting they had never met him prior to his testimony at the House hearing.

In October 2024, the National Bureau of Investigation ordered the revival of the cold case into Barayuga’s July 2020 ambush-slay.

Potential witness

Garma, who was appointed general manager of the PCSO by Duterte following her retirement from police service, had separately revealed in the House hearings that the Duterte administration implemented a ‘Davao template’ reward system for police officers tasked to carry out killings in its signature ‘war on drugs.’

She was also implicated in the killing of three convicted Chinese drug lords at the Davao prison in 2016, when she was still in the police force.

She applied for asylum in the United States, but the application was denied, and she was deported earlier this month from Los Angeles.

Shortly after her deportation, she traveled to Malaysia to meet with representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a potential witness in the crimes against humanity case against Duterte.

NBI chief Jaime Santiago told the Inquirer on Monday that Garma was still in Malaysia.

Department of Justice spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV said the government could now move to have her passport canceled, since ‘local processes have to take precedence.’ For his part, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he believed the arrest warrant against Garma would not affect her possible testimony before the ICC. -with a report from Inquirer Research INQ

House of Representatives Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III has asked for the inclusion of eight bills into the list of priority measures, including a proposal to bar contractors related or linked to government officials from participating in bidding for projects.

Dy, in a statement on Tuesday, said he mentioned the bills during the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting earlier, adding that the House is willing to work hand-in-hand with the Senate and the executive in passing these proposals.

The eight measures are the following:

proposed Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Framework to ensure swift and transparent calamity response

proposals to strengthen the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) by extending its corporate life and opening select lands for development

proposed Presidential Merit Scholarship Program to reward outstanding graduates from low- and middle-income families

proposal disqualifying relatives of officials up to the fourth degree from government contracts to strengthen integrity in public service

proposal regulating digital campaigning through a Fair Use of Social Media, AI, and Internet Technology in Elections

proposal modernizing the Bureau of Immigration by professionalizing its ranks, adding visa categories, and upgrading border security

proposed Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act to stabilize prices and empower the National Food Authority

proposed Magna Carta for Barangays will institutionalize long-overdue benefits and ensure resources for local officials and communities

‘We meet today in a spirit of collaborative governance to align our legislative agenda with the administration’s Philippine Development Plan and its 8-point Socioeconomic Agenda,’ Dy said.

‘With the President’s leadership and the collective will of this Council, we are confident that we can achieve these legislative goals,’ he added.

The bill barring contractors related to government officials came after revelations of an expansive corruption scheme in infrastructure projects, particularly flood control.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. condemned government officials and firms who allegedly earned kickbacks at the expense of people suffering from heavy floods.

Eventually, the President released a list of contractors, along with flood control projects that were either faulty or non-existent.

Observers and netizens were quick to establish links between contractors and lawmakers and other politicians like former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, Senate President Francis Escudero, and former Pasig mayoral candidate Sarah Discaya.

Escudero is not related to any contractor but he admitted to receiving campaign donations from an individual who owns a company doing infrastructure projects with the government.

The Senator last August 4 filed a bill that seeks to disqualify public officials and their relatives up to fourth civil degree from entering into government contracts, saying that he believes Senate Bill No. 783 would sharpen the country’s procurement safeguards as part of the continuing efforts to fight graft and corruption.

Co meanwhile founded Sunwest Corporation – another company doing flood control projects. Co, who resigned as congressman on Monday, however insisted in the past that he has divested his interests in Sunwest.

Aside from Dy, other House leaders were present during the meeting, including Majority Leader Sandro Marcos.

The Senate contingent meanwhile, was headed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

According to Dy, of the 33 measures identified by the executive, 32 are bills already filed in the House. This, the speaker said, ‘sets a positive tone for our productive collaboration with all branches of government.’

Dy also said that the House legislative agenda for the 20th Congress is ‘anchored on economic growth, stronger social protection, and governance reforms,’ which means the chamber will focus on bills that would provide ‘affordable food, generate sustainable jobs, expand digital connectivity and raise the quality of public services for all Filipinos.’

Last May 29, former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez told the Ledac that the House of the 19th Congress was able to approve 27 out of the administration’s 28 priority legislation.

Among the bills that have been approved by the House and has been transmitted to the Senate for further action:

National Water Resources Act

amendments to the Right-of-Way Act

National Citizens Service Training Program Act

Military and Uniformed Personnel Pension System Act

Water Treatment Technology Act

Single-use Plastic Bags Tax Act

Revised Government Auditing Act

Immigration Modernization Act

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will make sure the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 will be free of any anomalies, Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Monday.

Castro stressed in a briefing that the president would veto any questionable allocations in next year’s budget.

‘As we have said, the President truly wants the budget to be correct and allocated to the right programs for the future and the benefit of the people,’ she said.

‘We can be assured, with all these things happening, that the people can expect the 2026 budget to be in order and that the President will not allow anomalous projects,’ Castro added.

‘The president,’ she said, ‘already said before that if there are any mistakes or anomalies again in the 2026 budget, he will veto them.’

‘Humongous’ insertions

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson revealed on Sunday that ‘almost all’ of the 24 senators in the 19th Congress had inserted at least P100 billion worth of items in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Lacson noted that the roster of congressmen who made similar insertions was equally lengthy.

The chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee described the individual insertions by his colleagues as ‘humongous.’

‘I have never seen such amounts. Before the Priority Development Assistance Fund was declared unconstitutional in 2013, pork amounted to hundreds of millions. Now it’s at least P100 billion total for senators alone,’ said Lacson.

The insertions were made when the spending bill reached either the ‘small committee’ after it hurdled the second reading or during the bicameral conference committee when members of the House of Representatives and Senate reconciled the provisions of the third reading version of their respective bills.

These amendments, discussed not in open plenary but made in closed-door meetings by only a handful of lawmakers, were then parked under big-ticket projects of agencies, including the flood mitigation program of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

‘No detailed knowledge’

But according to Castro, Mr. Marcos is opposed to such practices and did not know the extent of the amendments made.

‘When the 2025 budget was being crafted, the president definitely did not have detailed knowledge of what insertions certain senators had made,’ Castro said.

‘But now, because the president has truly seen and taken notice of what happened to the funds for flood control projects, he would make sure that these insertions would not happen again,’ she added.

Directing her remarks to legislators, Castro said, ‘As shown by the public’s anger – something that the president also feels – we can see that they should have already learned to fulfill their mandate of being true public servants.’

Zero allocation

The Department of Budget and Management submitted to Congress in August the 2026 National Expenditure Program amounting to P6.793 trillion. It was 7.4 percent higher than the enacted 2025 budget of P6.326 trillion and equivalent to 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

For the 2025 GAA, Marcos vetoed P26.065 billion worth of DPWH projects related to flood mitigation and control for being ‘inconsistent’ with the government’s infrastructure program.

He has ordered zero budget to be allocated to locally funded flood control projects under the 2026 proposed budget of the DPWH.

The move created a fiscal space of P255.5 billion, which will be realigned to other agencies to fund the government’s social programs.

The 2025 Miss Asia Pacific International pageant heats up with the public encouraged to support their favorite delegates through online voting.

With the release of the official glam shots of the 43 delegates on the pageant’s social media pages, the voting for Miss Photogenic has also started, with the eventual winner taking home $500 in cash.

A like or a reaction on the photo of a delegate will earn for her a point, while a ‘meaningful comment’ will merit two points. Three points will be counted for the lady if her photo is shared publicly on Facebook or Instagram.

This comes as more delegates from other countries arrive in Cebu, where the finale of the pageant will be held. Among those who have arrived are delegates from Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Spain and Israel.

Voting for Miss Photogenic will run until Oct. 3, at 12 noon. ‘The final results will be determined by 100% social media engagements from both platforms,’ the international pageant said.

Online voting for the ‘People’s Choice’ has also started, and the winner gets a guaranteed spot in the quarterfinals. To vote, fans may visit the SQORS platform, whose link is shared on the pageant’s social media pages.

To vote, visit the SQORS link, select the chosen delegate, choose the preferred voting package, and pay using a debit or credit card, PayPal, or QR payment.

Voting ends on Oct. 8 at 4 P.M., and the winner will be revealed in the actual coronation ceremonies on the same day. The 2025 Miss Asia Pacific International pageant will hold its final competition in Cebu.

Anita Rose Gomez is hoping to post the Philippines’ sixth victory, following Maria del Carmen Inez Zaragoza (1982), Gloria Dimayacyac (1983), Lorna Legaspi (1989), Michelle Aldana (1993), and Sharifa Areef Mohammad Omar Akeel (2018). /edv