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At least 69 individuals are dead following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake off Bogo City, Cebu.

INQUIRER.net’s Neil Mercado gives updates on the situation in Cebu province on Wednesday, Oct. 1.

How big is one billion pesos? Most Filipinos will never see that much in their lifetimes – yet in the flood control scandal, ?1 billion in cash-filled suitcases was allegedly delivered to a single official. And it gets worse: investigators have frozen ?180 billion linked to key players in the scheme.

Among the most explosive testimonies came from former engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), who said ?1 billion in hard cash – not bank transfers – was delivered straight to Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co’s penthouse suite at the Shangri-La at the Fort in Taguig.

Then the scale got even bigger. An online report citing Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) data found that ?180 billion had flowed through 427 bank accounts linked to four contractor firms owned by flood-control ‘king and queen’ Curlee and Sarah Discaya – amounts that far surpass the suitcase deliveries linked to Co.

These figures aren’t just numbers on paper or footnotes in Senate hearings. They represent staggering volumes of taxpayer money – allegedly pocketed through ghost projects, bid-rigging, and systemic corruption – that could have funded public services, filled classrooms, and supported millions of Filipino families.

So just how much money is that?

One billion in hard cash: What does it look like? Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, a former special adviser to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, demonstrated the dimensions of ?1 billion in stacked ?1,000 bills. It forms a block 5 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 4 feet high – almost the size of a small SUV.

But stacked vertically, the numbers become even more staggering. If one assumes a thickness of 0.10 to 0.12 mm per ?1,000 bill (an estimate consistent with many banknotes globally), then:

?1,000 bills stacked to reach ?1 billion (an estimated 1,000,000 bills) would measure approximately 100 to 120 meters in height.

That would be taller than the Statue of Liberty (around 93 meters including base), roughly equivalent to a 30-to-40-story building, and many times the height of the Rizal Monument (at 12.7 meters).

If ?1 billion were packed into suitcases as whistleblowers described, it would require 20 suitcases (each worth ?50 million). Multiply that by 35 billion – the alleged budget insertions attributed to Co over four years – and you’d be looking at 700 suitcases forming a trail longer than half a football field.

How does it compare to Filipino families’ needs?

According to IBON Foundation, a family of five in Metro Manila needs about ?1,220 a day, or roughly ?26,545 a month, to meet basic needs and live decently. By contrast, the newly approved minimum wage in the NCR stands at ?695 a day – a figure that still falls short of the actual cost of living, especially in the capital region.

In this context, ?1 billion is no longer just a large number – it becomes an almost unimaginable fortune.

If one household were to spend exactly ?1,220 a day, ?1 billion would last them over 2,200 years. Even at a significantly higher daily expense – say, ?50,000 a day – it would still take more than 54 years before that sum runs out. Now consider the perspective of a minimum wage earner bringing home ?695 a day. Assuming they work 261 days a year (standard for those not paid on weekends), it would take over 5,500 years to earn ?1 billion – and that’s only if every single peso was saved, with zero spending on food, rent, transport, or basic needs.

Even under a more generous estimate of 313 working days a year, it would still take around 4,600 years to reach ?1 billion.

In other words, the amount of public money allegedly lost in just one transaction could have sustained generations of Filipino families, or represented the entire working lifetime of thousands of minimum wage earners.

The Discaya contractors’ frozen accounts

But the AMLC findings dwarf the numbers above. According to multiple reports, roughly ?180 billion flowed through 427 accounts of four Discaya-linked contractors – St. Gerrard, St. Timothy, Alpha and Omega, and St. Matthew – between 2016 and 2025.

What does ?180 billion look like? It’s an almost unimaginable sum – 180 times ?1 billion. If stacked in ?1,000 bills, and assuming each note is approximately 0.10 to 0.12 millimeters thick, the pile would reach 18 to 21.6 kilometers high – more than twice the height of Mount Everest, towering far above the cruising altitude of commercial airplanes.

At IBON Foundation’s NCR family living wage of ?1,220 per day (?26,545 per month), ?180 billion could support over 678,000 families for an entire year.

And if you tried to spend it?

At a rate of ?1 million per day, it would take nearly 500 years (493 years) to run out. Even spending ?50,000 per day, it would last close to 10,000 years – 9,863 years, to be exact.

How long to earn these billions?

The so-called flood-control ‘king and queen,’ Curlee and Sarah Discaya, allegedly amassed ?180 billion through their four contractor firms in just nine years, and a government official was reportedly delivered ?1 billion in a single day – in cash. In contrast, most ordinary Filipinos would need multiple lifetimes to even approach such a figure.

A worker earning ?300/day would need 10,653 to 12,780 years to earn just ?1 billion, and an unfathomable 1.9 to 2.3 million years to reach ?180 billion.

On the NCR minimum wage of ?695/day, it would still take about 4,599 to 5,509 years to make ?1 billion, or around 827,874 to 991,683 years for ?180 billion.

Even someone earning ?1,000/day, far above minimum wage, would require 3,194 to 3,831 years to earn ?1 billion, and 574,943 to 689,580 years to hit ?180 billion.

This also translates to at least 5,500 minimum wage earners (earning ?695 per day and working every weekday) an entire year just to collectively earn ?1 billion – assuming they spend nothing on food, rent, or transport. To reach ?108 billion in the same period, it would take 595,000 workers under the same wage and working conditions. Yet whistleblower testimonies and bank records suggest these billions were being funneled in a matter of days, weeks, or a few deliveries – not decades. What regular workers would never achieve in a dozen lifetimes was, allegedly, carted away in suitcases and routed through hundreds of bank accounts in under a decade.

What billions could have done for farmers

Citing flood control allocations in the 2023 to 2025 General Appropriations Acts (GAAs) and a Senate study showing only 40 percent fund utilization, IBON Foundation warned that up to ?197 billion may be lost annually to corruption in flood control projects – money that could have gone to support Filipino farmers instead.

According to IBON’s analysis, that amount could have empowered the National Food Authority (NFA) to purchase up to 6.27 million metric tons of palay, equivalent to one-third (33 percent) of the country’s current annual palay production of 19 million metric tons – enough to exert significant influence on domestic market prices.

The group also pointed out that ?197 billion could have funded the construction of much-needed drying facilities to help farmers earn ?24 per kilo for clean, dry palay, including:

84,022 small-scale dryers (two per barangay at ?250,000 each)

42,011 large-scale dryers (one per barangay at ?550,000 each)

P700 billion lost to corruption

Amid the staggering billions now under scrutiny in the flood control corruption scandal, an earlier warning from a top anti-graft official has resurfaced. Back in 2019, then Deputy Ombudsman Cyril Ramos estimated that the Philippines loses around ?700 billion every year to corruption.

That amount, Ramos said, could have built 1.4 million housing units for the poor, funded medical assistance for 7 million Filipinos, or secured a rice buffer stock that would last more than a year. ‘With that amount,’ he added at the time, ‘no Filipino would get hungry.’ In 2024, the Philippines spent a total of ?1.56 trillion on health, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). That means ?700 billion, the amount said to be lost to corruption each year, accounts for nearly 45 percent of the country’s total health expenditure.

For far-flung and underserved communities where access to health services remains limited, that sum could transform the public health landscape – building rural health units, hiring medical personnel, and subsidizing care for millions.

To put it another way: Based on PSA data showing that the average Filipino spent ?12,751 on health care in 2024, a ?700-billion fund could have fully covered an entire year’s worth of medical needs for nearly 55 million Filipinos – almost half the country’s population.

The true cost of corruption

There is no image big enough to capture what corruption has stolen.

In the wake of the flood control scandal – with figures like ?1 billion stuffed into suitcases and ?180 billion frozen across hundreds of accounts – the numbers have become too massive to comprehend.

But as Inquirer editor Tony Bergonia once pointed out during a previous wave of corruption scandals, ‘To count from one to one billion, it’s estimated you would need 30 to 100 years.’

That’s longer than most people will live – and far longer than the prison time often served, if any, by those who plunder the public coffers.

But the true weight of these stolen billions isn’t just measured in stacks of money. It’s measured in lives.

‘Corruption is paid by the poor,’ Pope Francis once warned – and Bergonia echoed that truth: ‘The capacity of the poor to bear the burden of corruption is not as infinitesimal as the amounts of public money being misused or outright stolen by officials.’

‘In time, people bled dry of their wherewithal to make ends meet will be drawn to do either of two things – just die in place or rise to their feet, clinging to a knife.’

Here in the Philippines, it’s no longer just about missing funds. It’s the absence of rural health centers. The substandard school buildings. The flooded barangays. The children who dropped out because floodwaters reached the chalkboard, but help never came.

When even ?1 billion looks like a tower of money you could live inside – what does that say about the men and women accused of siphoning off tens or hundreds of billions more?

One word: Unimaginable.

Because corruption at this scale is no longer about money. It is about stolen futures.

Credit-led fintech Salmon Group Ltd. has raised $50 million from its latest Nordic bond issuance, a deal seen to accelerate its aspiration to build ‘Southeast Asia’s next-generation consumer banking.’

This latest debt offering follows the $60-million inaugural bond issue in April 2025. This brings Salmon’s total bond financing to $110 million under its $150-million Nordic bond framework.

Strong demand from global fixed income investors made the issue oversubscribed by two times the original offer, the fintech said.

Salmon cofounder Raffy Montemayor said: ‘We are opening a new chapter for Philippine financial services built on innovation, inclusion and trust. As the Philippines stands at the heart of Southeast Asia’s growth story, with its young consumer base, strong regulators and digital-first mindset, we see tremendous opportunity to reshape the industry.’ Out to scale faster

‘Through Salmon Bank and Sunprime Finance, we are proud to lead this transformation by offering products that meet the everyday needs of Filipinos, including credit lines, cards, consumer and moto loans, and now high-yield deposits,’ Montemayor said.

The group operates through its financing company and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-regulated Salmon Bank (Rural Bank) Inc., formerly known as Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa (Laguna) Inc.

Montemayor said the successful bond issuance validated international investors’ confidence in both the Philippines and Salmon’s long-term vision.

‘With this new funding, we are poised to scale faster, bring world-class financial services closer to millions of Filipino families, and redefine what banking can mean in our region,’ added Montemayor.

Pareto Securities acted as the sole bookrunner and underwriter on the transaction. Explainer: Nordic bond?

According to a leveraged finance publication issued by Baker McKenzie’s Stockholm office, Nordic bond offering is an efficient and low-cost debt financing option. It benefits issuers by giving them an alternative form of financing while also rewarding investors who are chasing attractive yields in instruments that offer some level of liquidity.

However, Nordic bonds require no credit rating and limited disclosure, which also means that less information is made available to investors and no meaningful vetting of the issuer and its business is conducted, the publication said.

A widening corruption inquiry into flood control projects threatens to cast a shadow over the Philippines’ growth outlook, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned, as intensifying scrutiny may slow the government’s infrastructure push.

Speaking at a press conference in Manila, Andrew Jeffries, the ADB’s country director for the Philippines, said the scandal’s economic impact may show up in the lender’s updated growth forecasts due in December.

For now, Jeffries said the fallout was difficult to quantify, as funds originally earmarked for flood control works are expected to be redirected to other government priorities.

Recall that some P255.5 billion had been slashed from the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) proposed 2026 outlay following President Marcos’ order to conduct a sweeping review of its original P881.3-billion budget.

‘Temporary slowdown’

Malacañang had said the money would be shifted to social services and education, among other key sectors. Even so, the budget department had warned that a ‘temporary slowdown’ in infrastructure spending was likely as the DPWH verifies completed projects and tightens scrutiny of billings and payment claims.

‘That’s certainly a risk to economic projections going forward,’ Jeffries said. ‘More broadly, corruption has broad impacts on economic growth in general and investment sentiment. We’re monitoring that and how that may be affected going forward.’

In its flagship Asian Development Outlook report, the ADB pegged its growth forecast for the Philippines at 5.6 percent for this year. If realized, gross domestic product (GDP) expansion would settle near the low-end of the Marcos administration’s 5.5- to 6.5-percent target for 2025.

Looking ahead, the bank trimmed its projection for 2026 to 5.7 percent, from 5.8 percent previously. This would fall short of the government’s 6- to 7-percent goal, with the ADB mainly attributing the downgrade to external headwinds, including higher US tariffs that could sap investments.

Infrastructure outlays

The government’s growth ambitions hinge partly on keeping infrastructure outlays at 5 to 6 percent of GDP. With investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control projects ongoing, Jeffries said the ADB would hold off on revising its outlook until more data is available.

‘We didn’t see a reason at this point in time to reduce those GDP projections due to that issue. But it’s certainly a heightened risk,’ he said.

Despite the recent revisions, the ADB still ranks the Philippines as Southeast Asia’s second-fastest-growing economy this year and next, trailing only Vietnam. The country is also expected to outpace Developing Asia-a group of 46 economies projected to expand by an average of 4.8 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2026.

‘The Philippines’ growth outlook remains resilient amid a global environment of shifting trade and investment policies and heightened geopolitical uncertainties,’ Jeffries said.

‘Though these uncertainties pose increased risk, we see strong domestic demand anchoring growth, with sustained investments and an accommodative monetary policy supporting the economy’s expansion,’ he added. INQ

Defending champion Mapua opened its NCAA Season 101 campaign with a dramatic 90-89 double-overtime victory over Lyceum on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With team captain Clint Escamis fouling out late in regulation, it was JC Recto who carried the Cardinals in crunch time. The veteran forward tallied 16 points and nine rebounds, delivering clutch plays in both overtime periods to lift Mapua past a gritty Lyceum side. ‘I just let my instincts take over,’ said Recto, who was thrust into the spotlight after Escamis exited with only eight points. ‘All I thought about was doing whatever the coaches asked me to do.’

Recto tied the game at 80-all with a three-point play in the first overtime, neutralizing a late Pirates surge. He did it again in the second extra period, converting another and-one to pull Mapua even at 87-all in the final minute.

With the game knotted and time winding down, it was rookie guard Cyrus Cuenco who sealed the win. Fouled by Lyceum’s Lance Aurigue with 12 seconds left, Cuenco calmly hit the second of two free throws to give Mapua the final lead. Cuenco finished with 14 points, while Earl Sapasap and Yam Concepcion chipped in 16 and 13 points, respectively, for the Cardinals, who began their title defense with a statement win.

Mapua, which won the NCAA title last season after ending a decades-long championship drought, showed its depth and resilience despite missing key contributions from Escamis down the stretch.

The loss spoiled a strong effort from Lyceum’s Renz Villegas, who poured in 23 points. Michael Versoza also registered a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but the Pirates failed to close out the game on multiple opportunities.

‘I did not know the Discayas and that was the first and only time outside of the blue ribbon committee hearings that I met them.’

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson issued the statement Wednesday, addressing the circulating image of him with the controversial contractor couple Cezarah ‘Sarah’ and Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya.

According to Lacson, the photo was taken ‘sometime in the last week of April,’ near the end of the 90-day campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections, when Fred Villaroman, a campaign supporter from Davao City and son of the late Police Brigadier Francisco Villaroman, visited Lacson’s Taguig City office to invite him to a grand rally in Mindanao. Villaroman was accompanied by the Discayas’ son, Pacifico Felizario Discaya II, Lacson said, adding that he declined the invitation.

‘The young Discaya was a nominee of a party-list group-Ako Pinoy or Ako’y Pinoy-vying for a seat in Congress. They were later joined by Mr. and Mrs. Discaya. Anyway, I begged off-first, out of respect for my friend Senate President Tito Sotto whose nephew, Mayor Vico Sotto, was running against Mrs. Discaya for the mayorship of Pasig City,’ said Lacson.

‘And second, there were other party-list groups who were including my name in their sample ballots, and I thought it was not a smart political decision to join a rally of any party-list group,’ he added.

Lacson emphasized that he did not know the Discayas, and that event was the ‘first and only time’ outside the blue ribbon panel’s hearing that he met them.

‘That meeting took around 15-20 minutes, but not before that group photo was taken. I hope this clarifies whatever insinuations are being attached to this said photograph,’ said Lacson.

Lacson’s clarification followed a Facebook repost of the photo by Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga, who called for an investigation.

The Discayas were among the key resource persons invited by the blue ribbon to shed light on the alleged collusion among contractors, lawmakers, and officials.

Earlier, Curlee first named House members and government officials he alleged received kickbacks tied to public works projects

Sen. Risa Hontiveros has flagged two water laboratory firms for allegedly passing the water samples from a water concessionaire despite failing at least one safety parameter.

Hontiveros, during Monday’s Senate Committee on Public Services hearing on disadvantageous joint venture agreements between water districts and private concessionaires, said that the Department of Health (DOH) should investigate, and if necessary, penalize two laboratories, Cosmolab and Scientia Tech.

The two laboratories allegedly cleared water samples from a water concessionaire in Laguna, which were later discovered to have failed in at least one safety parameter, according to local water district officials.

‘We will send you (DOH) the addresses of Cosmolab and Scientia Tech for double checking . and revoke accreditation if you so warrant,’ Hontiveros told DOH officials.

Inquirer reached out to Cosmolab and Scientia Tech for comment, but they have yet to respond as of posting time.

Hontiveros then quizzed DOH officials as to their oversight of accredited laboratories conducting water safety tests.

‘How could this water testing facility in Santa Cruz, which tested the water, and said it was only a typographical error that said the result was [marked as] failed. But the overall assessment came out as ‘passed’? Don’t you oversee such facilities so that they don’t falsify the results and put people’s health at risk?’ Hontiveros asked in Filipino.

In response, DOH Engineer Luis Cruz said the agency’s Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau oversees accreditation for water safety tests, and that all complaints involving erring laboratories will be then referred to the bureau.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has directed its field office in Central Visayas to increase its coordination with local government units (LGUs) following a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of Cebu on Tuesday night, resulting in at least 26 deaths.

‘Our disaster quick response teams (QRTs) at the Central and Field Offices are on alert and have already reached out to the LGUs to assist the affected families,’ DSWD chief Rex Gatchalian said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

‘We know that our fellow Filipinos who had been affected are in need of urgent assistance,’ the secretary added.

He likewise said that food and non-food relief supplies are already on standby for distribution to the affected LGUs.

To date, Gatchalian disclosed that the agency maintains P379 million in standby funds and has 2.4 million boxes of family food packs (FFPs) for affected communities.

‘Yesterday, we were already on alert as we are preparing for an approaching low-pressure area that may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility. And disaster operations for ‘Opong’ are still ongoing, so our DSWD QRTs have already been on high alert,’ he noted.

‘We will ensure that all hands are on deck to help with the victims of the earthquake,’ he added.

DSWD Field Offices are also monitoring areas affected by the earthquake with the coordination of their LGUs for possible assistance.

Based on reports, the quake had damaged heritage churches and other structures and knocked out power in parts of the central Philippines.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) initially measured the quake at magnitude 6.7 before upgrading it to 6.9.

It occurred at 9:59 p.m., with the epicenter located 21 kilometers northeast of Bogo City, Cebu, at a shallow depth of 5 kilometers. The U.S. Geological Survey initially recorded a magnitude 7.0 before revising it downward.

Authorities on Wednesday said the death toll has risen to at least 26, with more fatalities feared as rescue operations continue.

Manny Pacquiao will lead the 50th anniversary celebration of the ‘Thrilla in Manila’ as a promoter, headlining a blockbuster boxing card on October 29 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The event, co-presented by Pacquiao and the International Boxing Association (IBA), will be anchored by a WBC strawweight world title bout between Filipino champion Melvin Jerusalem and South Africa’s Ayanda Kuse. ‘I wasn’t born when the original fight happened and I’m leading the promotion now,’ Pacquiao said during the official launch. ‘I feel blessed at to bring to life 50th celebration of ‘Thrilla in Manila.”

The original ‘Thrilla in Manila’ between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier was held on October 1, 1975, at the same venue.

The undercard features Olympic silver medalist Eumir Marcial against undefeated American Eddy Colmenares, along with appearances by Filipino standouts Marlon Tapales, Carl Jammes Martin, and Arvin Magramo.

‘This is a world championship and a celebration of the ‘Thrilla in Manila,” Pacquiao added. ‘It’s a big help for our boxers that they get to fight in international promotions like this.’

Pacquiao also revealed that VIP guests are expected, including relatives of Ali and Frazier and former world champions.

‘We will invite a lot of personalities. We will have a lot of surprises,’ he said.

The provinces of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, and Southern Leyte remained without power on Wednesday morning, while internet services were reported to have slowed down after transmission facilities were damaged by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Bogo City in Cebu on Tuesday night and reverberated across many areas in the Visayas and was felt as far as the Bicol Region.

Several local governments-including Paranas in Samar and the cities of Baybay and Tacloban in Leyte-opened charging stations for mobile phones to help residents cope with the power outages.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) reported that 27 of its power plants sustained damage, resulting in the loss of 1,444.1 megawatts (MW) from the Visayas grid. The NGCP identified the following transmission lines that remain out of service:

Daanbantayan (Cebu)-Tabango (Leyte) 230kV L1 and L2 (Lines 1 and 2)

Daanbantayan-Compostela (both in Cebu) 230kV L1 and L2

Tabango-Kananga (Leyte) 230kV L1 and L2

Kananga-Ormoc 230kV (Leyte) L1

Ormoc-Babatngon (Leyte) 138kV L1 and L2

Babatngon (Leyte)-Paranas (Samar) 138kV L1 and L2

Paranas-Calbayog (Samar) 138kV L1 and L2

Ormoc (Leyte)-Maasin (Southern Leyte) 138kV L2

Isabel-Tongonan (Leyte) 138kV Line

Isabel-Pasar (Leyte) 138kV Line

Pasar-IASCO (Leyte) 138kV Line

The NGCP said, however, that several transmission lines had already been restored, including the Ubay (Bohol)-Maasin (Southern Leyte) 138kV Line (energized at 4:01 a.m.); the Ormoc-Maasin 138 138kV L1 (energized at 4:18 a.m.) and the Ormoc-Isabel 138 kV Line (energized at 5:11 a.m.).

Power transmission services in the rest of the Visayas grid were reported to be under normal operations. The grid covers Panay, Negros, Cebu, and Bohol, using submarine cables and land transmission lines.

Meanwhile, classes were suspended in several parts of Eastern Visayas on Wednesday in the wake of the powerful earthquake.

Among the areas where classes were canceled due to safety concerns were Catbalogan City in Samar; Ormoc City and the Leyte towns of Isabel, Matag-ob, Palompon, Villaba, Leyte, and Tabango; Macrohon in Southern Leyte; and the entire province of Biliran, which is still reeling from the devastation of Typhoon ‘Opong’ that pummeled the province on September 26.

In Tacloban City, no official suspension was declared by the city government, but several schools opted to cancel classes, with parents choosing not to send their children amid fears of aftershocks.

Local government units immediately conducted rapid damage assessments.

In Ormoc City, engineers declared the city hall building safe after a post-quake inspection.

In Isabel town, the Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. (Philphos), the country’s leading fertilizer producer, assured the public that its ammonia tanks and pipelines at the Leyte Industrial Development Estate were secure. Its management emphasized that safety valves are in place that automatically shut down operations during emergencies such as earthquakes.

The quake also triggered landslides in some areas of Leyte province, including Barangay Abijao in Villaba town, a vital access route to nearby Palompon, and in parts of Leyte, Leyte town.

As of 10:30 a.m., electricity had not been fully restored in Leyte, although supply returned to some areas in the province’s second district and in Tacloban City./coa