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The Social Security System (SSS) in Cotabato province has issued ‘show cause’ orders against at least 88 business establishment owners for their failure to remit the collected social security contributions from their workers.

The issuance of a show cause order is part of the state insurer’s ‘Run After Contribution Evaders’ (RACE) program in Cotabato province after confirming that 88 business owners failed to perform their obligations of remitting to the SSS the collected employees’ share and their counterpart.

On Monday, Sept. 29, lawyer Glenn Mar P. Acas of the SSS Mindanao South Legal Department led the conduct of ‘KaltaSSS-Collect Program’ in Kidapawan City to ensure workers are covered by SSS.

The ‘KaltaSSS-Collect Program’ is an SSS initiative providing social security coverage to private employees and government job order (JO) and contract of service (COS) workers, classifying them as self-employed SSS members.

It aims to ensure that private employers fully adhere to their obligations under Republic Act (RA) 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018.

Acas said the show cause orders were issued earlier to 76 employers for the past three months, while on Monday, Sept. 29, SSS issued orders 12 business owners for them to settle their obligations under RA 11119.

He said of the 76 employers with show cause orders since June this year, only 42 percent or 32 employers, have responded positively and settled their delinquencies.

Acas said SSS is patiently giving employers all the opportunities to comply with the law. A 15-day grace period is given to employers to rectify their violations.

The SSS official said the state insurer is determined to resort to legal remedies if the delinquent employers continue to ignore the opportunities given to them.

Jose Froilan Garcia, SSS Kidapawan branch manager, assured SSS members that benefits due for affected workers will not be affected despite delayed remittances from their employers.

‘We encouraged them to settle (with the SSS) rather than pay a bigger amount of penalties,’ Garcia told Church-run Radio DXND.

He said the benefits will continue while administrative remedies and the adjudication process with delinquent employers are underway.

The RACE program identifies businesses with violations that include non-registration, non-production of records, non-reporting of hired employees, and non-remittance of employee contributions

Lee Dong-gun, a 45-year-old South Korean actor, was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a rare ailment, during his appearance on the latest episode of a popular TV show.

The Sunday episode of ‘My Little Old Boy,’ an SBS show following single celebrities who are past the age conventionally considered a prime marriage age, featured Lee visiting the hospital for severe symptoms in his eye.

He told the doctor that he had had repeated onset of the inflammation of the uveitis, a form of eye inflammation that affects the middle layer of eye tissues, for over a year, which the doctor said was odd.

The doctor suggested that the actor is possibly suffering from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory disease characterized by the spine being less flexible and possibly causing some of the bones in the spine to fuse. The diagnosis was backed by severe inflammation in the sacroiliac joint, which showed up in the X-ray images.

Ankylosing spondylitis does not have a known cure, but the symptoms can be managed to improve physical functions and slow its progress. Treatment includes a combination of physical therapy, exercise, and medication, and the actor was told to manage his diet and refrain from alcohol and tobacco.

Varying data suggest that around 0.1 percent to 1.4 percent of the global population may have AS. As of 2023, 55,375people in South Korea were suffering from the disease, which accounted for a little more than 0.1 percent of the 51.7 million population in the country at the time.

About 28.2 percent of the AS patients were in their 40s, followed by 22 percent in their 30s, and 12.9 percent in their 20s. It was a lot more common among men (40,208) compared to women (15,167).

Lee, who blossomed as an actor after a failed singing career, shot to stardom via his role in the 2004 drama ‘Lovers in Paris.’ His career spans across film, TV, and musicals.

Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte has asked why it seems the government is only enthusiastic in its flood control investigations when the matter involves his home city, reiterating the absence of ghost projects under their watch.

Duterte on Tuesday asked why the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) why they seem to lack funds for accommodation and transportation when probing other areas.

‘NBI, CIDG, Ombudsman, NEDA – why are you only enthusiastic when probing Davao? But when it involves different areas, you lack the transportation budget and accommodation expenses. If you are really anti-corruption, find ways. There are planes, you have the budget, you have the mandate – use it,’ Duterte said in Filipino in a statement.

‘In Davao City, you scrutinized every area – papers, projects, audit until the last nail. The result? There are no ghost and substandard projects. You just grew tired of grandstanding. But when it comes to other areas, you have selective amnesia. What’s that, are you allergic to powerful surnames?’ he asked in Filipino.

Duterte, son of long-time Davao mayor and former president Rodrigo Duterte, said that the investigations of flood control projects should not be used as ‘props’ for publicity.

‘If the government and the independent agencies are really serious in terms of clearing flood control projects, they should stop using the investigation as props for publicity,’ he said in Filipino.

‘Do not use Davao as props just to show that you are ‘brave.’ If you will stand against the improper use of funds, do it for all regions – including areas that are hard to address,’ he added.

This is not the first time that the Dutertes have criticized the administration’s flood control project. Last August, Duterte’s brother and acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte said in an interview with former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is turning calls for an investigation into a public relations stunt.

Instead of publicizing the investigations, Mayor Duterte said that the Chief Executive should file cases if he is serious.

In response, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. urged acting Mayor Duterte to ask his brother – Rep. Duterte – as to where the flood control funds for the city went and how it was used.

Abante said Rep. Duterte should know how flood control funds were used, noting that the city still experiences flooding despite huge allocations in the past.

Hours after Abante made this statement, Rep. Duterte maintained that projects allocated to his district were ‘properly implemented and completed.’

In response to Abante’s challenge, Duterte said that he is directing the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district and regional offices to release the records.

‘On Benny Abante’s challenge to Mayor Baste Duterte regarding the flood control projects in Davao City, let me be clear, all projects allocated to my district are properly implemented and completed. If he really wants to know the exact figures, I am directing DPWH District and Regional Offices to provide him with the official data and amounts,’ Rep. Duterte said.

Furthermore, the Davao lawmaker said that the lawmakers should not mind floods in Davao as they subside – unlike in other areas which allegedly seem like swimming pools.

This is not the first time that floods in Davao City were highlighted by lawmakers. In August 2024, House members from the 19th Congress called out the Dutertes’ sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, for her criticism of the current administration’s flood response.

The provincial government of Camarines Sur, in partnership with Google’s Gemini, has officially launched the Artificial Intelligence Academy on Monday, the first of its kind in the province.

Powered by Google’s Gemini as its main platform, the AI Academy has welcomed its first batch of over 300 participants from various sectors, including government employees, educators, and youth leaders.

They are now equipped with foundational knowledge in artificial intelligence, aimed at improving communication skills, teaching methods, and digital literacy.

Gov. Luis Raymund ‘LRay’ Villafuerte Jr. called the initiative a ‘big break’ for Camarines Sur and a step toward preparing the province for a tech-driven future.

‘It’s an honor to partner with one of the biggest technology companies in the world-Google Philippines. Through Google’s Gemini Academy, we are equipping every CamSur resident with new knowledge and skills in AI. Under my leadership, our province will be AI-ready and highly skilled from classrooms to communities,’ Villafuerte told the Inquirer.

He also shared that each municipality in the province will soon host its own training sessions. These sessions aim to make AI tools more accessible and practical by providing apps and software that simplify day-to-day tasks.

Gilbert Sadsad, director of the Department of Education in Bicol, expressed full support for the program, noting its positive potential across multiple sectors.

Of the 357 participants, the majority came from the provincial government, academe, information offices, and other multi-sectoral groups.

Rosean Presado, an instructor from a community college, said joining the training was a great opportunity.

‘Many of my questions about AI were answered. This experience will definitely have a positive impact not just on me, but also on my students,’ she said.

Myko Garcia, a local radio reporter in CamSur, shared the same sentiment.

‘I’m thankful to be part of the training. I’ve gained new knowledge that has helped improve my communication skills, especially in pronunciation and grammar,’ he said.

The AI Academy is seen as a pioneering initiative in the region, aiming to democratize access to artificial intelligence tools and training at the grassroots level./coa

Alert police officers manning a checkpoint in Maasim, Sarangani province, arrested a man on Monday for illegally transporting 25 endangered bird species, police reported.

Col. Jerone Orville Panganiban, acting provincial director of the Sarangani Police Provincial Office, said personnel from the 2nd Sarangani Provincial Mobile Force Company (SPMFC) and the Maasim Municipal Police Station intercepted a Mitsubishi Montero Sport during a routine checkpoint operation at Sitio Seguil, Barangay Tinoto.

The driver, identified as ‘Junior,’ 34, a resident of Digos City, could not present documents to legalize his transport of endangered wildlife.

Panganiban said the police verified with Forest Protection Officer (FPO) Jalal Pantao of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), who confirmed the suspect had no transport permit.

The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Kiamba documented a total of 25 hornbills, comprising six Mindanao hornbills and 19 Rufous hornbills. The DENR later confirmed these as Mindanao Wreathed hornbills and Southern Rufous hornbills, Panganiban said.

The hornbills were immediately transported and turned over to the DENR-12 Regional Wildlife Rescue Center for documentation and safekeeping.

Panganiban said CENRO Kiamba is preparing to file charges against the arrested violator for violating Republic Act 9147, also known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

‘The Sarangani Police Provincial Office, in close coordination with DENR, reiterates its commitment to protecting the environment and upholding wildlife laws to preserve biodiversity in the region,’ Panganiban said. (PNA)/coa

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday welcomed the House of Representatives’ approval of its proposed P216.1 billion budget for 2026.

The amount is P39.4 billion more than the agency’s previous allocation of P176.7 billion.

The increase stems from a major realignment ordered by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., who diverted over P250 billion from controversial flood control projects toward agriculture, education, and social welfare.

‘This increased budget brings us closer to President Marcos’s vision of a food-secure Philippines-where agriculture is modern and investment-worthy, and farming is a viable, profitable venture,’ said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr.

The budget hike, endorsed during plenary debates on Monday, will fund farm-to-market roads, cold storage facilities, and solar-powered irrigation systems, among other flagship projects.

A portion will also support coconut replanting, expanded crop insurance, fish port upgrades, farm-to-mill roads in sugar-producing areas, and modern post-harvest facilities.

Pampanga Representative Anna York Bondoc, who defended the DA budget, said the increase reflects the government’s recognition of agriculture as a key economic driver, employing one in every five Filipinos and contributing 10 percent to the country’s gross domestic product.

‘These additional funds are a powerful testament of our recognition that our investment in agriculture is an investment into our shared future,’ said Bondoc.

‘It means direct support for hardworking farmers, better technology for our fisherfolk, and a more stable and resilient food supply for every Filipino family,’ she added.

The title of today’s piece describes our collective reaction to all events unfolding before us, local, national, or international.

Our collective stupor has been our way of life for the last two presidential elections. Before Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became President, we had a president who made killing a normalized disciplinary action for those allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade. Many of us appreciated this, arguing that it was, so far, the best deterrent to the widespread use of illegal drugs among the youth.

When former President Rodrigo Duterte started his term, he vowed to end the illegal drug problem within six months. A lot of us applauded him, despite his crass and vulgar language, whenever he talked about this major affliction among the Filipino population.

But when he stepped down in May 2022, the drug problem was nowhere near eradicated. Duterte himself admitted that he was not able to end this problem as he promised.

The levels of corruption in many government bureaucracies-from the local to the national levels-were already quite noticeable earlier, even before Mr. Marcos cried ‘mahiya naman kayo!’ in his fourth State of the Nation Address.

When Duterte assumed the presidency, he always said that he hated corruption-even a ‘whiff’ of it. It appeared that he did not want small-scale corrupt practices and could have allowed huge amounts of corruption. But it was during his time that the now infamous contractor couple-the Discayas-bagged the biggest chunks of their contracts with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

We also recently learned that one of the huge contributors to the campaign of Duterte’s daughter, now Vice President Sara Duterte, is the Escandor family. A recent inquiry yielded information that the Escandors contributed P20 million to Sara’s vice-presidential campaign. The Escandors are the owners of Genesis 88 Construction. They bagged P2.9 billion of flood control projects in the entire Davao Region, with 25 percent of these projects in Davao City. The Escandors own some hotels and other business establishments in Davao City. Many of their projects are now being investigated by the new secretary of the DPWH. Some of these projects were completed in 2022, but only on paper.

This does not include the infrastructure projects awarded to the family of Sen. Bong Go, who used to be Duterte’s man Friday. In August 2025, information surfaced that Go’s father, Desiderio Go, owns the CLTG Builders (the initials stand for Christopher Lawrence Tesoro Go, the senator’s full name). The company allegedly facilitated the joint venture with Sarah Discaya’s St. Gerrard Construction, the top contractor during the Duterte presidency.

Why it took us this long to express our rage during the ‘Trillion Peso March’ last Sept. 21 spoke volumes about our collective slumber for more than a decade. It seems we have ‘accepted’ that corruption in government offices is normal. It would be unusual to find a few local and national government officials whose hands are not entangled in dirty reciprocal relationships with contractors of infrastructure projects.

And it took a force majeure from nature-in the form of endless flooding-among areas that were supposed to benefit from multimillion- and multibillion-peso flood control projects to wake us up. We reacted like audiences of a slow-burn movie, and only recently have we realized that we could do something together. And this has led to holding huge protest rallies to call out our senators, congressmen and women, and all local and regional officials.

In fairness to several journalists-both in broadcast and print media-these anomalies have been written about and discussed on television in the recent past. But collectively, many of us just listened and shrugged our shoulders, thinking that it was not something to be surprised about.

Our delayed reaction, its minimal impact, and the slow pace of the national government in addressing these problems mirror how global populations have reacted to the major human-made catastrophes of the 21st century. These include Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that continues to this day, and the most inhuman tragedy of all-Israel’s genocidal war against Palestine.

While there are several international initiatives to challenge Israel’s genocide in Gaza, they are quite late and insufficient. Global entities like the United Nations should have acted more swiftly and more strongly, rather than just issuing statements of condemnation. And all these initiatives have been quite slow compared to the swiftness of Israel’s annihilation of Palestinians.

Philippine National Bank’s (PNB) move to let go of its Bahrain operations and dissolve two of its units would allow it to cut costs and focus on expanding its core business, according to an analyst.

Ron Acoba, chief investment strategist at Trading Edge Consultancy, told the Inquirer that PNB could still serve its Middle East market. This is mainly overseas Filipino workers sending money home through a correspondent bank.

This, he said, would be more cost effective for the banking arm of the Lucio Tan Group.

PNB on Monday said in a regulatory filing its board of directors had approved plans to shutter its PNB Bahrain Representative Office, although this is still subject to regulatory approval.

PNB currently operates across 17 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. However, it recently noted that it was facing stiff competition from banks and nonbanks in these locations.

‘To maintain its market position in the industry, the bank offers diverse products and services, invests in technology, leverages on the synergies with the Lucio Tan Group of Companies and builds on relationships with the bank’s other key customers,’ PNB said in its annual report.

Consumer lending

At the same time, PNB’s board has decided to dissolve the bank’s consumer finance and enterprise services sectors.

‘[This] will allow [PNB] to focus on expanding its consumer lending business,’ Acoba said in a text message.

In the first semester, PNB benefited from higher demand for loans, resulting in a 22-percent surge in earnings to P12.5 billion.

Its net interest income had climbed by 7 percent to P25.8 billion.

Loans and investment securities grew by 5 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

To stand out among their competitors, PNB president and CEO Edwin Bautista earlier said they were looking to ‘unlock new revenue streams’ to boost the bank’s net income through exploring the use of technology, such as data science and artificial intelligence, in its businesses.

Power has been restored to most areas serviced by the Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (ORMECO), with 100 percent of the province’s municipalities and Calapan City now energized, according to a report posted on ORMECO’s official social media page.

ORMECO general manager Engr. Humphrey Dolor confirmed that both the 13.8-kilovolt (kV) and 69-kV power lines are now fully operational.

As of the latest update, electricity has been restored to 342 out of 426 barangays-approximately 80.3 percent-and to 215,322 out of 265,765 households, or about 81% of the total.

‘Today, we are restoring power supply to the barangay (village) level. The restoration went smoothly and faster because of innovative ways and the support of some local government units (LGUs). We are working from 6 a.m. to midnight daily for construction works and 24 hours for line works,’ Dolor said.

Dolor also reported that damage caused by Typhoon Opong to the cooperative’s infrastructure had been estimated at P16,926,645

The local bourse extended its losing streak to the seventh consecutive session on Tuesday. Domestic politics and the weak currency continued to weigh on market sentiment, leading to more investors taking cover amid the uncertainty.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) had lost 0.74 percent or 44.14 points to end at 5,953.46.

Likewise, the broader All Shares Index shed 0.43 percent or 15.55 points to close at 3,620.79.

A total of 1.57 billion shares worth P9.09 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.

The index remained in the red territory as investors remained cautious about domestic uncertainties, said Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp.

Flood control scandal

On Monday, the Senate blue ribbon committee confirmed that resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez would be invited to the next hearing on the billion-peso flood control scandal.

This is the latest development in the corruption behind the projects. Twenty-one politicians and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways are possibly facing charges.

At the same time, Limlingan said traders were closely watching the weakening peso.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it lost 1.95 percent to P471.60 each. It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.56 percent to P132.90; Ayala Land Inc., down 3.56 percent to P24.35; RL Commercial REIT Inc., down 3.84 percent to P7.26; and SM Investments Corp., down 0.68 percent to P735 per share.

Others were Ayala Corp., down 1.95 percent to P482.80; Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 3.6 percent to P115; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 1.32 percent to P22.45; DigiPlus Interactive Corp., up 2.23 percent to P25.25; and Manila Electric Co., down 0.19 percent to P530 each.

Losers outnumbered gainers, 129 to 79, while 45 companies closed flat, stock exchange data also showed.