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Slater Young, Manilyn Reynes and Ellen Adarna expressed concern for their fellow Cebuanos who have been affected by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the island on Tuesday. Sept. 30.

The entire province of Cebu has been placed under a state of calamity amid the widespread destruction and rising death toll. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Bogo City, which recorded the most number of fatalities.

Young, who is based in Cebu, assured those checking up on them that his family is safe and extended his prayers to those affected by the calamity.

‘Thank you for the messages and well-wishes. The family is all okay from the quake last night,’ he said via his Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Oct. 1. ‘Praying for our fellow Cebuanos and everyone else affected from the quake.’ Reynes shared her prayer written in Cebuano via her Instagram Stories.

‘Dear God, palihug, tabangi intawon ang tanan. Daghang salamat,’ she said. (Dear God, please help everyone. Thank you very much.) Cebuano actress Adarna, for her part, reposted a social media card showing the aftermath of the earthquake in Cebu and appealing for prayers. The Office of Civil Defense said on Wednesday morning that ‘as high as 60 individuals were reported to have perished in this earthquake.’ /edv

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday led the distribution of financial aid and livelihood assistance in Masbate, one of the provinces hardest hit by Typhoon Opong.

During the event at Nursery Elementary School, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided P10,000 each to 600 families through its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region V also released two checks totaling over P34.8 million to the provincial government of Masbate. The funds will support the agency’s Livelihood Assistance and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers programs, benefiting 6,455 individuals in 11 municipalities.

Aside from these, Marcos also oversaw the distribution of family food packs, hygiene kits, malongs, 10-meter laminated sacks, and water filtration kits from the DSWD.

In addition, two Starlink units were turned over to Nursery Elementary School to provide internet connectivity for the evacuees.

As of Tuesday, the school shelters 41 families or 121 individuals, displaced by Typhoon Opong.

In his speech, Marcos told the typhoon victims that the government will provide continuous assistance to help them return to their normal lives.

‘Do not worry, the government’s support will continue for as long as you are in need,’ the President said in Filipino.

‘Even if it takes us a little longer because your homes are not yet repaired, we are already providing support,’ he added.

Aside from the distribution of aid, Marcos also visited Masbate Provincial Hospital to personally inspect its damaged facilities and turned over a facsimile check worth P3 million from the Department of Health to the provincial government for repair works.

Before SB19 and other P-pop groups ever graced the concert stage, there were the Universal Motion Dancers (UMD) and Streetboys who have amassed a solid fandom behind them.

UMD, Streetboys, and other popular 70s, 80s, and 90s Filipino dance legends, as well as some iconic artists are raring for a 2025 grand reunion, and they are set to appear in one major show on November 4 at the Big Dome.

Talent manager Gio Medina, who used to be an in-house dancer for ‘Eat Bulaga’ for nearly a decade back in the day, shared some details about the upcoming reunion concert during the relaunch of his salon in Quezon City over the weekend.

Medina shared that the concert will be graced by the ’90s boy groups Universal Motion Dancers or UMD (Wowie de Guzman, James Salas, Jim Salas, Gerry Oliva, Marco McKinley, and Norman Santos), Streetboys (Vhong Navarro, Danilo Barrios, Chris Cruz, and Nicko Manalo), and Manoeuvres (Joshua Zamora, Jason Zamora, Michael Flores, Jon Supan, Reden Cruz, Jhon Cruz, and Rene Sagaran).

The show’s lineup also includes renowned choreographers Geleen Eugenio, Maribeth Bichara, Mel Feliciano, and the dance duo The Aldeguer Sisters. Medina also teased the special participation of Jojo Alejar, Amanda Page, Ara Mina, Carmi Martin, Eula Valdez, Gardo Versoza, Jackie Lou Blanco, Regine Tolentino, and Roderick Paulate, among others.

Medina, who is also set to perform at the concert, said there will be more surprise guests at the upcoming reunion titled ‘D’Legends on the Dance Floor,’ as they aim to bring solid nostalgia to the fans.

‘Gardo Versoza, machete, sasayaw ng naka-heels! Ang daming pasabog. I think Sexbomb din nandoon. Lahat nandoon. Complete. Magrereminisce talaga (Gardo Versoza, machete, dancing in heels! Lots of surprises. I think Sexbomb is also there. Everyone is there. Complete. It will be a total reminisce),’ the talent manager told select members of the press. /edv

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will expand the livestreaming of the bidding process of projects in a bid to promote transparency.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday said that the agency would post all livestream links on its social media pages for the public to access.

While all biddings at the central and regional offices are already livestreamed, Dizon said the policy would now cover the district offices.

The ongoing probe of anomalous flood control projects has so far uncovered either ‘ghost’ or substandard undertakings emanating from the district office level.

As Dizon lifted the suspension of procurement activities for locally funded projects under the agency, a memorandum order dated September 16 provided preliminary measures that must be followed during the bidding process, which included livestreaming.

Dizon added that the DPWH would initiate this process during the procurement phase for the multimillion-dollar Bataan-Cavite interlink bridge project.

‘If the DPWH [personnel] will be the only ones monitoring this, there might not be enough scrutiny. If we can do something for the public to be aware of this and keep an eye on the projects of DPWH, I think monitoring will be strengthened and corruption in the past will not happen again,’ Dizon stressed.

New undersecretaries

At the same time, President Marcos has appointed five new undersecretaries of the DPWH.

Taking their oath administered by Dizon on Sept. 29 were: Arrey Perez, undersecretary for operations in charge of convergence projects and technical services; Arthur Bisnar for regional operations; Charles Calima Jr. for special concerns; Ricardo Bernabe III for the Office of the Secretary; and Samuel Rufino Turgano for legal services.

The DPWH also signed on Tuesday a partnership agreement with the Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP) to boost transparency and accountability in national infrastructure projects.

The DPWH and BCP committed to launch Integrity Chain, a blockchain-powered platform which aims to provide a real-time public dashboard that tracks progress on infrastructure projects, such as bidding, planning and awarding.

The DPWH said the platform also allows the public to scrutinize the projects and report anomalies and tampering of records.

Dizon said its pilot implementation would begin with the foreign-assisted projects, as their funding and documents were already vetted by multilateral and international organizations.

Dizon said he expected ‘greater transparency’ now that the agency had partnered with the private sector on the use of blockchain technology.

ICI-AMLC cooperation

Meanwhile, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) signed on Tuesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for cooperation in the ongoing investigation of alleged anomalies in flood control projects.

The pact was signed by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice and ICI Chair Andres Reyes Jr. and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. as chair of the AMLC.

Representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission, both AMLC members, likewise took part in the signing.

Unprogrammed funds

‘As you may know, the ICI is still very young. We have been in existence for only 15 days, with just four lawyer-volunteers carrying the weight of a tall task. Yet despite our size, our mandate is broad: to investigate irregularities, demand accountability, and restore integrity in public infrastructure. This is why the assistance of the AMLC is both timely and indispensable,’ Reyes noted.

In Congress, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio on Tuesday urged Malacañang to ‘stop washing its hands off the corruption allegations’ relating to infrastructure projects implemented under President Marcos’ watch.

Tinio noted that the majority of the projects funded under unprogrammed appropriations (UA) in 2023 and 2024 went to ‘favored regions’ now being flagged for anomalous and ghost flood control projects.

‘It is only the President’s discretion that determines how UA (funds) are used,’ he said.

Citing official data from the Department of Budget and Management, Tinio disclosed that the DPWH received P61.4 billion in unprogrammed funds in 2023 for 1,889 projects and P153 billion in 2024 for 1,811 projects.

This means that, in these two years alone, the President approved 3,770 public works projects worth P214.4 billion from unprogrammed funds.

In 2023, the top regions that got the largest share in UA were: Central Luzon, with 283 projects worth P11.7 billion; Bicol with 138 projects worth P7.6 billion; and Central Visayas with 170 projects worth P7.2 billion.

In 2024, Mimaropa got the lion’s share of UA with P29.4 billion for 201 projects, followed by Central Luzon again with P25 billion for 285 projects, and then Metro Manila with P16 billion for 181 projects.

At least a third of these funds for both years went to flood control projects.

More cracks are showing in the ranks of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the erstwhile rebel group heads to the polls to seek a democratic mandate if the regional parliamentary elections push through on Oct. 13.

The recent firestorm stems from the social media comment of Deputy Education Minister Haron Meling characterizing Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Abdulraof ‘Sammy Gambar’ Macacua as a ‘puppet’ of Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., whom he also described as someone who is out ‘to dismantle the MILF.’

Meling is identified with a faction of the MILF that had questioned the appointments made by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last March to the interim regional government, especially his pick of Macacua, then acting provincial governor of Maguindanao del Norte, as Chief Minister, replacing MILF chief Murad Ebrahim.

Macacua’s appointment on March 12 came as Ebrahim tendered his resignation a week earlier so he could focus on leading the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, the MILF’s political party, to a victorious outcome in the upcoming BARMM elections.

Although Ebrahim had praised Macacua’s leadership experience and bade him well in his new role, the issue about him being eased out had refused to die down, splitting the MILF’s supporters.

Over the weekend, Ebrahim told journalists he was indeed eased out, only to backtrack in saying that he refused an offer to be a Member of Parliament (MP) as he ‘already resigned from the BARMM.’

On Monday, some 14 base commanders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the MILF armed wing headed by Macacua, condemned Meling’s remarks as ‘not only baseless but also detrimental to the fabric of unity’ of the group, which fought four decades of secessionist war with the government and won political concessions through 17 years of peace negotiations.

‘We cannot afford to allow the rhetoric that seeks to fracture our organization to prevail. We urge all parties, especially those in positions of authority, to exercise caution in their words and actions,’ the base commanders said in a joint statement.

MP Abdulbasit Benito called out Meling’s remarks as ‘reckless,’ for which he should be made accountable.

MP Naguib Sinarimbo said Meling’s remarks were ‘utterly unbecoming of a public official, especially one who serves within the very administration led by the individual he now seeks to defame.’

Sinarimbo, who served as one of the legal counsels of the MILF during its negotiation with the government, stressed that while constructive criticism is a vital part of democratic discourse, ‘it must be exercised within the bounds of truth, respect, and legality.’

Efforts to reach Meling proved futile as requests for comments remain unanswered.

But Deputy Speaker Lanang Ali Jr. hit back at the base commanders for supposedly being selective in whom to defend among the MILF leaders, pointing out that Ebrahim was also heavily criticized on social media.

‘With just one comment from Haron Meling, you already react this way?’ Ali wrote on social media./coa

A Muntinlupa court has granted state prosecutors’ motion to withdraw their bid seeking the reversal of the acquittal of Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima in one of her drug cases-putting an end to the controversial legal battle that drew the ire of legal experts and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla himself.

In an order issued on Sept. 30, Presiding Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court Branch 204 granted the prosecution’s motion to withdraw its July 14 filing and declared the case ‘closed and terminated.’

‘To reiterate and emphasize, every acquittal becomes final immediately upon promulgation and cannot be recalled for correction or amendment,’ Alcantara said.

Citing the 2017 case of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo v. People (G.R. No. 220598), the court emphasized that granting the state’s motion for reconsideration would violate the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy, since it would effectively reopen the prosecution and subject the accused to a second jeopardy despite their acquittal.

‘Considering that this case already involves an acquittal, the Court shall exercise sound discretion and allow the withdrawal of the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration,’ it added.

The case was the second of three drug charges from which De Lima has been cleared.

It was remanded to the trial court after the Court of Appeals, on April 30, ordered the RTC to submit a revised ruling that would ‘clearly and distinctly state the facts and legal basis’ for acquitting De Lima and her co-accused Ronnie Dayan of conspiracy to commit drug trading.

After the RTC issued a lengthy revised decision, a panel of prosecutors sought to revive the case by filing a motion for reconsideration on July 14.

Remulla and Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon, however, later stepped in and ordered the withdrawal of the motion.

‘It should not have been filed in the first place,’ Fadullon told reporters in July.

Classes and work at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol have been suspended following a strong Cebu earthquake that also jolted the city on Tuesday night.

Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas ordered the suspension of classes at all levels, both public and private, effective Wednesday, October 1, 2025, to allow for safety inspections of schools and other structures.

In a statement, the mayor said the City Engineer’s Office, Office of the Building Official, and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office will conduct thorough assessments of school facilities and public buildings.

‘Safety remains our top priority, and we urge everyone to remain vigilant and cooperative as we continue to monitor the situation,’ she said.

Work at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol is also suspended on Wednesday to allow the Provincial Engineers Office and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to carry out a full structural integrity assessment of the Capitol building in Iloilo City.

Authorities urged employees and the public to prioritize safety and remain alert for possible aftershocks

The Philippines recorded its narrowest trade deficit in six months in August, but the improvement masked new signs of weakness as higher American tariffs began to weigh on exports to the United States.

Filipino exports grew by 4.6 percent to $7.1 billion, the weakest pace of expansion in eight months, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Tuesday.

Notably, outbound shipments to the US–which imposed a 19 percent tariff on Filipino goods beginning Aug. 1–collapsed by 11.2 percent. But this was offset by higher demand from other trading partners like Hong Kong (+26.4 percent) and Japan (+4.7 percent).

Imports, meanwhile, contracted by 4.9 percent to $10.6 billion in August, snapping two straight months of growth. Purchases of raw materials dipped by 6.2 percent while energy imports fell by 34.2 percent.

Front-loading tapers

A closer look at the data suggested the slowdown in exports reflected a tapering of the pre-Aug. 1 rush to take advantage of lower tariffs.

Imports, meanwhile, pulled back, signaling a cooling in domestic demand that could leave the consumption-driven economy more vulnerable to external headwinds.

Even so, Filipinos still imported $3.54 billion more than they exported in August. That trade gap was 19.4 percent smaller than a year ago and marked the narrowest shortfall since February’s $2.97 billion.

For the first eight months of the year, the trade deficit reached $32.38 billion, 6 percent lower than the same period last year.

Normalization

John Paolo Rivera, a senior research fellow at the state-run Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said the latest data may reflect a normalization of trade flows after the Aug. 1 US tariff deadline had ended.

Rivera flagged ‘slower domestic activity and the tapering off of pre-tariff front-loading,’ adding that ‘downside risks remain from global uncertainties and tighter financial conditions.’

Miguel Chanco, an economist at London-based Pantheon Macroeconomics, said such a decline reflected ‘a deterioration in actual import demand, rather than an unfavorable turn in commodity prices.’

‘Real import demand in the Philippines has had a bleak third quarter so far,’ Chanco said.

Looking ahead, PIDS’s Rivera said, ‘A sustained trade recovery will depend on export diversification and improving logistics competitiveness.’ /dda

More than a year after it was completed, the first span of the Tuganay Bridge along the Maharlika National Highway in Carmen, Davao del Norte, already showed cracks on its pavement and bridge approach, an inspection team who visited the site noted.

In its Sept. 25 31-page report, the Davao del Norte infrastructure and social services delivery inspection team noted that the six-lane 420 meter-long Tuganay Bridge 1 along Maharlika Highway, the road that links Davao del Norte’s capital Tagum City to Davao City, was reported to have been completed on Feb. 20 last year but was already showing cracks.

The engineers noted that the P516-million bridge was also priced 38 percent higher for every linear meter than the two-lane and 30-meter-long bridge that the provincial government built.

For transparency

Davao del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib had sent copies of the report to the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and other concerned government agencies to add to the growing number of infrastructure projects being investigated by the Senate blue ribbon committee for questions and alleged irregularities.

Jubahib said he endorsed the report in the interest of transparency and accountability. The province, through the Provincial Development Council and the Provincial Peace and Order Council earlier passed a resolution creating the infrastructure and social services delivery inspection team to go over infrastructure and other government projects in the province, in the light of the irregularities uncovered in infrastructure projects at the national level.

The team also noted that the second span of Tuganay Bridge 2, which was started in April this year and still ongoing, also showed some cracks on its approach. Engineers also noted signs that substandard materials were allegedly being used.

The Inquirer tried to reach the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the region for comment but the office still had to reply to the text and phone messages.

DA’s findings

Tuganay Bridges 1 and 2, which figured in the worst flooded areas of Davao del Norte last year, were only two of the 11 projects worth more than P1 billion that the inspection team visited in the province.

The team also noted among others, the P150.28-million concreting project of the Tagum to Panabo Circumferential Road; and the section connecting Malitbog, Kasilak and Consolacion in Davao del Norte, which also showed several defects barely three years after it was completed on Dec. 15, 2022. Some of the projects had suffered delays because of road right-of- way problems.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has also flagged P75 million worth of alleged ‘ghost’ farm-to-market road (FMR)projects in Mindanao.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the alleged ‘ghost’ FMR projects spanning 5 kilometers are located in Davao region and Zamboanga City.

‘So far, these are just initial reports and the amount is not that significant in terms of the overall FMR road projects,’ Tiu Laurel said in an interview with dzBB in Metro Manila on Tuesday.

Digging deeper

Tiu Laurel said these FMR projects were implemented before his term, but the DA was ‘digging deeper’ into the issue given the involvement of ‘very small’ contractors.

The agriculture chief said the FMR review was triggered by a report from the DA’s regional office in Davao submitted at the end of July.

However, Tiu Laurel did not provide additional information about the identity of these contractors or the exact project sites.

He clarified that such projects were part of the DA’s budget allocation under the 2025 General Appropriations Act and no budget insertions were made.

At a briefing on Tuesday, Palace press officer Claire Castro affirmed that Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon was already doing his investigation about the FMRs implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

While lodged under the DA, the FMRs-agricultural infrastructures designed to connect agricultural production areas to markets and major roads for efficient delivery of goods, and reduced transportation costs-are under the DPWH. It is in charge of the commissioning, bidding, and construction of FMRs identified and validated by the DA.

For 2026, the DA proposed a budget of P16 billion for FMRs.

Last month, the DA announced a ‘sweeping’ audit of FMR projects covering the years 2021 to 2025 to check and resolve possible irregularities in their implementation. Tiu Laurel initiated the comprehensive review following congressional investigations involving government-funded flood control projects.

The DA chief wanted the audit of the FMRs to be completed before the end of the year, with its findings to be forwarded to the Office of the President.

‘We must make sure they are done properly, that taxpayers’ money was spent to provide farmers with market access and not squandered for farm-to-pocket projects,’ he said.

Tiu Laurel said no DA official or employee was involved based on their preliminary findings but vowed to immediately suspend any personnel found guilty of engaging in such illicit activities.

The government aims to construct 131,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads designed to link agricultural areas with markets.

Approximately 70,000 km of these projects had been completed as of July. However, the government has around 61,000 km in backlog or pending validation.

Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia will officially square off in the PBA’s 50th season opener on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The league released the full schedule of the Philippine Cup eliminations on Wednesday during a press conference held at Shangri-La The Fort in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

But the faceoff between Ginebra and Magnolia had long been an open secret, with both teams actually made aware of the anticipated faceoff.

LA Tenorio is set for his Magnolia coaching debut against his former team, but there’s also the possibility of seeing action for the Hotshots after being placed on the injured/reserve list.

Ginebra will start the season reeling from the departure of Jamie Malonzo to Japan but will also parade new players in rookie Sonny Estil and veteran Norbert Torres.

The game is set at 7:30 p.m. after the Leo Awards at 3 p.m. at nearby Novotel Manila and the opening ceremonies at 5 p.m.

The opener is one of four playdates at the Big Dome, with the majority of the eliminations to be held at the two Ynares Centers in Antipolo and Montalban.

Also part of the schedule are the games in Dubai in late-October and Bahrain in mid-December.

Action will take a break from Nov. 17 until Dec. 4 due to Gilas Pilipinas’ campaign in the first window of the Fiba World Cup Qualifiers. The eliminations conclude on Dec. 19.