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The Marcos administration is considering launching a dedicated auction for nuclear energy projects as the country gears up for its first operational power plant.

The government, through the Department of Energy (DOE), is also open to seeking funding from multilateral agencies to mitigate project risks, according to an energy official.

‘We are studying the possibility of having its (nuclear energy) own auction, but we are looking into the legal framework,’ DOE-Energy Utilization Management Bureau director Patrick Aquino said yesterday on the sidelines of the 2025 Philippine International Nuclear Supply Chain Forum (PINSCF).

Aquino said the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC) intends to transition from preparatory activities to implementation-ready frameworks in a bid to achieve the country’s targets.

Under the existing nuclear roadmap, the Philippines wants to have at least 1,200 megawatts of commercially operational power plants by 2032 and to scale this up to 4,800 MW by 2040.

Aquino, who serves as NEP-IAC technical secretariat head, said it is also a ‘very good idea’ to tap the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank to help minimize financial risk exposure for nuclear proponents.

‘We’re hopeful that with the push of the United States, multilateral agencies like the World Bank and ADB will revisit their investment direction and instruction when it comes to nuclear because right now, they’re not actively investing in nuclear power projects,’ he said.

With the recent passage of the nuclear safety law and the implementation of energy reforms, Aquino is optimistic that the Philippines’ nuclear ambitions could attract more foreign investments.

The 2025 PINSCF, for instance, drew nuclear technology leaders, policymakers, regulators, industrial partners and development agencies from the US, South Korea, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Argentina.

These participating countries, he noted, are all interested in supporting the Philippines’ nuclear journey.

‘It was a privilege to learn from these different countries successfully operating resilient nuclear plants and reaping benefits from their safe use,’ Aquino said.

‘We will continue to strengthen the ties we have forged in the two forums as we work toward achieving a clean, reliable and secure energy future for the country,’ he said.

President Marcos recently signed a landmark measure establishing the country’s first independent nuclear regulatory body.

Republic Act 12305 or the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act provides the legal and institutional groundwork for the safe and peaceful use of nuclear power.

According to Aquino, the law’s implementing rules and regulations are targeted to be issued within this year.

At least 168,000 students have been denied admission to state universities and colleges amid SUC capacity issues.

Data submitted by 62 of 115 SUCs showed that 32 of the SUCs or 52 percent have exceeded their capacities. Meanwhile, 11 SUCs or 18 percent have reached 100 percent capacity.

As a result, 168,493 students were denied enrollment despite qualifying for admission.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said SUCs should focus on increasing academic capacities.

He also asked the SUCs to submit their capital outlay requirements focused on classrooms and other academics-related needs.

‘The goal here is no more displaced students,’ Gatchalian added.

He noted that the SUCs’ capital outlay decreased from P31 billion in 2024 to P17 billion in 2025.

Ghost beneficiaries

Catholic schools were not involved in the voucher anomaly involving ghost beneficiaries under the Senior High School Voucher Program, the Catholic Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said.

‘They (ghost beneficiaries) do not come from Catholic schools. In fact, the ghost students were discovered by a mechanism we call the Private Education Assistance Committee, PEAC,’ CEAP president Fr. Karel San Juan said.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara has said that the voucher anomaly involving ghost beneficiaries has reached more than P100 million.

‘PEAC assures that government funding is distributed professionally to the rightful recipients. It certifies that schools really exist,’ San Juan added.

San Juan also welcomed initiatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate to expand the voucher program to be able to cover Kindergarten to Grade six.

‘Not only that, we’re pushing for an increase of amount because now, the amount ranges from P9,000 to P13,000 and that is not adequate to fully support the cost of education and they are open to that, especially now, with this controversy of flood control budget, our congressmen are very supportive of all this. We are pushing for the transfer of funds to education,’ San Juan said.

San Juan noted a huge drop in the enrollment in Catholic schools, amid the exodus of learners to public schools.

In three years alone, or from 2019 to 2022, the enrollment went down from 4.3 million to 1.4 million, he said.

He added that because of the difficult economic situation, students would gravitate towards free tuition fees in public schools.

Pope Leo XIV has expressed his sympathies to the survivors of the Cebu earthquake, and offered prayers for those who died.

In an interview yesterday over Radyo Veritas, newly installed Cebu Archbishop Alberto Uy said Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown called him to relay Leo’s message.

Leo visited Cebu three times when he was the prior general of the Augustinian Order.

As Fr. Robert Francis Prevost, the pontiff visited Cebu in 2004 to bless the Augustinian friary at the Santo Niño de Cebu Parish in Talisay City. He returned in 2008 to lead the blessing of the Santo Niño Spirituality Center. The following year, 2009, he celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

Radyo Veritas also reported that five churches under the Archdiocese of Cebu were damaged by the Sept. 30 magnitude 6.9 earthquake.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, meanwhile, relayed his condolences to the families of earthquake victims.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya also conveyed his condolences in a message to Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro.

The United Nations conveyed its sympathies and lauded authorities for their ‘swift response’ to the disaster.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prévot said he is ‘deeply saddened by the tragic earthquake in Cebu.’

Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Immigration of Australia, said his country stands ready to support the Philippine government address urgent humanitarian needs.

The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry extended condolences to the families of those killed and wished swift recovery to those hurt.

The Chinese embassy relayed its ‘deepest condolences to the victims, and our hearts go out to the families affected by the earthquake in Cebu.’

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also conveyed his sympathies to the families of earthquake victims.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, through its embassy, ‘conveys the sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Government and people of the friendly Republic of the Philippines over the devastation caused by Typhoon Opong, which has resulted in casualties and missing persons.’

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.